Macedonian Flag

The coat of arms of Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia has a total area of 25,333 km2 (9,781 sq mi). It has some 748 km (465 mi) of boundaries, shared with Serbia (62 km or 39 mi) to the North, Kosovo (159 km or 99 mi) to the northwest, Bulgaria (148 km or 92 mi) to the east, Greece (228 km or 142 mi) to the south, and Albania (151 km or 94 mi) to the west. The country represents a major transportation corridor between Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe.

GEOGRAPHY

POPULATION Number  %

TOTAL 2,022,547 100

Macedonians 1,297,981 64.18

Albanians 509,083 25.17

Turks 77,959 3.85

Romani people 53,879 2.66

Serbs 35,939 1.78

Vlachs 9,695 0.48

others 38,011 1.88

Statistics

Largest Macedonian cities

CityCity

Population

Skopje 444,000

Bitola 80,000

Kumanovo 71,000

Prilep 68,000

Tetovo 60,000

Ohrid 51,000

Veles 48,000

Gostivar 46,000

Štip 42,000

Strumica 40,000

Kočani 27,000

Radoviš 16,223

The president of Republic of Macedonia

GJORGE IVANOV

NIKOLA GRUEVSKI

Prime minister

TRAJKO VELJANOVSKI

The president of Macedonian parlament

RELIGION The majority (64.7%) of the population belongs to the Macedonian Orthodox Church. It

declared autocephaly in 1968, though that is still not recognised by the Serbian and other Eastern Orthodox Churches, although the Archbishop's Council of the Serbian Orthodox Church has recognised the autonomy of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Muslims comprise 33.3% of the population and other Christian denominations comprise 0.37%. The remainder (1.63%) is recorded as "unspecified" in the 2002 national census. Most of the native Albanians, Turks and Bosniaks are Muslims, as are a minority of the country's ethnic Macedonian population, known as Macedonian Muslims.Altogether, there are more than 1200 churches and 400 mosques in the country. The

Orthodox and Islamic religious communities have secondary religion schools in Skopje. There is an Orthodox theological college in the capital. Macedonia has the largest proportion of Muslims of any country in Europe after Turkey, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

CULTUREFolklore Macedonian folklore art developed

alongside its creators as a reflection of the creative spirit and high values of the Macedonians. It matured on the basis of Old-Slavic and Balkan art as well as on the basis of the various elements from the other peoples, especially Byzantium and Turkey. Even today the Macedonians live together with several other nationalities (Vlahs, Albanians, Turks) that has an impact on the development of Macedonian art. Although Macedonian folklore embraces exotic elements, it still developed independently and uniquely transforming itself according to its taste and changing it into its indivisible part.

Cultural events

The most important cultural events in the country are the Ohrid Summer festival of classical music and drama, Balkan festival, the Struga Poetry Evenings which gather poets from more than 50 countries in the world, International Camera Festival in Bitola, Open Youth Theatre and Skopje Jazz Festival in Skopje

Macedonian Cousine

Cultural artists and legends “Ve sakam site”( I LOVE YOU all) “ -

TOSE PROESKI

Mother Theresa

Simon Trpcevski Kiril Dzajkovski

Milco MancevskiBoris Trajanov

Historical places

The old and ancient settlement of Skupi is located in the northern part of Skopje (8 km from the city centre) near the village of Bardovci and Zlokukani. The town was a well-known base until it was completely destroyed by a powerful earthquake. the excavation site of the town of Skupi is located right by the road, near the village of Bardovci. Numerous archaeological finds are kept in the Archaeological Museum in Skopje, including a sarcophagus of Centurion, and some tombstones. Near the village of Zlokukani there are the excavations of the Skupi theatre, galleries, the auditorium, orchestra and the stage. The theatre in Skupi is of the Roman type, while the building was covered with coloured tiles and the theatre itself was built in brick. That theatre was better decorated than the ancient on in Stobi.

Skupi

Heraklea, the capital of the Linkestisa was built in ancient times, and is two kilometres from today's Bitola. It was an important military and strategic centre, located on the well known route of the Via Ignatia. It is thought that Heraklea was founded by Philip II. The archaeological excavations of that town started in 1938 when significant objects were found, giving important historical information. Like all other towns Heraklea was protected by big town walls. Numerous basilicas with preserved mosaics were found there. One of the archaeological finds is preserved today in the British Museum in London.

