Tirana is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the country’s center, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti mountain rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic sea. A Mediterranean seasonal climate mainly influences the city due to its geographical location. It is among the wettest and sunniest cities in Europe, with 106 sunny days per year.
Tirana was founded as a city in 1614 by Sulejman Pasha Bargjini, an Albanian serving as a general in the Ottoman army. The town flourished by then around the Old Mosque. Today, the area that corresponds to the city’s territory has been continuously inhabited since the Iron Age. Illyrians inhabited the site in ancient times. The core of the Illyrian kingdom of the Taulantii, which in Classical Antiquity was centred in the hinterland of Epidamnus. Following the Illyrian Wars, it was annexed by Rome and became an integral part of the Roman Empire. The heritage of that period is still evident and represented by the Mosaic of Tirana. Later, in the 5th and 6th centuries, an Early Christian basilica was built around this site. After the Roman Empire split into East and West in the 4th century, its successor, the Byzantine Empire, took control over most of Albania and built the Petrelë Castle in the reign of Justinian I. The city was pretty unimportant until the 20th century when the Congress of Lushnjë proclaimed it as Albania’s capital after the Albanian Declaration of Independence in 1912. Classified as a gamma-world-city, Tirana is the most important economic, financial, political, and trade center in Albania due to its significant location in the country and its modern air, maritime, rail, and road transportation. It is the seat of power of the Government of Albania, with the official residences of the President and Prime Minister of Albania and the Parliament of Albania. The city is The European Youth Capital for 2022.
Activitites that can be done in Tirana :
Visit the different museums, hiking,paragliding,walking tours at the bovilla lake, or at pellumbas cave,Jeep Safari in Rodon,cooking like locals,tour of contrasts,Cable car to the top of Dajti Mountain, Zip line,agroturism tours, etc.
Source: wikipedia