Wikipedia talk:Requested articles/Albania

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Hey can we get something other than people on here as well?Spyenson (talk) 14:50, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

Absolutely. Please don't get hung up with my fixation on personalities. Enter here whatever you think is notable. --Sulmues ^(talk) 16:34, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

As Sulmues said, anything related to Albania that might be notable, should be added here. Cheers. — Kedaditalk 16:42, 16 August 2010 (UTC)

To be honest I wouldn't know where to begin myself, but being located in Albania and being a native English speaker I though at the very least, there's some rote statistics or grammar fixing I can help with! Spyenson (talk) 22:29, 17 August 2010 (UTC)

Maybe you can help me with my Tabak Bridge? --Vinie007 18:43, 6 September 2010 (UTC)

Reliable source for expanding articles

@Iaof2017, Ktrimi991, Maleschreiber, Calthinus, Resnjari, and Βατο: I did not know where to make this request, so I am doing it here and I am trying pinging anyone I know who can probably help improve the articles related to Albania. Perhaps some of you have noticed my use of the first volume of William Martin Leake's book, as I have read so far, this book describes very well the period under Ali Pasha's rule as the author is his contemporaries and the book was written in the form of memories. He describes almost everything in the places he passes and sometimes in detail. However, this book can contain so many related articles that it is impossible for me to cover them all on my own. So my request is that if possible, any of you who wish can help by reading and using what is valuable in the relevant articles. The four volumes of the book can be downloaded here. Ping everyone you think might help as well! Thanks in advance.Bes-ARTTalk 12:52, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

Hey Besarti, thanks for the source. I regret to say that I am fairly busy with life right and when I come back to this topic area, priorities will go to medieval Albanian history and Albanian history, but I fully support this effort. --Calthinus (talk) 15:16, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

@Bes-ART: Hey, Besart. Hope you're well. I can help but I need to know the scope of the "project". Can you create a list of settlements Leake passed through in his journey?--Maleschreiber (talk) 20:22, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

It speaks much more than just about places. It talks about influential people, it talks about Ali Pasha himself, it talks about demographics, it talks about ancient wars, archeological sites, and much more. I am just quoting an interesting paragraph to understand how he describes the stories: "We are no sooner arrived, than a heavy fall of snow puts an end to our day's journey, and makes me well satisfied with a lodging in the house of Demír Agá till the morrow. Demír, commonly called Demír Dost, enjoys a degree of power such as few Albanian chiefs possess, and Kardhíki has the consequent advantage of internal tranquillity; for in general power is so nearly balanced between the leading parties in Albanian towns, that no one chief has sufficient influence to establish order. The unlimited power of Demír over the district of Kardhíki is at present chiefly owing to his good understanding with Alý Pashá. His government, he tells me, contains twenty villages, of which there are only three or four Greek. One of these is Khumelítza, famous for its tobacco, from which a snuff is made at Kardhíki, much esteemed by the Albanians, who, among other points in which they resemble the Highlanders of Scotland, are great snuff-takers. There are eight hundred Musulman families in Kardhíki, and twenty or thirty Greek houses on the opposite side of the ravine. The mountains to the westward and northward of the district, as far as Khimára, Demír describes as inhabited by half-naked wretches living in villages, one of the hardiest and poorest races in existence: he calls them Gulimídhes [Golem], they form a subdivision of the great tribe named Liape, in Greek Liápidhes, a colony perhaps of the Lapithae of Thessaly. One of the villages of the Gulimídhes, called Polióna, and exactly resembling Petzarí, is in sight from Kardhíki to the north-west, near the summit of the mountain. The Musulmans of Kardhíki are not less anxious to serve the king of England, than the Christians of Stepézi; they observe that the use of the musket is their only art and their only property. The care of their fields and flocks they leave to the Christians. Demír gives me a very particular and undoubtedly accurate account of the general topography of Albania, and of the divisions of its tribes; of which the following is the substance: Rejecting the political chorography which has arisen since the Turkish conquest, the only important divisions of the Albanians are four: the Ngéghe [Gheg], Tóshke [Tosk], Liápe [Lab] and Tjame [Çam], in Greek Γκέγκιδες, Τόσκιδες, Λάπιδες or Λάμπιδες, and Τσάμιδες: their respective countries are in Greek written Γκεγκεριὰ, Τοσκεριὰ, Λιαμπουριὰ and Τσαμουριὰ. The Ngéghe possess the districts of Skodra, Kaváya, Króya, Týrana, Duras [Durrës] (in Italian Durazzo), Pekín [Peqin], a part of the district of Elbasán, the two Dibras, and Djura on the Drin, Kúrtzova [Kuçova], Kalkándere, and Prístina.". Also the book (the part that mentions Albania) can be found on the website of Robert Elsie, where the Greek names (since Leake knew Greek well and used it) have been accompanied in parentheses with Albanian toponyms.Bes-ARTTalk 20:52, 18 February 2021 (UTC)

@Bes-ART:, Wikipedia got rid of many portals it deemed "inactive" over a year and a half ago. It disproportionately effected portals whose wiki projects do not always have many editors in some years and then do in others. So there is no proper forum like the Albania portal so to speak to list these kinds of things. Anyway on Leake. Yes they are interesting to read. These are travelogues, hence primary sources and fall under WP:PRIMARY. I would not use these for article content as you might get reverted and end up in all sorts of quagmires. You can place the sources and their weblinks to Further reading or External links sections in articles provided they are relevant to the topic at hand. Many of these travelogues from the 19th and early 20th centuries are by Western European travellers/diplomats on the Balkans. They have received much attention in scholarship depending on their focus, i.e Orientalism, stereotypes etc, etc. So a lot of this content has been cited or analysed in scholarship. Google books or scholar are good places to look for that (i.e search terms "Leake" ...... + whatever thing you looking for). On Ali Pasha, if you want someone who has analysed these travelogues and other sources and wish to add content to his article, academic Katherine Elizabeth Fleming wrote a book The Muslim Bonaparte: Diplomacy and Orientalism in Ali Pasha's Greece (1999) [1]. It meets the criteria of WP:RELIABLE and WP:SECONDARY. Best.Resnjari (talk) 05:35, 19 February 2021 (UTC)