Line #11 UsefulNotes/Albania


1	[[quoteright:328:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/al-map.gif]]
2
3	Albania (Albanian: ''Shqipëri/Shqipëria'', Gheg Albanian: ''Shqipni/Shqinia/Shqypni/Shqypnia''), officially known as the '''Republic of Albania''' (Albanian: ''Republika e Shqipërisë''), is a small Southern European country on the shores of the Adriatic Sea - just opposite the stiletto heel of the Italian boot. The Albanian language is, much like UsefulNotes/{{Armenia}}n (with which it should NOT be confused) and UsefulNotes/{{Gree\|ce}}k, another one of those weird offshoots of the Indo-European family tree, with no particularly close relation to any other Indo-European language.
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5	The Albanian word for Albania is "Shqipëria" (pronounced shchee-purr-EE-ah), usually translated as "Land of the Eagle" hence the flag, but that's actually folk-etymology. The flag comes from the Kastrioti Principality rule in the 1400s, the name became used centuries later, not the other way around. The real meaning is roughly translated 'Land of Speakers of an Intelligible Language'.
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7	Having been passed around between the [[UsefulNotes/TheRomanEmpire Romans]], [[UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire Byzantine Greeks]], [[UsefulNotes/{{Bulgaria}} Bulgarians]], Sicilian-Normans, [[UsefulNotes/{{Serbia}} Serbs]] and Venetians for pretty much its entire history, Albania ended up as an isolated backwater of the [[UsefulNotes/{{Turkey}} Ottoman Empire]][[note]]largely created due to the [[http://www.albanianhistory.net/en/texts1000-1799/AH1470.html common Ottoman policy]] of emptying conquered lands from native inhabitants[[/note]]. At the threat of losing their native culture [[note]]Ottomans did not allow non-Muslims to bear arms and Albanians had a reputation as mercenaries, often hired in many European campaigns[[/note]] the people largely became Muslim [[note]]albeit Bektashi, called a blasphemous sect and banned in many Muslim civilizations for supporting drinking, eating pork, and interreligious marriages[[/note]] and were loyal to Ottoman rule. Albanians were often used as enforcers by the Turks, which sometimes worked but often backfired, as in the case of Muhammad Ali Pasha-- sent to UsefulNotes/{{Egypt}} to enforce Ottoman rule, he ended up founding his own separate state and turning on the Turks. Or in the case of the national hero Skanderbeg, who was an Ottoman general before he went on a revolt. Creator/LordByron particularly admired the Albanians and considered them a counterpart culture of the Scottish Highlanders he was familiar with-- from a mountainous region, wore kilts, and had clans perpetually fighting each other.
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9	When Turkey-in-Europe was invaded in 1913 by the surrounding Christian nations, Albania was cut off. Following UsefulNotes/WorldWarI, Albanians, helped by Great Power realpolitik, managed to remain independent of Serbia and Greece, but large numbers of Albanians were left outside the state, creating problems later. A man born Ahmet Zogolli became its prime minister from 1922-24, then its president from 1924-28 and finally King Zog of Albania until 1939. It became an [[UsefulNotes/FascistItaly Italian]] protectorate during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. [[UsefulNotes/NaziGermany German]] occupation eventually followed, and the Albanian resistance distinguished themselves by collectively rallying round to protect the Jews in their midst, thanks to an extreme cultural case of SacredHospitality. Only one Jewish family was found and deported, and Albania was unique in Europe in ending the war with more Jews than it started with. It is for this reason that almost all Muslims that have been recognized as Righteous Among The Nations were Albanians.
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11	After the war, Communist partisans under Enver Hoxha (pronounced "Hod-jah") took over and Albania became part of CommieLand, though Hoxha's regime wasn't part of the UsefulNotes/WarsawPact for too long -- they thought the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviets]] were too soft after the death of UsefulNotes/JosefStalin and ensuing condemnation of his policies in the USSR, and aligned themselves with UsefulNotes/MaoZedong's UsefulNotes/{{China}} instead. At least until they decided the Chinese had gone soft as well (after the passing of Mao) and decided to go it alone. Albania became the most isolated and secretive nation in Europe, a sort of European UsefulNotes/NorthKorea, until UsefulNotes/HoleInFlag and the revolutions that swept Europe in 1989-1991.
