Albania Travel Guide @ TravelNotes.org

Travel Notes: Europe: Albania Travel Notes

Albania tourist information with details about travel to and around the country. Where to stay and what to see is made easier with insider tips and hand-selected Albania links, by dedicated editors and visitors to TravelNotes.org - The Online Guide to Travel.

Albania Information

One of the smallest countries in Europe, Albania is also very mountainous and little known to outsiders.

Albania is known as Eagle's Country, Shqipėri in Albanian. Tiranė is the capital, with Durrės Albania's major port on the Adriatic Sea.

Countries neighbouring Albania are: Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia and Greece.

Predominately an Indo- European people, descendants of the ancient Illyrians, the Albanians are divided into two main groups: the Ghegs to the north of the Shkumbi River, and the Tosks to the south.

Rome conquered the Illyrian Kingdom in 168 BC, and went on to rule for more than five centuries. Some of the emperors were even of Illyrian descent, as the region became a major transit route through Byzantium.

As the Roman Empire declined, Goths, Huns, Bulgars, and Slavs all tried to fill the vacuum. Then came the Normans and the Serbs.

After the collapse of Stephan Dushan's Serbian Empire, and the death of Scanderbeg, the feudal lords were soon overrun by the Turks.

Albanian language and culture were suppressed for almost 400 years during Ottoman rule, although the Turks were never able to totally control the people.

Ismail Qemal led a series of revolts against Turkey, and on November 28, 1912, Albania finally gained independence.

Albania underwent a cultural revolution in the mid-1960s, when Western influences were scorned, Soviet and Chinese systems were followed, and hardly anyone could enter the country.

Albania Country Study:
The US Library of Congress reference page for historical and economic developments in Albania.

Weather in Albania

View a graphical weather forecast for the week ahead in places around Albania.

Shkoder Weather, Tirana Weather.

Albania Tourism

Travel Tips

Tirana Bank now has access to the Visa system. I withdrew some Lek from a Skodra branch of Tirana Bank with no problems. It was a little un-nerving to have a guard with a machine gun on duty 24 hours a day but much better than bringing in hard cash.
Sent in by: Ian Lawrence.

Enter Albania:
Getting to Albania, and other information for tourists.

Albania Culture

Albanian Culture:
Albanian language and culture were suppressed for almost 400 years during Ottoman rule, although the Turks were never able to totally control the Albanian people.

Albania Directories

Alb-Info:
General directory of links to Albanian websites.

Albanian Yellow Pages:
The Albanian business directory.

Albanian History

Albanian History:
For a better understanding of the history of Albania.

Albania Travel Guides

Books on Albania Travel:
Browse Amazon's best-selling list of books on travel in Albania.