Gazi Sadiku Walks and Talks about Albania: Local Travel, Food, Communism and Life Going Forward

Tirana (Tiranë in Shqip), a word so beautiful you imagine naming your future daughter that. It is the name of the capital city of Albania, or Shqipëria, meaning “land of eagles”. This country of three million population stands in the Balkans, bordering Greece to the south, North Macedonia and Kosovo to the east, and Montenegro to the north. Albania gazes out to the Adriatic sea, part of the Ionian sea and the back of the Italian heel. The nation broke free from then Ottoman Empire in 1912, but to fall into the fate of multiple regional power struggles and the two world wars. Ruled by two dictators between 1944 to 1991, Albanians had no contact with the rest of the world until late 1992, when the Parliament was restored. This also marked a watershed moment for Gazi Sadiku, a 16-year-old then, got his first pair of jeans and embellished his family home with shiny Coca Cola cans.

Twenty-some years later, on a sunny and brisk winter day, Gazi and I meet up at the iconic Komiteti Kafe-Muzeum located behind Piramida (“The Pyramid”) in Tirana, to speak about the country in progress and his journey to becoming the first Free Walking Tour guide in Albania.

Lens of Passion: Gazi, thank you for accepting the interview! It is my honor to learn from you, the first-ever Free Walking Tour guide in Tirana who knows everything about this country.
Gazi Sadiku: You’re welcome and it is my pleasure to be interviewed! I can answer a few questions about my own country…[smiles]

We are sitting at Komiteti (“Committee”), a popular chillout spot among locals and tourists. It is a semi-open space and the decor is nostalgic. Part of this place feels like we stepped into the era of the secret police, or a home from the 80s.
Yeah it’s a cool place. The boss spent five years to collect stuff from Albania prior to the opening. He wants to honor Albanian’s sacrifice and collective memories from the difficult times. There are four Komitetis in Albania: Korçë, city of Gjirokastra (operating seasonally) and Dhërmi near the beach (opening soon). Where we came in, there is a traditional Raki distiller. Also, completely trivial but the owner was the winner of the first Big Brother in Albania.

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And we must talk about Raki, the national liquor!
Absolutely [laughs]. Raki is prevalent in the post-Ottoman Empire region; all over the Balkans – Serbia, Greece, Macedonia, etc.. Albanians make it out of grapes mostly but the liquor is different from grappa. Most Raki production is family-run, families enjoy it and sell the rest they don’t consume. Technically, each family in the villages can produce no more than 100 liters of Raki per year. The alcohol content is between 25-30% but in southern Albania, people claim to make even stronger ones, up to 40% or higher.

I have been here for two months and find Raki to be integral to Albanian culture. It is a smooth, lightly anise-flavored spirit. How do you like it?   
I enjoy it, especially the social element of drinking Raki with people you like. Actually, drinking Raki is less popular now among the younger generation, they prefer “western drinks” but there are still crowds loving it because it is more affordable. On average, you pay 70-250 LEK (0.7-2.5 USD) for a shot. Also, Raki is locally produced and no chemicals is added if made in the villages.

So coming back to you! You are THE free walking tour guide of Albania. How did it start?
Yes! I can say I am probably the most experienced one…[smiles] I started general tour guiding in 2005 as a freelancer so it has been 16 years for me in the field. Nowadays, there are over 400 licensed guides in the country and roughly half of them are based in Tirana.

As for my free walking tour, I started the service 8 years ago in March 2013. My friend and I were first introduced to the concept when we travelled to Eastern Europe. We liked our experience and decided to give it a go in our own country. The format is catered to people who want a more easy-going history and culture lesson, done within two hours, no reservation needed, available everyday, twice a day throughout the year.

Wow, you work 365 days a year!
Yes, except for New Year’s Day! We show up everyday otherwise, regardless of turnout. Our team evolved to having 4 people now so we split the days. We also offer private tours during low season.

So you have been a walking tour guide nearly everyday for 8 years and your tour is the Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice. What propels you to remain so invigorated and sustain that over a long period of time?
Excitement. Interest. Passion. Free walking tour is by definition, free. We rely on donation at the end of the tour if the guests are happy with our knowledge and hospitality. Salary is not guaranteed so if you don’t love the content and nature of the job, it is impossible that you show up everyday. The free walking tour is something I like to do and I have an ambition to do it right, to make the experience incredible. Of course, making an income no matter the amount is another reason I have done it for so long.

Do Albanians use the word “passion” much?
In the Albanian language (Shqip), the word is spelled “pasion”. We don’t use it or talk about it so much. “Pasion” is emotionally involved and in our psychology, work and passion are separated. Pasion is something you put a lot of love and energy into.

I feel a bit peculiar now asking an Albanian what his passion is!
Travelling is my passion. Going places , meeting people and immersing in the local culture. I loved football back then, before 1992. We were able to watch some international football even during the communist regime. It was a big deal to us.

What was your job before becoming a professional tour guide?
I was a student in the U.S. and studied Business in Detroit. When I came back to Albania, there wasn’t much vibrancy in the job market so I worked in a casino in the city center of Tirana. In early 2000s, where I worked was the first “western casino” offering live games like blackjack, poker and roulette; prior to that there were mostly programmed slot machines only in the whole country. Anyways, the job paid very well but I felt nothing for it. The players at that time were quite rude and aggressive because they knew little about the rules to a thrilling activity. The environment was not healthy nor interesting, then I quit. I find it difficult to do anything I don’t like to do, maybe as simple as that.

What do you love most about your job now?
Staying active physically and mentally. I love exchanging ideas and showing my country – our culture, mindset and food to the whole world! I feel like the world comes to me, and I take the opportunity to be a good host.

