COVER N. 713 - ALBANIA

Postmark: Ilegible 02.05.2026

Posted on the 2nd May;  Received on the 11th May 2026

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Another rare visitor to this blog: Albania. Faleminderit shumë, Sadik!

I am always very happy to hear the metallic noise of the flap of my letterbox being dropped, after the morning visit of  my friend Mr. Postman.

Until now I always knew that he was coming, stopping or just passing by, because even with my windows closed, I would hear the very characteristic noise of his motorbike, something I was always very attentive to. 

In fact, whenever I heard a bike motor idling by my door, I knew that seconds later that sound would be complemented by the metallic "clomp" of the letterbox flap again dropping into place, after which  the engine sound would again get higher in pitch only to progressively fade into the distance.

Whenever this sequence of events unfolded, I knew I had mail waiting for me, and a visit to the letterbox was thus in order.

Conversely, whenever I heard the bike engine as a continuous sound  in a sudden crescendo/decrescendo mode, which was as fastly gone as it appeared, I knew that Mr. Postman held nothing for me in his delivery bag.

But, ever since a moment in the past which I cannot precisely identify, I have started to notice that the above routine could not be held anymore. In fact, as the day progressed and no sign of engine noise entered through my windows, many were the occasions when I would go and check the letterbox, just to be sure even if  not hopping to find anything there, only to realise there were some envelopes waiting for me.

Some days ago, it so happened that, by chance, I went outside just as Mr. Postman had just dropped this letter from Albania in my letterbox... I looked at him, he returned my gaze and made a sign with his hand indicating that he had just put something inside the box and without further ado proudly went away, as silent as the day's cool breeze that I could feel but not hear, in his shiny all new and silent electric bike...

The 10 and 50 lek stamps  featuring portraits of distinguisehd Albanian doctors are part of a set of three, issued on 16DEC2025 as a three stamp se-tenant strip

When investigating the  two stamps I came across an interesting site devoted to the discovery of Pharmacy and Medicine through philately, so I'll quote directly from there: 

10 lek - Bajram Preza, Neurologist.

Bajram Preza (born 2 February 1923 in Preza near Tirana, † 2007) was a pioneering Albanian neurologist with comprehensive training in neurology and psychiatry in Sarajevo and Nizhny Novgorod. In 1958, he defended Albania’s first medical doctoral dissertation and later authored the country’s first medical textbook for students. For more than three decades, he headed the Neurological Clinic in Tirana and, through his teaching, research, and clinical work, left a lasting mark on generations of Albanian physicians.

50 lek - Koço Poro

Koço Poro (1923–1995) was a prominent Albanian physician of the 20th century. Among other positions, he served as Director and Chief Physician of the Regional Hospital of Elbasan and as Head of Pathology. In Albanian sources, he is described as an influential medical figure, in some cases also referred to as a rheumatologist. His life dates are often given as 1925–2013, although these have not been officially documented.

PostEurop, the entity that coordinates the annual issue of EUROPA stamps, a task previously ensured by CEPT,  was created in 1993.

Marking the 30 years of the organisation Posta Shqiptare (Albania Post) issued the 70 lek stamp on the cover with the legend 30 Vjetori PostEurop (30 Years of PostEurop) on 28JUN2024. The issue also comprises a souvenir sheet with a single stamp (identical to the individual stamp except for the denomination which is 250 lek).