| In Albania, HCN workshop participants found a country pulsing with activity, with people taking full advantage of the new era of free enterprise and a growing economy. Somewhat to our dismay – as conservators – we also found new construction overtaking historic buildings at every turn.  The local residents, quite understandably, can’t wait to move from deteriorating old houses into new apartments. But as first time observers, HCN’s group saw a potential goldmine for heritage tourism being either demolished or left to collapse. This issue was a primary topic of discussion during our stay stay in the World Heritage city of Gjirokastra as we talked to a number of Albanians about how they saw their futures unfolding, and what ideas they had for generating income in smaller communities needing an economic boost. With volunteers from Denmark, Germany, Slovenia, Portugal, the U.S. and Albania contributing, the discussions drew upon a broad range of experiences and thus were quite animated.
 Every bit of this workshop proved to be an adventure, beginning with the journey to the bed & breakfast in Gjirokastra, which involved a trip from the lower new town up into the old town via some of the steepest cobblestone streets ever laid. We spent the next two weeks hiking up and down these streets, and even more intimidating alleys and paths, completing our project. HCN had planned to begin masonry work on one of the large Ottoman tower, or kullë, houses. We soon found that working with and through the bureaucracy can be daunting, even with two years of advance planning. When it became apparent that it would not be possible to be involved in hands-on masonry work, we moved to Plan B. We took on an interesting project that was waiting to be completed and began documenting inscriptions found on many of the houses in the city.
 HCN volunteers divided into four teams, each with a digital camera, a map and a notebook. Dividing the old city sections, we explored every corner we could reach – and some we logically shouldn’t have reached – to record inscriptions and document their locations. It was a real treasure hunt as we scoured the city looking for inscriptions in the keystones of arches, in gateway entrances, or on the walls of the houses themselves. The urgency and importance of our task soon became apparent when we found inscriptions painted over, being plastered over, or left to disintegrate as buildings collapse.
After seven days of work (alternated with fieldtrips to Butrint, Kisha e Laboves se Kryqit church, and more), our intrepid team had found 101 inscriptions. The group prepared a document with maps showing the location of each inscription and an individual photo page illustrating each inscription and its location. The document was presented to the Gjirokastra Office of Administration and Coordination and will also be sent to the Oriental Institute in Chicago for translation of any Arabic or Ottoman text. Gjirokastra has a combination of Islamic and Orthodox Christian neighborhoods, and the inscriptions varied accordingly.
 After working in this remarkable city for two weeks, HCN volunteers fell in love with the stone houses, rich with beautiful wall paintings and decorative wooden ceilings, that line its cobbled streets. We also became aware of the urgency of developing plans to save these character-defining houses of Gjirokastra. Many kullë houses have already collapsed and an equal number are in great danger without some kind of intervention in the very near future. It will be a test of the current system to see if official procedure will allow organizations offering their assistance to actually work on the UNESCO-designated structures. HCN is making plans to return if a hands-on project becomes available, because without the cooperation of many organizations, this historic city will only exist in our memories.
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