Wedding dress shop in Bathorë, Albania.
As Albania enters an era of democracy for the first time its long and ancient history its citizens clamor to get a foot hold on the free market economy. Their enthusiasm and energy create unusual juxtapositions with the environment resulting in an organised chaos. After the fall of communism people were able to move to the capital Tirana in hope of finding working and improving their living conditions. The rural outskirts to the north of the city were squatted and built apon without planning permission. The magnitude of this migration and activity is so great that the government has no alternative but to approve these developments and incorporate them into the municpality. Bathorë August 2008.