Albania Travel

 

 

 

Albania (Albanian Shqipëri, “Eagle's Country”), republic, southeastern Europe, located in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula; bounded on the northwest and north by Serbia and Montenegro, on the east by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on the southeast and south by Greece, and on the west by the Adriatic Sea. Albania, one of the smallest countries of Europe, has a maximum length from north to south of about 345 km (about 214 miles) and a maximum width of about 145 km (about 90 miles). The total area is 28,748 sq km (11,100 sq miles).

Land and Resources
Albania is predominantly mountainous with peaks averaging between 2100 and 2400 m (about 7000 to 8000 ft). Lowlands, which comprise less than one-quarter of the land area, are limited to a belt along the Adriatic coast north of Vlorë and to several river valleys extending inland from the coast. The rugged North Albanian Alps form the southern end of the Dinaric Alps and include Albania's highest peak, Mount Korab (2751 m/9026 ft). In the central and southern parts of the country the mountains are interrupted by high plateaus and basins. The coastal lowlands possess rich soils, but in many places the land is marshy or poorly drained.

Rivers and Lakes
Most of Albania's rivers rise in the mountainous east and flow west to the Adriatic Sea. The largest of these—the Drin, Shkumbi, and Mat—have broad valleys. Albania's three large lakes straddle its borders: in the northwest, Lake Scutari, and in the east, Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa.

Climate
The Adriatic coastal region has a typical Mediterranean climate, with mild, wet winters and hot, dry summers. Inland, a more severe continental climate prevails, with marked seasonal temperature extremes. Average annual precipitation ranges from about 1000 mm (about 40 in) on the coast to nearly 2500 mm (about 100 in) in sections of the northern mountains. Summer precipitation is scant in all parts of the country.

Vegetation and Animal Life
On the coast is found the typical Mediterranean chaparral vegetation of drought-resistant shrubs. Forests cover nearly 40% of Albania's total land area. Thick forests, however, are generally found only at higher elevations in the mountains; much of the other growth is scrub forests. Some common trees are oak, elm, pine, beech, and birch. Wildlife, found in the more inaccessible mountain regions, includes eagles, wolves, deer, and wild boars.

Mineral Resources
Albania is well endowed in mineral resources and is especially rich in high-quality chromium ores. Among the other minerals present are petroleum, copper, nickel, coal (mostly low-quality lignite), iron ore, phosphates, and natural gas.

Population
Albania is one of the most ethnically homogeneous countries in the world; about 98% of its people are Albanians, a group that is believed to be descended from the Illyrians, an Indo-European people who inhabited the area in ancient times. Minority groups include Greeks, Gypsies, Serbs, and Bulgarians.
The Albanians are divided into two main branches: the Ghegs and the Tosks. The border between the two groups is roughly formed by the Shkumbi River, the Ghegs occupying the area to the north and the Tosks occupying the area to the south. The groups are distinguished by minor differences in physical traits, dialects, and customs.

Population Characteristics
The total population of Albania was estimated (1989) at 3,197,000. The country has the highest rate of natural increase of any European nation (1.9% annually in the late 1980s). Before World War II the population was overwhelmingly rural; since the 1950s rapid urbanization has occurred. About 35% of the people were classified as urban in the late 1980s.

Principal Cities
The capital and chief city is Tiranë, with a population of 225,700 (1987 estimate). Other major cities are the port and industrial center of Durrës (78,700), the agricultural marketing center of Elbasan (78,300), the ancient town of Shkodër (76,300), and the seaport of Vlorë (67,600).

Language
The Albanian language is usually classified in the Thraco-Illyrian subfamily of the Indo-European languages and has two main dialects: Gheg and Tosk. Since the advent of the Communist government in 1944, an official language, based on Tosk dialects, has been adopted.

Religion
In 1967 the Albanian government abolished all religious institutions. Previously about 70% of the population was Muslim, 20% Greek Orthodox, and 10% Roman Catholic. Freedom of worship was officially restored in 1990.

