Skopje, North Macedonia (August 2023)

 While we were staying in Sofia Bulgaria, we took a day trip to Skopje North Macedonia. It is the capital of this small nation with a little over two million inhabitants, which is located in the west of Bulgaria and in the north of Greece. It used to be part of Yugoslavia Federation. 

We went there by a bus and crossed the border on land.

This country is known to be the birthplace of Mother Teresa and also that of Alexander the Great. Of course, both are challenged heavily by Albania and Greece, respectively. 

Mother Teresa was born here as Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu under the Ottoman rule by the parents of Albanian descent. Thus, it is true that she was born here. At the same time, Albania's claim that she was from Albania has a point as well. There is a memorial center for the saint who served in Kolkata India for her entire life. For her sacrificial services, she received the Novel Peace Prize. 

Also, Alexander the Great's father was a Macedonian but his mother was a Greek. Both were part of the Kingdom of Macedonia that encompasses both countries now. Alexander was born in Pella that was the central part of the Kingdom. The people of Macedonia are mostly Slavic but they speak Macedonian that is very very close to the Greek. So who are they? Thus, their claim is relevant, but Greece came to exist first and they held the right to refuse this country's claim to be Macedonia. So in 2019, this country had to change the name to Republic of North Macedonia. At any rate, Skopje has a gigantic statue of Alexander the Great that draws people's attention.

The city reminded me of Dresden Germany where all the buildings were bombed during the World War and have been rebuilt along the river. The same here. All buildings were rebuilt after the bombing along the Varda River. As we crossed the bridge, we were entering the Old Skopje or Bazaar,  where you can find predominantly Muslim merchants.  

An interesting sculpture...

Alexander's father was Phillip II and his statue was also prominent.

And under his statue was another statue of three people that included Phillip II, his wife, and Alexander between the parent. This wife featured here was his fourth of seven wives that Phillip II had during his life. 

Our day trip to Skopje North Macedonia was short, but about right for what we saw and experienced. - Jeffrey