Shkoder | |
---|---|
State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 0 |
Shkodër or Shkodra (UK: SHKO-der, Albanian pronunciation: [ˈʃkɔdəɾ] or [ˈʃkɔdɾa]), historically known as Scodra or Scutari, is the fifth most populous city of the Republic of Albania and the capital of the eponymous municipality and county. It is one of the most ancient cities in the Balkans and exerts strong cultural, economic and religious influences in Northern Albania. Its location has been of strategic importance throughout its history. It has often helped the city to its wealth or made it the subject of conflicts between foreign powers.
Geographically, Shkodër sprawls across the Plain of Mbishkodra between the freshwater marshlands of Lake Shkodër and the foothills of the Albanian Alps. As most of the Dinaric Alps, the mountains are dominated by limestone and dolomite rocks. The lake, named after the city of Shkodër, is the largest lake in Southern Europe. The city is surrounded on three sides by the rivers Kir in the east, Drin in the south and Buna in the west.
Historically, the region that corresponds to the territory of Shkodër was founded in the 4th century BC by the Ancient Illyrian tribes of the Ardiaei and Labeates.
Pearl | |
---|---|
State | |
Country | |
Capital | |
Population | 0 |
A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate (mainly aragonite or a mixture of aragonite and calcite) in minute crystalline form, which has deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur. The finest quality of natural pearls have been highly valued as gemstones and objects of beauty for many centuries. Because of this, pearl has become a metaphor for something rare, fine, admirable and valuable.
The most valuable pearls occur spontaneously in the wild, but are extremely rare. These wild pearls are referred to as natural pearls. Cultured or farmed pearls from pearl oysters and freshwater mussels make up the majority of those currently sold.
Zaragoza, also known in English as Saragossa, is the capital city of the Zaragoza province and of...
Warsaw ( WOR-saw; Polish: Warszawa [varˈʂava] (listen); see also other names) is the capital and...
Sydney ( (listen) SID-nee, Dharug: Cadi) is the state capital of New South Wales and the most...
Calbuco is a city and commune in southern Chile administered by the Municipality of Calbuco....