Tepelene

Tepelene is a city and municipality in Gjirokaster County in southern Albania, on the left bank of the Vjosa River near its confluence with the Drino, with a 2011 census population of 8,949 across 431.5 square kilometers. A ruined citadel sits 300 meters above the river, and the town position at the meeting of two valleys made it an important traffic hub in southern Albania. It served as a major headquarters for Ali Pasha of Yanina during the Ottoman period, was badly damaged in a 1920 earthquake and rebuilt, and was a focal point of military activity in the Balkans during the Second World War.