A Coffee in the Accursed Mountains Elizabeth Gowing and Rob Wilton
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- Society & Culture
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Stories of Balkan life and culture from the countries bordered by the Accursed Mountains - Kosovo, Albania and Montenegro
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Write to protest: Musine Kokalari of Albania
Musine Kokalari (1917 - 1983) was Albania's first published woman, created a political party, and dared to speak out for pluralism when her country was falling to communism. She spent nearly 40 years in imprisonment and internment, writing alone. Nashi Brooker, who herself experienced the dictatorship, tells us why Musine still matters.
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The bandit woman and the businesswomen: Shote Galica of Kosovo
Shote Galica (1895 - 1927) took up a gun and fought tradition as well as oppression. We hear her story and talk to designer Ilire Lepaja - owner of a Kosovan business whose products celebrate Shote – about why Shote inspires women today.
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The one with the Ashkali karateist who can
Sabile Gashi is a many-times medal-winning karateist from Kosovo's Ashkali community. We hear about the inspiration of Kosovo’s Olympian women and Sabile’s motivation in paying forward the opportunities she's had, being told 'you can't; you're a girl' and deciding she can.
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The one with the Kosovan train
We clank through beautiful countryside and through time on one of Prishtina’s two daily trains: an adventure for Edith Durham 120 years ago, a horror in the 1999 war, and now part of Kosovo’s European future – if you have a visa.
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The one with the pioneering princess
Montenegro’s Princess Xenia (1881 – 1960) was a bold and talented photographer and a crucial aide to her father’s efforts to build a new kingdom. On a trip through Cetinje’s mountain landscape, we enjoy her photographs - and gallons of blueberry juice.
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The one with Pomegranate and Steel: a taste of Albanian names
This episode introduces some beautifully-named Albanians narrating the meaning of their names, and offers a glimpse of Communist Albania through its list of approved names. And who is honoured in the names Villson, Tonibler and Marenglen? And why?