18/11/2021
Enver Hoxha’s three-story villa is just as it was when Albania’s communist leader died in 1985. By then, Hoxha had led a Stalinist dictatorship in the country for four decades, turning Albania into one of the most isolated and repressive states in the world.
During the communist period, the whole area around Hoxha’s house was sealed off by police and secret agents. Known as the Blloku, the district reserved for the party elite and their families.
Now, the Blloku is full of bars, nightclubs and restaurants. Amid them all is the ghostly presence of Hoxha’s house, untouched, shuttered and closed to the public.
These are some photos taken from one of our visits inside the villa from last year.