Today Albania marks 104 years of independence from the Ottoman Empire. We've decided to celebrate by recalling 15 things you probably didn't know about the small country that boasts both an Ionian and Adriatic coastline (you can have that fact for free). 1. What's Albania? First and foremost, Albanians do not call home Albania, instead the name for the nation in its mother tongue is Shqipëri. Some of the chaps who call home Shqipëri Some of the chaps who call home Shqipëri CREDIT: ALAMY 2. More Albanians live outside the country than within The Albanian diaspora is vast, stretching from its neighbours such as Greece and Turkey to further afield nations such as the US and Canada – so much so that it is believed that the number of Albanians living outside Albania is greater than the country’s population of nearly 3 million. Hundreds of thousands emigrated following the collapse of the communist regime in 1991 and ensuing economic crisis. Some of the chaps who call home Shqipëri A bus to nowhere at no particular time CREDIT: ALAMY 3. You can't set your clock by Albanian buses Albanian buses (called furgons) have no timetable, they depart when they are good and ready – or full.
10. It had a teflon king
Zog I is not the name of earth’s 2120 extra-terrestrial conqueror but instead the name of Albania’s king from 1928 to 1939. The dictatorial ruler was the subject of some 55 assassination attempts, including one in which Zog laid claim to the record of being the only modern leader to ever return fire at his would-be assassin.
11. Lord Byron was a fan
The eccentric romantic visited Albania in 1809 as part of his grand tour of the Mediterranean. In a letter to his mother, he wrote that Albanians have the most “magnificent” dresses in the world and told of his horse-riding in the country. “Land of Albania. Let me bend mine eyes on thee, thou rugged nurse of savage men,” he wrote in “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” of the countrymen. You can follow in his footsteps, with Albania on horseback tours.
12. It has loads of flowers
Though small, Albania boasts more than 3,250 species of plants, which accounts for 30 per cent of all flora in Europe. The best places to see the country’s colourful stock is its national parks, of which there are 15: Llogara is best for vibrant flora and fauna, while Butrint, a Unesco World Heritage site, offers archaeological sites that date back to the Romans.
13. ...but no medals
Albania has never won a medal at the Olympics. Its most popular events are weightlifting, shooting and wrestling.
14. It was once home to the "cannabis capital of Europe"
Lazarat, a small village in southern Albania, was once considered “the cannabis capital of Europe” and home to a hefty amount of mafia activity, producing some 900 tonnes of marijuana a year. In 2014, 800 police were deployed to the area to crackdown on the flagrant flouting of rules of not growing truck-loads of weed every day – authorities gained control of the village after a five-day shoot-out with heavily armed residents. The US State Department, however, says Albania remains a major source country for the drug.
15. ...And one of Europe's prettiest towns The Albanian town of Berat, once a frontier town of the Byzantine Empire, boasts a Unesco-prescribed Old Town, and was rated as one of the most beautiful places in Europe, according to, bizarrely, a poll by the Japanese tourist board.
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