Heraklea

The ancient town of particular importance even before the Roman conquest) was constructed at an extraordinarily strategic place. It was destroyed by a massive earthquake in 518 A.D, but had still succeeded in preserving itself until the fourteenth century. The great part of Stobi has been excavated and has yielded very important archaeological findings. The most attractive and important for tourists include: the Bishop's church the Partenius palace, the Peristerij palace, Poliharmos and Amphitheatre. Evaluating the remains, it can be said that the Bishop's church had a monumental view and was richly decorated in mosaics. Today, besides the mosaics discovered in nartex, some fresco fragments have been found there on the northern and western walls of the church, thought to have originated from the fifth and sixth century A.D. One of the most representative buildings in Stobi is the Pertenius palace, built in the fifth century. Its rich decoration arrangement of rooms and great space, give evidence of the wealth and comfortable life led by some citizens of this town. What contributed to the value of this building distinguishing it from the others, are the decorations of mosaic and white marble and ornamental tiles. The Peristerij palace is also famous as a palace with double doors and two aspes placed one besides the other. Some mosaics made in the fifth century with different figures and ornaments from animal and plant life were preserved there. The remains of the town drinking fountain and town bath are close to that place. there are different opinions on the period of construction of the amphitheatre in Stobi. Some say that it was constructed in the second century A.D, others thought it was built in the third century. However, this theatre was renovated and enlarged several times and part of that construction material was used in a later period of construction in Stobi and its surroundings. The archaeological site of Stobi also has a restaurant.

Stobi

Kale fortress is situated on a hill in the middle of Skopje and dominates this whole portion of the Vardar valley. Archaeological excavations has revealed traces of habitation from the late neolithic and early bronze ages. Exactly when the first fortifications were built on this site has not yet been established, though it is believed that reconstruction was undertaken during Justinian's reign (527-565), i.e. after the great earthquake in 518. Today's visitor first notes the walls, 121 m in length, built of huge blocks of dressed stone; according to some authorities the walls were built soon after the earthquake of 518, and according to others in the 10th or 11th century. However, the most probable construction date appears to be some time in the 6th or 7th century when Byzantium was under constant attack from Pechenegs, Polovitzians, Normans, Bulgars, and Slavs. Important additions were made to the fortress which incorporated several residential buildings and quarters for the soldiers. A small chapel with frescoes assigned to the 14th century has also been found. The most detailed description of the fortress was given by Evliya Chelebi, the Turkish traveller and writer. "The walls," wrote Chelebi, "encircling the castle on all sides are 50 ells high. The stronghold is adorned with 70 bastions, and the bazaar has 2,000 shops. There are three gatehouses facing the south-east, and in the vistibule of each tall gate many guards. Flowing past the west side of the fortress is Vardar. There is also a path leading from the fortress through a cave to a 'water-tower' on the river bank. Inside the fortress are about a hundred buildings: soldiers' quarters, grain and munitions depots." When the military withdrew at the end of the last war the fortress was converted into a large park dedicated to the Revolution. Since many of the buildings had collapsed during the earthquake of 1963, conservation work was undertaken.

Kale - Skopje

The most visited cities

Ohrid – City of Unesco

Ohrid (Macedonian) is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year, and is referred to as the Macedonian Jerusalem.[1] The city is rich in picturesque houses and monuments, and tourism is predominant. It is located southwest of Skopje, west of Resen and Bitola, and east of Elbasan and Tirana in Albania. Macedonia is gaining importance as a European tourist destination and is specially notable for its Roman and Byzantine ruins,churches,natural environment and excellent cuisine and wine.

ANCIENT THEATRE - OHRIDSt. JOVAN KANEO - OHRIDSAINT PANTHELEMON - OHRID

BitolaBitola (Macedonian: Битола)formerly called Monastir in English; known also by several alternative names) is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing with Greece. It is an important junction connecting the south of the Adriatic Sea with the Aegean Sea and Central Europe. It is known from the Ottoman period as "the city of the consuls", as many European countries have consulates in Bitola. According to some sources, Bitola is the second largest town in the country,and to others the third.[3] Bitola is also the centre of the Bitola Municipality.

Skopje – the capital of Macedonia

The stone bridge

The Kale Fortress

The Old Railaway stationThe Mustafa Pasha’s Mosque

Macedonian National theatre

MACEDONIA

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