Islam in Albania

Today is the end of Ramadan, and a holiday in Albania.
The day starts very early with a gathering at the mosque for early morning prayers. Today this is a public message over the tannoy system. Fortunately today was not too loud, as we live almost next door to a mosque!
Then the children go round the door wishing everyone a happy holiday. "Bajram bubareq!"
People give them sweets or fruit, sometimes money. It used to be only "petulla" which is a bit like a deep fried pancake, as that was all the families used to have to give. Now that Albania has improved economically, the children get a bigger selection - although I must admit to liking "petulla"!

It is clear that Islam is growing more popular in Albania, especially amongst the youth. You can see by the dress and their "look", that some are taking their religion seriously. I don't know if I was really allowed to take a video inside the mosque( and I apologise if I was not meant to), but here is a short video from today in the "Ebu Bekr" mosque in Shkoder.