Xhamlliku
 
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Map of Tiranas |
Xhamlliku (on Albanian rarely Xhamllëku , the local gegischen dialect Xhomlliku ; pronunciation: [ ʤamɫəku ]) is a neighborhood of the Albanian capital Tirana . It is located east of the city center, adjacent to the inner ring road.
As one of the few districts, Xhamlliku was not given a new name during the communist dictatorship under Enver Hoxha , but was able to keep the traditional Ottoman names. The toponym comes from Turkish either from Çamlık for "pine grove" or from Camlık for "display" or "shop window". More likely, however, the term comes from a pub that was located here during the communist dictatorship in the People's Socialist Republic of Albania . The pub had a glass facade ( alb. Xham , the word also comes from Turkish).
In the center of the district is the Sheshi Shtraus (Strauss Square) , which is surrounded by communist apartment buildings and named after Franz Josef Strauss . From here the streets Rruga Hoxha Tahsim and Rruga Odhise Paskali (as an extension of the Rruga Qemal Stafa ) lead to the city center, the Rruga Xhanfize Keko to the east to the Kinostudio district and the suburb of Dajt . In the south the district is bounded by the Rruga Arkitekt Sinani .
Xhamlliku is one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Tirana. During the Hoxha dictatorship , many historical, traditionally Albanian-Ottoman buildings such as mosques were destroyed in order to make way for the modern uniform architecture in the form of inexpensive prefabricated buildings .
