Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic center. Skopje is located on the upper course of the Vardar River, and is located on a major north-south Balkan route between Belgrade and Athens. It was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi.

The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale Fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. On the eve of the 1st century AD, the settlement was seized by the Romans and became a military camp. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople.

Being the capital of the Republic of Macedonia, Skopje is home to the largest cultural institutions of the country, such as the National and University Library "St. Kliment of Ohrid", the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, the National Theatre, the National Philarmonic Orchestra and the Macedonian Opera and Ballet. Among the local institutions are the Brothers Miladinov Library which has more than a million documents, the Cultural Information Centre which manages festivals, exhibitions and concerts, and the House of Culture Kočo Racin which is dedicated to contemporary art and young talents.

The Skopje Jazz Festival has been held annually in October since 1981. It is part of the European Jazz Network and the European Forum of World Wide Festivals. The artists' profiles include fusion, acid jazz, Latin jazz, smooth jazz, and avant-garde jazz. Ray Charles, Tito Puente, Gotan Project, Al Di Meola, Youssou N'Dour, among others, have performed at the festival. Another music festival in Skopje is the Blues and Soul Festival. It is a relatively new event in the Macedonian cultural scene that occurs every summer in early July. Past guests include Larry Coryell, Mick Taylor & the All-Stars Blues Band, Candy Dulfer & Funky Stuff, João Bosco, The Temptations, Tolo Marton Trio, Blues Wire, and Phil Guy.

Tirana is the capital and largest city of Albania and as well the heart of Albania's cultural, economic and governmental activity. According to official estimates, there are about 420 thousand inhabitants in Tirana. Established in 1614 Tirane became the capital of Albania in 1920.

Tirana was founded in 1614 by Ottoman general Sulejman Pasha, who built a mosque, a bakery and a Turkish bath. He named the city Tehran, in honor of his military victory at Tehran in Persia (now Iran). However, there are early means of a castle in Dajti mountain, named Tirkan, in the sixth century, in the writings of a Byzantine historian.

The small town was chosen for the temporary capital of Albania (as a compromise between the South and North Albania) by the provisional government in January 1920. In November 1944, the communist government of Enver Hoxha was established in Tirana after the liberation from German occupation.

The urban population, which was estimated to be only 12 thousand in 1910 increased to 30 thousand in 1930 and even 60 thousand in 1945. despite years of foreign occupation and war. During the 1950s, Albania has experienced a period of exceptional industrial growth, with an increase in population to 137 thousand in 1960. In the late 1990s, Tirana experienced the fastest population influx, because Albanians from the north of the country in large numbers migrated to the capital in the hope of a better life.

In 2004, Edi Rama, the mayor of Tirana, won the award for the best mayor of the world. Many agree that this contributed to his vision of Tirana as a clear project to change the city's facade, to one's taste perhaps even gaudy and clashing colors, but apparently well received by foreign media and the inhabitants of the Albanian capital city.

The reason of these drastic changes were drab which prevailed in Tirana until Rama's arrival, because the city during Enver Hoxha was extremely rusty, and all the buildings in the city have lost their facades, which has affected the general mood in the city.

Despite problems Tirana has a visible progress. The construction of the first real tourist attraction, as one of the longest cable car in Europe, which it can reach the second highest peak in the vicinity of Tirana, started. The cable car was made but there is still a shortage of quality supporting facilities. Another attraction is the rotating restaurant on top of the highest building. Unfortunately, potential and existing attractions still not valorized.

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