Cultural and ethnic crossroads and meeting place par excellence, the çarshija is also the place for finding some of the deepest roots of the Balkan musical heritage. OBC’s inquiry

A nervous look at the documents, searching for a Schengen visa. Then a smile. The visa is no longer needed. The first trip from Tirana to Rome after Albania obtained visa liberalization. A report from the OBC.

Ismail Kadaré defined it “the steepest town in the world” – Gjirokastër, in Southern Albania, on the border with Greece. Itsçarshija * also stretches upwards on sloping streets. Its architecture, although preserved over the centuries, has been slow in developing a new commercial life

Korça is an Albanian town on the borders of Albania, Greece and Macedonia. It is known for its Bazaar which unfortunately is now in a semi-abandonned state. This article continues OBC’s in-depth analysis of markets with Ottoman origins in the Balkans.

After the violent riots on January 21st , fear reigns in the streets of Tirana. Many fear a new 1997 and the return to a past that seemed gone. Meanwhile, premier Berisha and Edi Rama, leader of the main opposition party, do not seem intent upon negotiating a solution to the crisis.

Durrës is Albania’s second largest city and an important economic and logistics center. Albanian and Italian tourists have long visited the city’s beaches, with the unfortunate result that the city risks ruin from over development.

Trains do crisscross a fair share of Southeastern Europe, but the reality is that to move around between and within the countries, you are dependent on buses. Floods can have a tad bit impact.

In case you missed it, much of the Balkans region has suffered from flooding, and in some areas, this has been the worst in over 100 years. Flooding has hit Albania and Montenegro hard as well.