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13	The new, democratic Albania has had its problems. Decades of isolation and poverty have wreaked havoc on its infrastructure and economy, especially in 1997 when pretty much the entire country fell for some spectacular [[{{Ponzi}} pyramid schemes]] and the end result was rioting in the streets and UsefulNotes/UnitedNations intervention.
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15	Still and all, Albania has pulled itself together again, entering the Series/EurovisionSongContest, joined UsefulNotes/{{NATO}} on April 9th, 2009, and applying for membership in UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion.
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17	Recently in UsefulNotes/{{Britain}}, Albania has become known for a GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff-type fondness for Norman Wisdom films. This is because they were some of the few Western media allowed in the country under Communism, because Norman Wisdom tended to play cheeky working class characters who stuck it to "The Man".
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19	On the international stage, Albania is known for being among the most pro-American countries in the world. This reception dates back to World War I, when UsefulNotes/WoodrowWilson personally supported the creation of an independent Albania. The Americans' firm commitment to protecting ethnic Albanians of UsefulNotes/{{Kosovo}} during the 1998 war did wonders for the relations as well. When UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush visited the country in 2007, he was greeted with great fanfare, something notable since by this time, he was hated by virtually everyone in Europe, thanks to the [[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror Iraq War]]. A statue of him was even erected in 2011.
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21	It's one of the few countries wholly located in Europe with a Muslim-majority population, alongside UsefulNotes/{{Bosnia}} and the still-contested Kosovo, though in practice it's more like [[InformedJudaism Informed Islam]] than anything, mostly just surviving today as a NostalgiaFilter for things such as personal names. Seriously, Hoxha's regime is infamous among the Eastern Bloc for overdoing the whole atheism thing, with his rule being a particularly bad case of religious persecution in Marxist-Leninist states. Surprisingly, religious life is a bit more vibrant on the Christian side of things, particularly Catholics (having the Catholic Skanderberg and Mother Teresa as national icons helps).
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23	!!Famous Albanians
24	* George Kastrioti also known as UsefulNotes/{{Skanderbeg}}.
25	* Myth/NoraOfKelmendi, a semi-fictional folk heroine.
26	* Muhammad Ali Pasha, founder of Egypt's last royal dynasty, was born in Greece to Albanian parents from Korçë.
27	* Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu,[[note]]The two "xh" digraphs in her name are pronounced like an English "j"; the "j" is pronounced like a "y" -- "Anyese Gonje Boyajeeu."[[/note]] better known to the world as Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Her parents were actually from Kosovo and she herself was born in Skopje in what is now UsefulNotes/NorthMacedonia. Nevertheless, she is highly honored in Albania; she received Albanian citizenship in 1991 and Tirana's airport was named after her.
28	* [[Creator/JohnBelushi John]] and [[Creator/JamesBelushi Jim Belushi]] were of Albanian descent; their father was an Albanian immigrant, while their mother was born in the United States to Albanian immigrants.
29	* Creator/ElizaDushku, she of ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' and ''Series/{{Dollhouse}}'' fame, is of Albanian descent on her father's side and has the country's symbolic eagle tattooed on the back of her neck. She visited her father's family there in 2006, after being invited by the prime minister. Her second visit in 2011 saw her become an Albanian citizen, while also getting honorary citizenship of Tirana and Korçë, her father's hometown.
30	* Creator/EnverGjokaj is of Albanian descent on his father's side. Most famous for starring in ''Series/AgentCarter'', he previously costarred with the above Dushku in ''Dollhouse''.
31	* Masiela Lusha, known for her poetry and television appearances (most famously on George Lopez) was born in Tirana. At the age of 5, she emigrated as a refugee and eventually settled in the United States.
32	* Music/RitaOra (born 26th November 1990) and Music/DuaLipa (born August 22nd 1995) are both British of Albanian descent, though Rita Ora was born in Pristina, Kosovo while Dua Lipa was born in London to Kosovar Albanian parents. Their American counterparts Music/BebeRexha (born in New York City on August 30th 1989 to Albanian parents) and Ava Max (born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on February 16th 1994) are also of Albanian descent. All four of them are famous pop stars.
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34	!!Albania in fiction
35	[[AC:Comic Books]]
36	* [[ComicBook/ThePunisher Frank Castle]] goes up against the Albanian mafia's sex slave trafficking operation in ''Punisher: Slavers''.
