Folklore

Last evening I had a quiet dinner in a neighborhood restaurant with another of my Albanian friends and we were heading back home, when I got a call from the friends I traveled to Montenegro, who wanted me to have a new experience.

It was 10pm and they came to pick me up and drove to a restaurant bar where music and dancing was going on, full swing. The place was packed with whole families and everyone was enjoying a variety of music that ranged from Slavic and Turkish, to European and, of course, Albanian. They explained to me the difference of the songs, their origin (from north, south, and central areas), their moods, and the type of instruments that were used in the past to play them. I was impressed by their knowledge on this subject that was not limited, BTW, to their own Albanian world.



The customers were happily drinking, smoking, eating, clapping, singing, and dancing, sometimes even without getting up, raising their arms to accompany the music, which never stopped! The male and female singers had wonderful, strong voices, and seemed tireless. The woman also played the violin expertly.



A gentleman from another table, who apparently knew my hosts, approached us at a certain point to bring a small bottle of home made raki that had aged for 2 years in oak wood containers. It was as enjoyable as any good cognac!

It was almost 2am when I got back to my apt, where I had no trouble falling asleep!