Ismail Kadare's mysterious residence in Tirana

Thirty years ago, no one could enter the studio, which is located on the right side of the apartment, where Albanian literary master Ismail Kadare lived until 1990. But three decades after everything went wrong. Numerous visitors today enter and go into the apartment and his studio, located on the third floor of one of the five-story buildings, which ascend to the heart of Tirana.

Opened in May 2019, “Museum House-studio Kadare” has become the address of many written-word lovers, students and readers, journalists, scholars who want to walk in rooms where the most translated Albanian writer wrote his works. Ismail Kadare, who now lives at the world culture center in Paris, spent an important period of his life at the headquarter of Communist Albania, in this apartment where he wrote the vast majority of his works. At present, the manuscripts, books, furniture, and furniture that were once used by the writer are stored and displayed with fanaticism. A walk through the rooms of this residence enables us to get to know the Albanian master. “Zeri”

Kosovar authors, special place in Kadare Library

Although it is also known in Tirana as the “Quaba”, due to style, the most frequent reference to residences built in the early years -- 5070s -- is the “Kadare” apartment. And so it was before this museum opened. The guide of this museum, Erida Selaj, told the newspaper “Zeri” that the Kadare family had settled here since 1974 and lived there until she left Albania to seek asylum in France. Within this building, where he lived with his family even in the darkest times of Communism, where his daughters grew up and wrote some of the writers ' principal works, visitors today enter and appear. There are actually two apartments in one. As the building is this, it was built in the early '70s. Kadare entered here in 1974 with her family. All the furniture is original to house”, tells of the newspaper “Voice” Selay.

As soon as he entered the apartment, he noticed a drawing showing that a wood stove was once there.

The stove was then taxed in Albania”, says Suley, which shows that the most important part of the opening house where the Kadare family guests and writer's worshipers were hosting was the library, which visitors can see today. “In this room all the visitors of the family were received, but the writer's lovers also.

Here, anyone who didn't get in, so the library that is here was a library within the frames and it didn't contain banned books”, Suley points out, as it lists the magazines Kadare collected, as well as the popular books.

It's interesting that most authors, who are here, are Kosovars. Kadare wanted to be in touch and know what was going on with writers outside the borders of the Albanian state”, she relates.

When we look at the furniture, we see that they are all preserved by the time the Kadare family lived there. This is evident from the typical 1960 ' s ' 1970s, where wood dominates.

Kadare's three inspirations

One of the library's most special shelves in the waiting room is the one dedicated to the inspirations, books and elements that characterize Kadare's literature. The city where he was born is the stone Gjirokastra, which is felt in all his creativity, is reflected through a shelf in which all works of the writer associated with his native country are listed. Here we mention “

The next shelf follows the classical Greek authors, but not only, as well as the books of mythology. It's like you're missing Shakespeare's “Macbeth”, which is from its favorite authors. The third shelf lists books from Moscow, the place where he is known to have studied. As a precious object in this museum preserves its personal journal from the time of Russian studies. “This is the most valuable object we have at home, because it's our personal journal from the Moscow study period and he wanted to open it here: it's the end of a list of girls and the start of another list. We're talking about 1959 ' 1960s and the girls he met”, says the guide, writes the newspaper “Zeri”.

Those who visited Kadare apartment at the time the family lived there remember a large phonograph that was placed in the waiting room. And the tablets through which the writer listened to music are still preserved in the library of this room. When I look at her, she realizes that the writer heard a lot of banned music back then in Albania. Apparently he preferred Michael Jackson, “Sting”, “ABA”, Elvis Presley, etc.

Forbidden Room

In contrast with the waiting room, where many guests came in and out, Kadare's work studio was a private place where a close friend rarely entered except close family members. A chimney with a nearby armchair, a personal library shelf, and the work table are the elements, which make up the study with green walls, which the writer sat down each morning. Even today in this “Studio-Home Muze” saves the script “Hermes Baby”, where the novels that were written at the time, including “Dir of the great loneliness”, “Broken Priest” of “

Unlike the library of the waiting room, many books were placed in his personal library that were banned in Albania at the time, meaning “Bocaccio, Ernest Hemingway works, etc. The point is that most books in his personal library are in Russian, then French, and English. “The banned chamber” also had a banned item. Although the new generations may sound pointless, the chimney through apartments was banned in communist Albania for its single reason because it was seen as a symbol of bourgeois.

“Ozak was made at Ismaili's request. Max Velo, the architect of the building, was a very good friend of Kadare's and has satisfied her wishes. It's the only apartment that has chimneys, because at the time it was illegal to have one in” apartment, the guide stressed. However, this forbidden chimney became a special place for the writer, for his writing routine took place right there on the couch in front of the chimney.

Hearing the sound of wood burning in chimneys in winter and summer Kadare sat on his armchair and wrote in his white block. All the inspirations and lines he wrote in the evening were transliterated by car from his wife, Helena.

The door to secrets, freedom and escape

I was in the kingdom of words. This was a ruthless tyranny”. These words are written on the ceiling of the apartment hall, which separates the kitchen from Helena Kadare's Ismail pair's room, and that of Besiana's daughters Gresa's who on her forehead has the rare thing for an apartment: the second entrance. Even this secondary door, from which only family members and close friends came and came, was Kadare's special request for architect Velo. A similar one was then opened in the apartment of writer Dritero Agolli, located above Kadare on the fourth floor. At this door today is a statement of Sabaldi saying: “I often wonder what are those invisible relationships that define our lives and how they are connected by various fibers”. An invisible relationship with the outside world was for Kadaret even this door. Only family and close friends had this door. So only his loved ones came through this door. Other guests, the mailman, the official invitations, all came from the front door. This was really a secret”, the paper “Voice” Selay.

One of the well - thought - out parts of this museum is the chronology of his work reflected in the wall of the waiting room and in that of prestudio, in which he sees what and how much Kadare wrote each year. This museum also has “The Death of General”, which used to be the girls' room and today dedicated to its most famous work -- “the general of the dead army”, and the kitchen, which serves as a room where Ismail and Helena Kadare's contribution to cinematography is spoken of. The Kadare couple's room serves as work and research. There the museum staff is digitizing its manuscripts and works to become part of its archive. This museum is in charge of Tirana City Hall. It is expected that lightro Agoll's apartment will soon open as a museum and thus become a common museum of literature.