Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia(; Macedonian: Македонија), officially the Republic of Macedonia (Република Македонија, ), is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991. It became a member of the United Nations in 1993. A landlocked country, the Republic of Macedonia is bordered by Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. It constitutes approximately the northwestern half of the larger geographical region of Macedonia, which also comprises parts of Greece and Bulgaria. The country's capital is Skopje, with 506,926 inhabitants according to a 2002 census. Other cities include Bitola, Kumanovo, Prilep, Tetovo, Ohrid, Veles, Štip, Kočani, Gostivar, Kavadarci and Strumica. It has more than 50 lakes and sixteen mountains higher than 2,000 m (6,562 ft). Macedonia is a member of the UN and the Council of Europe. Since December 2005 it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership.

Macedonian Flag

Capital City – Skopje

In its 2,500 years of existence, Macedonia’s welcoming capital city has had many different embodiments. All of them – from Roman to Byzantine, from Ottoman to Yugoslav – have left permanent traces on the city as is evidenced by Skopje’s varied architecture and its mix of cultures. Yet in addition to its strong historical associations, Skopje is a forward-looking city offering an abundance of modern amenities and attractions.Here one can find sleek modern hotels above the cobblestoned Ottoman streets, outstanding neoclassical homes right around the corner from grand old Yugoslav-era buildings, red-bricked Byzantine churches and rounded Turkish mosques, chic cafés, shopping malls and brightly-colored new offices.

City and the lake Ohrid

The city of the immortal Ohrid is the sublime lakeside point that for many represents the culmination of the Macedonian experience, a kingdom of light and water, a repository of ancient ruins from Macedonia’s earlier kingdoms. Ohrid’s major attractions are all located within a remarkably concentrated and eminently walkable area, among and above the narrow streets of the Old Town lined with restaurants and cafés perfectly suited for relaxing in the cool summer evenings. Ohrid’s many café bars and nightclubs also make for a vibrant nightlife.

As for the lake itself, it is so large and so deep that one might mistake it for a small sea. Full range of water sports, fishing andboating is

available, and numerous churches alongside Ohrid’s lake shores make for fascinating side trips and walks. The wooded ridge above the lake’s eastern shore is largely taken up by the National Park of

Galichica, an unspoiled wilderness ideally suitable for nature enthusiasts. The uniqueness of Lake Ohrid and the city’s historical architecture has been attested by UNESCO, honoring it with an official designation as one of the few places on the cultural institution’s list “World Inheritance”.Archaeological finds indicate that Ohrid is one of the oldest human settlements in all of Europe. The Lake itself is over three million years old. Ohrid town is first mentioned in Greek documents from 353 B.C, when it was known as Lychnidos or “the city of light.” Only much later in 879 A.D, was it renamed Ohrid. The name probably derives from the Macedonian phrase “Vo Hrid” – roughly meaning “the town on the hill.”

During Ottoman times Ohrid remained the seat of the autocephalous Ohrid archiepiscopacy until 1726. During its Byzantine apogee, thetown was renowned for its 365 churches and monasteries. These and a large number of sacral edifices have been preserved and make up a large part of Ohrid’s rich medieval past.

We are from here

Negotino

Negotino is situated on the right bank of the river Vardar. It is about 150 metres (490 ft) above sea level. Negotino is in a vineyard region and the gates of the Tikves basin, known for its fertility, are located nearby. Along with Kavadarci, Negotino is known as the home of Macedonia’s best wine and rakija (brandy). The M-1 highway leads through the city, parallel to the railway line connecting Skopje-Gevgelija-Greece. A settlement in the location of modern Negotino existed and developed in antiquity. Between 278 and 242 BC, a city was founded by King Antigonus II Gonatas, under the name of Antigoneia. After conquering Paionia, he conquered the settlements around the central Vardar region.

Antigoneia was situated some twelve Roman miles south of the ancient city of Stobi, on the road to Thessaloniki, at the location of modern Gradiste, near the railway station of Negotino. At this place, Roman coins were found, as well as precious jewelry and other archeological findings from the period of the Roman and Byzantine period. The ancient city existed until the 11th century when it was destroyed by a disastrous earthquake which hit almost all of the territory of Macedonia along with other cities such as Skupi, Stobi, Heraclea, Astibo, and Idomena.

