Albania

This article is about the country in southern Europe. For other uses, see Albania (disambiguation).

Republic of Albania Republika e Shqipërisë
Flag Coat of arms
Motto:  Ti Shqipëri më jep nder, më jep emrin shqipëtar (You Albania give me honor, you give me the name Albanian.)
Anthem: Rreth flamurit të përbashkuar ("United Around the Flag")
Location of Albania (orange) in Europe (white)  –  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Tirana
Official languages	Albanian
Demonym(s)	Albanian
Government	Parliamentary republic
• President	Bamir Topi
• Prime Minister	Sali Berisha
Independence  from the Ottoman Empire
• Date	November 28 1912
Area
• Total	28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi) (139th)
• Water (%)	4.7
Population
• 2024 estimate	3,600,523 [2] (130th)
• Density	134/km2 (347.1/sq mi) (63)
GDP (PPP)	2008 estimate
• Total	$21.160 billion (112th)
• Per capita	$6,649 (100th)
Gini (2005)	26.7 low inequality
HDI (2007)	0.801  (68th)
Currency	Lek (ALL)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Calling code	355
ISO 3166 code	AL
Internet TLD	.al

Albania, officially the Republic of Albania (Albanian Republika e Shqipërisë IPA: [ɾɛˈpublika ɛ ʃcipəˈɾiːs], or simply Shqipëria) is a country in South Eastern Europe. Albania is bordered by Greece to the south-east, Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, and the Republic of Macedonia to the east. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. From the Strait of Otranto, Albania is less than 100 km (60 miles) from Italy.

The country is a member of the United Nations, South East Europe Cooperation Process, Organisation for Co-operation and Security in Europe (OSCE), Council of Europe (COE),and World Trade Organisation.

It is also a potential candidate for membership in the European Union and NATO.

Albania is a parliamentary democracy that is transforming its economy into a market-oriented system. The Albanian capital, Tirana, is home to 750,000 of the country's 3.6 million population. As a result of the opening of the country in the post-communist era, Albania is now undergoing a development boom as its telecommunications, transport and utilities infrastructure is being revamped.

Etymology

Satellite image of Albania.

Main article: Albania (toponym)

Albania is the Medieval Latin name of the country, which is called Shqipëri by the inhabitants. In Medieval Greek, the name is Albania besides variants Albaētia, Arbanētia.(OED). The ultimate origin of the Alb- element has been traced to an Illyrian alb "hill" cognate to the alp "mountain pasture" found in the Alpine region. In the 2nd century BC, in the History of the World, written by Polybius, there is mention of a city named Arbon in present-day central Albania. The people who lived there were called Arbanios and Arbanitai.

Another suggestion is derivation from the Illyrian tribe of the Albanoi recorded by Ptolemy the geographer and astronomer from Alexandria, who drafted a map of remarkable significance for the history of Illyria. This map shows the city of Albanopolis (located Northeast of Durrës).

In his History written in 1079-1080, Byzantine historian Michael Attaliates was the first to refer to Albanoi as having taken part in a revolt against Constantinople in 1043 and to the Arbanitai as subjects of the duke of Dyrrachium. During the Middle Ages, the Albanians called their country Arbër or Arbën and referred to themselves as Arbëresh or Arbnesh. As early as the 16th century, a new name for their home evolved among Albanian people: Shqipëria, "Land of the Eagles", hence the two-headed bird on the national flag. The name probably has its origins in the Skanderbeg family crest.

History

Main article: History of Albania

Prehistory

Main articles: Prehistoric Balkans and Illyria

File:Ilirian-roman wars.jpg

Mural painting at Kruja's castle, depicting the Illyrian Wars

The area of today's Albania has been populated since prehistoric times. In antiquity, much of it was settled by the Illyrians, possible ancestors of present-day Albanians.The modern Albanian state comprises the southernmost part of ancient Illyria and the northern part of ancient Epirus.

