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Show ylTTlTT o IfTrO o ' saw -V " " A Typical Albanian. ,. (Prepared fer th National '7oraph!o Soelatr. Waahlnston, D. C.) EUROPE'S newest king Is build-lng build-lng a new palace In one of Europe's newest capitals. The king Is Zog I (formerly Zogu) of Albania, who stepped to his throne from the President's chair lat.t September; Sep-tember; and his million-dollar pa luce Is rising In Tirana which became the seat of government after the World war, when It was decided that the former for-mer capital, Durazzo, on the const was too exposed. Until this move was made Tirana was ss little known as the rest of Albania Al-bania Is today. Boat loads of tourists drifted down the Albanian coast, stopping stop-ping now and then at some picturesque Island, or at a coastal village. At Durazzo, t" ey took one glance at the Impassable roads to the Interior and another glance at the sprlngless ox-carts and donkeys which were then the only Albanian taxis. Then most of them decided to see Tirana when conditions were Improved. The capital bas changed, however, razzo, the country's principal port Until Un-til the outbreak of the World wi r th only well-paved highway In the country coun-try linked these two cities. The visitor to Tirana can acq lire as souvenirs specimens of locally-nude brass work, distinctive and beautiful embroideries, done by the Tirana women wom-en and sold by them in the market places, snd whether a smoker or nut, he will wish to take along one of the oddly snd Intricately carved pipes. The city covers a larger area than Its 15,-000 15,-000 or so Inhabitants would seem to need, Judged by our standards. Yet one would have a difficult time convincing con-vincing a Tlranlan, with his cottage and garden, that a more vertical mode of living, In crowded apartments, would be more civilized. Once one strolls beyond the bounds of Tirana, however, he will encounter mud houses, and the "simple life" to an extreme degree. An Albanian family Is sufficient unto Itself. Except for the trading In a few cities In Scutari, Korytza and Argyro-castro. Argyro-castro. besides those already men- tloned there Is no semblance of sn economic system. A woman In a country district works hard, but she Is not mere drudge. She makes bread of maize and cooks it over an open hearth fire. The remaining remain-ing wood ashes she uses In place of soap. She weaves woolen cloth and plaits black braid for the garments she makes of it Before the Christian era, the ancestors ances-tors of the present Albanians occupied practically the whole of the peninsula north of Greece, to the Danube. They are, In fact the remnants of the oldest race In eastern Europe. The conquest and policing of tbe region by Rome , alnce President Zogu established gov ernment headquarters there in 1025. Bus service on the new road from Tirana to Durazzo brings Increasing numbers of travelers and the once quiet little Moslem city is making splendid progress. The mosque, domes and minarets that once dominated the city's sky line .. are being encroached upon by modern government buildings and legations of foreign governments who recognize Albanian Al-banian sovereignty. Hotels are also poking their upper stories above the , red roofs of old Tirana's mud-wailed structures, and new avenues, parks and public gardens have been laid out for tbe enjoyment of the city's inhabl- did not displace these early Inhabitants Inhabi-tants ; but when the Slavs burst southward south-ward Into the peninsula In the Seventh Sev-enth century A. D., only those who lived In or fled to Albania kept their blood and customs unaltered by the newcomers. Their History Ons of Struggles. It has been the fate of the Albanians to struggle constantly against some powerful neighbor. First It was Imperial Im-perial Rome, next the Slavs, then Tur key. When Turkish power waned, Albania Al-bania found Austria coveting her lands. Just before the World war, Austria had succeeded In placing a Germanic prince on the throne of the newly created cre-ated Albanian state; but this arrangement arrange-ment did not Inst long. Since the World war Albania has found herself between two forces. On the east and north Yugo-Slavla has advanced her frontiers to Albania, and eyes her territory ter-ritory with Interest ; on the west Italy, separated only by the narrowest part of the Adriatic, has shown a desire to control Albania. The eastern frontier of Albania, where, Italy has charged, the Yugoslavs Yugo-slavs have been making preparations of a supposedly military character. Is much less Isolated today than before the World war. Then the region had Just been liberated from Turkey and bad been little developed. Monastlr, second among the cities of Turkish Macedonia, bad rail connections only southeastward to Salonlkl, the metropolis. metrop-olis. Now a tine also extends northward north-ward connecting with the trunk railway rail-way Into old Serbia. The region about the two large lakes Ohrlda and Presba, midway of the present Albanlan-Yugo-SIav line, was also isolated. Now a new railway rail-way from Uskub and the heart of Yugo-Slavla beyond reaches down to the city of Ohrlda on the lake. This lake country of the Yugo-SIavlan borderland has both geographic and historic Interest Inter-est Tbe claim has been put forth for Ohrlda that It is "the clearest luke In the world." Fish may be plainly seen swimming about at a depth of 60 feet or more. Dense chestnut forests cover cov-er the slopes of the hills surrounding the lake. touts and guests. Market Place of Tirana. ' Tbe Tirana market place Is one of . the few spots in the city that has not been disturbed by the newcomers and there, among tbe vegetables and fruits piled on the cobbles, roam folk of the surrounding mountains and valleys, apparently ap-parently unmoved by the changes taking tak-ing place In their capital Both the Ghegs of the north and the Tosks of the south crowd the aisles. Mingling with the lively throngs, one sees a bewhlskered Moslem holy man whose somber robes sharply contrast with the flaming colors of the natives' garments. The Ghegs, three fourths of whom are Moslems, can be singled out s from the rest of the crowd by their gray half-size fezzes which resemble the aluminum lids which keep pancakes warm on American restaurant tables. They also wear loose-fitting, sleeveless, !uttonies Jackets, tight-fitting trousers and homemade sandals of ox-hlde. The Tosks are less conservative than their northern compatriots. They like ornamentation, and their costumes are colorful. There may be enough silver and gold In their regalia to pay a first-class passage from Durazzo to New York. The Albanians are a rugged, primitive primi-tive mountain people who, it has been said, "occasionally d' from ordinary disease, but more often from differ- ences of opinion." They are classed along with the French, Portuguese and Walloons ss members of the Greco-Latin Greco-Latin branch of the Aryan race. Their mountain life bas fostered a passion ate love of independence and they cling to their language and their customs with a vigorous tenacity, even when groups are transplanted to other lands. The name of tbe Albanians, meaning "people of the snow-land," has been fastened upon them by their neighbors; neigh-bors; they call themselves "Sklpetarl," or mountaineers. One Important tribe, the Catholic MIrdltes, bitterly oppose the settlement of any Mohammedans In their vicinity. What Visitors Buy and Set. Tirana Is In the west central part of Albania, 20 miles Inland from Du- |