Their Lives Changed Albania Forever. By Uncle Monty.

Their Lives Changed Albania Forever:
Edith Durham and Fan Stilian Noli.
By Uncle Monty
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She was an English women was Edith Durham.
He was a Turk was Fan Stilian Noli. Yet, both of

their lives changed Albania forever and so did
Albania change their own lives forever, too.
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They both were born in the 19th century and they
both died in the next one in their early 80’s, but here
now at the 21st century their lives still echo resound-

ingly and nobly at the Balkan nation of Albania by what
they did then in their passionate and unyielding efforts
and beliefs for their adopted second homeland.
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She was known as “The Queen of the Mountains”
was Edith during her Balkan adventures. Edith

endeavoured to "save" Albania from the clutches

of The Great Powers that wanted to gobble it up.

He was to become known as Archbishop Noli was

Fan during his exiled life as an Albanian-American
who harnessed all of his religious, political, and
pro-nationalistic instincts to create an Albanian

Church that he hoped would unite and identify

its people under one roof.

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She was the eldest daughter of eight siblings
and whose father Arthur Edward Durham was
a noted British surgeon and her grandfather was
the educationalist William Ellis, who tutored Queen
Victoria’s own royal children. He, Fan, came from an

Albanian Settlement of Eastern Thrace at then European
Turkey. Little is known, however, about his early life,

but by 1903 he was a parish school teacher at Egypt’s

Alexandria and three years later he first arrived

to live and settle in America.
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Edith was a charismatic and beautiful lady. Fan was

an intellectual and religious man. Neither of them were

to marry for they "married" themselves to the future of

Shqipërinë. Yet, they both died outside of their of be-
loved Albania. She in England and he in America. And,

they both got to know each other very well during

their extraordinary lives that were irrevocably

interwined over a substantial period of time.
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Below are two historic images of young Edith and

of Fan from two biographies about them - one by

Gill Trethowan on her and the other by Mehment

Gëzhilli on him - that I received as welcomed

gifts while at Tirana ...

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Edith Durham from her 1886 family album.
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Archbishop Fan S. Noli shown vested in his
archiepiscopal vestment in this 1955 photo.
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I will hope to be writing more about
Edith and Theofan fairly shortly. But,
I'll see ... I hope, nevertheless, that
you've enjoyed what I've written so far

about them. Perhaps more later, then ...

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Let me add the following: Edith Durham has a

street named after her at Tirana. Archbishop

Noli has a city square named after him. His

engraved image is also to be found on the 100

Leke banknote. I by chance found a surreal

statue of him, but no statue of Edith did I

find while exploring Albania's capital city.
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So still at Rome for now, Uncle Monty.
+St. Ambrose, 2oo8.