Day 158: Skopje

Sept 8 - Geographically, it is easy to see how this would become an area of settlement from prehistoric times. It sits on the Vardar River, the largest in the country, and which flows southeast into the Aegean Sea just west of Thessaloniki (a city that historically has been part of Macedonia).

It follows the typical pattern of Neolithic settlement, followed by Macedon and Roman, ending up in the eastern (Byzantine) sphere of influence. Like everywhere it was invaded by the Slavs, then much later by the Ottomans. There was a time, in the 16th and 17th Centuries, when it diminished in importance and was no more than a small town. It grew again in the 19th Century, and later became the capital of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, under the rule of Yugoslavia.

The Constantine and Elena Orthodox Church. Couldn’t get next to it, as it is still under construction and surrounded by barriers. Impressive marble work, though.

Memorial House of Mother Teresa (1910-97). She was Macedonian, though not born in Skopje. Regardless, she is a huge presence in the city, with statues, museum exhibits, and memorabilia everywhere. I don’t quite know what to make of this building, however, it really doesn’t seem to fit with the theme.

There it is, finally, the statue of Alexander the Great, believed to be a god by some, and a devil by others. This is one of the most ostentatious statue/fountains I’ve ever seen. It towers over the main plaza in the city center. It is officially named “Warrior on a Horse”.

Much of Skopje was destroyed in a massive 1963 earthquake. The downtown buildings mostly post-date this event. The idea was to remake it in a classical style. Here we see the City Gallery with pho-columns and Hellenic-inspired statues in the facade.

The Macedonia Gate, about a block from the Alexander statue. There are reliefs on the sides, depicting different events in Macedonian history. This, along with the two constructions shown above, were part of the “Skopje 2014” program, designed to bring grandeur and tourist interest to the city. This arch alone apparently cost 4.4 million Euros, and the total price tag for the program was something in the range of 500 million Euros. In the 2010-14 period, this was about 5% of annual GDP.

Pavel Shatev, A Macedonian-Bulgarian left-wing activist, who, early in his revolutionary career, participated in the 1903 Terror Bombings of Thessaloniki against the Ottomans.

The Fallen Heros of Macedonia Square, at the east end of Xena ‘Fighter Woman’ Park. Yes, in case you noticed the similarity to ‘Xena, Warrior Princess’, the truth is that the TV series was (very loosely) based on Greek mythology.

The Stone Bridge, which crosses the Vardar River. Though predating the Ottomans, it was heavily upgraded during their occupation.

You can really see where that 500 million Euros went.

The Archaeological Museum, as seen from across a bridge over the Vardar with statues of many Macedonian heroes. I asked a Skopje resident about the large number of statues I had seen around town, and their comment was “In Macedonia, it is well known that if you have a bit of money or fame, you can easily get your own statue put up”.

The Archaeological Museum had a replica of Alexander’s sarcophagus.

A Roman gravestone, found in Bitola, from the early 2nd Century. Translation is below.

‘Here lies Lucius Apuleius Valens, son of Lucius, from the tribe Scaptia from Berua, veteran of the V Macedonian legion, who lives for 50 years and was in military service 22 years. His heirs, his daughter Maxima and his freedwoman and wife Hesperis, undertook the production.’

Not to be outdone, Philip II of Macedon gets a towering statue just a block away from his son. To the right in the background is the Duat Pasim Hammam (Ottoman bath house), now the National Gallery.

Up the hill behind the Philip II statue is the old Turkish quarter and bazaar, with numerous winding streets and cafes. Today is a holiday so many old men sitting around playing cards and dominos.

Up to the hilltop fortress locally called ‘Kale’, which just means ‘fortress’ in Turkish. This has been an inhabited site since the Neolithic (demonstrated by some recent excavations). The original stone fortress is thought to have been constructed by Justinian I in the 10th and 11th Centuries, modified by the Ottomans centuries later. Like much of the city, it was destroyed in the 1963 earthquake.

Though the outer walls have been reconstructed, little work has been done on the inside. Excavation and restoration work on the inside is meant to be a priority, but money appears to be lacking.

One of the recently reconstructed towers, looking out to the south over the downtown area.

Walked back down the hill to the Museum of Macedonia. This worn out building has a lot of dark, dusty room piled full of boxes and one exhibit of old photographs and discussion about traditional food, drink, etc. It gives the appearance of a place that was once busy, but now facing empty coffers.

On to the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle. This is hosted in a grand stone building with spiral marble staircases in the entry. One of the more unusual museums I’ve seen, it consists of huge dramatic paintings of episodes during the various independence conflicts, plus many dozens of wax figures, all of important personages associated with those conflicts. A few important dates/events in the struggle for independence:

1877-78: Fighting starts in protest of the awarding of much of Macedonia to Bulgaria following the Treaty of San Stafano. However, the emphasis of this rebellion was by those hoping that those lands would be awarded to Greece.

Dimitar Pop Georgiev-Berovski (1840-1907), one of the leaders of the Macedonian Rebellion of 1878.

1893: Formation of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), an anti-Ottoman, anti-Serbian, and anti-Greek group with the goal of creating an independent Macedonia. However, the group had ties to Bulgaria, and it did appear at times that the goal was annexation to Bulgaria. This eventually caused a split between factions clearly wanting an independent Macedonia and those who wanted to join with Bulgaria.

There was a large diorama dedicated to the Boatmen of Thessaloniki, a group of insurgents who wished to cause major disturbances by setting off bombs in Thessaloniki. They did this in 1903, blowing up a French ship in the harbor, and the Ottoman bank.

The history of conflict here does go on and on through the 20th Century, with the two Balkan Wars (1912-13), the Serbian intrusions, and finally the incorporation into Yugoslavia post-World War II. In all of this, it is really hard to tell where the ‘nationalist’ feeling lies amongst most Macedonians. Those in the east may well feel affinity for Bulgaria, while people of Macedonian origin in Greece may call themselves Greeks. A document created by the Balkan Secretariat in 1934 addresses an issue thereafter known to the world as the ‘Macedonian Question’. This question was how to dissect a coherent Macedonian nation from the sprawling mix of cultures and identities of the region, a job made all the more difficult by the efforts of Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia to lay ‘cultural claim’ to wherever they could.

I did speak to a Macedonian student about this briefly, who was intrigued that I actually knew something about the complexity of cultural identity here. One of the things he said that stuck in my mind was:

“What I can’t stand is when Bulgarians say ‘Hey, why do you say you are Macedonians? You are Bulgarians like us!’ It is just said to insult and demean our identity.”

North Macedonia