Surrounded by powerful, warring empires, Albania has experienced considerable violence and competition for control throughout its history. Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans swept through, leaving their cultural mark as well as their ruins.

Archaeological research shows that the lands that are today inhabited by Albanians were first populated in the Paleolithic Age (Stone Age). The first areas settled were those with favourable climatic and geographic conditions. In Albania, the earliest settlements have been discovered in the Gajtan cavern (Shkodra), in Konispol, at Mount Dajti, and at Saranda. Fragments of Cyclopean structures, were discovered at Kretsunitsa, Arinishta, and other sites in the district of Gjirokastra. The walls, partly Cyclopean, of an ancient city (perhaps Byllis) are visible at Gradishti on the picturesque Viosa River. Few traces remain of the once celebrated Dyrrhachium (today Durrës).

Butrint, UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The rediscovered city of Butrint is probably more significant today than it was when Julius Caesar used it as a provisions depot for his troops during his campaigns in the 1st century BC. At that time, it was considered to be an unimportant outpost, overshadowed by the Greek colonies, Apollonia and Durrës.

Formal investigation and recording of Albania's archaeological monuments began with Francois Pouqueville, who was Napoleon's consul-general to Ali Pasha's court, and Martin Leake, who was the British agent there. A French mission, led by Len Rey, worked throughout Albania from 1924 to 1938 and published its results in Cahiers d'Archéologie, d'art et d'Histoire en Albanie et dans les Balkans (Notes of Archaeology, Art, and History in Albania and in the Balkans).

Archaeologists today are finding remains from all periods, from the Stone Age to the early Christian era.

Another project that produced prehistoric finds, though unexpectedly, was done in the valley of Kryegjata, close to the present-day city of Fier and in the area of Apollonia. This excavation, a collaboration between the University of Cincinnati and archaeologists from the Institute of Archeology in Albania, was originally a mission to learn about the Greek colony of Apollonia. Instead, they found evidence of a much older settlement.

In 2000, the Albanian government established Butrint National Park, which draws about 70,000 visitors annually and is Albania's second World Heritage site.

In 2003, a synagogue dating from the 5th or 6th century AD was uncovered in Saranda, a coastal town opposite Corfu. It was the first time remains of an early synagogue have been found in that area. The history of its excavation is also noteworthy. The team found exceptional mosaics depicting items associated with Jewish holidays, including a menorah, ram's horn, and citron tree. Mosaics in the basilica of the synagogue show the facade of what resembles a Torah, animals, trees, and other biblical symbols. The structure measures 20 by 24 metres and was probably last used in the 6th century AD as a church.

The territory of Albania in antiquity was inhabited by the Illyrians,who, like other Balkan peoples, were subdivided into tribes and clans. The kingdom of Illyria grew from the general area of modern-day Northern Albania and eventually controlled much of the eastern Adriatic coastline. Scodra was its capital, just as the city is now the most important urban center of northern Albania. The kingdom, however, reached the zenith of its expansion and development in the 4th century BC, when King Bardyllis , one of the most prominent of the Illyrian kings, united many Illyrian tribes into one Illyrian kingdom, and attacked the Greeks of the Molossian kingdom of Epirus and the kingdom of Macedon. Its decay began under the same ruler as a result of the attacks made by Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great.

Independence and recent history

Ancient Illyria was conquered by Romans, Slavs, and Ottoman Turks (15th cent.) Skanderbeg withstood repeated attacks and forced Sultan Murad II to conclude a 10-year truce in 1461. Skanderbeg broke the truce in 1463 when Pope Pius II called for a new crusade. The pope's death (1464) forced abandonment of the crusade. Skanderbeg, left without allies, had to retreat to his fortress of Kruja. After his death the league dissolved, resistance collapsed, and Albania fell to the Ottomans.Independent Albania was proclaimed in 1912 and the republic was formed in 1920. King Zog I ruled 1925-39, until Italy invaded Albania.

