The Albanian earthquake of 26 November 2019, which was especially devastating in the port city of Durres and environs, led to an international outpouring of humanitarian aid. Although considerably less affected, the capital city of Tirana, located only some 37 kilometres away, was also catapulted into chaos and panic. Yet this was short-lived. The invincible children of Skanderbeg rallied, and the country was soon vibrating with energy. There were only a few short months separating the earthquake from the arrival of COVID-19, and in this context, Albania once again proved itself to be rebellious in spirit, in many ways living on the edge. While most of the European Union closed its borders, the neighbouring land of the eagle remained defiantly open. The quake and the virus notwithstanding, Albania has welcomed foreign visitors even from countries whose citizens, at the time of the pandemic, were barred from most places.

Slightly over a decade ago, the Australian-based Lonely Planet guides picked Albania as the number-one tourist destination in the world for 2010. It announced that this country, which had once been considered ‘only for the brave’, is indeed one of ‘azure beaches, confrontingly good cuisine, heritage sites, nightlife, affordable adventures and the possibility of old-style unplanned journeys complete with [a welcoming populace] for whom travellers are still a novelty’. Lonely Planet asserts, ‘Sick to death of being dismissed with blinged-up crime-boss clichés, […] Albania won't be off the beaten path for much longer’ (Lonely Planet, 2010). Indeed, during the few years prior to the Lonely Planet homage, the Balkan outpost had exchanged armed for open-armed locals! In April 2020, Prime Minister Edi Rama announced his goal to make Albania the tourism champion of the Western Balkans (Semini, 2021). An emphasis on this transformation is not an exaggeration. Over the course of its history, Albania has arguably been the most remote and mysterious of all European nations in the eyes of both East and West. Depending on the period, it has been alternatingly exoticized or vilified, or both at once. Albania has conjured up the romance of Lord Byron and Ali Pasha's court, not to mention the remote forests of Harry Potter. It has further been a paradise for anthropologists with its ancient blood feuds and sworn virgins.