Tirana 23:56 7°C
It's clear

The population of the country is 2,986,952 people The territory of Albania is 28,748 sq. km Located on the continent Europe Capital of Albania Tirana Money in Albania Lek (ALL) Domain zone .al Country calling code 355

Hotels

The level of hotels is traditionally divided by "star". Resort type hotels are being actively built in the coastal regions of the country. But private boarding houses and apartment rentals from local residents are still very popular. First, it's cheaper about 20 euros per day with meals), and secondly, this is a great opportunity to feel the flavor of local lands.

Most coastal hotels are family-run, swimming pools are rare, and the level of service is modest. Tourism infrastructure in the country began to develop quite recently, so even in the midst of beach season you can always find a free room.

Climate of Albania:: Mild temperate. Cool, cloudy, wet winters. Hot dry summer.

Attractions

Albania attracts tourists with the warm Adriatic and Ionian seas and the rich heritage left by Greece, Byzantium and the Ottoman Empire.

The pride of the country is the cleanest beaches, delicious cuisine, original countryside and rich historical past.

The remains of Roman fortifications are well preserved in the city of Elbasan.(now there is a museum) and Turkish baths. The fortress of Kruja in Tirania is the main tourist attraction of these places. This is the former family estate of the national hero of the country, Skanderberg. But a tourist should come here not only for the sake of the fortress: beautiful mountain views open from the castle, and an amazing bazaar works nearby in the mornings: here you can buy not only souvenirs home, but also antiques: old coins, jewelry, dishes and even a gramophone!

City of Shkoder- Not only oldest city country, but throughout Europe. There are a lot of interesting things here: the mosque of Sheikh Zamil Abdullah Al-Zamil, the Rozafa fortress, the preserved Catholic cathedrals (once this city was the main Catholic center of the country), the Shkoder fortress built in the 4th century BC.

Terrain of Albania:: Mainly mountains and hills. Small plains along the coast.

Museums

The National Museum in Tirana is the main one in the country. As the name implies, its collection is dedicated to the centuries-old history of the Albanian people. The exhibits do not have English tablets, this is partially compensated by the rich and varied collection of the museum.

At the Art Gallery in Tirana you can look at the collection of paintings by Albanian authors. Although the artists are unknown to a wide circle, the collection is very interesting and covers a large time period: there are paintings of the 13th century, and there are paintings of the usual socialist realism style.

Burinti- most famous Archaeological Museum under open sky in Albania. These are the remains of an ancient Greek city, with a well-preserved amphitheater.

Albania has resources like: Oil, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, salt, forests, hydropower.

Resorts

The country has two areas where tourists from all over Europe come together: the coast of the Ionian and the Adriatic Sea. The Adriatic is less popular because the water is slightly cooler and the season ends earlier. Adriatic coast sandy, Ionian - rocky and small pebbles.

Main tourist cities-Durres, Vlore, Himara, Ksamil.

Money of Albania: The currency of the (national) Albania is Lek - ALL. It is equal to 100 kindars. In Albania, the standard banknotes are 5000, 200, 100, 500, 1000. In addition, the National Bank of Albania tries to issue coins with denominations: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100 leks. In addition, dollars and even euros on the territory of the state are freely distributed. They are used on a par with Leks.

Leisure

Albania has clean beaches and beautiful nature. Tourism in the country is not very developed, but this does not prevent you from basking on the cleanest beaches, traveling through the mountains, exploring the local flavor and trying the national Albanian cuisine.

Albanian beaches amaze with cleanliness and beauty, many coasts are marked with the EU blue flag for good ecology.

The country has recently opened for tourists, here you can find wild beaches both sea, unspoilt construction and hotels.

70% of the country's territory is mountains. Skiing here is much cheaper than in Austria or Andorra. The capital, Tirana, is famous for the most intense nightlife in the country.

Transport

The main means of transportation in cities are buses and taxis. Travel is cheaper than in EU countries. Although gasoline costs about the same. There are many buses, but they do not follow the schedule, but from the moment when it is filled with passengers as much as possible. Most stops are made at the request of passengers, the bus can also turn off its route if someone asks to “throw a little more”.

