Swedish Nomad, a Swedish media has listed 15 interesting facts about Albania.
"Are you looking for facts about Albania? Here is a list of 15 interesting facts about Albania that you probably did not know," this is fo how the Swedish media article begins.
More Albanians live abroad than in AlbaniaDo you know that there are more Albanians living abroad than inside? The largest communities of the Albanian Diaspora have been found especially in Italy, Argentina, Greece, Croatia, Turkey, Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland and the United States.
And of course Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.
There is no McDonald in albania
If you are looking for a McDonald's in Albania, you will have to search for a long time because there is not a single McDonald restaurant in the country. However, there is a similar fast-food chain called "Kolonat".
The Albanian language is very unique
There is no language similar to the Albanian language. But it is still known as an Indo-European language, although it has an independent branch on the tree of the language. There are many dialects, but the two main ones are Tosk and Geg.
Go to the evening
Albanians have the tradition of strolling in the main streets, this is a good way to talk.
There were only 3,000 vehicles in the country after the collapse of the communism
At the end of the communist era, there were about 3 million people in the country, but there were only 3,000 cars. This was because private cars were illegal during communist rule.
YES means NO and NO means YES
This confuses somewhat, when Albanians say no by shaking their heads, they mean yes, yes, when they say yes with their head, this mean No. Remember this because they usually answer to the questions with their heads.
Officially 70% of Albanians are Muslim, but the number who practices religion is less.
These are official numbers, but in reality, there are far fewer practicing religion. This is also due to the fact that religion was banned during the communist era. Albania became the first country in the world that was atheist under the rule of Enver Hoxha.
The culture of the cafes is very large
Especially espresso. You will see people sitting in bars and cafes everywhere. Many start their day drinking a nice cup of Turkish coffee.
After a hair cut you will get a hit on the neck.
Once you've got the slap in the neck, the berber means "healthful".
Albania has more than 3250 species of plants.
This is equivalent to 30% of the entire European flora. There are many plants and flowers.
They believe in luck
Many Albanians believe in good or bad luck.
Here are some examples:
Bad luck: if you cut your nails overnight, if your eye shakes, something bad is going to happen to you; throwing bread, entering a new home with your left leg, Tuesday is an unlucky day.
Good luck: if a bird urinates on you, or if a child urinates over you.
Albania has 70% of its surface covered by mountains
You can say that it is the place of mountains, since 70% of the total area is covered by them. The highest mountain is Mount Korab at 2764 meters.
Described by National Geographic as one of the best destinations in 2018
In recent years, tourism has grown so much in Albania and more and more people discover this beautiful country. National Geographic, listed it as one of the best 2018 countries.
Over 700 000 bunkers were built during community regime
However, many of these have been destroyed, but there are still some that have remained to test their previous existence. Some of them have also become cafes.
Mother Teresa is an Albanian and received the NOBEL award.
It is considered the symbol of the country and is the only Albanian that has received the Nobel Prize.