Education and Cultural Activity
During most of the more than 400 years of Ottoman rule, the Albanian language and culture were suppressed. No Albanian-language school was permitted until the 1880s. After the Communist government came to power, Albanian culture was influenced first by Soviet and then by Chinese models. Albania underwent a cultural revolution in the mid-1960s, and many Western influences were eliminated. The government now subsidizes handicrafts and folk dances.

Education
Primary education is free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 7 and 15. In the late 1980s the number of students enrolled in primary schools was about 543,000. Secondary and technical schools had a total of about 206,000 students in the late 1980s, and institutions of higher education had a total enrollment of about 19,000. The country's university, the Enver Hoxha University of Tiranë, was founded in 1957 and has a student body of about 12,000. The Communist government combined education on both the secondary and higher levels with work in factories or collective farms and military service. The literacy rate increased from 20% in 1939 to nearly 100% in the late 1980s.

Cultural Institutions
Albania has more than 3600 libraries, the most important of which is the National Library (1922) in Tiranë with 1 million volumes. Also in Tiranë are the national companies of opera, theater, and ballet and the principal museums.

Communications
During the Communist period all communications media in Albania were closely controlled by the government. In the late 1980s there were about 500,000 radio receivers and 246,000 television sets. The country had two daily newspapers, and one of these, the daily The Voice of the People, was the official organ of the central committee of the Albanian Party of Labor.

Government
The constitution of 1946 proclaimed Albania a people's republic. A second constitution, enacted in 1976, was superseded in 1991 by an interim constitution that changed the name of the country to the Republic of Albania.

Executive and Legislature
Under the interim constitution of 1991, executive power rests with the president of the republic, who is commander in chief of the armed forces. The president, who is indirectly elected by the legislature, appoints the prime minister to head the Council of Ministers. The nation's first free multiparty legislative elections were held in 1991; voting for a reconstituted parliament of 140 to 150 seats (100 directly elected, the remainder chosen by proportional representation) took place in March 1992.

Political Parties
From the mid-1940s through the '80s the country's only political party was the Communist party, officially known as the Albanian Party of Labor (APL) or Workers' party. Opposition parties were legalized in December 1990. In the March 1992 election, the Democratic party defeated the former Communists, running as the Albanian Socialist party.

Judiciary
The highest judicial body is the supreme court, the members of which are elected by the People's Assembly for terms of four years. Justice is dispensed by regional and district people's courts. Judges of the lower courts are elected by members of the local governments over which they will preside.

Local Government
Albania is divided into 26 districts. Local administration is performed by People's Councils, elected to 3-year terms.

Social Services
The government provides retirement pensions, free medical care, workers' compensation, paid vacations, and other benefits for all workers and their families. Steps have been taken to correct the problem of insufficient medical personnel and facilities.

Defense
In the late 1980s Albania's army numbered about 31,500 persons; navy, about 2000; and air force, about 7200.

Economy
Although a modern industrial base has been established by a series of 5-year plans initiated in 1951, the country remains one of the poorest and least developed in Europe. Virtually all industry is nationalized, and farmland is either collectivized or organized into state farms. In the late 1980s the estimated national budget showed revenue and expenditure balanced at about $2.3 billion.

Labor
Most workers belong to the Central Council of Albanian Trade Unions, which until December 1990 was closely allied with the Communist party. Wages are set by the government. About 1.4 million Albanians were economically active in the late 1980s. About 24% of the wage labor force was engaged in agriculture, 36% in industry, and 40% in services.

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing
About one-fifth of the country's land is arable. Major drainage and reclamation projects since the 1950s have added greatly to the total farmland. The major crops (with estimates of annual production in the late 1980s) include fruits and vegetables (404,000 metric tons), wheat (589,000 metric tons), corn (306,000 metric tons), sugar beets (360,000 metric tons), and potatoes (137,000 metric tons). Grapes, olives, cotton, and tobacco are also grown. Efforts have been made to improve the poor quality of a livestock population that includes some 672,000 cattle, 1.4 million sheep, and 214,000 pigs. Timberlands are an important natural resource and yield wood for fuel, lumber, and veneer. In the late 1980s the total annual fish catch from the Mediterranean Sea was 9300 metric tons.

