06. Sep 2023

Laç Fshat - Kruja

The Kruje Castle (photo 1) sits up high in the Albanian mountains. It is famous for its resistance that it gave to the Ottoman Turks in the fiftenth century. It is said that if the Albanians had not succeeded in this battle, that the Turks would have continued on to Rome. Eventually Islam still became the predominate religion in Albania, today 50.7 percent. In the video you and see the view from the castle wall and hear the Muslim call to prayer.

Photo 2: It actually rained this morning. For the first time since Austria did I put on my poncho. The rain marked the start of cooler weather coming.

Photo 3: Two adults and one boy who had lived in Germany and spoke some German tried to tell me not to take this path. They said it was no longer accessible. The one they suggested, however, ended in a dead-end according to my hiking app. I decided to trust the green line in my hiking app. There was overgrowth and for about 20 meters at one point I could have used a machete, but I made it. It was an old trail that once had its purpose and charm. I liked it... and it got me to where I needed to go. I think many times in modern Christianity, churches and church leaders are so focussed on being culturally relevant, that they neglect the former paths trodden by the pioneers of faith in the past which led to spiritual breakthrough. These paths may not have been easy to travel, but they did bring changes in society and the world.

Photo 4: Looking towards Tirana from Kruja Castle. I had a God-talk with a couple up on the castle grounds, he from Switzerland and she from Italy. It made it worth it hiking up the mountain.

Photo 5: The lights of Tirana by night.