File:Tirana, Albania 1944-11-20.jpg

Tirana liberated November 20, 1944 by the Albanian partisans.

Albania was one of the first countries occupied by the Axis Powers in World War II. As Hitler began his aggressions, the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini set his eyes on Albania across the Adriatic from Italy. Despite some strong resistance, especially at Durrës, Italy invaded Albania on April 7, 1939 and took control of the country.Mussolini, in October 1940, used his Albanian base to launch an attack on Greece. During WWII, Albanian nationalist groups, including communist partisans, fought against the Italians and subsequently the Germans. By October 1944 they had thrown the Germans out, the only East European nation to do so without the assistance of Soviet troops. The partially French-educated Enver Hoxha became the leader of the country by virtue of his position as secretary general of the Party of Labor (the Albanian Communist Party). The Communist Party was created on November 8, 1941 with the help of the Yugoslavian Communist Party.

Albania is unique in that it is the only European country occupied by the Nazis that ended World War II with a larger Jewish population than before the War. The Albanian response to the Holocaust is especially notable because it was Europe's only largely Muslim country. .Even so only a Jewish family of six was deported and killed during the Nazi occupation of Albania. Not only did the Albanians protect their own Jews, but they provided refuge for Jews from neighboring countries. The Albanians refused to comply and hand over lists of Jews. Instead they provided the Jewish families with forged documents and helped them disperse in the Albanian population.

But Muslim Cham Albanians collobarated with Nazis and played an active part in the Holocaust in Greece, including the round-up and expulsion to Auschwitz and Birkenau of the 2,000 strong Romaniotes Greek-Jewish community of Ioannina in April 1944 .

Albania allied with the USSR, and then broke with the USSR in 1960 over de-Stalinization. A strong political alliance with China followed, leading to several billion dollars in aid, which was curtailed after 1974. China cut off aid in 1978 when Albania attacked its policies after the death of Chinese ruler Mao Zedong. Large-scale purges of officials occurred during the 1970s.

Enver Hoxha, the nation's ruler for 4 decades, died Apr. 11, 1985. Eventually the new regime introduced some liberalization, including measures in 1990 providing for freedom to travel abroad. Efforts were begun to improve ties with the outside world. March 1991 elections left the former Communists in power, but a general strike and urban opposition led to the formation of a coalition cabinet including non-Communists.

Albania's former Communists were routed in elections Mar. 1992, amid economic collapse and social unrest. Sali Berisha was elected as the first non-Communist president since WWII.

During NATO's air war against Yugoslavia, March-June 1999, Albania hosted some 465,000 Kosovar refugees. Victory by a pro-Berisha coalition in elections July 3, 2005, ended 8 years of Socialist Party rule. Crowds in Tirana, June 10, 2007, welcomed George W. Bush, the first sitting U.S. president to visit Albania.

Sali Berisha with U.S. President George W. Bush in Tirana.

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Albania

The Albanian republic is a parliamentary democracy established under a constitution renewed in 1998. Elections are now held every four years to a unicameral 140-seat chamber, the People’s Assembly.In June 2002, a compromise candidate, Alfred Moisiu, former Army General, was elected to succeed President Rexhep Meidani. Parliamentary elections in July 2005 brought Sali Berisha, as leader of the Democratic Party, back to power. The Euro-Atlantic integration of Albania has been the ultimate goal of the post-communist governments. Albania's EU membership bid has been set as a priority by the European Commission. Albania, along with Croatia and the Republic of Macedonia, hopes to receive an invitation to join NATO in 2008.

The workforce of Albania has continued to migrate to Greece, Italy, Germany, other parts of Europe, and North America. However, the migration flux is slowly decreasing, as more and more opportunities are emerging in Albania itself as its economy steadily develops. Albanian emigrants have achieved great success in multiple geographies and disciplines abroad. In particular, there is now a significant Albanian community in the United Kingdom, in cities such as Birmingham and Manchester. The Albanian Diaspora is most prevalent in Liverpool, where Albanian cuisine has something of a cult following. Pulitzer prize winning journalist Caroline Thorpe, who is currently an emeritus professor at the University of Liverpool, recently noted that 'Albanian food has become as synonymous with Liverpool as Bill Shankley or the Beatles!'.