The roads in the country are not very good and narrow. If you are going to the airport, leave with plenty of time: traffic jams will accompany you all the way. Tirana has separate bike paths.

Standard of living

Albania is the poorest country in Europe. The standard of living of the country occupies the penultimate place on the mainland, ahead of Moldova. According to official statistics, 25% of the population lives below the poverty line. At the same time, food is much cheaper than in Russia. Local residents are mainly employed in the service sector.

The main vacationers in Albania are Italians (at home it costs more than here). Many travelers compare Albania with Russia in the 90s.

Cities of Albania

The capital is the city of Tirana. Its architectural basis is old buildings, standing close to each other, connected by narrow streets, the legacy of the Ottoman Empire. The buildings of the last century are very similar to Soviet ones. Currently, work is underway to restore the city to its historical appearance.

The largest cities are Vlora, Shkodra, Durres.

Population

Coordinates

Qarku and Tiranes

The climate in Albania is subtropical, which means that there are cool winters with high humidity and dry summers with stable high temperatures. Albania is popular among tourists in the summer, but even in any other period it is comfortable to relax here.

Albanian language

The language is represented by two main dialects of Albanian - Gegian and Tosk.

Albanian Cuisine

The cuisine is characterized by a mixture of culinary traditions of East and West, since, both territorially and historically, Albania is at the crossroads of cultures, while absorbing the national preferences of its neighbors. In general, these are foods, spices and dishes familiar to a European.

Religion in Albania

Albania is the only European country with a majority Muslim population (70%), mostly Sunnis. Representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church here about 20%, Catholics - about 10%.

Socio-political system of Albania

The Democratic Republic of Albania is headed by a President. The government reports to the prime minister. The main state legislative body is the unicameral People's Assembly.

Economy of Albania

The main population of the country is employed in the agricultural sector. The chemical, oil, woodworking, and mining industries are actively developing. Albania has something to offer tourists, so the development of this area is strongly supported by the state.

National currency of Albania

The monetary unit of Albania is the lek (has the code ALL).

Holidays in Albania

In Albania, the holidays do not fundamentally differ from the generally accepted secular European and religious Muslim holidays. Among the state ones, Teacher's Day is interesting, which Albanians celebrate on March 7th. It is not so much a tribute to the profession as it was adopted in honor of the opening in 1887 of the country's first school, which taught in the national Albanian language. Independence Day on November 28 smoothly flows into Liberation Day on November 29. The historical events themselves, in honor of which the holidays are taken, are separated by almost 80 years.

The main resorts of Albania

Most popular resorts The country is its main historical pearls, replete with amazing monuments of antiquity. Tirana, Apollonia, Berat, Butrint, Vlora, Gjirokastra, Durres, Korca, Kukes, Pogradets, Saranda, Shkoder are in the list of resorts, especially frequented by tourists. They are loved by many, not only because of the wonderful Mediterranean climate. Here guests are provided with the most comfortable conditions for educational tourism and sea recreation.

Sights of Albania

The centuries-old mixing of such different cultures has led to the fact that the streets and alleys of Albanian cities look bizarre and even fabulous. Next to the pompous buildings of the socialist period, you can see Muslim minarets, and a little to the side magnificent monuments and columns from the times of ancient Greece. There are many Orthodox churches and temples in Albania, the ruins of the times of Ancient Greece, and cities such as Gjirokastra, Shkodra, Berat are called museum cities: there are so many architectural monuments here.

Name of the Republic of Albania. country comes from the Illyrian olba - "village".

Capital of the Republic of Albania. Tirana.

Square of the Republic of Albania. 28748 km2.

Population of Albania. 2.901 million people (

Albania GDP. $13.37 billion (

Location of the Republic of Albania

The state is located in the southeast, in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula. In the north and northwest it borders with and, in the east - with, in the south - with. From the west it is washed by the waters, from the southwest -.

Administrative division Republic of Albania. It is divided into 36 districts (reti) and the capital district.

Form of government of the Republic of Albania. Parliamentary republic.

