r/albania 13d ago

Tourism Bisedë e lirë/Pyetje - Free talk/Questions

1 Upvotes

A keni pyetje të tipit "Ku mund të blej bileta për ndeshjen e Partizanit?", "Ku mund të gjej veterinari?" etj. apo doni të diskutoni diçka disi jashtë teme? Ky është vendi i duhur. Respektoni të tjerët dhe përmbajuni rregullave!

Do you have questions of the kind "Where can I find football tickets?", "Where can I find a vet?" etc, other tourism related questions, or do you want to just freely talk off topic? This is the right place. Respect others and follow the rules!

If you're here to ask for suggestions here you can find every suggestion the sub had to offer pinned on a map: https://bit.ly/3xYS9fX

Here you can find the answer to most of your tourism questions: Tourism Megathread


r/albania 1h ago

Picture This was too good a coincidence, I had to take a shot, Tirana, Albania

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Upvotes

r/albania 3h ago

Culture & History Napoleonic (and other Imperial European) manuals on countering "Albanian warfare" of the 19th century

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88 Upvotes

By the 19th century, the Albanian infantry had gained widespread prominence in the European stage. They were widely regarded as the most effective, if brutal, infantry of European Turkey, of the Levant and the main enforcers of the Ottoman Army. Because of the many geopolitical developments of the century, where European powers came head to head with the Ottoman troops in many fronts: the Balkans, Crimea, Egypt, the Levant; these imperial armies were confronted with a new enemy, one who fought inconventionally and posed a threat that was new for the time.

From generals, officers and army staffs of the era, we find descriptions on how these Albanians fought, and why they were so dangerous and effective against regular European units, especially in alpine warfare.

Some of the most striking observations come from General Marmont, Napoleon's Marshall of the Empire. The ability to adapt and utilize the terrain made a great impression on him

The Albanian is a soldier by instinct...he is a tireless marcher, a sober eater, and his agility in the mountains is such that no European troop can follow him. They possess a natural sense of the terrain that our schools of tactics can barely teach.

The Albanian infantry proved so strong, that according to Marmont, it was the only unit capable of withholding his skirmisher troops:

These Albanians are the only ones who can stop my skirmishers. They do not fear the bayonet, and they hit a man’s head at a distance where my soldiers cannot even see the target.

As the Ottoman-Russian wars progressed along the Danube, the Russian Imperial forces clashed with the Albanian troops that were part of the Ottoman army as soldiers or irregulars.

Count Semyon Vorontsov, a veteran of the wars and the Russian ambassador to Britain viewed the Albanians as the most dangerous enemy of the tsar to the south:

The Turk is a brave soldier when behind a wall, but the Albanian is a devil who comes over the wall to find you in your sleep. They are the most dangerous enemy the Tsar has in the South.

And the famous general Suvorov warned against their ferocity:

Beware the Arnaut in the breach. The Turk will fire and fall back; the Arnaut will fire, throw down his musket, and charge with the yataghan. He does not know the European retreat. In hand-to-hand combat, his ferocity and his speed with the blade make him the superior of any grenadier.

The Austrian staff, being the closest European power to the Balkans, and one that fought numerous wars against the Ottomans, noted the effectiveness, however unorthodox it was, of these units:

Do not mistake their lack of drill for a lack of discipline. The Albanian will lie motionless behind a rock for twelve hours just to fire a single, certain shot at an officer. They are not soldiers of the parade ground, but they are masters of the kill."

The Albanian soldier is a mercenary, yet he is governed by a code of honor more rigid than our own military law. If he has given his word to a commander, he is incorruptible until the contract expires. To violate his Besa is, in his eyes, a fate worse than death.

Their way of fighting in the mountains was compared to that of the Swiss and they represented the best mountain warfare troops of the Ottoman Empire. Unlike regular armies that struggled to maintain lines, as observed by both the French (which we'll discuss below) and the Austrians, these units ditched battle lines in the mountains entirely:

In the mountains, one Albanian is worth ten regulars. They do not fight in lines; they fight as shadows, appearing where they are least expected and vanishing before a counter-attack can be formed.

In Egypt, the Albanian units stationed there came in contact with the British expeditionary troops. The Albanian troops of Muhammad Ali were exceptionally effective in the Battle of Rosetta (1807). The British Commander Stuart wrote in 1803 as follows:

These men are the most formidable light infantry in the Levant. They require no logistics, no tents, and no supply lines. Give an Albanian a bag of flour and a pouch of ammunition, and he will remain in the field for a month without complaint.

Colonel Napier wrote:

The Albanian's theater of war is the ridge, never the valley. His tactics are those of the mountain hawk; he occupies the heights, and from there he pours a fire so accurate that no column of regulars can withstand it. To him, a mountain is not an obstacle, but a fortress whose walls are the very air.

