(Albanian: Tiranë or Tirana) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Albania. It was founded in 1614 by Sulejman Pasha and became Albania's capital city in 1920. Tirana lies on the Ishëm River, about 20 miles (32 km) inland. There are two main rivers that run through the city: the Lana and the Tirana. The city also contains a total of four lakes: Tirana Lake, Kodër-Kamëz Lake, Farka Lake, and Tufina Lake. As of 2008, the city's urban population was estimated at 602,041.
Tirana International Airport Nënë Tereza (Mother Theresa in Albanian), also known as Rinas Airport was reconstructed in 2007. It is located 25 kilometres north-west of the city, off the road to Durrës. Airlines using Rinas include Albanian Airlines. Flights run to Athens, New York, Rimini, Bari, Genoa, Rome, Bologna, Munich, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Vienna among other places. Several foreign airlines also serve Rinas Airport: Alitalia (from Rome and Milan), British Airways (from London Gatwick Airport), Austrian Airlines (from Vienna), Adria Airways (Ljubljana), Jat Airways (Belgrade), Malev (Budapest), Olympic Airlines (Athens), Hemus Air (Sofia) and Turkish Airlines (Istanbul). Lufthansa flights via Munich started on 1 May 2007. Each Monday, there is a direct flight from Tirana to J.F.K. Airport, New York, USA.