About three-fourths of the inhabitants of the present-day Republic of North Macedonia have a Macedonian national identity. They are Slavic-speaking descendants of the Slavic tribes who have lived in the area since the 6th century. 25-30% are of Albanian descent and are Muslim.
Why is North Macedonia not just Macedonia?
Macedonia and Greece signed an accord in June 2018 which, among other things, resolved the decades-long dispute over the Republic of Macedonia’s name. In February 2019, Macedonia’s name changed to the Republic of North Macedonia.
There is no South Macedonia!
The Fortress Kale is located on the hill, in the very center of Skopje, on the left bank of the river Vardar and partly in the western part of the bazaar. It is said that the area on which today’s fortress is located was inhabited since the the 3rd or 4th millennium BC. The fortress was again inhabited sometime around the 7th to 6th century BC. It offers a great view of the city and hills beyond.
The city was destroyed by a very powerful earthquake on 26 July 1963, killing more than 1000 people.
The Mustafa Pasha Mosque was built in 1492. He was the Vizier of the sultans Bayazit II and Selim I and performed high functions in the Ottoman Empire. From the marble plaque above the front door, which contains Arabic text, it is evident that the building was built on the foundations of a medieval church. Unlike other buildings in and around the bazaar, the Mustafa Pasha Mosque did not suffer major damage from the 1963 earthquake.
The Old Bazaar in Skopje is one of the oldest marketplaces in the Balkans. Dating back to the 12th century, the Old Bazaar situated on the eastern bank of the Vardar River, stretching from the Stone Bridge to the Bit-Pazar is home to numerous traditional craft shops, restaurants, cafes, and sweetshops.
Built in the mid-15th century by a Bosnian general, the Eastern Orthodox Church of the Ascension of Jesus is situated within the bazaar. We were unable to go inside.
If there’s one thing Skopje is famous for it is statues and sculptures – they are just everywhere! They are on every street corner and in every square.
The reason there are so many statues in Skopje goes back to 2008 when the economy crashed. Much like many countries around the world, Macedonia targeted tourism as a major source of income and revenue. That’s when the government came up with the Skopje 2014 redevelopment project. With a budget of estimated to be between €80 and €500 million, they decided to make the capital more “aesthetically pleasing” by building statues. Lots and lots of statues. Big ones too.
Philip II, or Philip of Macedon, (born 382 BCE—336 BCE, 18th King of Macedonia (359–336 BCE), restored internal peace to his country and by 339 had gained domination over all of Greece by military and diplomatic means, laying the foundations for its expansion under his son Alexander III, the Great.
The holocaust in Macedonia, where over 7400 Jews were sent to Triblanka, Poland, with only about 150surviving, is a completely different situation to Bulgaria where the vast majority were saved by declaring them “essential”.
The Holocaust Museum is designed by same architect, as the Washington DC Holocaust Museum
7144 beads representing each Jewish life lost in holocaust
Mother Theresa was born in Skopje, but her ancestral home was destroyed in the earthquake. There is a museum with some of her personal artifacts and small chapel.
Our hotel, Skopje Marriott, was in center of town.