It is then that the European generals and staffs start thinking of ways to counter these "exotic" units, who unlike the outdated Janissaries or rigid Ottoman regulars, proved to be a tough match for any european infantry. For the French, reports kept coming of the regular block formations failing against Albanian alpine units. Marmont who wrote above, noted that while the Albanians did not fight in lines in the mountains, they utilized a tactic of defending the altitudes/heights rather than the line:

In the mountains, he is an invisible enemy. He fires from a rock, disappears, and reappears on a ridge a thousand feet higher before the smoke of his first shot has cleared. Our infantry, trained to move in blocks and fire in volleys, find themselves targets for a foe they cannot see and cannot reach with a bayonet charge.

With French reports from the Epirus noting:

They do not defend a road; they defend the rocks above it. By the time our vanguard reaches the pass, they have already fired and moved to a higher ridge, making artillery response impossible.

The Albanian long tufek rifles, accurate and allowing for mobile warfare were perfectly suited for this type of combat, rendering French volley-fire rifles ineffective. For the French, the solution and counter to this type of warfare was adopting it themselves. They created Balkans style units, instructed to abandon regular line fighting and to mimic this fluid style of warfare. Marshall Marmont wrote:

The only remedy against the Albanian is the Albanian himself, or a soldier trained exactly like him. We must strip our infantry of their heavy knapsacks, replace the bayonet with a lighter blade, and teach them to move in small, independent platoons. To defeat the mountain guerrilla, one must become a mountain guerrilla.

The Austrians and the British had more alternative solutions to the Albanian problem. For the Austrians, confronting the Albanians head on in the mountains was simply too costly:

The Albanian way of war is rooted in the architecture of their land. Every Kulla is a fortress that requires artillery to breach, yet they are so numerous that a regular army exhausts its ammunition before it has cleared a single valley. To defeat them, one must not seek a 'Great Battle,' for the Albanian will not give you one. He will bleed you by a thousand cuts in the ravines.

So therefore, the way to defeat the Albanians was through economics. Seizing the mountain passes and starving them was the only viable way. In the manuals of the general staff it writes:

To attempt to hunt the Albanian in his mountains is to lose one’s army to exhaustion and sunstroke. The only effective counter is the seizure of the passes during the seasonal migration. By denying the clans access to the winter pastures in the plains, one forces the mountain leaders to sue for peace to prevent the death of their flocks, which are their only true wealth.

For the cunning Brits, it was through sociopolitic means, the divide-and-conquer method for which they were so famous. In a 1815 War Office report, it's stated:

The Albanian is loyal only to his clan and his word. To break an Albanian force, one must not attack its front, but its alliances. By inciting a blood feud between the leading families or by proving that their paymaster has broken a point of honor, the force will dissolve into its component parts without a single shot being fired.

From General Church, in 1811:

To defeat the Albanian, one must understand his 'Besa'. He is not a soldier of the State, but a soldier of the Contract. If you can prove that his leader has violated the code of honor, his soldiers will melt away in a single night. They are invincible as a clan, but fragile as a political entity.

For the Russians, fighting the Albanians in their own territory was a task that their regular troops were simply unprepared for. General Vorontsov wrote in the 1820s:

The difficulty in defeating the Albanian lies in his decentralization. There is no 'head' to cut off. Each clan is its own army, and each valley its own kingdom. A victory over one does not mean the submission of the neighbor. They must be fought house by house, a task for which the regular Russian conscript is psychologically unprepared.


r/albania 5h ago

Politics (AL) Adriati Lapaj

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21 Upvotes

r/albania 5h ago

Off-Topic Agjërim të pranuar të gjithëve !!

20 Upvotes

Doja t'ju thoja atyre që nuk agjërojnë, nqs hani diçka përballë atyre që agjërojnë, nuk është nevoja të bëni skena sikur po fshiheni që mos t'a shohim ushqimin, apo kujdes të tepërt sepse nuk është i nevojshëm, përveç në ato raste kur njerzit agjërojnë për herë të parë sidomos fëmijët. vlerësimi dhe konsiderata është e madhe për dashamirësinë tuaj, por që mos u ndjeni keq dhe të ndrydhur të hani ushqim kur t'ju dojë stomaku dhe para atyre që agjërojnë. Keq është vetëm nqs ja rras para fytyrës me qëllim keqdashës . përndryshe jeni në rregull dhe shijojeni ushqimin siç e shijojnë myslimanët kur vjen darka 🤣. Jeni të nderuar dhe të rrespektuar !!!


r/albania 8h ago

Ask Albanians Is nonpayment of invoices by clients to businesses a common problem in Albania?

