Korçë (Albanian: Korçë or Korça; Aromanian: Curceaua; Bulgarian: Корча, Korcha or Корче, Korche; Greek: Κορυτσά, Koritsá; Italian: Corizza; Macedonian: Горица, Gorica; Turkish: Görice) is a major city in the Korçë District of south-eastern Albania, located at [show location on an interactive map] 40°37′N, 20°46′E near the border with Greece. It has a population of around 60,000 people (2003 estimate), making it the fifth largest city in Albania. It stands on a plateau some 850 m (2,800 feet) above sea level, surrounded by the Morava Mountains.

The Korça region has been inhabited from the earliest times with Neolithic remains found indicating occupation of the city from 4000 BC on. The Copper ( Bakri) epoch, lasted from 3000 BC to 2100 BC, followed by a Bronze Age.

A town Coviza is mentioned in medieval documents in 1280. The modern town dates from the end of the 15th Century, when Iljaz Hoxha, under the command of Sultan Mehmet II, developed Korça. The Ottoman occupation began in 1440, and after Hoxha's heroic role in the siege of Constantinople, in 1453; he was awarded the title, 'Iljaz Bey Mirahor'. Korçë was a sandjak of the Manastir vilayet in Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman rule over Korçë lasted until 1912 but the city's proximity to Greece, who claimed the entire Orthodox population as Greek, led to its being fiercely contested in the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913. The city was occupied by Greek forces in 6 December 1912. Its incorporation into Albania in 1913 was controversial, as Greece claimed it as part of a region called "Northern Epirus". However, in accordance with the Corfu Protocol signed between Greece and Albania in 1914 and the ethnographic survey that preceded it, the city was included in the newly formed Autonomous Northern Epirus zone, the autonomous status of which, however, never came into being.

Greek forces took over the city on 10 July 1914 during the early part of the First World War, which had not really started anywhere else at this point. In fact this act preceded the Autro-Hungarian ultimatum to Serbia by 13 days. As Wordl War I proceeded, Korce was then taken by the Austro-Hungarians, then by the Greeks again and finally by France, which occupied Korçë between 1916-1920. It ultimately remained part of Albania, as determined by the International Boundary Commission which affirmed the country's post-war borders.

However a Republic of Korce was proclaimed there in 1918. This was meant to be a forerunner of the Republic of Pindus which was supposed to become an autonomous Vlach or Aromanian state.

During the inter-war period, the city became a hotbed of Communist agitation. Albania's future dictator, Enver Hoxha, lived there and was both a pupil and a teacher at the town's French school. Korçë's underground Communist movement became the nucleus of Hoxha's Albanian Party of Labour.

Korçë was occupied by Italian forces in 1939, along with the rest of the country. After the outbreak of the Greco-Italian War, it was liberated by the Greek Army in November 1940, and remained under Greek sovereignty until the German attack in April 1941. After Italy's withdrawal from the war in 1943, the town was occupied by the Germans until October 24, 1944.

During the occupation, the city became a major centre of Communist-inspired resistance to the Axis occupation of Albania. The establishment of the Albanian Party of Labour – the Communist Party – was formally proclaimed in Korçë in 1941. Albanian rule was restored in 1944 following the withdrawal of German forces.

After the war, the area suffered from Hoxha's dictatorial regime, who fought against the rich despite the fact that they fought against the occupation. Thousands of people from Korca were sent in concentration camps or executed, just because they disagreed with Hoxha's regime. Hundreds of people escaped from Korca, to settled in Boston, USA. After 1990 Korca was one of the six cities where newly Democratic Party won all the constituencies. Popular revolts in February 1991 ended with the fall of Hoxha statue. It is a multiethnic city, with a majority Albanian population and a strong minority population comprised of Aromanians, Greeks, and Romas.

Pula Airport (IATA: PUY, ICAO: LDPL) is the airport serving Pula, Croatia and is located 6 km from the city centre.Thanks to favourable climatic and technical conditions Pula is designated as the alternative airport for parts of Slovenia, Italy and even Austria. Pula has a special interest in jet set passengers flying privately or rented aircraft, visiting the Brijuni islands or attending concerts and shows at Pula Arena and sailing their yachts. Presently, Pula airport is capable of handling large aircraft such as Boeing 747 and Ilyushin Il-86. In 2006 the airport served 295,345 Passengers.

Since 2006, there has been talk of the re-instatement of flights between Pula and Belgrade. During the Yugoslav period, there were daily flights between the two cities, but following the Croatian War of Independence and political hostilities between Croatia and Serbia, there are no flights at present between the two neighbouring countries. Following negotiations and feasibility testing, JAT Airways has proposed a twice-weekly service from Belgrade starting in May 2008.

Pula (Slovenian Pulj; Istriot Pula; Italian: Pola) is the largest city in Istria, situated at the southern tip of the peninsula, with a population of 62,080 (2006).

Like the rest of the region, it is known for its mild climate, tame sea, and unspoiled nature. The city has a long tradition of winemaking, fishing, shipbuilding, and tourism. Pula has also been Istria's administrative center since ancient Roman times.

For several years after 1945, Pula was administered by the United Nations. Istria was partitioned into occupation zones until the region became officially united with the rest of Croatia within the Communist Yugoslavia on September 15 1947.

When the city was ceded to Yugoslavia, its population was largely made up of ethnic Italians — up to 90 per cent by some accounts, but with the signing of the peace treaty in 1947, most of those who had not already fled after 1945 left. Between December 1946 and September 1947, the city was abandoned by most of its Italian residents (istrian exodus). Between 1947 and 1953, the Italian cultural heritage (in.scriptions, symbols, etc.) was almost completely removed from the Pula monuments.

On August 18, 1946 it was the site of the Vergarolla explosion.

In 1946, C. Schiffer noticed the Pula County has 87,787 inhabitants (54,074 (64%) Italians, 27,102 (32%) Croats, 771 Slovenes). The Italian component in the town of Pola reaches 90% of population. In 1931 Pula had 41,439 residents, and in 1948 there were only 19,595 residents.

Subsequently, the city's Croatian name of Pula became official. Since the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1992, Pula and Istria have become part of the modern Republic of Croatia.