Head of State of the Republic of Albania. The President is elected by the People's Assembly for a term of 5 years.
Higher Legislature. Kuvend (People's Assembly), term of office - 4 years.

The highest executive body of the Republic of Albania. Council of Ministers.

Major cities of the Republic of Albania. Durres, Elbasan, Korca.

State language of the Republic of Albania. Albanian.

Religion of the Republic of Albania. 70% - Muslims, 20% - Orthodox, 10% -.

Ethnic composition Republic of Albania. 96% - Albanians, 3% - Greeks.

Currency of Albania. Lek = 100 kintars.

The climate of the Republic of Albania. , with dry hot summers (+ 24-25°С) and mild rainy winters (+ 9°С). Snow falls in the mountains in winter. are over 1000 mm per year.

Flora of the Republic of Albania. Most of the country is wooded and mountainous. Evergreen shrubs, oak, chestnut, beech, pine, and spruce grow here. In the zone over 2000 m -.

Fauna of the Republic of Albania. Animal world quite poor. In sparsely populated areas there are wolves, jackals, wild boars, mountain eagles; there are many waterfowl in coastal areas.

To visit the Albanian capital, you need to mentally prepare. I still remember my first shock from the dirt, the noise, the lack of street signs and horse riders trying to knock down any pedestrian who dared to step on the roadway. Six months after returning from a trip, I look at the photographs of Tirana and my memories seem far-fetched to me. Tirana is a dynamic, car-heavy city with green boulevards, public parks, a concrete-banked river and a digital map from Google. Only a photograph of a rat along the river gives some truth to my memories.

Monument to Skanderbeg main square Tyrants.

Tirana was the first city I visited in Albania. Night bus from Macedonia dropped me off at half past five in the morning on one of the deserted streets of the Albanian capital. The place of disembarkation of passengers, although it seemed to be chosen by the driver that night quite by accident, was obviously guarded by a crowd of taxi drivers who began to importunately offer their services to sleepy passengers, only they began to get off the bus, and grab their hands to draw attention to themselves.

Skanderbeg Square as I saw it at dawn. I was disappointed to learn that Tirana's main square is under renovation.

At night the capital of Albania sleeping. Along the street that led me to Skanderbeg Square, a pack of stray dogs was running next to me. The first impression completely coincided with the well-known stereotype of Albania in Europe.

Monument to Skanderbeg in the main square of Tirana. Skanderbeg is the national hero of Albania. I wrote about his participation in the formation of the Albanian national idea in a report from the fortress of Kruja.

Skanderbeg Square is made in the classical style of the main squares of all the totalitarian states of the world. In such countries, the task central square- create the illusion of importance and prosperity. The huge area does not produce a sense of integrity, as its appearance has been formed over decades. It contains a modern opera house, a history museum, the ancient Ethem mosque, a monument to the national hero Skanderbeg, three-story government buildings and a fifteen-story Tirana International Hotel. Each of these buildings was built in a different period of history, so the current architectural ensemble looks very discordant. I was also unlucky in the fact that during my visit the area was closed for reconstruction, new sewer pipes and concrete blocks were scattered everywhere. The facade of the Museum of Albanian History was covered with scaffolding, and the famous relief on the theme of Albanian history was hidden from view.

The Tirana International Hotel is the tallest building on Skanderbeg Square.

The purpose of the reconstruction is to remove car traffic from the main square of the city and make it completely pedestrian. So the authorities of Tirana want to make their city more attractive to tourists. The construction sponsor is the Bank of Kuwait. In addition to the arrangement of the main square, the Bank of Kuwait pays for the construction of the largest mosque in Albania somewhere nearby.

Albanian Opera House, a gift from the Soviet government to the communist government of Albania. After the break in relations with the USSR in 1961, the building stood unfinished for a long time until the Albanians completed it on their own.

At about five o'clock in the morning, the imam called through a megaphone on the minaret for morning prayer, after which the first "larks" appeared on the square. Over the next hour, the square gradually filled with people. The first policeman also appeared on duty, he came to work on a broken bicycle. Sleepy people in the early morning made a depressing impression. Not only did they not smile rising sun, but also looked very unkindly at a man with a large camera.

