The Macedonia Question

Macedonia is a region that lies roughly west of Bulgaria, north of Greece, east of Albania, and south of Serbia. In 1991, the place declared it's own statehood, and the topic has been subject to endless debate since. The problem arises from the fact that all of these places call the people known as "Macedonians" as members of their own ethnicity:

-Serbia declares Macedonians as Serbs, since Macedonia was one of the parts of the former Yugoslavia during the times of communism. Even today the constitution of Macedonia says that any future reunion of Yugoslavia must include Macedonia.
-Greeks declare that Macedonia is an integral part of the Greek land, having owned it for much of the region's history. They refuse to acknowledge the country as "Macedonia" as this opens the door to Macedonians declaring rights on the Greek portion of Macedonia, which shares the same name but is Greek-speaking. They only recognize the state as the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," and will block any attempts by the Macedonian government to join the EU until the name situation is resolved.
-Albanians declare rights to several areas of Macedonia. For example, the capital of Macedonia, Skopje, was once an Albanian city. Albanians make up one of the largest minorities in the country.
-Finally, Bulgarians officially declare Macedonian people as "ethno-politically disoriented Bulgarians," since the language is so close to Bulgarian, and the 2 nations share much of the same culture and history. Bulgarian nationalists declare that there are "over 2 million Bulgarians trapped abroad," in reference to the population of Macedonia.

All of the nations raise questions as to whether or not Macedonia is a "real country." This has presented a major problem for this country in the middle of a geopolitical crossroads, and is the foundation of the debate known as "the Macedonia Question."

Yet somehow, the Macedonians have clung to the idea that they are a distinct people, and are fiercely proud of their country and the things they have contributed to the world throughout history. Some important figures who hailed from the region are Alexander of Macedon (aka Alexander the Great), Kiril and Metodi (inventors of the Cyrillic alphabet), and more recently Mother Teresa (born in Skopje). Whether or not these people are "Macedonians" is really beside the point. Macedonia declared itself an independent country in 1991, declared Macedonian it's official language, and immediately began the long process of trying to prove its statehood to the world.

I spent my last bit of vacation here in Peace Corps on a quick trip down to the source of all this confusion, and quickly found out that Macedonia is, in fact, a real country. It contains real people and has a real culture, that after mixing together aspects of all the different surrounding nations, becomes something all its own.

We started our trip in the capital city of Skopje, just 5 hours away from Sofia by bus. The city was very walkable and for a capital city, very small and manageable. The main attraction here is the Kale Fortress (which is somewhat redundant, "Kale" is Macedonian for "fortress"), which towers over the Vardar River in the middle of the city. The fortress walls have been restored, and the huge Macedonian flags adorning it's parapets are visible all over town. The view from the fortress is unparalleled, giving the visitor a view of the whole city below it.


The center of town boasts the recently constructed Memorial House of Mother Teresa, built in the style of a traditional home, and then decorated with fanciful murals depicting symbols of peace. Atop this structure stands the Memorial Chapel, a very modern structure devoted to the ideals of Mother Teresa and her quest for world peace. Light streams in everywhere, giving the building a very special feel. The building also houses a museum with relics such as her Bible, various notes, and displays chronicling the life of one of the most famous citizens of Skopje.



Near the center, and across the river lies the Old Town. The way the streets wind around little mosques here reminded me of my visit to Turkey, and indeed the whole place has a more Eastern vibe to it, a very nice change of pace from the largely Eastern European feel of the town. Shopkeepers can be seen outside plying their wares and haggling with customers just as they would in a place like Istanbul. Duner Kebabs and Turkish tea are found readily and abundantly...

The Turkish influence can be felt all over this side of town. Again, Macedonia was once part of another nation - the Turkish Ottoman Empire, which once controlled the majority of the Balkans. However, unlike Bulgaria which seems to have repressed much of its Turkish influence, Macedonia seems to have embraced it (at least a bit), and mosques can be seen all over, dotting the countryside and peeking out in the middle of cities. The cuisine is a bit more Turkish influenced as well.


In the middle of town lies the Old Stone Bridge, one of the oldest structures in town, and still basically in tact after about 500 years. This bridge has seen many owners - the Turks, the Albanians, the Serbs, etc. - and seems to be a symbol of Macedonia itself. The bridge connects the new center to the Old Town and the fortress, and in this way connects all aspects of its history right in the most central part of the city. As the waters of time pass under the bridge, the structure stands, unchanged from empire to empire as a testament to not only the perseverance but also the very identity of the Macedonian people, a people who have taken aspects of each previous culture and have pieced them together to create something all their own.

