During the communist government of Enver Hoxha, over 173.000 concrete bunkers were built across Albania. Locals say the 'bunkerisation' was a way of 'controlling people with the fear of an imminent war'. A war that never came.
The cost of the construction was exorbitant, a huge waste of money that could have been used to cover more urgent necessities like the improvement of the bad road conditions of the country.
Nowadays, thousands of never used bunkers decorate the Albanian landscapes. Some of them have been reused for different purposes. Keq, the man from the picture, converted a bunker into his own tattoo studio.
AUTHOR: Adriana Domínguez SPAIN
Journalist and photographer based in Barcelona (Spain).
