Tiranë, << tee RAH nuh >> (pop. 260,000) is the capital and largest city of Albania. Tiranë, also spelled Tirana, lies on a coastal plain about 20 miles (32 kilometers) east of the Adriatic Sea.
Tiranë’s central district has wide avenues lined by attractive stone buildings. The city is Albania’s educational and cultural center. The State University and several research institutes, museums, and theaters are there. Tiranë is the home of Albania’s major publishing and broadcasting companies and of several light industries.
The Ottoman commander Barkinzadeh Suleiman Pasha founded Tiranë in the early 1600’s. Tiranë became the capital of Albania in 1920. In the early 1920’s, only about 12,000 people lived in the city. In the mid-1900’s, the Albanian government expanded Tiranë’s boundaries. Since then, many Albanians have moved to the city to work in industries and the government.