Mining
Mining is an important sector of the Albanian economy. The petroleum-extraction industry is expanding, and in the late 1980s the annual output of crude petroleum was 19.8 million barrels. Albania is one of the world's largest producers of chromite ore, with an annual output of 1.2 million metric tons. Other major exploited minerals are copper, nickel, coal, iron ore, and phosphates.

Manufacturing
Since the initiation of the 5-year plans, great emphasis has been placed on the development of the formerly small manufacturing sector. Beginning in the late 1950s Albania established (first with Soviet and then with Chinese assistance) factories producing chemicals, cement, fertilizers, and machinery. Other new plants include oil refineries, textile mills, and an iron and steel mill at Elbasan. Manufactured products also include asphalt, copper items, cigarettes, beer, and processed foods.

Energy
With its numerous mountain streams, Albania has great potential for developing hydroelectricity. Annual electric-power production in the late 1980s was about 3.8 billion kwh, of which more than 85% was generated by hydroelectric plants.

Transportation
Albania had no railroads before 1948; Tiranë and Durrës are now linked by rail with other major industrial centers. In the late 1980s there were about 510 km (about 317 miles) of railroad and about 16,700 km (about 10,400 miles) of roads. The only navigable river is the Buenë River, in the northwest. The major ports are Durrës, Vlorë, Sarandë, and Shëngjin. Albania's one airport (at Tiranë) has flights to cities in several neighboring countries.

Currency and Banking
The monetary unit of Albania is the lek (6.1 leks equal U.S.$1; 1990). The Albanian State Bank, which was organized in 1945, is the sole bank of currency issue; it also aids in regulating the economy. All banking and credit institutions are nationalized.

Commerce and Trade
The principal imports are heavy machinery, mineral fuels and lubricants, iron and steel items, and electronic and precision equipment. Exports include crude petroleum, asphalt, iron ore, chromium ore, copper, vegetables and fruit, tobacco, and wine. In the late 1980s annual exports earned about $517 million and imports cost about $612 million. Albania's main trading partners were other Communist nations and, to a lesser extent, Italy, Austria, and the Netherlands.

History
The Albanians are considered descendants of the Illyrians, an Indo-European people who settled the western part of the Balkan Peninsula at, or shortly after, the end of the Bronze Age (circa 1000 BC). The Illyrians established their own states during the 5th and the 3rd centuries BC.

Ancient Times
The Adrians Kingdom, founded in the 3rd century BC, was the most prominent of the ancient states. It extended from the Dalmatian coast to the coastal regions of present-day Albania and reached the peak of its power during King Agron's reign (250-231 BC). The Adrians Kingdom became an important naval power, preying on Roman shipping and thus endangering the Republic's trade. In 168 BC Rome conquered the entire Illyrian Kingdom and thereafter ruled it for more than five centuries. In the beginning of the Roman occupation, Albania proper became an important center, connecting Rome with Byzantium by its Via Egnatia.
The Illyrians played an important role in the Roman Empire. Several of the emperors were of Illyrian origin, namely, Claudius II, Aurelian, Diocletian, and Probus in the 3rd century AD, Constantine the Great in the 4th century, and Justinian in the 6th century.

Middle Ages
With the division of the Roman Empire in AD 395, Albania became part of the Eastern Empire. During this period Albanian ports, such as Durrachium (Durrës), became important trade centers.
As the power of the empire declined, the Illyrian provinces were plagued by migrating tribes vying for control of the western parts of the Balkans. The Goths and Huns came in the 4th century, the Bulgars in the 5th century, and during the 6th and 7th centuries large numbers of Slavs began to penetrate Illyrian territories. Faced with the danger of assimilation, the Albanians—who had by this time been converted to Christianity—moved southward, concentrating mainly in the rugged mountain regions, where they remained nominally under the rule of the East Roman, or Byzantine, Empire.
During the 11th and the 12th centuries Albania was overrun by the Normans, and in 1190, during a period of Byzantine weakness, the Albanian prince Progon established an independent state. This lasted until the middle of the 13th century, after which the country relapsed into disunity. In the 14th century it was conquered by the Serbs.
With the collapse of Stephan Dushan's Serbian Empire in 1355, Albania fell under the domination of local feudal lords. The Topias and the Dukagjinis ruled in the north, the Muzakas and the Shpatas in the south.

