The story of a people who changed places over the centuries, but not their memories, has received its own literary and scientific monument. The book “Besa u koferu – Putovanje Škrijelja sa Pešterska visoravni do Istanbul”, by Prof. Dr. Ayhan Olcay, published by Papirus, was published recently and is already generating great interest in academic and cultural circles.
Written by: Doğan Prepol Porović
This work does not only bring a family chronicle, but also maps the collective memory and identity of a community originating from Pešteri, with roots in northern Albania and a rich history of migrations to Kosovo, Sandžak, and Turkey.
“Migration is not just a change of place; it is the rebuilding of a people’s memory in a new land,” writes Olcay.
From Shkrela to Istanbul – a chronicle of five centuries
The journey the book follows encompasses more than 500 years of history and migrations of the Shkreli family:
- 1416 — Shkrel / Shkodra / Albania
- 1700s — Rugova / Kosovo
- 1853 — Pešter / Serbia
- 1957 — Istanbul / Turkey
Through archives, stories and scientific research, Olcay brings to life the fate of one family, but also of the entire cultural circle of northern Albanians and Bosniaks from Pešteri. The book also provides a research model for brotherhoods such as Kuč, Hot, Kelmendi, Šalić, Murić, Dačić, Lajić, Ličina, Gruda and Mazarek, who migrated through Sandžak and Kosovo towards Turkey.
Living book and digital archive
Anger in a Suitcase is not a traditional printed edition. Each chapter contains QR codes that lead to video testimonies, family reunions, and newly discovered archival documents.
Readers can thus directly access a constantly expanding digital archive — with new photographs, genealogies, and documents.
The author calls this form “a chest of memory that expands with each opening.”
The author on the motif of the book: “We are Škrijelji”
Prof. Ph.D. Ayhan Olcay explains that the idea for the book was born from a sentence that was passed down in the family:
“We are the Shkreli.”
After finding a chapter on the Shkreli tribe in Edith Durham’s book High Albania , he began years of research.
“The Shkrelis have been written about a lot by outsiders, but their story had to be told from the inside – from the minds of those who inherit it.”
Document, memory, science
Olcay bases the book on three key pillars:
- Document – Venetian and Ottoman archives, local correspondence and reports
- Memory – oral traditions and family networks from Rugova to Pešter
- Science – genetic research, migration patterns and comparative analysis
In this way, Besa in a Suitcase combines historical source and living memory, offering a methodological model for future researchers of Sandžak and Balkan migrations.
A project of collective memory
The book reads simultaneously as a scholarly study, a family document, and a cultural mission.
For the descendants of the Northern Albanian brotherhoods who live today in Turkey, Kosovo, and Sandzak, Besa in a Suitcase represents a data bank and a guide to family origins.
“ Anger in a Suitcase is not just a book title – it is a chest of entrusted memories.When you open documents, people open up; when people speak up, history awakens.”
Book information
- Author: Prof. Dr. Ayhan Olcay
- Publisher: Papyrus, Istanbul
- Year of publication: 2025
- ISBN: 978-625-5875-13-6
Source: Sandzacke.rs
