Some Interesting Facts About Albania

Public Holidays

Albania’s population is overwhelmingly Muslim, and the main festivals of the country are all Islamic festivals, although a number of secular festivals and Christian festivals are also celebrated to some extent. The main holidays in the Albanian calendar are

Date 2005 Occasion
January 1 New Year's Day  
January 21 Eid a Adha
February 10 Islamic New Year
April 21 Prophet's Anniversary
May 1 May Day/Labor Day
May 5 Liberation Day
November 3 Eid a Fitr
November 28 Independence Day
December 25 Christmas Day

Weekend - Saturday, Sunday
 

The Islamic festivals are based on the sightings of the moon, and shift from year to year. Furthermore, the length of the festival may differ from place to place - in some areas Bairam may be celebrated over as much as 10 days, in other areas it may last for only two days. Keep yourself informed by reading the local newspapers during your stay.

Weights & Measures

The Metric system is used throughout Albania, which basically means you buy in litres and grams/kilograms and measure in metres and kilometres.

Electricity

Power is supplied at 220 volts, 50 Hz so appliances that are not preset to this amperage will require an adaptor or converter.

Embassies and Consulates

During the time it was part of the communist world, Albania did not have diplomatic ties with much of the Western world. However, since the collapse of the East Bloc and the disintegration of the Iron Curtain, a number of countries from the West - including most of the EU, USA, Canada, Australasia and Asia- have established diplomatic links with Albania. These have their embassies or consulates in the capital, Tirana. Telephone numbers and addresses are listed in the telephone directory. If, however, your country doesn’t have a diplomatic mission in Albania, you should find out which embassy you can go to for help- and you should know this before you set off for Albania.

Post & Communications

Post offices throughout Albania work 8 am to 5 pm Monday to Friday and 8 am to 1 pm on Saturdays, and barring small rural post offices, nearly all offer international and parcel facilities. The postal service is subject to delays, particularly when it comes to international services, but the entire system is currently being modernised, so there’s yet hope. There are private courier services available as well; DHL has a number of offices in Tirana.

Other communications facilities, including telephones, telegrams, and fax, are available at hotels and at post offices.

Tipping

Albania may not be hot on the tourist map, but tipping is very much expected, almost wherever you go. Leaving a tip (of around 10% of the bill) is conventional in restaurants, and even porters, guides and chauffeurs will expect some form of monetary gratitude. If you don’t want to leave money for porters, bellhops and the like, duty free alcohol is often very welcome- but this must be doled out with discretion, as some people may actually find it offensive.

English Language Media

During the period when Albania was under the control of the Communists, no publications were allowed to express any views even slightly divergent from those of the Communist Party. Since 1991, however, there has been a proliferation of newspapers and periodicals, many of them independent. Of these, the majority are in Albanian; there are a few English publications, of which the main ones are The International Tribune, The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Observer and The Balkan News - some local, but some international.

Other media- radio and television in particular- are more or less confined to local languages. Voice of America and BBC broadcasts can be received on some frequencies in Albania, but there are no local stations broadcasting in English.