Verborgen verhalen van het Sarandacommunisme
Beschrijving
Reizen voor de Communisme Tour wordt verzorgd in een moderne minibus met airconditioning, wat zorgt voor een comfortabele en plezierige reis. Wij bieden handige hotel pick-up en drop-off zonder extra kosten als uw accommodatie is buiten het belangrijkste ontmoetingspunt in Saranda, en met kleine groepen beperkt tot 8 personen, krijgt u persoonlijke aandacht van onze professionele Gids gespecialiseerd in Albanië communistische tijdperk geschiedenis. • Ontdek een andere kant van Saranda – voorbij de stranden. Deze korte en intense tour combineert een prachtig uitzicht vanaf een panoramische heuvel, verborgen bunkers uit het communistische tijdperk, spirituele monumenten en een sterke geschiedenis. We beginnen met een reis naar het observatiepunt over de stad, Ionië en Corfu. Daarna dalen we af naar een geheime luchtafweerbasis met tunnels en artilleriestellingen. We bezoeken het Klooster van de 40 Heiligen, het historische symbool dat Saranda zijn naam gaf, en eindigen met een stop bij een lokale moskee om de opleving van het geloof na het communisme te begrijpen.
Rondreisopties
Reisroute
Vertrek van Saranda en Scenic Drive naar het nabijgelegen Hill (9 : 00 – 9 : 15, 15 minuten) : We vertrekken vanuit Saranda in een comfortabele minivan met airconditioning, op weg naar een nabijgelegen heuvel met panoramisch uitzicht. Langs de korte rit introduceert onze professionele Gids het communistische tijdperk van Albanië onder Enver Hoxha, waardoor de context wordt gelegd voor de dagverkenning van deze unieke en isolerende periode in de geschiedenis.
Bezoek aan ondergrondse tunnels en bunkers op de heuvel (9 : 15 – 10 : 15, 60 minuten) : We verkennen authentieke tunnels en bunkers uit de Koude Oorlog die gebouwd zijn tijdens de paranoia van het regime. Onder leiding van onze Expert Gids hoor je echte, huiveringwekkende verhalen over het leven onder het communisme – inclusief surveillance, dwangarbeid en het enorme bunkerisatieproject dat Albanië bezaaide met meer dan 173.000 structuren.
3. Bezoek aan het Klooster van de 40 Heiligen (10 : 30 – 11 : 15, 45 minuten) : We gaan verder naar het historische Klooster van de 40 Heiligen, waar we de Byzantijnse architectuur en schilderachtige locatie bewonderen. De Gids legt uit hoe het communistische regime, na Albanië in 1967 tot de eerste atheïstische staat ter wereld te hebben uitgeroepen, deze heilige plaats opnieuw in gebruik nam als militaire basis, waarbij religieuze gebouwen in het hele land werden vernietigd of gesloten.
Bezoek aan de Grote Moskee van Saranda en onderzoek van de architectuur (11 : 30 – 12 : 15, 45 minuten) : We bezoeken Saranda's prominente Grote Moskee, waar je de elegante Ottomaanse architectuur kunt bewonderen en meer te weten kunt komen over de belangrijkste elementen: de mihrab (niche die de richting van Mekka aangeeft), de minbar (preekstoel), de wasruimte (abdeshane) en de sierlijke minaret. De Gids zal de opleving van religie na de val van het communisme in 1991 bespreken en krachtige levensechte verhalen delen over hoe gelovigen in het geheim hun geloof beoefenden tijdens het regime – verborgen gebeden, ondergrondse bijeenkomsten en de immense risico’s die gepaard gaan met ernstige vervolging.
Terug naar Saranda met reflecties en optionele traditionele snack (12 : 30 – 13 : 00, 30 minuten) : We gaan terug naar Saranda, met tijd voor vragen en reflecties over dit donkere maar vormende hoofdstuk van de Albanese geschiedenis. Optionele stop bij een lokale plek om traditionele byrek en verfrissende dhallë te proeven, wat een authentiek culinair tintje toevoegt (afzet in Saranda rond 13:00)
Hoogtepunten
Wat is inbegrepen
Beoordelingen van reizigers
Belangrijke informatie
- Hulpdieren toegestaan
- Opties voor openbaar vervoer zijn in de buurt aanwezig
- Reizigers moeten ten minste een gemiddelde conditie hebben
Beoordelingen(13)
This is a small family operation and not one of those big bus tours. I was privileged to be the only person on the date I chose. Ermal had some great personal stories and anecdotes about the area and it's history. I recommend sturdy walking shoes for the rubble of the ruins and maybe pants. There was some tall grass and a few spiky plants around the bunker. Overall it was a really enjoyable morning and I am really glad I signed up for it!
