2025-07-14
17 分钟This is The Guardian.
by Marzio Mian, read by Moa Yub.
On Cezanne, a small island off the coast of Albania, the landscape is Jurassic.
Ferns, giant lavender, plum bagel, rosemary, broom and laurels grow on the mountain at its centre.
The view from the top, with its dramatic sunsets, is dizzyingly beautiful.
Albanians call Cezanne Iscioli i Trumpeve, Trump Island.
Until now, mostly untrammeled by development, it's on the verge of becoming a mecca for ultra-luxury tourism, another addition to Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner's real estate portfolio.
Speaking on the Lex Fridman podcast in July 2024, Trump could barely conceal her excitement.
I'm working with my husband.
We have this 1400 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.
When I reached Kushner by phone the same month, I detected brimming enthusiasm for Suzanne, which he seemed to regard as something of a treasure.
He said he plans to create the ideal resort that I'd want to be at with my family and with my friends.
Before I visited the island, I marvelled at the thought of traversing its roughly 40 miles of trails, climbing its mountains covered in rainforest, and exploring its deep waterways with names such as the Bay of Paradise, Hell's Gorge, Devil's Gulf, and Admiral's Beach.
I wanted to see it before the phrase, I'm going to Suzanne, becomes the prerogative of the rich.
When I got there, on a clear day in July 2024, I found that the island doesn't lend itself to getting lost.
It is covered in signs depicting skull and crossbones, warning of land mines.
My guide, Arbus Salaj, a lieutenant commander in the Albanian navy, stopped me from venturing too far.
He did not want to get a dressing down from his superiors.
Cezanne lies between the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea, strategically positioned at the entrance to the Bay of Vlora, in the Strait of Otranto.