Greg in Bratislava

My luck with traveling by plane this year hasn't exactly been the best... Back in October I had planned to do this trip to Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest with some friends. That ended up falling through when the budget airline we had booked with went bankrupt and all the flights canceled. Then last time around, as I posted earlier, I booked a flight to Belgium which was grounded due to the Icelandic volcano spewing ash all over Europe. Now that isn't to say I haven't enjoyed my travels so far - I've been to some amazing places, and still hope to get to some more before I leave. I have just had to get to these places on the ground.

This week, I had another go at the Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest trip, and gave the airline industry another shot. This time, luckily, the flight went off without a hitch, and we arrived at the Austria airport early in the morning and were off to Bratislava, Slovakia as soon as we could - coming back to enjoy Vienna a bit later after stopping back through Hungary.

To tell the truth, I had no idea what Slovakia would have in store. Bratislava, the capital, about an hour from Vienna, seems to be constantly overlooked, being located between three major tourist destinations (Vienna, Budapest, Prague). All in all it's a small town, and because of this it's sometimes not considered worth the time, or at best worth a day trip.

When we arrived, it looked much like Bulgaria - concrete housing blocks everywhere, a very industrial feel that belies its Communist past like many of these old Soviet buffer countries. The thing that immediately struck me though, was that despite the grayness the city was very clean and orderly. New modern construction was going up everywhere, and many of the old blocks were being painted in nice colors, or otherwise looked well kept (in contrast to Bulgaria where they are often found in derelict condition with the facades falling off) It was easy to get around in the town, and we found our way to the hotel with no problems.

Things changed, however when we started walking around and getting deeper into town. The lushly green center serves as the gateway between the towns two main attractions - the Danube River and Old Town Bratislava. We found our way there after following the Danube for a while and generally getting lost.

The Danube, as it flows through Bratislava, is a natural buffer between the old and new parts of town. The two sides are connected by the Novy Most (New Bridge), a gigantic UFO-looking structure clearly from the days of the "forward looking" Communist days, able to be seen from most places in town.


Directly next to the Novy Most stands Bratislava Castle. The castle was partially destroyed at the turn of the 20th century, and was rebuilt in the 50's sometime. Today, the structure isn't so much a castle, but something like a big white cube on top of the hill. They've generally done a good job of restoring it, and from a distance it is very charming. Seeing it up close was slightly disappointing, being completely painted white, old stones and all. They've added some random windows to make them more symmetrical, and in doing so, I think maybe some of the character has been lost. Walking up to the castle some of the original parts have been preserved (the gate, some of the lower buildings, the walls), and those ivy-lined and cobbled places gave some impression of what it was like before it was rebuilt. The real attraction here wasn't so much the castle, but the park surrounding it, and the incredible views its position affords, looking out over the Danube and the Old Town below.


Speaking of the Old Town, this was by far the highlight of the visit. A winding network of random cobblestone streets weave through classical buildings containing all sorts of restaurants, cafes, and shops. It has been beautifully preserved, and has miraculously avoided much of the really "touristy" things that places like this sometimes attract. We walked around the area for hours, discovering new places around every corner, and there are a surprising amount of churches, towers and other attractions within the relatively small confines of the Old Town.


Later in the day we climbed back up to the castle to check out the Slovakian Food Festival that was going on. We sampled some of the local dishes and drinks prepared excellently by gourmet places around the country (as well as some foreign offerings such as Arabic and Japanese). Walking behind the tents and eating our food, we took in this view of the Old Town below:


After walking back through the old town and hanging out at a cafe or two we turned back in to the hostel, exhausted after a day of nonstop walking and exploring. The city had more than enough to offer for a full day of sightseeing, relaxing, and eating, and I could have stayed for another if we had the time. However, we had bigger places to move on to - traveling to spend 3 days in Budapest and later a couple of days in Vienna. Though the time in Bratislava was short, I could definitely see myself coming back here again sometime in the future. The town has a relatively untouched character, yet is still pleasantly developed, offering anything a traveler could need or want.

I think the most interesting thing about the visit to Bratislava was that it offered a vision of what some places in Bulgaria could become in the future. Here is a city that 20 years ago was probably falling apart as so many other former Communist cities were at the time of the fall of the Wall. With a bit more time, I could definitely see Bulgaria developing into a similar place. Plovdiv's Old Town is already almost there, and Varna's isn't far behind. With its new membership in the EU, I can see it happening sooner rather than later - if things line up right.

Perhaps when I return to Bulgaria after some time, I'll be similarly pleasantly surprised just as I was by Slovakia...