Himara was founded by the ancient Greek tribe of Chaonians, as Chimaira (from Greek: Χίμαιρα). One of the theories states that the name originated from the Greek word χείμαρρος (cheimarros), which – as I find out from my Greek textbook – means flowing swiftly, ruffled, in full spate. The settlement was initially the part of the Kingdom of Epirus and in 2nd century BC it was incorporated into the expanding Roman Empire and after its collapse into the Byzantine Empire. In the 14th century, when Epirus became the part of the Ottoman Empire, Himara was fighting the invaders for a long time, becoming the symbol of resistance against the Turks. It joined the 1481 uprising led by Gjon Kastrioti – the son of Skanderbeg.

In October 1912 the First Balkan War broke out. Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria united against the Ottoman Empire. Successful Greek army reached as far as Himara in February 1913. At the same time the independent Albania was being created, with Northern Epirus as the bone of contention between the two countries. In December, under the provisions of the Protocol of Florence Himara was included into the Albanian borders, but the Greek inhabiting the region were not satisfied with such state of affairs. The Protocol of Corfu, signed on 17th May 1914 guaranteed big autonomy to the region, allowing to run Greek schools and granting Greeks equal rights. However, the document never came into effect, because, as we all well remember, as early as on 28th June 1914 Archduke Franz Ferdinand got assassinated in Sarajevo, that led to the series of events that eventually resulted in the outbreak of World War I. Shortly after, Himara was taken by Italians and was given back to Albania as late as in 1920, just to be taken under Italian occupation again in 1939. This time, Italians were defeated by Greeks, and subsequently Himara was for a short time a part of Greece, but only until the German invasion in 1941. Himara was finally returned to Albania after World War I.

In Albania some works are visible at every turn. New roads, street lightning, newly-built hotels… It is performed in a slightly different manner than in the western countries, in my opinion a bit more spontaneously, with smaller supervision, at times by fits and starts, as the current means allow, but the pace is really impressive. By the year, the same beaches, roads, hotels and cities may look completely different. I hope they will not come to resemble western Europe too much, as then Albania will lose much of its unique atmosphere. Maybe it is unavoidable – but yet the more you need to hurry to see this interesting Albania!

Albanians are hospitable, helpful and kind. Throughout our whole journey I have never seen a drunk or aggressive Albanian. Supposedly, along with the increasing number of tourists the attitude of the locals is changing, they are getting less hospitable and more profit-oriented. I cannot say anything about it myself as I do not have any opinion on the past situation. Undoubtedly, in 2009 they were more smiling and hospitable than we are on normal basis. And they do have sense of humour, as can be guessed from an English notice on the beach calling for cleanness (KEEP THE BEACH CLEAN). The notice is funny as foreign tourists usually bring their good manners along and they are probably not the ones to litter. It can be read as the manifestation of Albanian sense of humour, or as a praiseworthy method of teaching foreign languages, including English.