Famous people

Mother Teresa

Mother Teresa was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in Skopje*, Macedonia, on August 26 -1910. Her family was of Albanian descent. At the age of twelve, she felt strongly the call of God. She knew she had to be a missionary to spread the love of Christ. Mother Teresa's work has been recognised and acclaimed throughout the world and she has received a number of awards and distinctions,

including the Pope John XXIII Peace Prize (1971) and the Nehru Prizefor her promotion of international peace and understanding (1972). She also received the Balzan Prize (1979) and the Templeton and Magsaysay awards.

Goce Delchev

Georgi Nikolov Delchev (1872–1903) was an important revolutionary figure in Ottoman-ruled Macedonia and Thrace at the turn of the 20th century. He was one of the leaders of what is commonly known today as Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), a paramilitary organization active in the Ottoman territories in Europe at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.

As result, his political agenda became the establishment through revolution of an autonomous Macedonian-Adrianopolitan supranational state into the framework of the Ottoman Empire, as a

prelude to its incorporation within some kind of future Balkan Federation.

Milcho Manchevski

Milcho Manchevski wrote and directed the feature films Before the Rain (1994), Dust (2001), Shadows (2007) and Mothers(2011), over 50 short forms, including Tennessee for Arrested Development (1991). He has also

been a director on HBO’s The Wire. He’s authored two exhibitions of photographs, works of fiction and performance art.Before the Rain won an Academy-Award nomination and thirty awards, including Golden Lion for Best Film in Venice, Independent Spirit, FIPRESCI, UNESCO, best film of the year in Argentina, Italy, Sweden, Turkey, and other awards in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Poland, Puerto Rico, Russia, etc.The New York Times included Before the Rain on its list of the best 1,000 films ever made.Manchevski won awards for best experimental film (for 1.7) and best MTV video (for Tennessee, which Rolling Stone placed on the list of the 100 best videos ever).Dust was the opening-night film of the Venice Film Festival.Both Shadows" and Mothers were the Macedonian Academy Awards entries.Moth ers screened in the Panorama section of Berlinale 2011.

Simon Trpchevski

Born September 18, 1979, in Skopje, Macedonia), is a Macedonian classical pianist.The youngest of three children, his father was a judge and his mother a pharmacist. In 2002, he received his degree in music from the University of St. Cyril and St. Methodius in Skopje,

Republic of Macedonia, where he studied with Professor Boris Romanov. By then he had already made his debut in recital at London's Wigmore Hall in 2001 and had won prizes in international competitions in the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, and Italy.Building on his exposure as a member of the BBC New Generation Scheme 2001-2003, Trpčeski has since 2005 made a rapid series of debuts with orchestras worldwide—including the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, and the Toronto Symphony—and has made recital tours in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In December 2005 he appeared for the first time in the International Piano Series in London, and he has performed with English orchestras including the London Philharmonic and London Symphony Orchestras, the Hallé Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. In Scandinavia, he has performed with the Stockholm, Bergen, Gothenburg, and Helsinki orchestras and the Swedish Chamber Orchestra.

Traditional Food

Tavče gravče

Ingredients needed:

- 500g of white beans- 1 onion, 1 red paprika- 100ml of cooking oil- 2-3 pieces of red dry capsicum- pepper, salt, plain flour, parsley, mintHow to prepare:Wash the beans and leave them to stay in water over night. After that cook them till it starts boiling, drain the beans and put them in another pot of hot water. Then add chopped onion (1/2 of it) and capsicum. Continue to cook it till the beans are soft but integral. If there is too much water left, drain the beans. Fry the chopped onion (the other 1/2) and paprika with one spoon of plain flour in cooking oil and then add this to the beans. Put everything in a pottery saucepan and then pour some parsley, mint, pepper and salt on it. Put the saucepan in oven and bake for a while (the beans shouldn’t be too dry).

Stuffed peppersIngredients needed:

- 3 red bell peppers- 2 green or yellow bell peppers- 1 cup ground veal- 3 green onions, chopped- 1 clove garlic, minced- 170g. cream cheese- 1 egg- 3 Tbsp. half-and-half (cream)- 1 tsp. cumin- Dash salt and Pepper- Water

How to prepare:1. Slice the tops off the peppers. Pull out the seeds and the cores. Dice 1 red pepper. Set aside. Save the tops.2. Combine the diced red pepper and ground veal or chicken in a mixing bowl. Add the green onions and garlic. Stir in soft cream cheese and blend with a wooden spoon.3. Stir in the egg and half-and-half, then add the grated cheese. Season with cumin and salt and pepper.4. Preheat oven to 180°C.5. Place the pepper shells in a baking dish that will hold them snugly together. Spoon the filling into the peppers. Replace the tops. Pour 3 tablespoons of water around the peppers.6. Bake at 180°C until the filling is puffed and the peppers are soft, about 40 minutes. Serve immediately.