Museum of the History of Albania with a bas-relief made in best traditions socialist realism.

Thanks to a friend of a friend of a friend of mine, I was placed in a hotel in the western part of Tirana. There was no map in my guide capitals of Albania, so it seemed to me that I live on the outskirts of civilization. Having uploaded photos to the world map a few days ago, I found out that the hotel was at a distance of one transport ring from the center, that is, approximately 20 minutes walk from the central square. Without a map and not knowing the best route, I reached the center in a roundabout way.

A typical apartment building in Tirana. From broken plaster and holes in the windows in the stairwell, one can draw a very accurate conclusion about the average standard of living in Albania.

After breakfast, I went straight to the city of Kruya, twenty kilometers north of Tirana. To do this, I searched for a long time for the courtyard of a residential building in which passengers gather to Kruja. About Features fixed-route taxi in Albania, I spoke in detail in an overview report from Albania.

Minibuses collect passengers in the courtyards of residential buildings, as there is still free parking there. In the photo above: a minibus to the Kruya fortress in one of the courtyards of the capital.

In Kruja, I visited the museum of the national hero of Albania, Skanderbeg, got acquainted with the national life of a wealthy Albanian family of the 19th century in the ethnographic museum and bought several souvenirs to take home. Upon my return, I fell asleep and slept until 4 pm. So I managed to avoid the heat.

There is a lot of traffic on the streets of Tirana. Drivers not only do not give way to pedestrians, but, it seems, they strive to knock down anyone who steps on the roadway.

Capital of Albania is a very hot city. average temperature the air in August reaches 31 degrees here, and during my trip to Tirana the sun was roasting at all 40 degrees! I overslept the hottest time of the day, after which I took a shower and went out into the city. I had all the time left to get acquainted with the Albanian capital until sunset, that is, no more than four hours.

Dust, heat and aggressive drivers do not scare off pedestrians who urgently need to cross the opposite side of the street.

Mercedes is the most common car on the streets of Albania. Most of the old "Mercedes" were stolen in Western Europe.

With no map of the city and no street signs, I didn't know where to go. First of all, I moved towards the river, which I saw in the morning. The river crosses the city from east to west and divides Tirana into two parts. In the southern part of the city, there used to be the Blloku district, in which the political elite of the ruling regime lived. Entrance to Bloka was forbidden to ordinary people. Today, Blokku is "open and open around the clock" (c). Here, more often than in other parts of the city, you can meet foreigners, both tourists and embassy employees, as well as golden Albanian youth. In Blloku I dined at one of the most famous restaurants in Tirana, Era. I recommend!

In Albania, a lifestyle familiar to us from travels in the Middle East is common: men can recline in armchairs for hours, discuss politics, drink coffee and play backgammon.

Albanian men play dominoes in the afternoon.

In a cafe in the courtyard of a residential building, all the exchange of valuable information takes place.

The first floors of houses in Tirana are reserved for private business. Small business is booming in the city.

While I still had a few hours before dinner, I began to search for the city center, moving along the river. On both sides of the concrete banks of the river stretched a lawn with mowed lawn, and the river could be crossed over small bridges, many of which were pedestrian. On one of these footbridges, a guy was selling books “off the pavement” and he was very disappointed that I managed to photograph him. Photographers are not liked in Albania.

The Lana River divides the city into northern and southern parts.

Selling books on the bridge over the river Lana.

A rat digs in the leaves on the river bank. Tirana is still very dirty.

Tirana is very dirty. As a result of the turbulent events of the nineties, the population of the Albanian capital grew from three hundred thousand to half a million inhabitants. Near the river, I caught my eye a rat when he was digging in a pile of fallen leaves. There is a lot of dust on the street, the feeling of which only intensifies on a dry hot day. But among all this dirt, highways are separated by boulevards with trees and flowering bushes, and pedestrian sidewalks are tiled. In the morning the roads are watered. In several places outside the center, I came across signs with tourist information on how to get to the most popular attractions.

