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Albania: Countries
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Albania is covered by tall mountains with plenty of snow that are... unusable as ski centers due to a lack of roads, and has a fairly long but beachless coast. These characteristics did not make it a major tourist location, but it did have some fine tourist seasons, the best being the 1912-1918. period which saw two major armed-men-only Serbian excursions - the first one to Shkoder (1912), and the second one to Tirana (1915), and a transit one to Greece(1915). Also came a similar Italian excursion in 1915. to Valona, French one to Durazzo, and then a tour of the country by the Austrians. Italians returned briefly in 1918.
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In the 50s, Albania was more and more isolated. Enver Hoxha feared an invasion either (or both) by its neighbors and by the Allies. He initiated the building of hundred of thousands of small bunkers, growing like mushrooms everywhere in the country, built by the people of each village on almost the same plan. They are estimated between 100,000 and 600,000. Most of them are remaining today and are either just staying in the landscape or used as a shelter for animals, when they are close to a farm. The photos show various aspects and various situations.
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Today, with the freedom of religion and worship, Albania contains numerous religions and denominations. Religious fanaticism has never been a problem, with people from different religious groups living in peace. Interreligious marriage is very common, and an immensely strong sense of Albanian identity has tended to bind Albanians of all religious practices together. The Roman Catholics are mostly located in the northern part of the country, particularly in the cities of Shkodër and Kruja, while Orthodox Christians lived in the southern districts of Gjirokastër, Korçë, Berat, and Vlorë. The Muslims were spread throughout the land, although they particularly dominated the centre. Most of them were traditional Sunnites, but about one-quarter were members of the liberal, panentheistic Bektashi sect, which for a time had its headquarters in Tirana.
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Relations between Albania and Greece continued to improve in 1998, as did the status and rights of ethnic Greeks in the country. Greek-language public elementary schools are now common in much of the southern part of the country (where almost all of the ethnic Greek minority lives). However, there are no Greek-language high schools. A Greek-language public primary school was opened in Tirana in September, and ... during the year Parliament approved Greek as one of the foreign languages that may be offered as a course in any public school. There is a Greek chair at the University of Girokastra. New immigration procedures were agreed upon by Albania and Greece to allow residents of the border areas easy access for day-to-day travel across the border for business or family reasons.
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Albania's trade imbalance is severe. In 2007, Albanian trade had U.S. $4.15 billion in imports, and U.S. $1 billion in exports. Albania has concluded Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Macedonia, Croatia, UNMIK (Kosovo), Bulgaria, Romania, Bosnia, and Moldova. In April 2006, these bilateral agreements were replaced by a multiregional agreement that entered into force in May 2007 and that is based on the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) model. However, combined trade with all these countries constitutes a small percentage of Albania's trade, while trade with EU member states (mainly Greece and Italy) accounts for nearly 68%. U.S. two-way trade with Albania is very low.
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Albania lies along the Adriatic Sea in southeastern Europe. The narrow coastal plain rises to mountains that are almost 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) high, which cover most of the country. These mountains are rich in mineral resources such as chrome, iron, nickel, and copper; ... mining requires investment that Albania lacks. It is one of the poorest countries in Europe (and the only one with a Muslim majority). It suffered from more than 40 years of communist rule, which ended in 1991. War in neighboring Kosovo brought 480,000 ethnic Albanian refugees into Albania in 1999—straining the country's resources.
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