Jean, your words motivate me a lot to keep moving forward. For me, it was a privilege to meet such a wonderful person in every detail. With your kindness and sincerity, you made our tour a truly enjoyable experience. I am very grateful.
I really enjoyed this tour because I am passionate about war history and military equipment. The guide had excellent knowledge of the World War II period. Experiencing those feelings was amazing. The best part was going deep into the underground tunnel. It was scary because there was no lighting, but it was worth it.
We learned a lot from you during the tour day. Your passion for the military truly left us speechless. I really appreciate your knowledge. It was a pleasure spending time together. Best regards, Ermal
So this tour was just a little unusual and not what we've experienced in the past with other similar type tours. It was a local daughter/father who hosted the tour. We were picked up at your lodging on time and then we picked up the father near the hill side stop to start the tour. We paid a small admission and then walked to the old Soviet bunkers. We probably spent about 45+ minutes there learning about their history and the Soviet era in Albania. What was odd/different was that the daughter basically read various history articles from her phone to us with her father adding some comments along the way. They did answer our questions and overall it was a good historical review but the presentation was just very different. Next we walked through the monastery of the 40 saints for about 30 minutes and learned its history(again via the daughter reading articles from her phone). We ended the 2 hour tour by walking down the road to a recently built mosque and then we were driven back to our lodging. Again, the daughter/father were very nice and shared a lot of history/information but it was just odd having history articles read to you from someone's phone.
: We are truly sorry that we did not meet your expectations. Your comment is very valuable for helping us improve, and we appreciate it. Thank you. However, please do not think that we were simply reading from the internet. At that time, we had made some changes to the structure of the tour, and the content was still quite new for us, so we had not yet managed to memorize everything. We were reading from notes on the phone that we had carefully prepared through long work with history books and personal interviews.
I really enjoyed spending time with the guides. They are a father and daughter duo who were very kind and informative. A tour with locals who share their perspectives and want other to learn more about the history of communism and the impact it has directly from first hand experience. They answered all my questions and the father had a great sense of humor which helped lighten up a bit of some very difficult history. The daughter is impressive in her maturity and respect she shows to everyone around her. She was leading the tour and did an amazing job translating many things when necessary aswell as providing details about the history of communism in Albania. The father provided more perspectives and real life stories on the impact this history has had for him.
Yeyry! We consider you a dear friend and we hope to see you again. We have so many beautiful memories from that tour. You are simply fantastic!
The Cold War tunnels were very mysterious, but it is unfortunate that they are not well maintained. The guide had very good knowledge of the history of that period and explained the events with a great sense of humor. The agency staff are members of a family who strive to be friendly and very professional.
I really enjoyed this tour. We were in Saranda and chose Hidden Stories because we are very interested in the past history of Albania. The guide was friendly and had a lot of knowledge about the places we visited. I recommend it
We had an amazing tour with a lovely local father–daughter duo who took us through a communist-era military bunker perched above Saranda. The spot itself is incredible — with sweeping views over the city and a panoramic look across to Corfu — but what really made it special was their deep knowledge and personal insight. They brought Albania’s communist history to life, answering all our questions about what it was like to live in a completely cut-off state. It was equal parts fascinating, eerie, and eye-opening — a wonderfully weird, off-the-beaten-track experience that we’ll never forget! Highly recommend this tour to anyone looking to understand Albania beyond the beautiful beaches.
Good experience. Beautiful view. Best staf and friendly. Good and fast service it was nice day in Saranda. I recommend it to others.
A wonderful private tour led by a father/daughter duo which rewards patience and interest in Albanian history. We explored the ruins of the C6th monastery and Cold War bunkers and finished with a peaceful visit to the mosque. Ermal confirmed pick up time/place by WhatsApp the day before and the tour lasted a little under 2 hours. Recommend good shoes as the sites are very crumbly.
It was an amaizing experience.The Islam history was something new to me .It was was very courageous to enter underground spaces
