Robert Elsie

The Bektashi dervish order is a Sufi Alevite sect found in Anatolia and the Balkans with a strong presence in Albania. In this, his final book, Robert Elsie analyses the Albanian Bektashi and considers their role in the country’s history and society. Although much has been written on the Bektashi in Turkey, little has appeared on the Albanian branch of the sect. Robert Elsie considers the history and culture of the Bektashi, analyses writings on the order by early travellers to the region such as Margaret Hasluck and Sir Arthur Evans and provides a comprehensive list of tekkes (convents) and tyrbes (shrines) in Albania and neighbouring countries. Finally he presents a catalogue of notable Albanian Bektashi figures in history and legend. This book provides a complete reference guide to the Bektashi in Albania which will be essential reading for scholars of the Balkans, Islamic sects and Albanian history and culture.

The Bektashi dervish order is a Sufi Alevite sect found in Anatolia and the Balkans with a strong presence in Albania. In this, his final book, Robert Elsie analyses the Albanian Bektashi and considers their role in the country’s history and society. Although much has been written on the Bektashi in Turkey, little has appeared on the Albanian branch of the sect. Robert Elsie considers the history and culture of the Bektashi, analyses writings on the order by early travellers to the region such as Margaret Hasluck and Sir Arthur Evans and provides a comprehensive list of tekkes (convents) and tyrbes (shrines) in Albania and neighbouring countries. Finally he presents a catalogue of notable Albanian Bektashi figures in history and legend. This book provides a complete reference guide to the Bektashi in Albania which will be essential reading for scholars of the Balkans, Islamic sects and Albanian history and culture.

Northern Albania and Montenegro are the only regions in Europe to have retained a true tribal society up to the mid-twentieth century and traces still remain today. This unique society and culture thrived until the early years of the twentieth century and was still largely intact when the communist regime seized power in Albania in 1944. Although many of the structures of this traditional society were weakened or indeed eradicated in the half century of totalitarian rule in Albania from 1944 to 1990, the north of the country still remains a very different place from more advanced south of Albania, and from the rest of the world. This book provides the first scholarly investigation of this tribal society, a pioneer work that offers a detailed survey of all the major Albanian-speaking tribes in Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. Robert Elsie provides comprehensive material on the 69 different tribes, including data on their locations, religious affiliations, tribal structures and inter-tribal relations, population statistics, tribal folklore, legends, customs and history. Also included are excerpts from the works of prominent nineteenth and early-twentieth century travel writers, such as Edith Durham, Baron Franz Nopcsa, Johann Georg von Hahn and Karl Steinmetz, who all travelled through the tribal regions in question, as well as short biographies on prominent figures linked to the tribes. As the first book of its kind, The Tribes of Albania will be of interest to scholars and students of the Balkans, of southeastern European anthropology, ethnography and history.

Die vorliegende Sammlung albanischer Volksm rchen stellt mit ber hundert M rchen die bisher gr te Zusammenstellung albanischen Erz hlgutes in deutscher Sprache dar. Sie beruht auf fr hen Sammlungen und Anthologien deutschsprachiger Gelehrten, viele davon Sprachwissenschaftler, die unverf lschtes schriftliches Material f r ihre Forschung der albanischen Sprache ben tigten und aufzeichneten. Hierunter befinden sich auch die fr hsten fremdsprachigen bersetzungen albanischer M rchen.

Johanna Jutta Neumann, n e Gerechter, was born in 1930 of a Jewish family in Hamburg. With the rise of the Nazis, she fled with her parents to Albania where she spent the Second World War. Her memoirs narrate the story of her childhood, of her years in Albania under Italian and German occupation, and of her family's survival.