Administrative division

Counties of Albania

Main articles: Counties of Albania, Districts of Albania, and Municipalities of Albania

Albania is divided into 12 administrative divisions called (Albanian: official qark/qarku, but often prefekturë/prefektura Counties),36 districts and 351 municipalities.Each region has its Regional Council and is composed of a number of Municipalities and Communes, which are the first level of local governance responsible for local needs and law enforcement.

	County	Districts	Capital
1	Berat	Berat, Kuçovë, Skrapar	Berat
2	Dibër	Bulqizë, Dibër, Mat	Peshkopi
3	Durrës	Durrës, Krujë	Durrës
4	Elbasan	Elbasan, Gramsh, Librazhd, Peqin	Elbasan
5	Fier	Fier, Lushnjë, Mallakastër	Fier
6	Gjirokastër	Gjirokastër, Përmet, Tepelenë	Gjirokastër
7	Korçë	Devoll, Kolonjë, Korçë, Pogradec	Korçë
8	Kukës	Has, Kukës, Tropojë	Kukës
9	Lezhë	Kurbin, Lezhë, Mirditë	Lezhë
10	Shkodër	Malësi e Madhe, Pukë, Shkodër	Shkodër
11	Tirana	Kavajë, Tirana	Tirana
12	Vlorë	Delvinë, Sarandë, Vlorë	Vlorë

Geography

Main article: Geography of Albania

File:South albania beach.jpg

Coastline in southern Albania.

Albania has a total area of 28,750 square kilometers. Its coastline is 362 kilometres long and stretches on the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian Sea. The lowlands of the west face the Adriatic Sea. The 70% of the country that is mountainous is rugged and often inaccessible. The highest mountain is Korab situated in the district of Dibra, reaching up to 2,753 metres (9,032 ft). The country has a continental climate at its high altitude regions with cold winters and hot summers. Besides the capital city of Tirana, which has 800,000 inhabitants, the principal cities are Durrës, Elbasan, Shkodër, Gjirokastër, Vlorë, Korçë and Kukës. In Albanian grammar, a word can have indefinite and definite forms, and this also applies to city names: both Tiranë and Tirana, Shkodër and Shkodra are used.

Demographics

As of July 2007, Albania's population of 3,600,523 is growing by 0.73% per year. Albania is a largely ethnically homogeneous country with only small minorities. Majority of the total population is considered Albanian. Minorities include Greeks, Aromanians, Torbesh, Gorani, Macedonians, Roma, Montenegrins, Bulgarians, Balkan Egyptians and Jews. The dominant language is Albanian, with two main dialects, Gheg and Tosk. Many Albanians are also fluent in English, Italian and Greek.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Albania

The democratically elected government that won the elections on April 1992 launched an ambitious economic reform programme to halt economic deterioration and forced the country on the path of a market economy. A comprehensive package of structural reforms, including privatization, enterprise, and financial sector reform, creation of the legal framework for a market economy and private sector activity. After severe economic contraction following 1989, the economy slowly rebounded, finally surpassing its 1989 levels by the end of the 1990s. Since prices have also risen, however, economic hardship has continued for much of the population. In 1995, Albania began privatizing large state enterprises.

Following the signing of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement in June/July 2006, EU ministers urged Albania to push ahead with reforms, focusing on freedom of press, property rights, institution building, respect for ethnic minorities and observing international standards in municipal elections. Albania has made an impressive recovery, building a modern and diversified economy. Recent administrations have also improved the country's infrastructure and opened competition in seaports, railroads, telecommunications, electricity generation, natural gas distribution and airports. This is a chart of trend of gross domestic product of Albania in Albanian currency and at Purchasing Power Parity (PPP--i.e., taking inflation into account) estimated by the International Monetary Fund with figures in billions of Lekes respectively.