Bilingual direction signs to attractions on Kavaja Street (Rruga Kavaja).

Many avenues of Tirana are decorated with flowering bushes and green alleys.

Another boulevard in Tirana is on Sami Frasheri Street, the creator of the Albanian alphabet.

The city authorities of Tirana, although mired in corruption and other sins inherent in politics, still pay some attention to the improvement of the city, as much as possible. There are no postal codes in Tirana, and house numbers are not written on the facades. But the old apartment buildings, which it would be appropriate to call barracks, judging by the standard of living, are being put in order, at least from the outside. According to the decree of the previous mayor of Tirana, the facades of many old houses were painted in bright colors and fantastic patterns.

The old quarters are trying to "cheer up" with colorful patterns on the facades. Nothing has changed inside the houses.

Hanging clothes were painted on the facade of this house, so that the hanging clothes would not really be so conspicuous.

Capital of Albania experiencing a construction boom. Modern housing is built as high as possible. The 25-storey TID tower near the central square of Tirana will soon become the tallest residential building in the city.

There is a HUGE income gap in Tirana. It would seem, what should be the gap in income, so that it catches the eye of a Kievan! The problem is that there is almost no industry in Albania, and the beginnings of an economy built on the principles of a command-administrative system of government collapsed along with the dictatorial regime of Enver Hoxha, barely holding out for 45 years of a failed political experiment. Poverty was characteristic of Albania already in the days of communism. Corruption flourished. In addition to poverty, the communist government of Albania led a highly discriminatory policy towards its citizens. Not only did the nomenclature and ordinary people live in separate areas, the entrance to which was closed, so even the car was an item of unimaginable luxury. In 1990, there were only 1,000 cars in all of Albania, all owned by politicians.

Taxi rank at one of the key squares of Tirana, Karl Topia Square (Sheshi Karl Topia).

A brand new jeep "Cadillac" in one of the lanes of Tirana.

As we know, the fall of the planned economy spurs the development of wild (!) capitalism, as it was in Eastern Europe in the 1990s. The Albanian path to capitalism was no exception. In addition to institutionalized corruption, theft flourished in the country. In the old days, theft was punished by a prison term; in modern times, it is indirectly encouraged by a shattered economic system. In the turbulent 1990s, the most valuable part of state property was privatized, the rest was plundered and sold for scrap. This, for example, happened with Soviet submarines, which the population sawed up and sold for scrap during the 1997 civil war. The railroad rails were also actively used for scrap metal.

Shopping area in the center of Tirana. Here you will find clothing and accessories from all global brands.

Shopping street Myuslym Shyri (Rruga Myslym Shyri) in the center of Tirana.

ABOUT civil war 1997 should be told separately. After the fall of the communist regime, Albania, like all countries, decided to follow the path of democracy. The elected governments changed one after another. All of them were distinguished by a thirst for quick profit and corruption. In 1997, the patience of the people broke when it turned out that two-thirds of the country were victims of financial pyramids organized by several politicians. Desperate people took to the streets to protest. Aggressive protest acquired an armed character, people began to throw stones at the police, smash shops. Foreign governments urgently evacuated their embassies. For several months, Albania plunged into chaos and confusion. The mess lasted six months. As a result of the events described, two thousand people died.

One of the abandoned factories in Tirana. Now on its territory there is a bus station of the southern direction.

During the riots, the separatism of the southerners added to the discontent of the deceived MMM depositors, which once again emphasized the differences in the economic and religious composition of the country. The mountainous south is less developed than the flat north, and due to its proximity to Greece, Orthodoxy dominates here, while the northern part of Albania is more industrialized and more Muslim. In principle, the religious factor was not decisive in this conflict, since during the 45 years of communism, the people of Albania were forcibly deprived of their religious affiliation. Although Albania is considered Muslim country, the people in it are no more religious than in any other Eastern European country.

In the courtyards of residential buildings there are "shops" of clothes, shoes ...


... and spare parts.

Albania is a multifaceted country, primarily in religious terms. It is impossible not to notice, walking around Tirana. The Ethem Mosque is located on the main square. Unlike many other temples, this mosque was not destroyed during the years of the struggle against religion.

