What are the 10 reasons to visit Albania? ?
1. the city of Korca is known as "little" Paris and is beautiful all year round 2. the city of Vlora, Sarranda, and Durres have very nice beaches 3. the nature is the most beautiful that I have ever seen ex. "syri kalter" (means the blue eye) is a small pond that looks like a blue eye is exquisite 4. the city of Butrint has old buildings and things built in the ancient times 5. the people are wonderful and helpful 6. in the summer in the city of Korca people take walks in "parku rinia" at night a big park with a place reserved for this and you can walk enjoy the nature and you may seat in the numerous restaurants there and enjoy some of their amazing food 7. while things may seem expensive to the residents of Albania (due to low pay) they usually seem cheap to tourists 8. Tirana, even though it is crowded, has many things to offer just talk to some people (many people do speak English/Italian/Spanish) 9. for some people who have said that they rob and do things of that sort in my experience it is not true I have lived there for 10 years in the city of Korca and never heard of tourists getting robbed or anything of that sort 10. while many restaurants close before 12 there are numerous place to have fun after that I hope this helps and I hope you have a wonderful time when you go there.
Is Durrës Tosk or Gheg Albanian?
Geographically and linguistically it’s Gheg because it’s north of the Shkumbin river and the dialect, while somewhat neutralized during communism, is still Gheg.In reality, mid-Albania is where the line between Gheg and Tosk became pretty blurry especially during communism and especially after the recent heavy urbanization of the country.
Why does Albania have this name in English?
I am very concerned whether it is a latin translation of the Epirus (mainland after the sea), and although initially the Romans accepted the word that they heard from the Greeks of South Italy (Magna Grecia), gradually as they expanded easternwards, they may have adopted a more “slug”, unofficial but certainly derived from Latin word, as a translation of what Epirus meant in Latin like (the hill or the mountain, from the indoeuropean “alb”, likewise the Alps, after the sea), since this was what Romans could see from their side, which was then hellinised by the Greeks as “Αλβανία” therefore Albania. The ending -ia, like in Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, even Turkia, Persia etc is a common ending for countries from the Greek language, but the accuracy of this explanation depends on whether the words Albania (of Latin origin) and Epirus (of Greek origin) have a similar meaning, hence the land after the sea.
Could I retire in Saranda, Albania on $25,000 (USD) a year?
You can live a good life with $25,000 a year in Albania. As beautiful as Sarandë is, you should consider living in a larger city in or near Tiranë. I personally love Tiranë, it's a vibrant city and has all of the amenities. Anything and everything that you need is there: more housing, tons of shopping, restaurants, hospitals, airport, etc. It's only 30 kilometers away from Durrës, which is a beach city. You could also live in Durrës if you want to be very close to the beach, it's a wonderful city. Elbasan is also a nice city and it's about an hour away from Tiranë. There is also Kavajë which is about 45 minutes away from Tiranë. Sarandë is indeed a beautiful city, but I think that it would be better to live near the capital city. Once you get familiar with the country and are comfortable living there, then you can consider moving to Sarandë. You do not need to leave the country every 90 days as you can get a Residency Permit. http://tirana.usembassy.gov/residency.html http://www.albaglobal.com/modules.php?name=Albania&pa=print_page&pid=4 By the way, Tiranë has good hospitals for healthcare. Some are: Hygeia (a private Albanian hospital), Spitali Amerikan (American Hospital) and Spitali Salus (an Italian hospital), and Spitali German (German hospital). So as you see, you do not need to go to Greece or Italy for medical care as the person above me suggested. Please visit and tour Albania before moving there if you haven't yet. Good luck!
Albania... urgent help needed?
Very well known for the hospitability of its people. Also for the tradition of Besa - keeping the faith, maintaining the promise, the given word. The Albanian proverb says "The Albanian will raise up from the dead to keep his word (his promise)" An interesting fact: Albania was the only European country where the number of the Jews after WWII was bigger than before the war. Albanians didn't collaborate with the Nazis to hand over the people of Jewish nationality but they welcomed them in their houses and made them part of their families, falsified their identity documents to hide the ethnic origin of the Jews and provided food and work although Albania was very poor at that period. Many Jews from sorrounding countries fled to Albania during the war to seek refuge. Except for a family, no Jews were deported from Albania to the Nazi concentration camps. Isn't it a simple but outstanding evidence of Albanians great heart and values like faithfulness, simplicity and helping people when in need? Hope your work on th eproject goes well!
What do Greeks think about Albanians?
The Albanians I met so far (mostly 2nd generation very “Hellenized”) are quite good people. In fact some are nicer and kinder than Greeks at their age.The first generation was problematic. Their presence made us build fences and buy security doors. In the 80’s we were sleeping with the windows open and in the 90’s after the mass migration of Albanians security was gone. The accounted for almost 5% of the population and 50% of crime. On the other hand, they built Greece with their hands. No Greek would work as construction worker prior to the Olympic Games. Mostly Albanians (and othe migrants) built all that.This notion of kindness though I suspect is not true for the Albanians that stayed behind. They consist of mostly Muslim -turk - loving people that hate Greece (maybe a little jealous for their co-patriots that made it in Greece).In politics, they hide behind Turkey’s skirt and try to bully Greece over several bilateral issues (as the EEZ in the Ionian Sea). I believe that it is not in their best interest to side with Turkey and against Greece. Even if Turks helped them, they will be the first victims if there's some form of aggression in the future. May be they fear Greece will and can assimilate them, i don't know. The fact is that ALL Christian Balkans hate them (the Albanian, Kosovar and FYROM Albanians) for bringing back Islam to the Balkans (Turkey trying hard to exploit this to step on the region). This could prove a winning card, but could also prove (my guess) very dangerous.The fact that they are anti-Greek a lot, is evidenced in WW2, when they tried to grab lands from Greece when Italians and Nazis invaded. Also, Cams killed a lot of Greeks in Epirous as Nazi militia, and later fought against the national army of Greece with the communists.If there weren’t those past misfortunes and the primitive muslim ideology (i don't mind religion) Albanians and Greeks would be best buddies (and maybe one country) by now.
What do you think is the best hidden gem in Albania that not many people know about?
Beside all those nice place given by nature, can be found also in many other country, but there is something which is really hidden….…. the hidden gem lay into the people who consciously keep in themselves, without the desire to boast, nor regret it for their sacrifices, not to be known for decades and to remain so, which is:…. when finally some foreign individual who is not Albanian glorifies you, when you do a good deed, and you keep quiet and do not talk about it. That silence makes your work magnificent,For me personally, that is hidden gem!