The one previous time I was in Albania, it was a strictly Communist country, ruled by Enver Hoxha (pronounced Hoe-jah). We young visitors--the first group allowed in who were not born there--were carefully shielded from the dark side of his rule. I can't remember if anybody asked about the strange mushroom-shaped structures on the mountainsides, on beaches, and various unexpected places. I remember hearing about them later, from Albanian immigrants, who laughed (this was years later), though it wasn't funny at the time.
You can read about the bunkers here and here.
Though we saw at least a dozen in the course of our journey through Albania, this was most often when we were in the car, which is why I have so few photos. This includes a fascinating group that were under covers while the road they sat by was under construction. One of my cousins joked, "They don't want them to get cold." It was one of the few jokes in Albanian I actually understood, and I think my laughter gratified him.
Please click on images to enlarge.
One of us -- 