Year	Gross Domestic Product	US Dollar Exchange	Inflation Index (2000=100)
1980	17,411	9.49 Lekes	5.10
1985	18,896	8.58 Lekes	5.10
1990	18,840	9.01 Lekes	5.10
1995	251,843	92.79 Lekes	55
2000	530,906	143.68 Lekes	100
2005	986,833	100.19 Lekes	121

Tourism in Albania is a large industry and is growing rapidly. The most notable tourist attractions are the ancient sites of Apollonia, Butrinti, and Krujë. Albania's coastline is becoming increasingly popular with tourists due to its relatively unspoiled nature and its beaches.

Religion

Main article: Religion in Albania

Christianity was adopted in the region of Albania during Roman rule by the middle of the 1st century AD. At first, the new religion had to compete with Oriental cults such the worshiping Mithra - the Persian God of light, known in the region due to Rome's growing interaction with eastern regions of the Roman Empire. For a long time, it also competed with gods worshiped by Illyrian pagans. The steady growth of the Christian community in Dyrrhachium (the Roman name for Epidamnus) led to the creation of a local bishopric in 58 AD. Later, episcopal seats were established in Apollonia, Buthrotum (modern Butrint), and Scodra (modern Shkodra). After the division of the Roman Empire in 395, Albania fall under the umbrella of the Eastern Roman Empire, but remained ecclesiastically dependent on Rome. During the final schism on 1054 between the Western and Eastern churches, the Christians in southern Albania came under the jurisdiction of the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople, and those in the north under the purview of the Papacy in Rome. The arrangement prevailed until the Ottoman invasion of the 14th century, when the Islamic faith was imposed.

Albanian language

Main article: Albanian language

Albanian was proven to be an Indo-European language in 1854 by the German philologist Franz Bopp. The Albanian language comprises its own branch of the Indo-European language family, next related to Armenian and Greek.

Some scholars believe that Albanian derives from Illyrianwhile others, claim that it derives from Daco-Thracian. (Illyrian and Daco-Thracian, however, might have been closely related languages; see Thraco-Illyrian.)

Establishing longer relations, Albanian is often compared to Balto-Slavic on the one hand and Germanic on the other, both of which share a number of isoglosses with Albanian. Moreover, Albanian has undergone a vowel shift in which stressed, long o has fallen to a, much like in the former and opposite the latter. Likewise, Albanian has taken the old relative jos and innovatively used it exclusively to qualify adjectives, much in the way Balto-Slavic has used this word to provide the definite ending of adjectives.

Literature

Main article: Albanian literature

See also: List of Albanian writers

The cultural resistance was first of all expressed through the elaboration of the Albanian language in the area of church texts and publications, mainly of the Catholic confessional region in the North, but also of the Orthodox in the South. The Protestant reforms invigorated hopes for the development of the local language and literary tradition when cleric Gjon Buzuku brought into the Albanian language the Catholic liturgy, trying to do for the Albanian language what Luther did for German.

Excerpt from Meshari by Gjon Buzuku.

Meshari (The Missal) by Gjon Buzuku, published by him in 1555, is considered to date as the first literary work of written Albanian. The refined level of the language and the stabilised orthography must be a result of an earlier tradition of writing Albanian, a tradition that is not known. But there are some fragmented evidence, dating earlier than Buzuku, which indicate that Albanian was written at least since 14th century AD. The first known evidence dates from 1332 AD and deals with the French Dominican Guillelmus Adae, Archbishop of Antivari, who in a report in Latin writes that Albanians use Latin letters in their books although their language is quite different from Latin. Of special importance in supporting this are: a baptizing formula (Unte paghesont premenit Atit et Birit et spertit senit) of 1462, written in Albanian within a text in Latin by the bishop of Durrës, Pal Engjëlli; a glossary with Albanian words of 1497 by Arnold von Harff, a German who had travelled through Albania, and a 15th century fragment from the Bible from the Gospel of Matthew, also in Albanian, but in Greek letters.

