Two days ago, renowned researcher and historian Auron Tare raised the alarm about an illegal construction at the entrance to the Spiles Cave in Himara – a cultural monument declared in 1963. According to Tare, a car wash is being built in this area, just a few meters away from a rare cultural asset, which local legends link to Homeric mythology.
“It was here that the story of Ulysses took place, where the Trojan hero escaped from Polyphemus by clinging to sheep to get out of the cave,” Tare wrote in a Facebook post. But today, according to him, the cave is being mistreated and abused, with the tacit approval of state institutions.
After this denunciation, the Ministry of Economy, Culture and Innovation (MEKI), led by Blendi Gonxhe, reacted by stating that there is a restoration and intervention project for the Spile Cave.
But here the situation took a funny and absurd turn, according to Tare. He reveals that the images used in this "official project" are copies of a project in a cave in China, in Huashan province.
"It only took me 10 minutes to realize that the images presented as a project for Spila were taken from the Chinese Huashan Cave, in Tunxi, Huangshan City, China," writes Tare, publishing photos from MEKI's official statement and those of the original Chinese project in comparison.
In his status he quips:
"Is there a Chinese project related to the Spile Cave in Himara? Is there a connection between the interpretation of the legend of Polyphemus and the Buddha of Huashan?" - calling on the ministry to stop mocking citizens and take the country's cultural heritage seriously.
Tare also gives a concrete suggestion to MEKI:
To gather a group of specialists in archaeology and history, to work on a serious interpretation of the mythological and historical context of the cave, based on archaeological data and international examples. He cites the French model as an admirable example of the management and interpretation of natural monuments.
"If you don't have the capacity for all this, ask UNESCO for help. They have world-class experts who would dream of working on a Homeric project like this," Tare concludes.
