Following Veqilharxhi, the most significant milestone came in with the founding of the Shoqëria e të Shtypurit Shkronja Shqip (Society for the Publication of Albanian Letters) in Istanbul.
To understand the importance of the "Abetare e Vjeter," one must understand the context in which it was born. For much of the late Ottoman period, the Albanian language was suppressed. The ruling administration forbade education in Albanian, fearing that literacy would fuel nationalism. Schools that taught in Albanian were illegal, and those caught with Albanian books risked imprisonment or worse. abetare e vjeter
Thus, the "old primer" is not just a book from the 1970s or 1980s; it can be a primer from the 1930s, or even earlier editions that kept the language alive. The worn covers of these books tell a story of resilience—of families hiding books under floorboards, of teachers risking imprisonment to teach the letters. In this sense, the Abetare e vjeter is a monument to the survival of Albanian identity itself. The worn covers of these books tell a