Macedonia

By: Elizabeth W.

Physical Geography● Landforms: The Dinaric Alps extend down into the country.

○ Macedonia is an elevated plateau of large, rolling hills and deep valleys.○ Highest point is in the Korab Mountain range, at 9,066 ft.

● Water: Macedonia is home to 1,100 considerably sized water sources. ○ Major lakes include Ohrid, Prespa (both shared with Albania) and Doiran. ○ Lake Ohrid is the deepest lake in the Balkans (935 ft.), and is regarded as the oldest in the

world.

Physical Geography● Climate/Weather: The mildly continental climate is the most characteristic for

Republic of Macedonia, ○ since it covers the biggest area of the country.○ It is characterized with relatively cold and humid winters and warm and dry summers.

Physical Geography● Plants: Mt. Pelister, Bitola is known for the presence of the endemic Macedonian Pine, as well as

about 88 kinds of plants representing almost 30% of Macedonian dendroflora.

● Animals: Over 260 species of Carnivores (who feed on meat primarily) exist in Macedonia. Bears, Lynx, wildcats and grey wolf are among those found in the forest. The Lynx is considered to be a national animal of the Republic of Macedonia.

Physical Geography● Resources: Although there are deposits of zinc, iron, copper, lead, chromium, manganese,

antimony, nickel, silver, and gold in Macedonia, it’s mining industry is focused on the extraction of lignite (brown coal).

● More than 3/4 of Macedonia’s power is produced from fossil fuels (mostly lignite).

● The rest comes from hydroelectricity.

Size and Borders● Macedonia covers 25,333 square kilometers (9,781 square miles)● The border countries to Macedonia are Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo , and

Serbia.

● Bordering Countries: The countries that border Macedonia are Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Kosovo, and Serbia.

Human Geography● History: Macedonia is located in the center of the Southern Balkans, north of ancient Hellas

(Greece), east of Illyria, and west of Thrace.

● The name "Macedonia" is the oldest surviving name of a country on the continent of Europe.

Human Geography● Food:The traditional Macedonian cuisine combines Balkan and Mediterranean characteristics,

inherited mostly from Turkish tastes that prevailed during long centuries of Ottoman rule.● The travelers are delighted with the taste of Macedonian tomatoes, carrots, lettuces, parsley,

onions, and garlic● And aroma of fresh fruit, such as watermelons, melons, cherries, apricots, grapes, peaches, and

others.● Most herbs are collected in the mountains nearby and in the countryside, these herbs are known

for their taste, have scent and healing properties.

Human Geography● And aroma of fresh fruit, such as watermelons, melons, cherries, apricots, grapes, peaches, and

others.● Most herbs are collected in the mountains nearby and in the countryside, these herbs are known

for their taste, have scent and healing properties.

Human Geography● Woman’s Clothing: The Valley National Dress of the Prilep region is found in most of the

settlements of the Prilep valley, in the north-east part of the Pelagonia plain. ○ It is similar to the dress in the Bitola valley and forms a complete whole with it, except for

certain minor differences in the nuances of color and the embroidery technique. ○ In the Prilep valley dress flame red and blood yellow are the dominant colors, while in the

Bitola valley dress the dominant colors are blood yellow and black.

Human Geography● Men’s Clothing: The Mariovo Men's Dress is made of white linen similar to the Valley Dress of

the Prilep valley, and makes a unit with it.○ It is made of handwoven linen, white or black broadcloth, richly decorated with embroidery

and various other decorations.○ Some elements of the old Slav costume have been preserved in it, for example the "aba",

smock, leggings, valanka, etc.

Human GeographyHolidays:

Date Holiday

Jan. 1 New Year’s Day

Jan. 7 Orthodox Christmas Day

May 1 Orthodox Easter Day

May 1 Labour Day

May 2 Orthodox Easter Monday

May 2 Labour Day Holiday

Human GeographyHolidays:

Date Holiday

May 24 St. Cyril and St. Methodius

July 7 Eid ul-Fitr

Aug. 2 Republic Day

Sept. 8 Independence Day

Oct. 11 Revolution Day

Human GeographyHolidays

Date Holiday

Oct. 23 Day of the Macedonian Revolution

Dec. 8 St. Clement of Ohrid

Human GeographyPopulation: The most current population I could find is 2,081,012 (2016)

Population Density: 83

Human Geography● Macedonia has a Parliamentary Democracy.● Macedonia’s capital is Skopje.

