Library

From the Illyrians to the Albanians: what is proven, what is debated, and where Çabej, Kocaqi and Mema stand

Are the Albanians descendants of the Illyrians? The question seems simple, but the answer depends on what can be proven. This article sets side by side the arguments of the linguist Eqrem Çabej, the theses of Elena Kocaqi and the work of Marin Mema, with what the sources say.

3 November 2026 / 6 min read

Mother Teresa: Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, from Skopje to the streets of Calcutta

She was born into an Albanian family in Skopje and died as one of the best-known women in the world. Her life was built on a simple idea: to serve those whom no one loves.

3 November 2026 / 5 min read

Musine Kokalari: the writer who would not be silent

In 1941 Musine Kokalari published a book of stories from Gjirokastër. Five years later she was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She was never allowed to write again.

3 November 2026 / 5 min read

Friends and longevity: what Julianne Holt-Lunstad’s meta-analysis found

When we talk about longevity, we think of food and exercise. But one of the strongest factors may be something else: how connected we are with the people around us.

3 November 2026 / 5 min read

Sevasti Qiriazi and the girls’ school in Korçë (1891–1914)

In 1891 a school opened in Korçë where girls were taught in the Albanian language. Its director was a young woman who had just graduated from college in Istanbul.

3 November 2026 / 5 min read

Fan Noli: the bishop, translator and prime minister from Boston

Few Albanians have done so many things in one life: Fan Noli was a priest, diplomat, prime minister, historian, composer and one of the greatest translators into Albanian.

3 November 2026 / 5 min read

Marie Curie: from the secret university of Warsaw to two Nobel Prizes

Maria Skłodowska could not study at university in her homeland because she was a woman. Thirty years later she had two Nobel Prizes and had changed physics and chemistry.

3 November 2026 / 5 min read

Ismail Qemali and 28 November 1912: how independence was declared in Vlorë

When Ismail Qemali declared Albania’s independence, the neighbouring armies were already on Albanian lands. Here is how that decision was reached and what happened next.

3 November 2026 / 5 min read

Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg: what we know for certain and what is legend

For 25 years Gjergj Kastrioti resisted one of the most powerful empires of the age. His story is great even without the legends that have been added to it.

3 November 2026 / 5 min read

Self-efficacy: the belief that “I can do this”, and how it is built

Confidence is not a general feeling that you either have or do not have. According to the psychologist Albert Bandura, it is a belief tied to specific tasks, and it is built from experience.

3 November 2026 / 5 min read

Ultra-processed foods: what an experiment with 500 calories a day showed

When people were allowed to eat as much as they liked, on an ultra-processed diet they ate about 500 calories more a day than on unprocessed foods. Here is what that means.

3 November 2026 / 5 min read

Naim Frashëri: the poet who made the Albanian language a homeland

Naim Frashëri wrote in Persian, Turkish and Greek, but he is remembered for his Albanian poetry. For generations of Albanians, his verses were their first lesson about the homeland.

3 November 2026 / 5 min read