SarmaIngredients needed:- pickled cabbage leaves- rice in a cup of coffee- 2-3 onion pieces- 0,5 kg. mixed ground meat- oil, red pepper, pepper, salt, spices- 250 gr. steamed meatHow to prepare: Cut the onion into small pieces and fry it on oil. Add the ground meat, red pepper, pepper, salt, spices the rice also . Then use the mixture to stuff the pickled cabbage leaves. Line them up in a pot, but first line up pickled cabbage leaves at the bottom of the pot. Put the steamed mead in between the stuffed cabbage leaves. Then, spill over some hot water and boil it on a silent fire, and them put them in the oven to bake.By the end of the baking, you can add come oil and red pepper (which have been fried before). Cover the pieces with pickled cabbage leaves. The whole has to be dry, not very moist.

PastrmajlijaIngredients needed:- 1 kg of flour- 600 g pork meat- 200 g lard- 4 eggs- 1 yeastHow to prepare:Soak the yeast and after a while put it into flour and prepare the paste. Divide the paste into 4 equal pieces. Use rolling tin to make each of these pieces thin and flat.Chop the meat. Add salt. Put the meat on top of each piece of pasta pastrmajlii (prepared like this) in the oven. Bake it on temperatures

of 250°C. Before they are ready, add 1 egg and finish the baking. Serve it hot.and spread it. Put lard on the meat and if you prefer add pepper also. Put the

Facts about Macedonia 3 tectonic, 25 glacial and 15 artificial lakes and 34 mountains

exist in Macedonia. It is fascinating that The fresco "Lamentation over the Body

of Christ" in St. Pantelejmon was painted 140 years before Giotto's "Pieta".

Ohrid - the European Jerusalem, the cultural capital of Macedonia, the city of the Slavic civilization and Cyrillic script used to have 365 churches, one for each day of the year.

Vardar is the longest river 388 km long, flowing sluggishly and cutting Macedonia in two.

2,764 meters is the height of Golem Korab, the highest peak in Macedonia.

976 AD, was the year when the medieval Macedonian state was formed by Samoil.

The fertile imagination of woodcarvers, the exquisite patterns of Macedonian carpets and the filigree working of gold and silver are all parts of the rich creative tradition of this people.

Macedonia is cradle of the Slavic culture and the Cyrillic script. St. Clement of Ohrid developed the Glagolica alphabet the masterpiece of his teachers Sts. Cyril and Methodius and name it Cyrillic in his honor.

September 8, 1991 is the date when Macedonia proclaimed independence from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The Pesna Cave, near Makedonski Brod, as described in New York Times, is identical as the imagined caves in the trilogy Lord of the Rings.

Macedonia produces more than 135 milions litres of wine, 150 milions litres of rakija and 850 milions of beer per year, with a population of sligthly more than 2 milion.

The oldest lake in Europe and the deepest in the Balkan's -the Ohrid lake is 4 milion years old and has more than 200 endemic species.

One of the Titanic Survivors was a Macedonian. Stojko Dodolovski, from the village of Chucher (Skopje area), made a last second purchase of a ticket to the Titanic from a British priest. When the ship started sinking Stojko jumped into the ocean. He swam towards few of the rescue boats, but was not allowed to climb aboard. Stojko stayed calm and floated on the ocean until one of the rescue boats came back to look for survivors, several hours later. Stojko was one of the 12 survivors picked up.

According to NASA, Kokino is 4th on the list of oldest meghalithic observatories in the whole world, right after Abu Simbel Egypt, Stonehenge Great Britain, Angkor Wat Cambodia. However less known is Cocev Kamen near Kokino 4 milion years old and more contemporary than Kokino. The smallest ethno museum in the world is located only 5 km on the northwest of Tetovo, in the picturesque village of Dzepciste and as such is listed in the Guinness Book of Records.

