Albania has a rich and interesting history. The political past is connected to Alexander the Great, Ali Pasha and the Ottomans, communism and today it is a democratic country. Albania was deeply aligned with communism. As our guide said, first aligned with Russia, association was later shifted to China because they were more communistic, sometime later they broke politically with China because they "weren't communist enough" and so adhered to a structure of their own design that was very severe. Deprivation of all goods and services was intense and complete. They are emerging now and finding their way. There is a wonderful mix here of the old, looking at the historic past and remembering it, as well as the new looking to the future to make it rich for the coming generations.