Ottoman Rule
The Ottoman Turks invaded Albania at the end of the 14th century. Under the leadership of George Kastrioti, called Scanderbeg, the Albanians waged a successful 25-year struggle against Turkish occupation. In 1448 and in 1466 Scanderbeg repulsed large Turkish expeditions, but after his death in 1468, Albania became part of the Ottoman Empire. A large number of Albanians immigrated to Italy, and the majority of the population converted to Islam. During the nearly five centuries of Turkish occupation, many Albanians rose to high positions in the empire.
The Turks were never able to establish total control over Albania. During the latter part of the 18th century, several native princes rose to prominence. From 1775 to 1796, the Bushatis ruled the Shkodër Duchy, extending their authority over northern and central Albania. From 1790 to 1822, Ali Pasha ruled the duchy of Janina, which extended from Vlorë and Berat to Çamëria and Thessaly.
At the end of the 19th century nationalistic sentiments awakened. During the period of the Albanian League (1878-81), the Albanians waged a heroic struggle to preserve their territorial integrity against encroachments from their neighbors and to win autonomy from Turkey.

Independence
On November 28, 1912, after a series of revolts against Turkey, Albanian patriots led by Ismail Qemal proclaimed the country's independence. At the London Conference of December 1912, the Great Powers recognized Albania's independence. The 1913 frontier demarcation by a special commission appointed by the Great Powers, however, excluded from Albania more than half its territory, including Kosovë and Çamëria, and about 40 percent of its people. Today several hundred thousand Albanians live in Greece, about 500,000 live in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and nearly 1.5 million live in the other countries of the former Yugoslavia, primarily in Serbia and Montenegro.
The Great Powers selected the German prince Wilhelm zu Wied as Albania's ruler. Prince Wilhelm arrived in March 1914, but because of local opposition and the outbreak of World War I, he was forced to flee the country six months later. During the war, Albania became a battlefield for the Great Powers; with the coming of peace, it again faced the prospect of dismemberment by its neighbors. The Paris Peace Conference of 1919, however, rejected claims put forth by Greece, Serbia and Montenegro, and Italy, and Albania was saved from partition.
At the Congress of Lushnje, in January 1920, the Albanians established a provincial government and a council of regency; the following summer Italy recognized Albania's independence. During the next four years Albania was beset by a fierce struggle for power among competing political factions. By 1925 Ahmet Zogu had achieved preeminence, and he ruled the country first as president, but from 1928 to 1939 as Zog I, king of the Albanians—a title that symbolically embraced the Albanian minorities in Greece and Yugoslavia. King Zog introduced broad cultural and economic reforms but entered into a political and military alliance with Fascist Italy. Heavy economic dependence on Italy in turn led to Italian interference in Albania's domestic and foreign affairs, and on April 7, 1939, Mussolini's troops occupied Albania. King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy was immediately proclaimed king of Albania.

World War II
Armed resistance to the invaders began soon after the invasion, but the few scattered Communist groups existing at the time did not participate in the resistance.
The Albanian Communist party was founded in November 1941, and Enver Hoxha, a young Western-educated schoolteacher, was elected its general secretary. The Communists launched their resistance movement against the invaders with the creation of the National Liberation Movement in September 1942 and the organization of the National Liberation Army in July 1943. The Allied command in Italy supplied material assistance.
In September 1943, preparing the ground for a seizure of power following the anticipated defeat of Germany, the Communists also launched a campaign against the nationalist organizations Balli Kombëtar (National Front) and Legaliteti (Legality Movement). After a bloody civil war, the nationalists were defeated, and by October 1944 the Communists were able to form a provisional government headed by Hoxha. A month later they seized control of the entire country.

The People's Republic
On January 11, 1946, a constituent assembly, elected the previous month, proclaimed the People's Republic of Albania. In March, a new constitution was promulgated and a new government formed, with Hoxha as prime minister. The Communist regime initiated a massive campaign of purges to eliminate real and potential opponents. Excessive wealth in private property was confiscated, all industrial plants and mines were nationalized, and a radical agrarian reform was instituted.

