An abandoned primary school for the children of former Albanian army personnel serving on Sazan Island.
Photographer: Atdhe Mulla/Bloomberg
Kushner Bets Big on Turning Balkan War Relics Into Luxury Hotels
Donald Trump’s son-in-law wants to build glitzy accommodation in Albania and Serbia. Not everyone is happy.
Surrounded by the blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the rocky island of Sazan served as an Albanian military base during the Cold War. Isolated from the rest of what was one of the world’s most reclusive countries, its decaying buildings and bunkers are now overgrown with vegetation.
About 300 miles (480 kilometers) north, two bombed tower blocks overlook a major boulevard in Belgrade. Once the headquarters of former Yugoslavia’s Defense Ministry, they were hit by NATO missiles in 1999, their skeletal remains now part of sightseeing tours in the Serbian capital.