About Albania
Geography
Albania is located in the Balkans just north of Greece. Albania borders Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Greece. Italy lies just to the west across the Adriatic Sea. The country has a lot of raw beauty. The coast along the Adriatic is very similar to the Greek coast, there are plenty of olive groves, and ruggedly beautiful mountains.
History
Albania has a rich history. It saw many different empires come and go. Over the centuries the Albanian culture has been influenced by the Romans, Greeks, Turks and Italians. The first inhabitants of the present day Albania were Illyrians tribes, a group of Indo-European people.
Given its strategic location on the Adriatic Sea, Albania has long served as a bridgehead for various nations and empires seeking conquest abroad. In the 2nd century b.c. the Illyrians were conquered by the Romans, and from the end of the 4th century c.e. they were ruled by the Byzantine Empire. Following invasion by Visigoths, Huns, Bulgarians, and Slavs, the Albanians were finally conquered by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. Albania was proclaimed independent after almost five centuries of Ottoman rule on 28 November 1912.
During most of Second World War Albania was invaded by Italian and German forces. After World War II, Albania became a soviet block state and remained isolationist until its transition to democracy after 1990.
During the communist regime, many influential religious, political, and intellectual leaders were executed and imprisoned.
In difference from other Central and Eastern European Countries that started their liberal social and economic reforms in the 1960s, the Albanian model was based on absolute rule of social property and centralized and planned economy driven by government economic policies.
In December 1990, the political pluralism and an open market economy were installed, marking the start of social and economic reforms.
There was a civil unrest in 1997 which lead to the majority of evangelical missionaries leaving the country.
Financial and political corruption still plague the nation, but it is making great strides towards joining the E.U.
Religion
Albania was one of the early nations to be exposed to the message of Jesus. Paul was in Macedonia just north of Albania, also visiting Thessaloniki and Veria (Berea) just hours away from Korca where we live.
During the 500 years of Ottoman rule, Islam took root in Albania. Orthodox and Catholic Christianity continued to grow alongside.
During communism, religion was outlawed. Many Christian leaders were executed alongside intellectual leaders and dissenters of the communist regime.
But now that communism is gone, the nation has seen a return of religion. The largest religion in Albania is Islam. The second largest religious is Atheism/Agnosticism. The third largest is Greek Orthodoxy. The religions all tend to treat each other with respect and kindness.