Relations with Neighbors
From 1944 to 1948, Albania's foreign policy was characterized by tense relations with Greece and the West and a close alliance with Yugoslavia. Plans, in fact, were under way for its absorption into Yugoslavia.
Following the Soviet-Yugoslav break in 1948, however, Albania aligned with the Soviet Union and subsequently received large-scale assistance from the USSR and other socialist countries. In 1949 it was admitted to the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON), and in 1955 it became a member of the Warsaw Pact.
In 1954 Hoxha relinquished the premiership to his deputy, Mehmet Shehu, but continued to dominate the country as head of the Albanian Communist party. Albania's relations with the Soviet bloc began to deteriorate in the mid- and late 1950s, when Hoxha refused to go along with Moscow's policies of de-Stalinization, peaceful coexistence with capitalist countries, and rapprochement with Yugoslavia.

Alliance with China
Albania's views on the most important issues affecting the socialist camp were similar to those of China, and by late 1960 the government had clearly moved toward an alliance with Beijing. In response, the Soviet Union and its East European allies cut off all assistance to Albania. Finally, in December 1961, the Soviet Union broke diplomatic relations with Albania.
China immediately sent in experts to fill the gap created by the withdrawal of Soviet advisers and provided low interest credits for Albania's five-year plans. This enabled the country to defy the Soviet Union and to proceed with its economic development.
The Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968 caused Albania to reassess its foreign policy in general and its heavy reliance on China in particular. It normalized relations with Greece and Yugoslavia and expanded contacts with many Western and Third World nations.

Going It Alone
China's foreign policy reorientation in the early 1970s and the subsequent Sino-American rapprochement caused a cooling off in Albanian-Chinese relations. After several public Albanian condemnations of Chinese foreign policy, Beijing cut off all aid to its former Balkan ally in July 1978. Following the break with China, Hoxha's regime adopted a strategy of independent economic development, maintaining that reliance on foreign assistance compromises a nation's political independence. The late 1970s and early 1980s brought steady improvement in Albania's relations with Greece, West European nations, and the less developed countries; however, the issue of the ethnic Greek minority in Albania (between 200,000 and 400,000) remains sensitive. Contacts with Yugoslavia were strained because of what the Albanian government alleged was mistreatment of some 2 million ethnic Albanians in the southern Serbian province of Kosovo.
In December 1981 the government announced that Premier Shehu had committed suicide; he was later denounced as a foreign agent, and his former supporters were purged. Adil Çarçani was named premier in January 1982, and Ramiz Alia replaced Haxhi Lleshi as president in November. Following Hoxha's death in April 1985, Alia assumed leadership of the Communist party. Albania responded to the wave of democratization that swept across Eastern Europe at the end of the 1980s by easing restrictions on religion and foreign travel, legalizing opposition political parties, and broadening contacts with the West; diplomatic relations with the U.S. were resumed in March 1991 after a 51-year break. After winning Albania's first free multiparty parliamentary elections, the Communists enacted a new interim charter creating the post of president of the republic, to which Alia was then elected by the People's Assembly. The Communist party, which in June changed its name to the Albanian Socialist party, clung to power throughout 1991 but was defeated in parliamentary elections in March 1992. In April Alia resigned, and parliament elected Sali Berisha as Albania's first non-Communist president since World War II. A coalition government was formed, with Aleksander Meksi as prime minister. In July 1992 the Albanian Communist party was outlawed; the following year Ramiz Alia and other Communist officials were charged with appropriation and misuse of state funds. They were convicted and sentenced to prison in December 1993.
In foreign affairs, relations between Albania and China warmed substantially, with reciprocal visits by officials of the two governments in 1989 and 1990. In May 1992 Albania signed a ten-year cooperation agreement with the European Community (now the European Union). Tensions increased between Albania and Greece in the early 1990s over alleged mistreatment of the Greek minority in southern Albania. Relations with Serbia also continued to be strained.

Contributed by:
Elez Biberaj