HIKING THROUGH the lime-green valleys and wildflower meadows under blazing sunshine, with gun-metal grey mountains towering overhead in a region I can only describe as hauntingly beautiful, I have a sense of entering a secret back-of-the-wardrobe land that has somehow evaded the outside world’s attention.
The scene is a far cry from this region’s reputation. According to local folklore, the Devil escaped from Hell and created the Accursed Mountains in a single day of mischief. The origin of this daunting name, which is translated from Bjeshket e Nemuna (Albanian) and Prokletije (Serb-Croatian), is unknown; but some believe it stems from the adversity faced by those who live there. Thankfully, for now, the gods are smiling down kindly on me in the height of summer.
TAKING A STEP BACK
Albania, as a whole, is possibly the most misunderstood country in Europe. It has a language with no close relatives, and spent the second half of the 20th Century relatively isolated–a member of neither NATO nor the Eastern Bloc. During this period, this Balkan nation became the first atheist country in the world, formally banning religious belief within its constitution. However,
