Albania - Vlora

ALBANIA
Llamani Bay, Vlora

Sent by Bessa from Tirana, Albania.

Vlorë (known also by several alternative names) is one of the largest towns and the second largest port city of Albania, after Durrës, with a population of 79,948. It is the city where the Albanian Declaration of Independence was proclaimed on November 28, 1912. The city was for a short time the capital of Albania.

Founded as an ancient Greek colony in the 6th century BC by the name of Aulon and continuously inhabited for about 26 centuries, Vlorë is home to the Port of Vlorë and University of Vlorë as the most important economical and cultural city of southwestern Albania.

The modern name for the city is the Albanian form Vlorë or Vlora, both pronounced [ˈvlɔɾə], while in the Gheg dialect it is known as Vlonë. Vlorë was created in antiquity as Greek colony in the territory of Illyria. Its first name, still used today in Greece, was Aulón (Greek: Αυλών), meaning "valley" and possibly a translation of another indigenous name. The Greek name is the source of the Italian name Valona (also used in other languages) and of the obsolete EnglishAvlona. During the Ottoman era, the Turkish Avlonya was also used.

(Source)

Albania - Tirana

ALBANIA
View from Tirana.

Sent by Sonnie from Tirana, Albania. This is our first stamped postcard from Albania. Very very happy.

This is from Wikipedia : Tirana (Albanian: Tiranë, Tirana or Tirona) is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over 600,000. The city is home to many universities and is the center of the political, economical, and cultural life of the country.

The Municipality of Tirana is located at (41.33°N, 19.82°E) in Tirana District, Tirana County on the river Ishëm, about 32 kilometers (20 mi) inland. Tirana's average altitude is 110 meters (360 ft) above sea level and its highest point measures 1,828 m (5,997.38 ft) at Mali me Gropa. The city is mostly surrounded by hills, with Dajti Mountain on the East and a slight valley opening on the North-West overlooking the Adriatic Sea in the distance. The Tiranë river also runs through the city, whereas the Lanë river is a brook. The city borders the surrounding municipalities of Paskuqan, Dajt, Farkë, Vaqarr, Kashar, and Kamëz. It also contains a total of four artificial lakes: the Tirana Artificial Lake around which was built the Big Park, the Kodër-Kamëz Lake, Farka Lake, and Tufina Lake. Tirana is on the same parallel as Naples, Madrid and Istanbul, and on the same meridian as Budapest and Kraków.

Albania - Old City of Appolonia

Ruins of the old city Appolonia close to the Podni village

Sent by Natalya from Nadym, Russia. Terima kasih (thanks).

Note : Still looking/waiting for the first postcard sent stamped and postmarked from Albania.