The Albanians are descendants of the Illyrians, an ancient Balkan people who preceded the Slavic populations surrounding their native territories. They presently have an independent nation – Albania, in their own language ‘Shqipëtar’, meaning ‘Land of the Eagles’ – but are also the majority in Kosovo, nominally still a part of Serbia but de facto a semi-independent state under UN tutelage. There are other significant Albanian populations in Montenegro, Serbia proper, Macedonia and Greece. This map shows the maximum extent of Albanian territorial ambitions – ‘Greater Albania’.
http://www.decani.org/galbania.gif
Host, is there anything in this comment chain worth saving?
Comment by Anton Sherwood — September 12, 2007 @ 6:35 pm
“To strange maps. You have erased all comments containing curses or deragatory comments from Albanians. But you have left all the curses which the others left towards us. Thats not fair. What the hell are you being bias for? If your going to be all noble about the comments on this page then see it through don’t be a hypocrite.”
@ sender:
I don’t like being called a hypocrite, certainly not on my own blog, which has no political agenda whatsoever. I’m quite annoyed that you imply that it does.
I have stated repeatedly here that I want to exclude swear words and insults from this comment section, but sadly that doesn’t seem to be possible. This is ‘thanks’ to people from *all* sides in this debate – which keeps degenerating into a shouting match.
I have a day job. I made this blog as a hobby, to entertain myself and hopefully others in the few moments I have beside that day job.
But it’s getting to be a day job just to keep up with all the unsavoury comments on just this one map and delete them. I don’t have time for that. What’s more important: I don’t want to wade through all your (meaning *all* sides’) arguments and have to decide when your unkindnesses become insults, your brutalisms become crudenesses.
If your idea of ‘fair’ is being as nasty as your opponents, please go do that somewhere else.
All comments on this page will be removed. No further comments on this page will be allowed. On no other page of this blog – and there have been a few controversial ones – did I have to resort to such a measure. This is a sad day for Strange Maps, and for the idea that civilised discourse is possible among people with different (or even opposing) views.
@ Anton Sherwood:
No, QED.
Comment by strangemaps — November 26, 2007 @ 7:15 pm
To the people who posted messages here after 1/1/8: please read my preceding statement. No comments are allowed here. Sorry.
Comment by strangemaps — January 26, 2008 @ 2:32 pm
Bad comments ? Enhance this map with all the ” Great Serbia or Croatia or Bulgaria or Greece” maps and also with ancient and today’s ethnical’s maps: nationalism is an old and very well shared poison.
Macédoine: a mixed salad in french…
Comment by lp — June 22, 2008 @ 11:01 pm
THIS IS TYPICAL THE CASE WHEN BACKGROUND CHANGES THE LOOKING THE FOREGROUND COLOR ITSELF.
That map can be used for :
1. The wildest nationalism coming from a small country that wants to triple its territory in the Europe of the 21th century OR
2. An illustration of the greatest injustice done to a European nation (at the begining of 20th century). OR
3. The “natural” Albania that will exists when Balkan will be part of the Europe without borders.
I belong to the group of people that chooses the second background as the most correct one, but because there are people using the first one, I AM ABSOLUTELY AGAINST DISTRIBUTING SUCH MAPS.
Comment by Vorio Epirotis — July 3, 2008 @ 1:15 pm
look- albanians make strong propaganda. one big minority of albanians exist only on FYROmacedonia , in Greece doesn’t exist minority but only albanians who are working there. in greece were albanians (know as chams) but they in ww2 made alliance with nazi and when they lost they back again to albania.Albanians are not descentans of ancient illyrians they came in Balkans from caucasus, they were in ancient Albania (today called Georgia, near South Ossetia)
Comment by the best answer — September 3, 2008 @ 5:38 pm
Best Answer is entirely incorrect. There are ethnic Albanians living in Greece. The Chams, like many groups throughout Europe, sided with whomever they thought might help them the most. Russia was Hitler’s ally at first and the British were content to negotiate with him prior to 1936. The Chams did not “return to Albania” after the Nazis were defeated. They were driven out of their ancestral homelands after the Greek Civil war by Greek nationalists who accused them (often correctly) of assisting the Greek Communist movement. None of the Chams actions justified the Greek expulsion and confiscation of property after the Greek civil war and Greece’s continuing refusal to even discuss the issue. If the Greeks kicked out everyone who was a communist supporter, half the country would be depopulated.
Comment by Karl — September 4, 2008 @ 8:34 am
and this is what we call greater greece the land of “nord epir”
“voreia ipiros”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Epirus_across_Greece_and_Albania.svg
Comment by pavlos_melas — September 13, 2008 @ 3:45 pm
thanks
Comment by hero — October 15, 2008 @ 1:12 pm
epirus was comprised of illyrian tribes. the epiriotes always fought against greeks because they werent greeks. they allied with other illyrian tribes and sometimes with macedonia to fight greece. they were on the verge of conquering all of greece and thats when the greeks complained to the romans to save their asses. after albania and kosovo join the EU and NATO albanians will have free reign over europe. maybe we cant have a greater albania border wise which most albanians would like to see but nobody really wants to work and get it accomplished, but we’ll be connected population wise. after that check the populations of greece and macedonia.
Comment by marsel — October 20, 2008 @ 11:11 pm
Ну конечно на пулицеровскую не тянет, но читать можно
Comment by SLITSSOPFUP — March 31, 2009 @ 4:26 am
thanks alot
Comment by Tony — May 4, 2009 @ 2:22 am
thanks for this map
good
luck
Comment by Solomon — May 11, 2009 @ 7:05 am
merci
Comment by aspicco . — May 17, 2009 @ 4:46 am
WAYT FOR US GAYREEKS….AND ALSO SERBS…!!!!!!!!GREATER ALBANIA IS FUCKIN COMING……XAXAXXAXAXAX
.XAXAXAXAXXAX.
AXAXAAXXAX.AXAXAXAXAX
Comment by Jonnys Albasulmi Z*23 — May 27, 2009 @ 12:20 am
teşekkür ederim
Comment by yory — June 12, 2009 @ 8:07 pm
Vielen Dank
Comment by moon — July 3, 2009 @ 3:45 am
Muchas gracias
Comment by sun — July 4, 2009 @ 6:26 am