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Most are much closer to Turks. The Balkans up to Bosnia were 500 years part of one very important geopolitical structure called the Ottoman empire. Most of these 500 years, all Balkanites were part of another structure within the Ottoman empire which was called Rum Millet. This Rum Millet structured our culture as we see it today and it is definitely not European. If someone says otherwise, he is not realistic and lives in his own world.
During the 20th century things have changed, as the new Balkan states joined different geopolitical structures (part of the Eastern Block, puppets of Western Europe, or in between). During the 21th century, all of us struggle to be part of another structure, the EU (except Serbia).
Nevertheless, 150-200 years being closer to Europe, cannot be influental. 5 centuries (some even longer) being part if a geopolitical structure which is muslim and oriental is still very much relevant even today
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A wise man once said that Balkans are an extention of Middle East.
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Maybe it was different for Albania but there was never any connection with the Turks because even the local rulers were Albanian. Add to that our lose connection to islam it didn't affect us. I would think it should have affected you less because of the religion. So you get this vague mass of people who barely have any contact with Turks or Europeans to be influenced on for centuries. People went by instinct so that didn't allow for outside influences. The Albanian monarchy who came after Ottoman Empire tried to be European but with a local flavor nonetheless. So did communism, we were isolated except for a brief period in the 50s with the Soviet Union so not a chance to be influenced much.
All this being said, we were different with one another as well. I see a big difference in lifestyle and mentality between neighboring regions of central Albania, the ghegs just above the river Shkumbin and the tosks just below it. And forget about differences with Kosovo after they emerged from ex Yugoslavia.
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