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Kruja
Kruja (alb. Krujë) is a medieval town located 32 km northwest of Tirana and 20 minutes by car from the international Airport of Rinas. It is built 560 meters above sea level, on the slopes of Sari -Salltiku mountain.
The name of Kruja derives from the Albanian word krua, meaning ‘water spring’. The citadel have become the main Illyrian fortress in the area in the 4th century AD. In the year 879, Kruja was mentioned for the first time as a Christian religious center, (bishop see). The first Albanian feudal state was created here circa 1190.
The ottomans occupied Kruja two times, in 1396 and 1415. Town reached its zenith on the 28th of November 1443 when the Kruja castle was taken by Gjergj Kastrioti (Skanderbeg), who then organized the long anti-Ottoman resistance. From this time on, under the leadership of Skanderbeg, Kruja repelled three Ottoman sieges in 1450, 1457 and 1466. Only ten years after the death of Skanderbeg, in 1478, were the Ottomans able to capture the castle and destroy the town.
Berat
Berat is a city and a municipality located in south-central Albania, and the capital of the County of Berat and also one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. In July 2008, the old town called Mangalem district, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The municipality was formed at the 2015 local government reform by the merger of the former municipalities Berat, Otllak, Roshnik, Sinjë and Velabisht, that became municipal units.
Berat lies on the right bank of the river Osum, a short distance from the point where it is joined by the Molisht river. The old city centre consists of three parts: Kalaja (on the castle hill), Mangalem (at the foot of the castle hill) and Gorica (on the left bank of the Osum). It has a wealth of beautiful buildings of high architectural and historical interest. The pine forests above the city, on the slopes of the towering Tomorr mountains, provide a backdrop of appropriate grandeur. The Osumi river has cut a 915-metre deep gorge through the limestone rock on the west side of the valley to form a precipitous natural fortress, around which the town was built on several river terraces
Durrës
Durrës , historically also known as Dyrrachium, is the second largest city and a municipality of Albania, and one of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities. Geographically, it is central on the coast, about 33 km (21 mi) west of the capital Tirana.
It is one of the most ancient and economically significant cities of Albania. Durrës is home to Albania’s main port, the Port of Durrës. The city is at one of the narrower points of the Adriatic Sea, opposite the Italian ports of Bari and Brindisi. The port is also the 10th largest cargo port on the Adriatic Sea that handle more than 3.4 million tonnes of cargo per year.
Many roads and railways pass through Durrës and connect the northern part of the country to the south and the west with the east. Moreover, it is the starting point of Pan-European Corridor VIII, national roads SH2 and SH4, and serves as the main railway station of the HSH.
