Durrës

The name Dyrrhachion is usually explained as a Greek compound meaning 'bad rocky shore'.

Durrës was founded by Greek colonists in 627 BC on the coast of the Illyrian Taulantii.

The city was made the capital of the Roman province of Epirus nova in the 4th century.

Durrës was known as Dırac in Ottoman Turkish during the 411-year Ottoman period.

Durrës became the focus of mass emigrations from Albania in the early 1990s, with over 20,000 people migrating to Italy in August 1991 alone.