http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/US/MK

http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/economies/Europe/Macedonia.html

http://country-facts.findthedata.com/q/72/14319/Which-countries-border-Macedonia

http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/ConciseMacedonia/timeline.html

http://www.macedoniaexperience.com/about-macedonia/typical-food-of-macedonia

https://qph.ec.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-22a2a087740bc5f0eb4db57c28647539?convert_to_webp=true

https://www.cs.earlham.edu/~dusko/InfoMak/nosii/

http://country-facts.findthedata.com/q/72/14319/Which-countries-border-Macedonia

www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/macedonia/mkland.htm

https://www.cs.earlham.edu/~dusko/InfoMak/land/climate.html

www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/europe/macedonia/mkland.htm

https://www.cs.earlham.edu/~dusko/InfoMak/land/climate.html

www.macedonia.co.uk/client/index1.aspx?page=246

http://www.listofcountriesoftheworld.com/mk-animals.html

http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/macedonia/

http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/macedonia-population/

http://country-facts.findthedata.com/q/72/14298/What-type-of-government-does-Macedonia-have

https://www.britannica.com/place/Macedonia

https://www.britannica.com/place/Macedonia

http://www.ifitweremyhome.com/compare/US/MK

http://www.theodora.com/wfbcurrent/macedonia/macedonia_people.html

Albania

By: Lizzy Alameda

Physical Geography

● Albania – Physical geography data. Albania is a republic in south-east Europe.

● It borders on Montenegro to the north, Serbia and Kosovo to the north-east, the Republic of Macedonia to the east, and Greece to the south.

● It has a coast on the Adriatic sea to the west and on the Ionian sea to the south-west.

● landforms-From the mountains, flowing inland toward the Adriatic Sea, significant rivers include the Drin and Vlore.

● The three major lakes of Albania include Shkodra (shared with Montenegro), Ohrid and Prespa (both shared with Macedonia).

● Lake Ohrid is the deepest lake in the Balkans, and reaches depths of 935 ft (284 m).

● River - The Aoös or Vjosë is a river in northwestern Greece and southwestern Albania.

● Its total length is about 272 kilometres, of which the first 80 kilometres are in Greece, and the remaining 192 kilometres are in Albania.

● Climate- Albania has a Mediterranean climate, with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters in the lowlands.

● In the highlands, snow can fall from November until March; mountain towns are very cold at this time of year.

● Resources- Albania is rich in mineral resources, notably petroleum, natural gas, coal, bauxite, chromite, copper, iron ore, nickel, and salt.

● Agricultural processing, oil, mining, and the manufacture of textiles, clothing, lumber, cement, and chemicals are among the leading industries.

● Animals- Species like the brown bear, wolf, red fox, wildcat, roe deer, red deer, chamois, wild boar and otter, are found.

● The Balkan lynx is one of the most threatened wildlife species living in Albania and is classified as Critically Endangered.

Size and Borders

● Comparing albania- Albania is smaller than Oklahoma

● Albania is 11,100 mi2

Human Geography

● History- The history of Albania emerges from the pre-history of the Balkan states around 3000 BC, with early records of Illyria in Greco-Roman historiography.

● The modern territory of Albania had no counterpart in the standard political divisions of classical antiquity.

● Food- Albanian cuisine is typically Balkan influenced by Italian and Turkish cuisines, but also ancient Illyrian, Roman and Greek cooking.

● Most traditional Albanian food consists of vegetables, spices, meats, fish, vinegar, yogurt and herbs.

● Cow, lamb, rabbit and chicken meat is used heavily in various dishes.

● Vegetables are used in almost every dish.

● Milk and its byproducts, as well as eggs, are daily food.

● Clothing- Nowadays Albanians are westernized and many dressing options are available.

● Young people, but also adults, wear jeans, miniskirts, etc, similar with people from western world.

● However, traditional clothing still exists among Albanian people.

● Traditional clothing is made by specialized craftsmen and women with cotton, wool and silk.

● It is decorated with colors, embroidered symbols, themes like the Albanian eagle, incorporating gold and silver.

● Holidays- Because of Albanians history, ethnic and religious backgrounds, there are many cultural and arts festivals throughout the country.

● Every year Albanian people celebrate different festivals and holidays.

● One of the largest is the pagan Summer Festival. It is celebrated on March 14 and it is intended to commemorate the end of winter, the rebirth of nature and a rejuvenation of spirit amongst the Albanians.