Ethem Mosque.

Ethem Mosque is the oldest building on Skanderbeg Square. The mosque is famous for being ancient, and there are very few ancient buildings in Tirana, and for the fact that the interior of the mosque is painted “inspired by Jerusalem”.

Behind the trees you can see the construction of a huge Orthodox church.

In the neighboring quarter with the mosque, a huge Orthodox cathedral is being built in the spirit of modern architecture. The construction started in 2007. During my visit, the external decoration of the temple was almost completely completed.

The Orthodox Cathedral is being built in the spirit of modern architecture, which indicates the independence of the Albanian autocephalous Orthodox Church from the more conservative Greek and Serbian churches.

A few streets away from the Orthodox Cathedral is the Catholic Cathedral of St. Paul, opened in 2001. The interior of the cathedral is decorated with stained-glass windows with images of Pope John Paul II and Mother Teresa. In front of the cathedral is a monument to Mother Teresa, an ethnic Albanian of the Catholic faith, born in Macedonia.

The monument to Mother Teresa is located near the Catholic Cathedral of St. Paul. In honor of Mother Teresa in Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia, a huge number of streets, squares, schools and stadiums are named.

Tirana is the center of Bektashism, a liberal offshoot of Islam founded in the 13th century. Followers of Bektashism are allowed to drink alcohol, and their women are given a more important role than in traditional Islam.

Expensive shops in the center of Tirana.

In the center of Tirana, you can walk along the pedestrian street. Murat Toptani Street runs along the remains of the Tirana fortress. Through the crack in the gate, you can see that there is something very secret in the courtyard of the fortress. The first pedestrian street of Tirana is tiled, and along the curb, LED lights are built into the ground, smoothly changing color from blue to bright yellow.

Pedestrian street Murat Toptani in the center of Tirana.

Ruins of the fortress of Tirana.

The buildings of the National Assembly and the Academy of Sciences of Albania are hidden in the park next to the fortress of Tirana. The latter was founded only in 1972.

A block from the main square, the construction of the very high building Tirana - residential building TID Tower. Its height will reach 85 meters. The 25-storey building of the Belgian architectural firm will be the first of a series of high-rise buildings in the capital, which should give Tirana a modern face. As far as I understand, construction is being carried out literally on top of the tomb of Suleiman Pasha.

View of the Ethem Mosque and the residential skyscraper TID Tower under construction.

A very elite shopping complex is located on the first two floors of the Twin Towers at the beginning of Martyrs Boulevard (Bulevardi Dёshmorёt e Kombit).

The Boulevard of the Martyrs leads to the opposite bank of the river, ending in Mother Teresa Square, where the building of the Academy of Arts and the main building of the University of Tirana are located. The boulevard itself leaves an ambiguous impression: the roadway here is paved with paving slabs. In my opinion, this is not the most rational solution for a country where banditry is still a means of survival.

Boulevard of the Martyrs.

Next to Tirana's most fashionable quarter and the Twin Towers (in Tirana it is customary to call the most elite residential buildings by English names), young people ride skateboards in the park around the mausoleum of former Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha. The pyramid-shaped mausoleum was built according to the design of the dictator's daughter, but soon after his death it was closed. In the 1990s and early 2000s, it housed a discotheque, but the building is now abandoned.

Pyramid of the "leader" of the Albanian people.

I finished my walk at the Era restaurant and, together with a stream of noisy youth, returned to the hotel. The next morning I had an early departure to the south, to the city of Saranda.

The flag of the European Union covers the facade of the building, which will soon open the EU Information Center.

Albania must be considered according to its history. In Europe, Albanians are clearly associated with car theft, and the abundance of stolen Mercedes on the roads causes an ironic smile. Before forming another prejudice in oneself, it is necessary to remember the poverty that this people went through in the 20th century. The greedy and envious looks that I met on myself that early morning in Skanderbeg Square were not a manifestation of evil addressed to me, but only a statement of the extremely disastrous conditions in which modern Albanians have to survive.