"Peeping Tourist"

by Carolyn Perry

photos courtesy the author

“Peeping Tourist” Museum

Opening Hours 9.30 – 4.30, Monday to Saturday

Entrance Fee: €4

Earlier this year, Durrës saw the opening of a new museum, an excellent addition to the cultural heritage of the city, especially given that both the archaeological and ethnographic museums have been closed for over a year and there is no sign of them opening yet.

“Peeping Tourist” is a small private museum, founded by Brunilda Licaj and Arjana Isaku, both lecturers at the Aleksandër Moisiu University of Durrës and specialists in tourism. The museum is in the historical centre of the city on Rruga Mustafa Varoshi, near to the Byzantine forum and Roman baths. The exhibition itself grew from Brunilda’s collection of objects and material related to foreign tourism which were previously on display at the National Historical Museum in Tirana and the Nikolet Vasia Art Gallery in Durrës. Now they have found a more permanent home in this small museum, alongside period furniture, artefacts and fascinating documents from the state archives telling the story of tourism during the communist era.

The first room is the main part of the exhibition, laid out like the sitting room of a normal family from the period, with sofa, seats and small table on which sits a bowl of the famous red wrapped “Zana” candies which are offered to visitors to the exhibition in the same way that they would have been offered to house guests. A television set is prominent, but we are reminded by the guide that there would have been only one channel available, and likewise with the radio.

Prized possessions are displayed on a cabinet, including speckled glass fish ornaments produced nearby in the glass factory of Kavajë, and an empty can of Coca Cola, a symbol of the period with which many of us are now familiar, thanks to Lea Ypi’s book Free. Alongside objects which were family possessions, several others such as cups, plates and an ashtray, bear the brand name Albturist.

“Peeping Tourist" exhibition

It is these objects which give us a clue to the main aim of the exhibition, which is to tell us about the development of foreign tourism during the communist regime. Tourism was considered an insignificant industry in Albania, according to the ideology of Karl Marx under which “services do not influence the creation of the gross domestic product of a country”. It was, however, developed under the Albturist agency, partly for the promotion of Albania to countries of the former Eastern bloc (though tourists came from many other countries too), partly to bring some hard cash into the country, and also to monitor the actions and opinions of the foreigners, the latter motive bringing the fledgling industry under the wing of the Albanian intelligence services.

These Albturist-branded objects on display came from the hotels in which the tourists stayed. A large map showing the location of the hotels is on display in the courtyard. From this we can see that the itinerary of the tourists was tightly controlled. They travelled together, not independently, and were always accompanied by Albturist personnel. Glossy leaflets produced by the state showcased the hotels, several of which are still in existence today. But being accompanied at all times was not where the surveillance ended: the hotels were bugged and monitored by the intelligence services. Hotel staff such as waiters were also encouraged to keep an eye on the visitors.

As well as leaflets and posters, guidebooks and phrasebooks were produced, examples of which are on display. Everything was branded, even the coaches, which had Albturist along the side and were specifically for the tour groups. It was a big investment for relatively few tourists, a sign that all was not as it appeared.

The collection on display includes books by foreigners who wrote up their experiences of travelling in Albania or who produced guide books themselves. Norwegian journalist Rune Ottosen’s book Turist në Utopi shows a photo of him sitting on his bed in a hotel in Albania with shorn locks. This is a big contrast to another photo in the book which shows how he looked when he arrived at the Albanian border with his ‘70s hippy hairstyle down to his shoulders. Next to his book you can see barbers’ tools - at the border, incoming tourists would be checked for inappropriate hairstyles and clothes and the barber and tailor would make the necessary adjustments.

For me, some of the most interesting material is the copies of letters and documents from the Albanian State Archives, seemingly ordinary people from various countries writing to express their wish to visit Albania, and then the files showing the visitors which became of interest and why. Brunilda has been studying these documents for many years and estimates that of the visitors in 1984/5, for example, 5 to 6 percent of them were under intensive surveillance by the Sigurimi, mainly via the hotels.

The house in which the exhibition is situated belongs to Albina Mima, a retired teacher, and dates to the early twentieth century. In the garden of the single storey dwelling is an underground bunker built in the 1970s by the government. It was built for use by several neighbouring families and could take up to fifty people, though I would certainly not want to spend much time in that dank, airless space with that number. Arjana recalls hearing the siren and having to take refuge in one of the bunkers, waiting for an enemy that never came. As a student she became an activist and took part in the protests leading up to the fall of the regime.

The bunker forms part of the exhibition, and visitors can sit and watch one of the excellent films made specially for the museum. The films include fascinating archive footage and also some interviews. It was interesting to hear from former Albturist employees, but my favourite part was a recent interview with Rune Ottosen (who nowadays voluntarily has short hair) talking about his experiences.

If you plan on visiting Durrës, do make time for a visit to “Peeping Tourist”. It tells a fascinating story, but also is to be commended for its initiative as a private museum, based on excellent scholarship, with plans for expansion not only for the benefit of today’s foreign tourists but to educate young Albanians about their past.

Albturist coach hoarding outside “Peeping Tourist” museum