In January 2008, Ashik’s legend was summed up in four variants by author Riza Lahi in the novel “Vorri I Ashikut.” Also, the legend is documented in the publications on the history of Tirana by historian Kristo Frashëri.

What the legend says

The story talks about a young couple, Faqebardhi and his lover Bukuria, lovers who prefer to die than give up on each other. According to historians, the story takes place in a village in Ndroq. “A young boy falls in love with the daughter of the man who gave him a job. Faqebardhi asked to marry his daughter, but her father refused because he decided that she would get married to another man, and that couldn’t be changed. Faqebardhi didn’t give up, and on the wedding day, he plans to escape with his girlfriend. He came across to the groom’s relatives who were taking away the bride and told them: Hello, good people. This bride is mine. We love each other…  And from the other side the bride said: Yes I am not your bride, I belong to this young men. But the groom’s relatives refused and continued the road. Faqebardhi felt hopeless and decided to kill his lover. In the next moment, asking those people to bury the loved couple together in one grave, he shot himself. The grave remains there even today as proof of a tragic story.

Another famous Albannalogist, Robert Elsie, writes the same story. The legend is about a young couple with a tragic end. Bedri falls in love with a girl who will be married to the governor of Tirana. He was warned by the mountain fairy (in Albanian: Zana e Malit) that he should be careful of two things: the wooden beam and the doe. And never forget that you are safer at the fountain than at the root.

The lovers decide to escape, but the soldiers seize them, and when Bedri understands that’s it, he decides to kill the girlfriend and himself and beg them to bury them together.