THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



95 



Drawn by A.H.Bumstead 



SKETCH MAP OF ALBANIA AND ITS BORDER COUNTRIES OF THE BALKAN PENINSULA 



The sector of Albania now occupied by Italian troops runs north of the river Viosa 

 from the bend of the river Semini to the Adriatic on the west and the French Armee 



the old highway stretching from Durazzo 

 to Constantinople. This great road of 

 ancient Rome (Via Egnatia), called at its 

 beginning the Appian Way, passes south- 

 east through Italy to Brindisi; begins 

 again at Durazzo, runs thence through 

 Elbasan by Lake Ochrida to Krusha, and 

 on to Monastir and Vodena ; thence to 

 Saloniki and beyond to Constantinople. 



The Rumani are very proud of their 

 origin, and answer the question of race 

 by saying, "I am a descendant of the 

 Romans." They are a simple, pastoral 

 people, not given to robbery or brigand- 

 age. Their primitive little villages of 

 stone are frequently seen in the moun- 

 tains, often perched near high summits. 

 A large colony of them, known as Vlachs, 

 live on the slope of the Pindus Moun- 

 tains in sight of Liascoviki, but far away 

 across valley and gorge. 



d'Orient on the east (see pages 90 and 91). 



The more attractive part of southern 

 Albania lies, of course, near the Adriatic. 

 Fruits and grain are profitably grown 

 along the seacoast, with its sunlit inlets 

 shut in by pleasant hills and with a cli- 

 mate which resembles that of Sicily. 



Excellent grazing lands extend up the 

 mountain sides, affording pasturage in 

 times of peace for large flocks and herds, 

 the people's chief source of livelihood, 

 while fish from the sea and the rivers and 

 game from the hills — deer, wild boar, 

 hares, game birds, bear, and even the 

 chamois — are important resources. 



THE STRANGE RUMANI 



Among the Albanians lives a fragment 

 of a strange people who call themselves 

 Rumani, said to be descendants of the 

 Romans — of that fifth Roman legion 

 which dispersed and was scattered along 



