INTRODUCTION TO ALBANIA
Probably you have never heard of Albania, or even if you have, I bet nothing good has been communicated to you. Pretty understandable. We are talking about an ethnicity that out of 10 million people, 7.5 million live outside of Albania. Our history has not been easy. From the Roman empire times to the Ottoman empire our culture was supressed. Even after the Ottomans we experienced the hardest form of communism in Europe. We were the “North Korea” of Europe
With the much-expected implementation of Democracy, finally these days are long gone. Now Albania is looking forward to joining the rest of the countries of Europe and become part of the European Union.
Spanning 28,748KM2 with a population of 2.4 million, Albania is located in the Balkan peninsula bordering Greece South, North Macedonia and Kosovo East, Montenegro North and the Adriatic and Ionian Sea West.
Top 10 Interesting Facts about Albania
Population: Where are the Albanians?
The population of Albania is 2.5 million people. However, the total Albanian population is 10 million. This means that 75% of the population lives outside of its home country! This is caused especially by the mass immigration after the communist regime fell.
Bunkers: Albania has 273 thousand bunkers!!
During the height of the communist times, the notorious dictator Enver Hoxha fortified the country for a probabilistic upcoming, which never came. Now there are 273.000 bunkers, 1 per 9 people!!!
Flag: A two headed eagle with a red background.
Albania has one of the most unique flags in the world. The flag depicts a black two headed eagle in a red background. The red background stands for bloodshed, bravery, and honour while the eagle is a symbol of Albania’s strength and sovereignty. The eagle is a signature symbol and animal in Albania.
Coffee shops: The country with the densest coffee shops in the world!
The easiest this to do in Albania is to find a coffeehouse. You can walk by ANY road in Albania and will find one, or even several. There are about 18000 coffeeshops in Albania, 1 per 130 people, making Albania the country with the densest coffeeshops per capita in the world!!
Religion: Officially the first ATHEIST country in history!
Following the communist ideology and theory, the dictator of Albania, Enver Hoxha, banned all forms of religion in 1969, officially declaring Albania the first atheist country in history. Fortunately, the ban was lifted after communism fell. Now Albania is a place where people form different religions live in peace and harmony.
Language: One of the oldest languages in the world with no origin!
Albanian is a separate branch of the Indo-European tree of languages. Linguistic experts find it very hard to compare the Albanian language with any of the present languages and have determined from the language structure that Albanian must be very old and one of the first languages to be used in Europe.
Albanian Riviera: A hidden paradise right in Europe’s backyard!
Tourism in Albania has been developing only after the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Travelers were eager to explore new places and they came along to Albania, only to find one of the beach shorelines in the world!
The Albanian Riviera spans from Vlore to Ksamil, hosting beautiful beach sites with crystal clear waters. You can drive by the awe-inspiring landscapes where hills meet the shoreline. There are several beach villages like: Himare, Jale, Borsh, Lukove etc. The most famous of them being: Dhermi, Ksamil Islands and Saranda City.
Albanian Currency: LEK Albania has it’s own currency called the Albanian Lek.
(LEK) comes from the medieval leader Lek Dukagjini, the most important figure of culture and history for the north Albanian mountains villages – tribes. LEK is the basic form of currency with QINDARKA being its /100th devision (1 LEK = 100 QINDARKA).
However, qindarka now are only part of history as they are so small in value they are not used anymore. EUR is widely accepted in Albania as a form of currency. If you have EUR with you, you can purchase almost anything. At this point, 1 EUR is equal to 98 LEK.
National drink: RAKIA, only for the strong.
Rakia is the traditional alcoholic beverage of Albania. It is a very strong hard liquor drink that is used mostly among the older population. It is a tradition that Albanians drink coffee and rakia in the morning to start the day.
Rakia has about 50% alcohol concentration and it’s made locally by villagers. It can be made from different fruits like: grapes, cherries, plumps etc. You can taste how strong it is just by smelling it… drink with caution!
Transportation: Mercedez-Benz
Take a walk in the roads of Tirana (the Capital) and you will immediately understand this section. There is an overwhelming number of Mercedez-Benz cars in Albania in comparison with other bands.
Albanians love their cars and they choose a Benz model in the majority of the cases, making this brand more of a status symbol in Albania. The young