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38	[[AC:Film]]
39	* ''Film/ForYourEyesOnly'' - The famous scene with the pistachio shells in the warehouse was set in Albania.
40	* ''Film/TheGreatWarriorSkanderbeg'' - A biopic revolving around the hero of the same name.
41	* ''Film/{{Taken}}'' - The slave traders who capture the main character's daughter and friend are Albanian.
42	* ''Film/WagTheDog'', in which a Washington spin doctor devises a fictional war in Albania to boost polls - released just as Albania imploded in the mid-90s.
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44	[[AC:Literature]]
45	* In ''Literature/CasinoRoyale'' the Big Bad was to be made Albanian but it was dropped soon because of the complaints.
46	* ''Literature/HarryPotter'' mentions Albania from time to time that it's a ChekhovsBoomerang. [[BigBad Voldemort]] spent over a decade hiding in Albanian forest after his first downfall, it's the country where Bertha Jorkins visits her family [[spoiler:and gets herself killed so Voldemort could turn Nagini into a [[SoulJar horcrux]]]], and, in the final book, is the place where Voldemort found [[spoiler: the Ravenclaw Diadem, left there by her daughter Helena, which he also turned into a horcrux by killing an Albanian Muggle]]. Must be noted that Albania does not have too many forests, they cut them all down (of course this could be a magical forest which is invisible to Muggles).
47	* ''Literature/TheHeroesOfOlympus'' - Nico mentions in ''The Blood of Olympus'' that [[NoodleIncident something]] happened here shortly before he, Reyna, and Hedge teleport to Pompeii, possibly Reyna's "most humiliating incident in her long career". [[SugarWiki/{{Funny Moments}} "Whatever happened in Albania would "stay" in Albania"]].
48	* The Filipino epic poem ''Literature/FloranteAtLaura'' is set in the fantasized medieval kingdom of Albania.
49	* The main female protagonist of ''Literature/TheMister'' is an Albanian housemaid named Alessia Demachi.
50	* ''Literature/TheLongDarkTeatimeOfTheSoul'' - Kate at one point wonders about a lorry, in point trying to think of if it came from here. Turns out it's more carrying a cargo from the northern part of Europe...
51
52	[[AC:Live Action TV]]
53	* Albania (more specifically [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar The People's Socialist Republic of Albania]]) is mentioned in ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', when facts about the country are set to the tune of "When the Saints Go Marching In" as a means of passing a geography test, in an EarWorm that is very difficult for anyone who has ever heard it to forget. The lyrics are:
54	->Albania, Albania, you border on the Adriatic
55	->Your land is mostly mountainous
56	->And your chief export is chrome.
57	->You're a Communist Republic, you're a Red regime...
58	->(The song was interrupted here before it could be finished.)
59	* ''{{Series/Daredevil\|2015}}'' Season 3 features the Albanian Syndicate as secondary antagonists.
60	* ''Series/SEALTeam'': Season 3's third episode sees Bravo Team go to the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prokletije Prokletije]] (which translates to the [[IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace "Cursed Mountains"]]) to track down an Islamic terrorist leader who has been working with local [[TheMafiya mafiya]] groups to orchestrate bombings targeting Americans in the Balkans.
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62	[[AC:Video Games]]
63	* A major oil refinery is located in Vlorë in ''VideoGame/EndWar'' and is a possible battlefield which is, like Albania and the rest of the Balkan peninsula (Greece, Serbia, UsefulNotes/{{Croatia}}, Bulgaria, etc.), under Russian control by [[TwentyMinutesinthefuture 2020]], when WorldWarIII starts.
64	* Albanian gangsters show up in ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV''.
65	* ''[[VideoGame/SOCOMUSNavySeals SOCOM II: U.S. Navy [=SEALs=]]]'' has three missions in Albania involving taking down the Sesseri, a black market syndicate.
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67	[[AC:Western Animation]]
68	* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' once took in an Albanian exchange student. Unsurprisingly, he turned out to be a Communist spy.
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70	----
71	[[AC:The Albanian flag]]
72	https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/albania_flag_4185.png
73	->The double-headed eagle (shown as a silhouette) is a symbol long associated with the Byzantine Empire. The eagle on a red field is said to be the personal arms of of George Kastrioti Skanderbeg, a nobleman who led successful revolts against the Ottomans, which resulted in a brief period of independence for some areas of modern-day Albania.
