Albania, this land of Eagles, located in the Southeastern Balkan Peninsula is designed with the interior of the amazingly beautiful Alps and the crazy wonderful Ionian and Adriatic Coastline. Everybody should know where this country is, but a few still haven’t noticed that is in front of your eyes so this article is based on the 7 things you did not know about Albania.
1.What is Albania
We start this article with the obvious, what is Albania, what is its language, and what are the odds of meeting an Albania in the country where you live. Albania is Shqiperia in the native language, and the language is called Shqip and it is UNIQUE. And the people? Shqipetar, and proud. The odds of meeting an Albanian where you live are 99 out of 100. Because we are all over the world, and we might have a tattoo or two of our flag on our bodies to show how proud we are to be Albanian. Or we might talk louder than anyone else in the room, or we might tell you we’re from Albania the 5 first minutes we meet. We ain’t even sorry to be like that.
2.The famous ‘Xhiro’, or evening walk.
Picture this, summer breeze, lights off from the apartments and you wondering where all the people are? They are doing the famous promenade that Albania is famous for. The Xhiro is a tradition that no one knows where it started, and no one knows why it is still going on after all these years. However, you will be part of this immediately and you will feel at home. In every city, you will notice people walking back and forth chit-chatting their daily activities, and enjoying life. I recommend you do this, it’s a 10/10 activity.
3.The Coffee Culture
This. Is. One. Of. The. Most. Important. Activities. Albania is also famous for being a country that has a lot of Cafes. And we are known to spend a lot of time sitting in cafes and drinking their daily espresso, or macchiato or whatever for the next 3 hours. That is part of our culture. Moreover, we enjoy that. And you will see how the conversation runs smoothly with a coffee cup and a good friend.
4. 70% of Albania is covered by mountains
Have you ever heard of the beautiful Albanian Alps? No, what about Theth, Valbone two of the main attractions of Albania? If not, you should totally book your ticket and come straight away to our country, contact us directly and we will fix you the trip of your dreams. We make dreams happen. Albania is one of the most mountainous countries in Europe. So add this to your list of countries to visit for 2021.
5. Superstitions
In Albania there are some funny superstitions and I will mention you some.
Having cold hands means you are honest.
If a woman is pregnant and has a craving she should get what she wants otherwise the baby will be born with a birthmark.
Cutting your nails at night means bad luck.
If a bird poops at you it means good luck. (ain’t that the best luck when you are well dressed to go to a fancy dinner?)
6. The world’s first Atheist state
Yes, you read that right! Albania was the world’s first atheist state during the years of communism. Enver Hoxha forbade every kind of religious activity. He announced that the religion of Albania is Albanianism and everybody should work and pray for their country only.
7. Last but not least on the list of the 7 things you didn’t know about Albania: Yes means No and No means Yes
That was pointed out by an American friend I had, we shake our head when we want to say yes and nod up and down to say no. As scary as it sounds, I am ashamed to accept that this is real.
Bonus: What else you probably didn’t know about Albania except the 7 things we mentioned above.
Albania has great beaches! We are proud of that. Deep, clean, turquoise, and pebbly beaches. But, also, blue, sandy where the sun meets the sea beaches.
750000 Bunkers were built during the communist years. 1 for 4 people. Some of them are still around.