Northern Albania and Montenegro are the only regions in Europe to have retained a true tribal society up to the mid-twentieth century. This book provides the first scholarly investigation of this tribal society, a pioneer work that offers a detailed survey of all the major Albanian-speaking tribes in Albania, Montenegro and Kosovo. Robert Elsie provides comprehensive material on the 69 different tribes, including data on their locations, religious affiliations, tribal structures and relations, population statistics, tribal folklore, legends and history. Also included are excerpts from the works of prominent nineteenth and early-twentieth century writers, such as Edith Durham and Johann Georg von Hahn, who travelled through the tribal regions, as well as short biographies on prominent figures linked to the tribes. As the first book of its kind, The Tribes of Albania will be of interest to scholars and students of the Balkans, of southeastern European anthropology, ethnography and history.

Die vorliegende Arbeit befa t sich in erster Linie mit dem albanischen Volksglauben im weitesten Sinne. Es umfa t u.a.: Figuren der albanischen Mythologie, religi se Vorstellungen und Aberglauben, Glaubensgemeinschaften, Orden und Sekten, die in Albanien t tig waren oder sind, Heilige, die f r den Volksglauben von wesentlicher Bedeutung sind, Kultst tten, Kalenderfeste und Rituale. Eng verwandt mit der Welt des Glaubens sind auch Volkssitten, Gebr uche und kulturelle Besonderheiten, die mit aufgenommen wurden, etwa: Br uche bei der Geburt, Eheschlie ung und Tod, sexuelle Gebr uche, Blutrache und das albanische Gewohnheitsrecht.

In late January 1945, the new communist rulers of Albania began a campaign to prepare and sensitize public opinion in the country for the Special Court for War Criminals and Enemies of the People. The daily newspaper Bashkimi decried the leaders of Balli Komb tar and Legality as traitors, noting on 2 February: "All without any exception will give accounts before the Albanian people and before Albania. Today or tomorrow the sword of Albanian justice will fall on their necks..." The Special Court, set up on 25 December 1944 by order of the Anti-Fascist National Liberation Council, opened its doors at the Kosovo Cinema, the building later to house the National Theatre, on 1 March 1945. On trial were sixty men.

Theth is a small settlement of the Shala Valley in the northern Albanian Alps. As the crow flies, it is not far from the coastal town of Shkodra, but in reality it is a world away. Getting there involves crossing a high mountain pass on a twisty road. Heavy snow blocks the pass from October to May and leaves Theth in splendid isolation, sometimes for weeks on end. Though it is one of the remotest corners of Europe, Theth has never failed to attract visitors. Edith Durham was in her element when she visited the valley in 1908, as were the Austro-Hungarian scholars Karl Steinmetz and Baron Franz Nopcsa, and the American writer Rose Wilder Lane. During the long years of the Stalinist regime that isolated Albania from the rest of the world (1944-1991), few foreigners were allowed into the valley due to its proximity to the Montenegrin border. The region was severely depopulated in the 1990s and only a couple of families remained in Theth over the winter. Things have changed in the last few years. Theth has become a unique, yet still little-known holiday destination for a hardy breed on travellers - hikers, mountain-climbers and visitors with a spirit of adventure. The native inhabitants have come back, too, and many of them have refurbished their homes to serve as modest guesthouses for the ever-increasing number of visitors. A Passion for Theth: Albania's Rugged Shangri-La presents the beauties of Theth and the northern Albanian Alps in the photos of Dutch photographer Herman Zonderland. Robert Elsie and Gerda Mulder introduce the region with the writings of the early explorers and travellers to the valley to the accompaniment of old photographs of the period. This material is supplemented by contemporary writings on the valley today, on the families living there and on the impact of tourism in the region. These contemporary texts, based upon interviews and travel accounts by Gerda Mulder from 1995-2013, add a personal touch. About the authors: Robert Elsie is a Canadian scholar and specialist in Albanian studies. He has published many books about the country and its history and culture. He is currently based in Berlin, Germany. See www.elsie.de Gerda Mulder has been travelling to Albania since the 1970s. She is the author of the first Dutch-language travel guide to Albania (1983) and is currently manager of the Dutch Herman Zonderland is a noted professional photographer who lives in Delft, the Netherlands. See www.zonderland.nl