Tag: Balkans

While Albania may be known for its beaches, there are lots of interesting things about this Balkan superstar. From Stephen Fry’s almost royal connection to the communist leader’s love for British comedy, here are 12 fun facts about Albania. 1. Albania is home to more than 170,000 bunkers Communist dictator Enver Hoxha was a paranoid individual and wanted to fortify Albania in case of an attack. Between the 1960s-1980s, some 750,000 concrete bunkers were built across the country, which was equal to roughly 5.7 bunkers per square kilometre. There’s still about 170,000 of these concrete mushrooms around today, making Albania’s landscape truly unique. 2. Albanians descend from one of Europe's oldest civilisations Long before the Greeks or Romans arrived, the Illyrians were spread across the western Balkans from the 10th century BCE. Modern Albanians are thought to descend from these early tribes, with the country’s name itself coming from the Illyrian tribe of the Albanoi. The last and best-known Illyrian kingdom was in today’s Shkodër. 3. Albania has one of the world’s oldest languages The Albanian language (shqip) is considered one of the world’s oldest living languages; it’s thought to be a direct linguistic descendant of Illyrian. The Albanian language is also truly unique, unrelated to other European languages. 4.Yes means no, no means yes In Albania, a nod means ‘no’ and a head shake means ‘yes,’ which can confuse tourists. To make things more confusing, there’s only one letter difference between ‘yes’ (‘po’) and ‘no’ (‘yo’). Related: Where is the Balkans anyway? Albania is not the “Maldives of Europe”—here’s why 7 things you can only see, eat or do in Albania 5. Albania was once the North Korea of Europe Albania spent 50 years in total isolation under a strict communist regime between 1946-1991. Just wearing jeans or growing