What is your most memorable experience with a tourist, or a “last time my mind was changed by someone” moment with one?
It was a guest from the UK. He asked me about #blacklivesmatter in Albania and I told him immediately there is no black people here. He explained to me how the movement concerns beyond black people’s rights but humanities and equity for all. It’s about everyone all over the world, children, women, minorities in every society and every struggle that should be looked at. My perspective was elevated.  

Let’s talk a little bit about communism to post-communism. How was the transition like?
My childhood was soaked in communism with a dictator. Enver Hoxha’s former house is just round the corner from here and now all walks of free life are built surrounding it, how interesting right. Looking back, the 90s was difficult. When the country opened up, we had more access to information which means we finally had reference points and came to understand how poor Albania was. Worse, during communism, everyone had a job so false security was there but when the system collapsed we did not quite have a back-up economic structure yet. We were “liberated” behaviorally but people also starting to lose their jobs. Eventually, proper trade happened and many Albanians left for better opportunities in Greece and Italy, mostly illegally via trucks and boats crossing the Adriatic sea. Desperate times call for desperate measures. Until this day, there are allegedly one million Albanians living abroad.  

Italian media was a big deal during this time, we called it our “window to the world”. I remember seeing all the satellite dishes on buildings and people would know if you were watching national or Italian channels by looking at the facing-direction of your dish. Overall, I think that the transition of political ideology and social construct got better, especially after the point when Albanians agreed that communism was a bad thing. Our country was able to move forward based on that acceptance and consensus.

Do you remember how you felt as a child when Albania was disconnected from the world? What did you know about “the world” then, before information access was available?
We had some understanding of the world, like geography, history and people; but we didn’t know much about their way of life and not much information about 20^th century’s art, music, literature from the rest of the world.  

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As you mentioned, you were a legitimate student in America but unlike many, you chose to come back to Albania. What do you like most about your country?
I like the lifestyle. We are very family-orientated and socially active. It is a beautiful country with amazing landscapes and great weather. There is a lot of history from Ancient Rome and Ottoman Empire period; and the location, we are a developing country still but you can drive or fly to all over Europe now. The trash problem in this country bothers me though.

What is the Albanian way of life?
We are quite Mediterranean in that sense – we love to be outdoor being social and hang out with friends or new people. Albanians are harder workers in the right circumstances, we like to think and put our minds only to something we know is going to be go through. We work smart.

You’re right! The cafe scene is so lively here and I find the people very friendly. They may not smile a lot but they are sincere and helpful regardless of the language barrier. Which three adjectives would you use to describe your people?  
Hmmm…that’s a good one. Okay, this is only my point of view. I would say respectful, we are not supposed to swear or use derogatory terms easily at all; stubborn, in general we have an opinion and can be very strong-headed; and emotional, when our senses are provoked, we can get quite intense.

Moving to the beautiful geography, I have travelled a bit in-country and feel that Tirana is the most modern and vibrant city here, while the Himare region and Albanian Riveria are a must-go for nature lovers. Tropoja region in the north has some breathtaking mountain ranges, and Girokastra is a UNESCO town with deep history and welcoming people. What is the most overlooked city in Albania that travelers should add to their itinerary?
I think the most underrated city is Korçë because it is a bit far from the capital and the routes going there are not so convenient. There is beautiful snow during winter times and summer is cooler due to the plateau. It is also the best region for food! We have an old saying, “Get married to a girl from Korçë or don’t get married at all”.

Let’s talk about special foods! I have tried a lot of byreks here, with spinach, cheese, leek. What other signature dishes would you recommend to visitors?
In a way, there isn’t an exclusively Albanian dish. A lot of battles happened on this soil in the old days, you know, crusaders, emperors, colonists and so forth were traveling across our terrain so the cuisines are influenced by many tribes. For example, qofte sausages and meatballs are popular all over the Balkans.

If I had to pick one, it would be Tavë kosi. It is an oven-baked dish of tender lamb with yogurt and other regional choice of ingredients like herbs and rice. It is a classic comfort food not many tourists know about. Oh! And lakror from Korçë could be another one. It is a savory pie with the goodies baked between two big, buttery layers of phyllo dough.

Excellent information! I am now even more excited about moving to my temporary home in Korçë next week.
Moving forward, what do you see as the biggest challenge and the biggest potential of this country?
We need to fight corruption because it harms efficiency of every process. I speak for the Albanians I know, we feel we deserve more as a society. The government achieved a lot in the last 30 years but the perception of corruption and abuse of power or position are still here. The people are very frustrated. It is still hard for young people to dream.
As for potential, until the pandemic I thought tourism was very hopeful for sure. Better planning and development of our natural resources is another one – we have great quality water, raw minerals and fairy tale land. Two-thirds of our country is mountainous and has a lot to offer.

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Fingers crossed as the next election is happening in April. Thank you for sharing with Lens of Passion and our audience so much about what you love and what you know! We have come to the last question: Being the most recognized free walking tour in Tirana, will there be new elements in your team when tourism resumes?
Yes! First of all, we are in the process of joining a global collaboration called The Free Tour Community (www.freetourcommunity.com). We want to continue to deliver the best walking tours in Albania and reduce free walking tour-related scams such as third-party websites using our service to acquire tourists’ credit card information. Secondly, we are considering to design a foodie and beer tour for Tirana, while keeping the regular city center walking tour, which focuses more on history and politics.

These are thoughtful and fun ideas! I look forward to joining the new tour and wish you all the best developing your passion, Gazi. Thank you again for speaking with us!
Nada!

You can find out more Gazi’s free walking tours here:
https://tiranafreetour.com/
Their dedicated team of four can be reached at this WhatsApp number:
+355 69 631 5858

To say hi to Gazi personally, or comment on this article, he is in our community chatroom on SELECT.
Please scan the QR code below or watch this video for instructions to join us:

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