Jan and Cora Gordon in Elbasan 1925

 In their book, Two Vagabonds in Albania, Jan and Cora Gordon described their progress from Tirana to Elbasan in 1925.

'UP, up, up the Krabe Pass we went slowly, labouringly, until midday, with the sun glowering into our eyes and the heat beating on our fore-heads, so that we were content to sink our heads and let the jogging hours pass by of themselves.'

'Well, you must be confirmed scenery-mongers if you want to stop and enjoy the beautiful in a bake-house oven. Yet once or twice we did halt and gasped out a few suspirations of desiccated appreciation. At sunset, very thirsty, we came down into Elbasan. Behind us old Mislim Haxji of Rodamir still plodded rhythmically along on his soft shoes as though the broiling march of eleven hours over the Krabe Pass had been little to his seventy odd years.'

'At first view Elbasan was one of those crouching towns. A low screen of trees was sufficient to hide quite from view all except the two white minarets which had survived the earthquake and the cypresses around the old praying ground. '

'We had intended to stay no longer than a week in Elbasan. We were comfortable enough; the Dilettante's expeditions and our own loiterings fairly filled our time It was awkward that our bedroom lock was scarcely trustworthy, and that no amount of remonstrance could teach the lanky lad to knock before entering. He was indeed the one fly in our ointment. Musically inclined, and owning a mandolin, he galloped upstairs and burst unceremoniously into our room whenever we tuned up for our own pleasure, until we almost dared play no longer. Jo filled in her spare time by drawing the heads of anybody loitering about the hahn, which aroused the admiration of the innkeeper's two younger children, so that they went hunting for subjects. Jo never knew who would next be thrust in for her to try her skill upon. At last, one day, the door burst open, and an astonished Mohammedan priest was pushed into the room. Evidently he had been lured there upon false pretences, for with one horrified glare at the blatant Western woman poising her pencil for an impious picture, he gathered his skirts round him, and with a total lack of canonical dignity bolted.' 

'The intrusion of Bhayram as well as the charm of Elbasan itself made us prolong our stay for a few days. Previous to the feast all the confectioners' shops had spread out a galaxy of bonbons flanked by boxes of Turkish delight on stages outside their shops, over which the small boys, in high fez, and the small girls in gay cotton bloomers hung enviously, sucking their teeth.'

'During the afternoon the fête on the waste land continued, and into our brains, hovering upon the edge of biliousness due to the surfeit of sweets, the eternal bang-bang-rattle of the drum beat with an exasperating and nerve-racking monotony. Apart from the fête, which with its two wooden machines lacked variety enough to interest us for long, Elbasan had become as companionable as London on a Sunday.'

'On the next morning we awoke delighted to remember that the horses had been ordered, that our baggage was packed, and that we would be able to leave Elbasan before that infernal drumming began once more. We had grown fond of Elbasan, but the sweetness and drumming had made the town go bad upon us. Livers were soured and minds were numbed, so that we rejoiced to be able to escape into the mountains, riding up towards Lake Ochrida.'

At left is the 1899 clocktower which still stands. The mosque at right was newly built at the time following an earthquake and today has been replaced by a yet newer mosque. The height and location of the mountains has been strongly exaggerated in this view, a known habit of Jan Gordon.

Here is the new mosque on the site of the mosque shown in Jan Gordon's drawing, which had also been newly built at the time following an earthquake.

The 1899 clocktower illustrated by Jan Gordon, built above one of the towers of the Ottoman fortress of Elbasan. It now has a broad boulevarde between it and the new mosque.

The clocktower and mountains just visible in the distance above the boulevarde.

Within the fortress walls is the King Mosque (Xhamia e Mbretit) dating to about 1492. I stopped for a Turkish coffee next door.

The woden spinning swing at the Bhayra festival

Jan Gordon's drawing of a Bhayram orchestra

A traditional musician

Cora Gordon's drawing of an annoyed Jan Gordon suffering from the 'infernal drumming' of the Bhayram festival. It was time to escape towards Lake Ochrida (Ohrid these days).