Albanian writings of these centuries must not have been religious texts only, but historical chronicles too. They are mentioned by the humanist Marin Barleti, who, in his book Rrethimi i Shkodrës (The Siege of Shkodër) (1504), confirms that he leafed through such chronicles written in the language of the people (in vernacula lingua). Despite the obstacles generated by the Counter-Reformation which was opposed to the development of national languages in Christian liturgy, this process went on uninterrupted. During the 16th to 17th centuries, the catechism E mbësuame krishterë (Christian Teachings) (1592) by Lekë Matrënga, Doktrina e krishterë (The Christian Doctrine) (1618) and Rituale romanum (1621) by Pjetër Budi, the first writer of original Albanian prose and poetry, an apology for George Castriot (1636) by Frang Bardhi, who also published a dictionary and folklore creations, the theological-philosophical treaty Cuneus Prophetarum (The Band of Prophets) (1685) by Pjetër Bogdani, the most universal personality of Albanian Middle Ages, were published in Albanian.

Cuisine

Main article: Cuisine of Albania

The cuisine of Albania, as with most Mediterranean and Balkan nations, is strongly influenced by its long history. At different times, the territory of Albania has been occupied by Greece, Italy and the Ottoman Turks, and each group has left its mark on Albanian cuisine. The main meal of the Albanians is lunch, and it is usually accompanied by a salad of fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, green peppers, and olives with olive oil, vinegar and salt.Lunch also includes a main dish of vegetables and meat. Seafood specialties are also common in the coastal areas of Durrës, Vlorë and Sarandë.

Gallery

• 
  Butrint, UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• 
  Apollonia, Albania.
• Sunny colorful morning in Tirana.
  Sunny colorful morning in Tirana.
• 
  Remains of a chapel in Butrint, Albania.
• Fishing in Albania.
  Fishing in Albania.
• 
  Ali Pasha's Castle, Albania.
• 
  Azure Eye, one of the many fresh water springs in Sarandë, Albania, (known as the wedding city).
• 
  Petrela Castle, Tirana, Albania.
• 
  The Mountain of Shpiragu in Berat area. 130 km south of Tirana, Albania.
• 
  Morning sun near Tepelena. South Albania.
• 
  It is often described as a rude territory, but the Mallakastra Mountains inhabitants are famous for their hospitality.
• 
  The valley of river Vjosa in Kelcyra. Surrounded by mountains, the valley is of an extreme beauty.
• Durres seaside. 40 km from the capital Tirana.
  Durres seaside. 40 km from the capital Tirana.
• 
  Dhermi beach. Between Vlora and Saranda.
• 
  Sunset in Jala beach.
• Drinos river valley near Tepelena, Southern Albania.
  Drinos river valley near Tepelena, Southern Albania.
• Contryside in Berat, one of the oldest cities in Albania.
  Contryside in Berat, one of the oldest cities in Albania.
• Animal farming in the area of Permet, South-East Albania.
  Animal farming in the area of Permet, South-East Albania.
• 
  Traditional male group singing in the Area of Skrapar, South-Est Albania.

Panoramic view of Tirana as seen from Dajti Mountain.

See also

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Lists

• List of Albania-related articles
• List of Albanians
• List of Albanian writers
• List of Albanian-Americans
• International rankings of Albania

External links

Wikimedia Atlas of Albania

• Presidency of Albania
• The Albanian Parliament
• Albanian Institute of Statistics
• "Albania". The World Factbook (2024 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
• National Tourism Organization Albania's official website for travel & tourism information.
• Tourism, Krujë
• Template:Wikitravel
• VIVAlbania, hospitality and ecotourism in Albania
• Treasure of the national library of Albania