Albania is a country located in the Southern Europe.

It is bordered byMontenegro to the

northwest, Kosovo[a] to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. Albania is a parliamentary democracy with a transition economy. The Albanian capital, Tirana, is home to more than 400,000 of the country's 2,800,000 people.[9] Freemarket reforms have opened the country to foreign investment, especially in the development of energy and transportation infrastructure.[10][11][12] Albania was chosen as the No.1 Destination in Lonely Planet's list of ten top countries to visit for 2011. Albania is the name of the country which is called Shqipri by its people. As early as the 16th century the placename Shqipria and the ethnic demonym Shqiptar gradually replaced Arbria and Arbresh. While the two terms

are popularly interpreted as "Land of the Eagles" and "Children of the Eagles", they derive from the adverb shqip, which means "understanding each other". The history of Albania emerged from the prehistoric stage from the 4th century BC, with early records of Illyria in Greco-Roman historiography. The territorial nucleus of the Albanian state formed in the Middle Ages, as the Principality of Arbr and the Kingdom of Albania. In 1999 the country was affected by the Kosovo War, when a great number of Albanians from Kosovo found refuge in Albania. Albania became a full member of NATO in 2009. The country is applying to join the European Union. Albania is divided into 12 administrative counties. 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. The head of state in Albania is the President of the Republic. The President is elected to a 5-year term by the Assembly of the Republic of Albania by secret ballot, requiring a 50%+1 majority of the votes of all deputies. The next election will be held in 2012. The current President of the Republic is Bamir Topi. Albania has a total area of 28,748 square kilometers. Besides the capital city of Tirana, which has 800,000 inhabitants, the principal cities are Durrs, Kor, Elbasan, Shkodr, Gjirokastr, Vlor and Kuks. With its coastline facing the Adriatic and Ionian seas, its highlands backed upon the elevated Balkan landmass, and the entire country lying at a latitude subject to a variety of weather patterns during the winter and summer seasons, Albania has a high number of climatic regions relative to its landmass. The coastal lowlands have typically Mediterranean weather; the highlands have a Mediterranean continental climate. In both the lowlands and the interior, the weather varies markedly from north to south. The lowlands have mild winters, averaging about 7 C (45 F). Summer temperatures average 24 C (75 F). In the southern lowlands, temperatures average about 5 C (9 F) higher throughout the year. The difference is greater than 5 C (9 F) during the summer and somewhat less during the winter. Although a small country, Albania is distinguished for its rich biological diversity. The variation of geomorphology, climate and terrain create favorable conditions for a number of endemic and sub-endemic species with 27 endemic and 160 subendemic vascular plants present in the country. The total number of plants is over 3250 species, approximately 30% of the entire flora species found in Europe. Over a third of the territory of Albania about 10,000 square kilometers (2.5 million acres) is forested and the country is very rich in flora. About 3,000 different species of plants grow in Albania, many of which are used for medicinal purposes. The Albanian population is relatively young by European standards. The dominant and official language is Albanian, a revised and merged form of the two main dialects, Gheg and Tosk, but with a bigger influence of Tosk as compared to the Gheg. Other languages spoken by ethnic minorities in Albania include Aromanian, Serbian,Macedonian, Bulgarian, Gorani, and Roma.[67] There are no official statistics regarding religious affiliation in Albania. 70% Muslims, 20% Orthodox Christians,

and 10% Roman Catholics. The Albanians first appear in the historical record in Byzantine sources of the late-11th century. At this point, they are already fully Christianised. Christianity was later overtaken by Islam. After independence (1912) from the Ottoman Empire, the Albanian republican, monarchic and later Communist regimes followed a systematic policy of separating religion from official functions and cultural life. Albania never had an official state religion either as a republic or as a kingdom. In the 20th century, the clergy of all faiths was weakened under the monarchy, and ultimately eradicated during the 1940s and 1950s, under the state policy of obliterating all organised religion from Albanian territories. The Communist regime that took control of Albania after World War II persecuted and suppressed religious observance and institutions and entirely banned religion to the point where Albania was officially declared to be the world's first atheist state. Religious freedom has returned to Albania since the regime's change in 1992. Albanian folk songs can be divided into major groups, the heroic epics of the north, and the sweetly melodiclullabies, love songs, wedding music, work songs and other kinds of song. The music of various festivals and holidays is also an important part of Albanian folk song, especially those that celebrate St. Lazarus Day, which inaugurates the springtime. Lullabies and vajtims are very important kinds of Albanian folk song, and are generally performed by solo women. Soccer, volleyball, basketball are the most common types of sports in Albania. The cuisine of Albania as with most Mediterranean and Balkan nations is strongly influenced by its long history. At different times, the territory which is now Albania has been claimed or occupied by Greece, Bulgaria, Italy and the Ottoman Turks and each group has left its mark on Albanian cuisine. The main meal of 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 cities of Durrs, Sarand and Vlor. In high altitude localities, smoked meat and pickling is very common. Albania gained its independence in November 29th, 1912. The currency of Albania is Lek. Funny fact
about Albania: In Albania, nodding the head means no, and shaking the head means yes. It is a country

that it is very well known for the hospitability of its people. Also for the tradition of Besa - keeping the faith, maintaining the promise, the given word. The Albanian proverb says "The Albanian will

raise

up

from

the

dead

to

keep

the

word.

An

interesting

fact:

Albania was the only European country where the number of the Jews after WWII was bigger than before the war. Albanians didn't collaborate with the Nazis to hand over the people of Jewish nationality but they welcomed them in their houses and made them part of their families, falsified their identity documents to hide the ethnic origin of the Jews and provided food and work although Albania was very poor at that period. Many Jews from sorrounding countries fled to Albania during the war to seek refuge. Except for a family, no Jews were deported from Albania to the Nazi concentration camps. This is outstanding evidence of Albanians great heart and values like faithfulness, simplicity and helping people when in need.