74	----
75	[[AC:The Albanian national anthem]]
76
77	->Rreth flamurit të përbashkuar
78	->Me një dëshirë e një qëllim,
79	->Të gjith' atij duke u betuar
80	->Të lidhim besën për shpëtim.
81
82	->Prej lufte veç ai largohet
83	->Që është lindur tradhëtor,
84	->Kush është burrë nuk frigohet,
85	->Por vdes, por vdes si një dëshmor!
86
87	->Prej lufte veç ai largohet
88	->Që është lindur tradhëtor,
89	->Kush është burrë nuk frigohet,
90	->Por vdes, por vdes si një dëshmor!
91
92	->Në dorë armët do t'i mbajmë,
93	->Të mbrojmë atdheun në çdo kënd,
94	->Të drejtat tona ne s'i ndajmë;
95	->Këtu armiqtë s'kanë vënd!
96
97	->Se Zoti vetë e tha me gojë
98	->Që kombe shuhen përmbi dhe,
99	->Po Shqipëria do të rrojë;
100	->Për të, për të luftojmë ne!
101
102	->Se Zoti vetë e tha me gojë
103	->Që kombe shuhen përmbi dhe,
104	->Po Shqipëria do të rrojë;
105	->Për të, për të luftojmë ne!
106
107	->O Flamur, flamur, shenj' e shenjtë
108	->Tek ti betohemi këtu
109	->Për Shqipërinë, atdheun e shtrenjtë,
110	->Për nder' edhe lavdimn e tu.
111
112	->Trim burrë quhet dhe nderohet
113	->Atdheut kush iu bë therror.
114	->Përjetë ai do të kujtohet
115	->Mbi dhe, nën dhe si një shenjtor!
116
117	->Trim burrë quhet dhe nderohet
118	->Atdheut kush iu bë therror.
119	->Përjetë ai do të kujtohet
120	->Mbi dhe, nën dhe si një shenjtor!
121
122	--
123
124	->Around our flag we stand united,
125	->With one wish and one goal,
126	->A sacred oath we bestow upon it
127	->Proclaiming loyalty for our salvation.
128
129	->From war abstains only he,
130	->Who a traitor is born,
131	->He who is a true man is not frightened,
132	->But dies a martyr to the cause.
133
134	->From war abstains only he,
135	->Who a traitor is born,
136	->He who is a true man is not frightened,
137	->But dies a martyr to the cause.
138
139	->With weapons in our hands a-brandished,
140	->We will defend our fatherland,
141	->Our sacred rights we’ll not relinquish,
142	->The foe has no place in our land.
143
144	->For God himself proclaimed:
145	->Some nations of the earth shall wane,
146	->But Albania will live, will thrive Albania.
147	->For her, for her we fight.
148
149	->For God himself proclaimed:
150	->Some nations of the earth shall wane,
151	->But Albania will live, will thrive Albania.
152	->For her, for her we fight.
153
154	->O Flag, flag, you sacred symbol
155	->Upon you we now swear
156	->For Albania, our dear fatherland
157	->For honour and your glory.
158
159	->Brave man is named and honoured
160	->The one who sacrificed himself for the fatherland
161	->Forever he will be remembered
162	->On earth and under as a saint!
163
164	->Brave man is named and honoured
165	->The one who sacrificed himself for the fatherland
166	->Forever he will be remembered
167	->On earth and under as a saint!
168	----
169	[[AC:Government]]
170	* Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic
171	** President: Bajram Begaj
172	** Prime Minister: Edi Rama
173	** Parliament Speaker: Lindita Nikolla
174	----
175	[[AC:Miscellaneous]]
176	* '''Capital and largest city:''' Tirana
177	* '''Population:''' 2,845,955
178	* '''Area:''' 28,748 km² (11,100 sq mi) (140th)
179	* '''Currency''': Albanian lek (L) (ALL)
180	* '''ISO-3166-1 Code:''' AL
181	* '''Country calling code:''' 355
182	* '''Highest point:''' Korab (2764 m/9,068 ft) (79th[[note]]shared with UsefulNotes/NorthMacedonia[[/note]])
183	* '''Lowest point:''' Adriatic Sea (-1,233 m/-4,045 ft)

Context UsefulNotes / Albania