Satellite
  • Day 194

    Bunk Art

    May 9, 2019 in Albania ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Enver Halil Hoxha (16 October 1908 – 11 April 1985) was the WWII resistance leader who became the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania (socialist), from 1944 until his death in 1985.
    Now Anwar as the Arabs would call him, liked to do his own thing, so Albania became famous for its independence, not just from the yoke of Western style free market, pretend democracies but also of other pretend Communist ones - even neighbouring Yugoslavia. Nevertheless, after a particularly exciting trip to China Mr Hodges, (as we would spell his name,) came back thrilled with the idea of an NBC proof bunker which he had visited near the Celestial City. So he had this one built in a hill just outside Tirana to act as the centre of government in case of nuclear war.
    It’s set over five stories and has more than 100 different rooms including a meeting hall with 200 seats. With almost 3000 sq metres of space underground spread over several floors, the bunker is a natural fit for a history and contemporary art museum.
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    A guard stands at the entrance, bored stiff by the inaction.
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    5 doors are provided for the safety of inhabitants. First a curved 15cm thick, concrete blast door, then a small 10cm concrete door, followed by 3 airtight sealed steel doors. [And a cat to keep the mice out.]
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    Photography is strictly prohibited, but I managed to sneak a photo of the Prime Ministers room by standing out of sight of the surveillance cameras.
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    They say that the absence of any creditable war ensured the bunker was never used, but I think it was for a different reason. In the West we treat governments who do not do what we tell them by shunning them, trade sanctions etc. But China is more subtle: they welcome recalcitrant nations and give them gifts. All the equipment in the bunker, (electronics, communications, pumps, gas filtration etc) was provided. But all the signage and instructions for use are in Chinese.
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    One room has been set up as a standard Albanian post-war flat. It looks just like my digs at uni, dating from the same period.
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