Albania

Albania EU Clinton_Live.jpg

**FILE** Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks Nov. 1, 2012, to the Albanian Parliament in Tirana, Albania. (Associated Press)

b3-gaffney-by-medi,tirana,a.jpg

Illustration by Medi Tirana, Albania

Anastas Karaj (right), a shepherd from the village of Selta in central Albania, and close friend Arif Hoxhollari, a shepherd from the neighboring Muslim village, sit side by side at the table for an Easter meal in Selta. Singing together is a welcome part of the meal. (Eckehard Pistrick/Special to The Washington Times)

ALBANIA_EASTER12

A traditional fence in the Shpati region of central Albania is seen here. (Eckehard Pistrick/Special to The Washington Times)

ALBANIA_EASTER11

Selta is an abandoned village in the Shpati region of central Albania. (Eckehard Pistrick/Special to The Washington Times)

ALBANIA_EASTER10

Shepherd Anastas Karaj's wife and daughter prepare baklava at the family's home in Selta, Albania. (Eckehard Pistrick/Special to The Washington Times)

ALBANIA_EASTER09

Anastas Karaj, a shepherd from the village of Selta in central Albania, encourages the old women to sing at Easter service. Orthodox women of Shpati traditionally wear white headscarves. (Eckehard Pistrick/Special to The Washington Times)

ALBANIA_EASTER08

Every family in the small mountain village of Selta in central Albania prepares freshly baked Easter bread in their home oven in the yard. (Eckehard Pistrick/Special to The Washington Times)

ALBANIA_EASTER07

Anastas Karaj, a shepherd from the village of Selta in central Albania, is seen on his family's plot of land. (Eckehard Pistrick/Special to The Washington Times)

ALBANIA_EASTER05

The village photographer in Selta, Albania, poses with a basket of colored Easter eggs — a tradition that was strictly forbidden under the communist regime. (Eckehard Pistrick /Special to The Washington Times)

ALBANIA_EASTER04

Anastas Karaj, a shepherd from the village of Selta in central Albania, holds his favorite goat in front of its stall. (Eckehard Pistrick/Special to The Washington Times)

ALBANIA_EASTER01

The town of Selta in the Shpati region of central Albania is seen here, with the snow-covered Baba Tomorr in the background. (Eckehard Pistrick/Special to The Washington Times)

20100826-191740-pic-803646546.jpg

A woman holds up her rosary Thursday during a commemorative Mass in Vau I Dejes, Albania. Mother Teresa was of Albanian origin. The day began the Catholic Church's Year of Mother Teresa.