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Albania is a country in southeastern Europe. It is on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east, Greece to the south; and maritime borders with Greece, Montenegro and Italy to the west. Tirana is its capital and largest city, followed by Durrës, Vlorë and Shkodër.Geographically, Albania displays varied climatic, geological, hydrological, and morphological conditions, defined in an area of 28,748 km2 (11,100 sq mi). It possesses significant diversity with the landscape ranging from the snow-capped mountains in the Albanian Alps as well as the Korab, Skanderbeg, Pindus and Ceraunian Mountains to the hot and sunny coasts of the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea along the Mediterranean Sea.

Historically, Albania has been inhabited by different civilisations over time, such as the Illyrians, Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Venetians and Ottomans. The Albanians established the autonomous Principality of Arbër in the 12th century. The Kingdom of Albania and Principality of Albania formed between the 13th and 14th centuries. Prior to the Ottoman conquest of Albania in the 15th century, the Albanian resistance to Ottoman expansion into Europe led by Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg won them acclaim over most of Europe. Between the 18th and 19th centuries, cultural developments, widely attributed to Albanians having gathered both spiritual and intellectual strength, conclusively led to the Albanian Renaissance. After the defeat of the Ottomans in the Balkan Wars, the modern nation state of Albania declared independence in 1912. In the 20th century, the Kingdom of Albania was invaded by Italy which formed Greater Albania before becoming a protectorate of Nazi Germany. Enver Hoxha formed the People's Socialist Republic of Albania after World War II, modeled under the terms of Hoxhaism. The Revolutions of 1991 concluded the fall of communism in Albania and eventually the establishment of the current Republic of Albania.

Politically, Albania is a unitary parliamentary constitutional republic and a developing country with an upper-middle income economy dominated by the service sector, followed by manufacturing. It went through a process of transition following the end of communism in 1990, from centralized planning to a market-based economy. Albania provides universal health care and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. Albania is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, UNESCO, NATO, WTO, COE, OSCE, and OIC. It is an official candidate for membership in the European Union. It is one of the founding members of the Energy Community, including the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and Union for the Mediterranean.

Foods in Albania :
(1) Byrek : 

The most famous food in Albania (and in the rest of the BalkTavë Kosity pie made with filo pastry. You will find it everywhere in the country, in different sizes and types. One of the most famous is byrek with spinach, but the bars, trucks, pastry shops also sell byrek, often with gjize cheese or meat. All versions are just delicious!

(2) Fërgesë verore me speca dhe domate : 

Fërgesë is one of the tastier and best Albanian foods made with peppers, tomatoes and cottage cheese. You’ll find it mostly in Tirana and surrounding areas, because it is a typical dish of the central region of Albania . The fresh products are cooked together and form a cream; it’s perfectly accompanied by homemade bread.

(3) Tavë Kosi : 

Another not-to-miss food to try in Albania is Tavë Kosi, one of the most beloved dishes by locals. It is typical of Elbasan, a city near Tirana, but you will find it everywhere in the country, from the mountain hamlets to the coastal towns. Tavë Kosi is a tasty quiche-like dish made with lamb, eggs and yogurt.

(4) Fried Kaçkavall : 

Kaçkavall is a typical cheese used in the south of the Balkans as well as in the south of Italy. It is a yellow salty cheese usually served as entrée in the restaurants. The menus offer various options, such as kaçkavall salad and baked kaçkavall, but the best is fried kaçkavall, one of the most delicious dishes in the region.

(5) Baklava : 

Baklava is the star of turkey as well as of Balkan Peninsula: you will find it everywhere while visiting Albania and in various sizes and kinds. The typical Albanian variety of this famous cake is made with nuts, but in the bakeries and pastries there is the pistachio version, which is even tastier.

Weather & geography in  Albania  :
Albania has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Temperatures vary between the lowland coasts and the highlands, but generally everywhere is pleasant year-round. ... In the lowlands, average winter temperatures hover around 7°C (44.6°F) and summers reach 24°C (75°F).

Albania is a small country in Southern, Southeastern Europe and Western Balkans strategically positioned on the Adriatic and Ionian Sea inside the Mediterranean Sea, with a coastline of about 476 km (296 mi). It is bounded by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, North Macedonia to the east and Greece to the southeast and south.

