It’s Tradition Coffee and Raki

Exploring 3 bazaars and street food in Tirana

If you want to get a taste of the authentic local culture instead of focusing on the typical tourist attractions in Tirana, the best thing to do is to come on this day tour.

First thing is first, coffee. The coffee is very traditional in Albania and part of their culture.  You can’t start the day without a coffee. So we went to a enjoy a delish cup of Turkish coffee, my favourite. If you are looking for a coffee shop, there is plenty on every single street in this city. But you won’t find a Starbucks here.

After the coffee we headed down the shopping street to our first bazaar of the day called Çam bazaar. Çam bazaar was founded by the Albanian Çam community, who originally came from an area called Çameria in today’s North-western Greece. Here you can buy all kinds of goods from clothes to kitchen equipment and bargain with the sellers for a cheaper price.

Before we ended the tiny narrow streets of the bazaar we grabbed a traditional breakfast of cheese Byrek and yogurt. In case you don’t know Byrek it is a thin phyllo like dough with all kinds of filling such as cheese, meat or spinach.  The Albanian Byrek is different from the other Balkan countries, this version was much thinner and way more butttery flavoured. I am a fan of the Byrek at this small local place that only locals know how to find.

We walked down the streets exploring the city and feeling the vibe of a Monday morning in Albania and headed towards the second bazaar, the Medrese bazaar, which was a very busy bazaar full of colours and people. This bazaar is the biggest one in Albania. It’s very deceiving when you first enter the bazaar…the tiny walk ways that head deep deep into the back as the crowds thin out. It seemly just kept going and going, shop after shop or everything you ever need and many things you don’t need.

On our way to the third bazaar, we will pass some cheap shops run by the Chinese community in Albania, who got stuck here during the communist period, and the bicycle bazaar where you can find a lot of antiques (and of course bikes).

The third big bazaar, called the New Bazaar (and also my home for the month) is located fairly central to everything in Tirana. We enjoyed a plate of traditional Qofte, small pieces of meat filled with spices, and a traditional Albanian drink called Bozë, which is made of corn. The Qofte we had were from a place called Met Kodra and have been in business selling only Qofte since 1957, same family, same recipe. Let me tell you, they have it perfected with their spices. If you want yogurt or a beverage with your Qofte, you will have to go to a store and bring your own.

By the way, Bozë corn drink was nothing like Chicheme in Panama even though both beverages are corn based. The Albanian version was much lighter and tangy, a smoother beverage, refreshing and light. Panamanian version (which I also loved) was thicker and heavier, more smoothie like.

Of course, next up was Raki and we tried Blackberry version at a very traditional restaurant that was hidden from the street. I will have to go back there to try some food because as soon as you walk in the door you are engulfed with delish aroma and spice, you can smell the spice in the air. If only it were socially acceptable to lick the air. buwahaha.

As a special treat, my guide, the rad guy that he is, took me to an ice cream shop of his friend’s to enjoy some of the best ice cream I have had. I had a scoop of yogurt and a scoop of blueberry. I will be going back to try all the flavours and they even have Vegan ice cream available as well, which is very unique and not common to this part of the world.

Also we bought a watermelon, 11 kg for $2.50 and of course I always have a reusable shopping bag because Canadians have that culture so then the guy got out a bag I said, “No, no I have a bag” and the tour guide dropped the 25lbs watermelon in the bag and it went straight out the bottom like a cannon. buwahaha. The shop guy said, “You shouldn’t have turned down my bag, it was your fate”.  hahahaha. Luckily I had a second reusable bag and my fate ended up splitting the watermelon perfectly in half which made cutting it very easy. I will take that fate.

As the Albanians say, there is nothing that Raki can’t fix! ​

_{Please note that I have not received these products for free or at a discounted price in exchange for my opinion.  There may be links that are affiliate links but at the time of posting this review, I have not received any monetary kickbacks.}