The annual Ohrid Summer Festival (mid-July to late August) is the major cultural event in Macedonia. Held in a well-preserved Roman amphitheater and in magnificent churches, it features classical music, jazz and ballet. An international festival of poetry is held in nearby Struga in late August.

Macedonia is the only place in Europe to have clearest rubies. How many of you have known that the city of Prilep has rubies, precious gemstones who can be seen on world catalogues. And how many of you knew that foreigners are

purchasing these rubies at dirt cheap prices. Decades ago, the people in the Prilep region had been told (lied) that the rubies found near Prilep's dolomit marble mine were not gemstones, rather a low quality mineral called corundum

Apart from Mother Theresa who is born in Skopje, the founder of Turkey, Kemal Ataturk was born in Bitola.

The most famous song in Palestine and today treated as an anthem of Palestine and the Arabic world is written by a Macedonian. Bitola journalist and writer Pande Manojlov wrote the theme in 1982 and published it in the Skopje daily 'Nova Makedonija'.

The nuns at the Macedonian church of St Gorgjija Pobedonosec hand make the special archbishop clothing worn by the head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church, as well as the heads of the Russian, Greek, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Serbian Orthodox Churches, including the ones in North America and Africa.

The world famous Manaki brothers of Bitola won the first golden medal for cinematography in the Romanian city of Sinaia in 1905.

The sun crystal that Alexander The Great used to blind his Persian enemies, can be found only in Macedonia. The Macedonian mine “Alshar” on Kozuv mountain is the only world source of Thallium, and a potential 'mine' for ecological clean energy. Since 2004, the Alshar mine is a member of the "Emerald" network, an organization for protection of nature's rarities.

Macedonian traditional clothing

Events you must visit in Macedonia

Galichnik WeddingThe Galichnik Wedding Festival is an annual festival held in the Macedonian village of Galičnik near the city of Debar in which a selected couple gets married in the traditional "Galichka" style wedding. Traditionally the wedding lasted for 5 days with the main activities on St. Peter's Day (12 July) every year. It was the only period of the year when couples got married. Today it is part of the festival "Galichko Leto" (Galicnik Summer) and it is a two-day event held on the weekend nearest to 12 July and it serves as a cultural and tourist attraction.During the wedding, men dance the Teškoto, symbolizing the suffering of the Macedonian people through the centuries.Each year, couples from all over Macedonia enter a competition run by the organisers to be the couple that gets to have a "Galichka" style wedding. Every year, a new couple gets the opportunity.

Skopje Jazz Festival

The Skopje Jazz Festival is a jazz festival held in Skopje since 1982.It is an institution which had consistent growth in the 1980s, 1990s and continues to grow every year. Even though it promoted a genre which at first glance looks distant from the local culture and tradition, it managed to attract a very large audience and to build a reputation as a prestigious festival not only in the Republic of Macedonia, but in a wider sense in the Balkans and in Europe. Throughout its history the festival has hosted prominent names from the jazz world such as: John McLaughlin, Ornette Coleman, Herbie Hancock, McCoy Tyner, Joe Zawinul, Dave Holland, Charlie Haden, Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Pat Metheny, Tito Puente Anthony Braxton, Ray Charles, and more. The festival is part of the European jazz network and the European forum of World music festivals.

Ohrid Swimming MarathonThe Ohrid Swimming Marathon (is an international Open water swimming competition, established in always taking place in the waters of the Ohrid Lake, Republic of Macedonia. The swimmers are supposed to swim 30 km from Sveti Naum to the Ohrid harbor.

Manakis brothers festivalThe brothers Ianachia and Milton Manachia were pioneering photographers and the first filmmakers in the Balkans. In 1905 they filmed in Avdela the first motion pictures in the Ottoman Balkans -The Weavers. In honor of their work, the International Cinematographers' Film Festival "Manaki Brothers" is held every year in Bitola, the city where most of their activities were organized. In total, they took over 17,300 photographs in 120 localities.

Ohrid Summer FestivalThe Ohrid summer Festival is a festival founded on 4 August 1961, always taking place between 12 July and 20 August in the city of Ohrid, Republic of Macedonia. It is financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia and sponsors. The President of the Republic of Macedonia is the patron of the festival. The festival featured prominent artists since 1961, i.e. José Carreras. Since 1994, the festival is a member of the European Festivals Association.