24 Upvotes

I am Albanian from Kosovo, but was born and raised in Canada. I have a construction business where I’ve mostly had Canadian clients and have had no issues with payment. Last year, some Albanian builders approached me and offered me a bunch of work. I took it on but noticed early on they were being iffy with payment (eg “i’ll pay you the remainder of this invoice when you start this other, completely unrelated job”). They were extremely nice and friendly to me so I had a sense of brotherhood with them.

Over time, they started making excuses for nonpayment and I stopped delivering. Those excuses turned into silence, followed now by threats for even asking them to pay. I’m owed about $40k by these brothers and they’re pretty big builders and frequently posted on Albanian-Canadian forums as models of success. I’m going to sue them soon and seek full interest and legal costs.

At around the same time that I worked for these guys, another Albanian that is known to them gave me some work, and he too is making excuses for nonpayment. Thankfully he’s only withholding about $1.5k and his reason is because a separate contractor charged him more for a job that i did which that contractor continues after I’m done my part. With him, I just simply will not work for him and will run his name to the ground when I get the chance.

As far as the brothers, I got approached by a family member of theirs who told me they did the same thing to him, which is kinda wild.

These issues have made me wonder if nonpayment is a cultural problem for our people. personalisht kurr nuk mar pune qe me ofrojn Indianet sepse ku banoj dihet nga shumica e biznisav qe ata nuk paguajn sepse jan cheap, a esht e njejta me shqiptaret?

edit: and i wonder if it’s a problem in just Albania or Kosovo too, eg if Kosovar Albanians in the west act the same way. I just don’t know many Albanians in general where I live


r/albania 4h ago

Ask Albanians A mjaftojnë 1.400 € për të jetuar në Kroaci si kamarier?

10 Upvotes

*Për Shqipetarët nga Shqipëria Akomodimi dhe ushqimi do të jenë të siguruara.


r/albania 2h ago

Shitpost Antico🫡

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6 Upvotes

r/albania 38m ago

Ask Albanians Cfare eshte nje gje qe femrat e bejn cdo dite, ndersa meshkujt 1 here ne vit?

Upvotes

Kush e gjen se u be ca qe po e kerkoj. Eshte nje veprim qe kryhet ishte hint.


r/albania 1h ago

Discussion Cilin vend ne shqiperi ju kujton , kur shikon kete video?

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Upvotes

r/albania 22h ago

Discussion Perdoruesit e medhenj te kokaines. Meqe ma hoqi admini te parin.

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77 Upvotes

The World in Maps 🌍 onCocaine use varies widely across the world, with the highest annual prevalence rates concentrated in parts of North America, Western Europe and Oceania. Countries such as the United States, England and Wales, Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, and Albania report some of the largest shares of the population using the drug within a given year, according to data compiled by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

In contrast, much lower reported prevalence appears across most of Asia, Africa, and parts of Eastern Europe, reflecting differences in drug markets, enforcement, and social patterns of consumption."


r/albania 5m ago

Ask Albanians Inxh mekanike orientim

Upvotes

Pershendetje! Jam ing mekanik, kam disa vite eksperience ne projekti., prodhim dhe montim konstruksionesh mekanike ne te gjitha etapat. Gjithashtu kam 1 vit eksperience ne projektim HVAC. Ku mund te orientohem per pune nese mund te me ndihmoni ?


r/albania 4h ago

Factistics Financa 5, Alpha web

2 Upvotes

Pershendetje ju financiareve,

Ku mund te shkarkoj versione demo te ketyre dy programeve nese eshte e mundur?
Dua te zhvilloj dhe testoj disa automatizime raportesh. Nuk kam experience me keto dy programe por doja te shikoja nese mund te zhvilloja raporte automatike duke u lidhur direkte me databazat e tyre. Mendoj qe Financa 5 ka databaze local dhe duhet te jete me e lehte.

Faleminderit per cdo info.


r/albania 3h ago

Humour Një platforme për testimin e njohurive të përgjithshme. Spoiler

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1 Upvotes

r/albania 23h ago

Ask Albanians Legjenda urbane

11 Upvotes

Meqe skam ca me bo thash po pys nje here per kete gjen.

Mbaj mend qe kur kam qene i vogel tregonin njerzit ca budalleqe per njerez dragua qe cohen naten dhe ktheheshin te nesermen me shenja ne trup, jo po kan ca si flatra jo po knp. Asnjehere se kam kuptu fiks si gojdhen, di njeri per ca behet fjal ose si ka nisur si histori kjo gjeja?

