Off the coast of Albania’s distant Karaburun Peninsula, Sazan Island stays one of Europe’s most mysterious and least-recognized locations, however not for long.
Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, have spent more than $1 billion on the small Albanian island, which is one of the final undeveloped islands within the Mediterranean. The couple plan to rework it into a luxurious resort as Albania beneficial properties recognition as a go-to vacation vacation spot.
But first, they’ve some severe points to deal with due to the island’s darkish historical past. With beautiful sunsets, turquoise waters, mountains lined in rainforest, and a subtropical climate, Sazan looks as if the best vacation vacation spot. It comes as new dementia fears had been raised about Trump after viewers noticed a mysterious clue in his go well with.
However, the 1,400-acre island, which has been dubbed Ishulli i Trumpëve – Trump Island – by Albanians, has a shadowy navy previous and is full of unexploded ordnance.
Positioned on the entrance to the bay of Vlorë, within the strait of Otranto that separates Italy from Albania, Sazan was as soon as a strategic submarine and chemical weapons base for the Soviet Union during the Cold War.
The island performed a key position in Albania’s navy defence. For many years, troopers stationed on the island awaited an assault from NATO or members of the Warsaw Pact. By the Seventies, round 150 navy households had been dwelling at a navy base on the island that had dwelling quarters, a theater, a faculty, and a hospital.
Its community of underground bunkers and tunnels, constructed to resist nuclear assaults, nonetheless stays hidden beneath its rugged panorama. The island can be lined in indicators depicting cranium and crossbones, warning of landmines.
Around 3,600 bunkers lie derelict on Sazan. Some of them are reportedly set to be preserved and built-in into Kushner and Trump’s real estate project. Today, the island is managed by the Albanian armed forces and is patrolled by three sailors.
The couple will even need to have many areas cleared of unexploded ordnance.
In the summer time of 2017 a small portion of the island was formally opened to vacationers, permitting them to discover its pristine seashores, deserted navy constructions, and eerie Cold War relics for the primary time.
Despite its turbulent previous, Sazan Island is a paradise for nature lovers. The island is surrounded by crystal-clear waters, rocky cliffs, and hidden coves that offer breathtaking views of the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.
Soon, it might be flooded by hoards of lavish vacationers. Speaking on the Lex Fridman podcast in July 2024, Ivanka outlined her plans for Sazan. “I’m working with my husband, we have this 1,400-acre island in the Mediterranean and we’re bringing in the best architects and the best brands,” she said.
“It’s going to be extraordinary,” she added. Speaking to The Guardian that same month, Kushner said he plans “to create the ideal resort that I’d want to be at with my family and with my friends”.
He revealed that he was left speechless when he first noticed the island in 2021.”I used to be simply very shocked that one thing like that existed within the center of the Mediterranean and hadn’t been developed,” he recalled.
The Albanian government gave Trump and Kushner’s project preliminary approval on December 30, 2024, granting initiative strategic investor status to Atlantic Incubation Partners LLC, a company linked to Donald Trump‘s son-in-law.
“The projected investment of ‘Sazan Island Touristic Resort’ of 1.4 billion euros fulfils the criteria foreseen in the legislation on strategic investments,” the federal government choice awarding the standing learn. “The projected investment fulfils the criteria on the number of jobs as requested by the legislation on strategic investments. During the development and operational parts of the investment, the employment of 1,000 people is foreseen,” the choice added.