Most of Albania rises into mountains and hills, tending to run the length of the country from north to south, as for instance the Albanian Alps in the north, the Sharr Mountains in the northeast, the Skanderbeg Mountains in the center, the Korab Mountains in the east, the Pindus Mountains in the southeast, and the Ceraunian Mountains in the southwest. Plains and plateaus extend in the west along the Albanian Adriatic and Ionian Sea Coast.

Few of the most considerable and oldest bodies of freshwater of Europe occur in Albania. The second largest lake of Southern Europe, the Lake of Shkodër, is located in the northwest surrounded by the Albanian Alps and the Adriatic Sea. Nevertheless, one of the oldest continuously existing lakes in the world, the Lake of Ohrid, straddles in the southeast, while the highest tectonic lakes of the Balkan Peninsula, the Large and Small Lake of Prespa are well hidden among high mountains in the southeast.

Rivers originate in the east of Albania and loops towards the west into the sea. They are encompassed by the drainage basins of the Adriatic, Aegean and Black Sea. The longest river in the country, measured from its mouth to its source, is the Drin that starts at the confluence of its two headwaters, the Black and White Drin, though also notable is the Vjosë, one of the last intact large river systems in Europe.

For a small country, Albania is characterized for its biological diversity and abundance of contrasting ecosystems and habitats, defined in an area of 28,748 square kilometres. This great diversity derives from Albania's geographic location on the Mediterranean Sea, with typical climatic conditions, varied topography, as well as the wealth of terrestrial and marine ecosystems providing a variety of habitats, each with its own typical flora and fauna.

There are 799 Albanian protected areas covering a surface of 5,216.96 square kilometres. These include two strict nature reserves, 14 national parks, one marine park, eight archaeological parks, 750 natural monuments, 22 habitat/species management areas, five protected landscapes, 4 protected landscapes, four managed resources areas and four ramsar wetlands.[9][10] The national parks cover a surface area of 210,668.48 hectares (2,106.6848 km2) or roughly 13.65% of the overall territory.

Per day Cost in Albania  :
You should plan to spend around Lek5,149 ($50) per day on your vacation in Albania, which is the average daily price based on the expenses of other visitors. Past travelers have spent, on average, Lek1,550 ($15) on meals for one day and Lek1,140 ($11) on local transportation.

History of Albania  :

The history of Albania forms a part of the history of Europe. During classical antiquity, Albania was home to several Illyrian tribes such as the Ardiaei, Albanoi, Amantini, Enchele, Taulantii and many others, but also Thracian and Greek tribes, as well as several Greek colonies established on the Illyrian coast. In the 3rd century BC, the area was annexed by Rome and became part of the Roman provinces of Dalmatia, Macedonia and Moesia Superior. Afterwards, the territory remained under Roman and Byzantine control until the Slavic migrations of the 7th century. It was integrated into the Bulgarian Empire in the 9th century.

In the Middle Ages, the Principality of Arbër and a Sicilian union known as the medieval Kingdom of Albania were established. Some areas became part of the Venetian and later Serbian Empire. Between the mid-14th and the late 15th centuries, most of modern-day Albania was dominated by Albanian principalities, when the Albanian principalities fell to the rapid invasion of the Ottoman Empire. Albania remained under Ottoman control as part of the province of Rumelia until 1912; with some interruptions during the 18th and 19th century with the establishment of autonomy minded Albanian lords. The first independent Albanian state was founded by the Albanian Declaration of Independence following a short occupation by the Kingdom of Serbia.[1] The formation of an Albanian national consciousness dates to the later 19th century and is part of the larger phenomenon of the rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire.

A short-lived monarchical state known as the Principality of Albania (1914–1925) was succeeded by an even shorter-lived first Albanian Republic (1925–1928). Another monarchy, the Kingdom of Albania (1928–1939), replaced the republic. The country endured occupation by Italy just prior to World War II. After the collapse of the Axis powers, Albania became a communist state, the Socialist People's Republic of Albania, which for most of its duration was dominated by Enver Hoxha (died 1985). Hoxha's political heir Ramiz Alia oversaw the disintegration of the "Hoxhaist" state during the wider collapse of the Eastern Bloc in the later 1980s.

The communist regime collapsed in 1990, and the former communist Party of Labour of Albania was routed in elections in March 1992, amid economic collapse and social unrest. The unstable economic situation led to an Albanian diaspora, mostly to Italy, Greece, Switzerland, Germany and North America during the 1990s. The crisis peaked in the Albanian Turmoil of 1997. An amelioration of the economic and political conditions in the early years of the 21st century enabled Albania to become a full member of NATO in 2009. The country is applying to join the European Union.