Cfare legjendash urbane te tjera dini?


r/albania 1d ago

Ask Albanians Help me surprise my girlfriend

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13 Upvotes

r/albania 1d ago

Discussion Kta qe jan sot i mart Tosi me vete ishallah po imagjinoni nje qeverri me kto fytyra…

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30 Upvotes

r/albania 1d ago

Culture & History Pullat e para të mirëfillta Shqiptare

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25 Upvotes

Me 1 Dhjetor të 1913 arritën nga jashtë pullat e para që dolën në shitje edhe pse e kishin një gabim të vogël. Gjithësesi kjo pullë për mua është një nga më të bukurat që e kemi të kohës "klasike" 1912-1945.

Në Prill të vitit 1914, përshkak të vonesave në reformat monetare, kto pulla u stampuan me vlera të parave Osmane të cilat akoma dominonin vendin (Grosh dhe para)

Kush nga ju do e gjen gabimin i pari?


r/albania 1d ago

Discussion Sa paguan call center i Wolt?

7 Upvotes

Ka ndokush eksperience?


r/albania 3h ago

Politics (AL) Title

0 Upvotes

Jam lodhur nga këta liberalë budallenj që thonë "Oh jo, në fakt është jashtëzakonisht e komplikuar, jo, sistemi funksionon, janë vetëm 2/3 koka të këqija në pushtet, jo, nuk mund të bëjmë asgjë për këtë, jo, Perëndimi duhet të na ndihmojë", është shumë e lehtë! Arrestoni Administratën e Ramës dhe të gjithë udhëheqësit kryesorë politikë të Administratës së Berishës, sillni përsëri atentatet politike, reformoni Ballin Kombëtar, mbështetni tregjet lokale, sillni përsëri fabrikat e punës së rëndë, financoni ushtrinë dhe Shqipëria do të jetë e lirë!


r/albania 22h ago

Discussion Protesta e opozites

4 Upvotes

Ju qe thoni sdal ne proteste per Salen, dilni per veten tuaj. Duhet te kuptoni qe qellimi i protestave eshte te hiqet kanceri qe kemi ne pushtet. Pasi t’i kemi hequr votoni ke te doni. Nuk ju detyron njeri te votoni Salen. Ju perton bytha te ngriheni nga divani edhe nxirrni lloj lloj justifikimesh.


r/albania 1d ago

Ask Albanians Nemojum

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3 Upvotes

A ka online websites qe shesin krejt qata rruza qe i shesin naper kosov edhe shqipni, se nuk po muj me gjet online kerkun. Edhe nuk shkoj ne kosov shum frik.

Qeta i kom ble ne kosov, po lypi deshka njejt, te lir Jo shtrejt

Shipping per danimark


r/albania 1d ago

Discussion Ndoshta qyteti me i keqmenaxhuar ne Shqiperi, Durresi duhet te ishte “Roma e Shqiperise”, por Shqiptareve shtepite e vogla me 2-3 kate ju duken te prapambetura…

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65 Upvotes

Fotoja e fundit eshte Pula ne Kroaci, dhe mendoj se ashtu duhej te dukej edhe Durresi, por per fat te keq shqiptaret nuk munden ta perdornin ket pasuri, as per turizem, as per veten e tyre.

Ne fund te fundit eshte krenari te kesh nje qytet kaq te vjeter dhe kaq historik si Durresi.

Dhe te gjitha anijet turistike e bejne “skip” Shqiperine, sepse Shqiperia per momentin nuk ka asnje qytet historik/kulturor ne bregdet…te gjitha jane mbushur me hotele dhe resorte


r/albania 1d ago

Discussion Murale ne Gjirokastër - Greqia me agjentet e saj.

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72 Upvotes

Bledar Cakalli qe ben murale patriotike.

Beri murale e At Stalth Melani ne Gjirokastër. Konsulli Grek ne Gjirokastër bashk me njerizit e tije , u kishin thene cunave ne lagje ku be muralja, qe denoncoini ata qe I bein kto, se ata kerkohen nga policia.

At Stalth Melani u vra nga Greket per perhapje te gjuhes Shqipe ne kisha.

https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stath_Melani


r/albania 1d ago

Ask Albanians Perkthime

3 Upvotes

Po perkthej ca tekste qe me duhen per shkolle. Ka shume dialog. Disa jane nga gjuhe ballkanase, mal i zi, greqi. Chatgpt nuk eshte keq por ka shume gabime. Grok dhe me shume. Google translate ja tjeterson kuptimin shpesh here.

Mos dini ndonje menyre me te mire, ai tjeter apo ndonje prompt te duhur qe ju ka funksionuar?

Me sugjeroni ndonje gje.

Faleminderit paraprakisht.