Word: shqiperia
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...their own obscure tongue, Albanians call their land Shqiperia (Eagles' Country). In the north live the Ghegs, the tallest men in the Balkans; in the south are the medium-sized Tosks. All Albanians-whether Ghegs or Tosks-have had a bad name among their neighbors. The ancient Greeks cursed them as brigands, the Romans as pirates. But some visitors brought out favorable reports. Englishmen think the Albanians resemble Scots Highlanders, probably because they wear white kilts and have a moody Celtic temperament that inclines them toward always marching off to battle. A less romantic observer, Stalin, thought Albanians "rather...
From last year's inspection and a stack of notebooks on Europe that go back to 1926, Gunther extracts such conversational bits of color as the Albanians' name for their country (Shqiperia), Khrushchev's scholastic record (he was illiterate until his mid 20s), what Mr. K. and Tito have in common with Hungary's boss, Janos Kadar, and Czechoslovakia's Antonin Novotny (all were once locksmiths). His sidelights often illuminate the mood of a country more effectively than pages of analysis. Discussing West Germany's affluence, Gunther reports slyly that an elaborate marble trough...
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