Monday, August 31, 2009

Mariovo

Mariovo (Macedonian Cyrillic: Мариово) is a mountainous region in southern Macedonia known for its traditional white costume. The area is somewhat large but since there has been no urban development in these spaces over the past century, the region contains no actual towns, only rustic villages. 

The largest village in Mariovo is Vitolište, situated in Prilep's municipality. Mariovo now is divided in three municipalities. Konopishte is in Kavadarci municipality, Vitolishte in Prilep municipality, and Staravina in Novaci municipality, as a part of Bitola's county.


It is said that Mariovo was named after the beautiful and brave girl Marija. The legend says that some turkish Pasha who has conquered the villages of Mariovo, has fallen in love with this girl and, enchanted by her beauty, was prepared to do everything to gain her love. 

But Marija's father was not approving on it, because his daughter was a Christian, and the Turk was a Muslim. The Pasha would not give up. Marija answered his persistence with one condition: she would become his wife, but the entire region, from the Poloski monastery, Selecka mountain, to the village by the name of Brod, then the Bitola region, the Nidze mountain and to the reach of Kozjak, to remain Christian and that not a single Turk should be inhabited there. The Pasha agreed to this condition, signed papers on that decision and took Marija with him.





He took her on the rood leading to the village of Dunje, Marija suddenly took the knife from her folds, and forcefully killed herself. Taking away her life, she did not surrender to the pasha, who later, although he wanted to, could not annul the contract he previously signed. 

By the power of this document, the guarantee that the entire region should remain Christian was respected. In the honor of the girl and her courageous act, the region was named Mariovo.



Mariovo is today almost completely deserted. Among the stones that make company to the large and fertile plains, among the many markings and directions that point the way to a temple of God or a shrine that once existed here, from time to time a fireplace can be observed, a house once in a while, the home to the most persistent who, besides everything, could not resist the extraordinary attractiveness of this picturesque region. 

And amid these fairly devastated houses from which the curious and a bit puzzled eyes of the shepherds greet you, in one of the old villages, Manastirec, a real surprise awaits you. Among the fragile buildings and unmentioned yards, almost in the center of the village, there is the opulent basilica, the monastery church St. Nikola, an elegant beauty that reminds of the past times of wealth and well-being.



Surrounded by the mountains of Selechka, Nidze, Kozjak, and Babuna, the region of Mariovo is one of the most interesting and most inaccessible areas in Macedonia. Its morphological features include barren and dry hills, deep stone river gorges, but also magnificent woodland areas in the higher regions of the mountains of Nidze, Kozjak, and Babuna.


In Vitolishta, Dunje, Staravina, and other villages, the ambience depicts the scenes and pictures of another, ancient time. Wild and cruel, yet quite picturesque, Mariovo land awakens interesting, pleasant, and mystic feelings in all who visit it.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Krusevo - ethno town

Krusevo (Macedonian: Крушево, Aromanian: Crushuva) also spelt Krushevo, is a town in the Republic of Macedonia. It's a picturesque mountain town. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 metres (4,400 ft), Krusevo is the highest town in the Republic of Macedonia. 

Krusevo is known for its many fine examples of 19th century domestic architecture. The town is full of old and more recent houses built in the style of old Macedonian architecture. The town of Krusevo is the seat of Krusevo Municipality.



The name of the town in other languages is:


* Aromanian: Crushuva
* Albanian: Krusheva
* Turkish: Kruşova, Kuruşova
* Greek: Κρουσοβώς

Krusevo is a living museum, famous for its traditional architecture, cultural sites, and legacy as the site of the great 1903 Ilinden uprising against Ottoman domination. The rebellion failed, but its memory is cherished in Macedonia even today, as a symbol of the national struggle for freedom and democracy; while it lasted only 10 days, the Krusevo Republic of revolutionary leader Nikola Karev represented a desire for self-rule under a modern European political system. 

Today an enormous monument on the hill above Krusevo marks the elusive dream of the Ilinden revolutionaries.



During the Ilinden Uprising in 1903 the rebels proclaimed a short lived Krusevo Republic. Having suppressed the uprising the city was almost completely destroyed by the Ottoman army.The republic known as Krusevska republika was established here in 1903 during the Ilinden insurrection. 

One of the most important points in the Ilinden uprising was the declaration of the "Manifesto of Krusevo". It called for all the people of Macedonia regardless of their nationality and religion to fight together against the Ottoman Empire and live peacefully in a free country of Macedonia.



The town is full of old and more recent houses built in the style of old Macedonian architecture. It is home to Meckin Kamen, an historical landmark which marks the spot of the uprising of 1903. On 2 August every year, it is the site of the traditional Macedonian Independence Day celebrations, which are attended by the President of Macedonia and other Macedonian political leaders.

Krusevo also hosts the "Makedonium" monument to the Ilinden Uprising and a number of museums of the Ilinden Uprising.The towns galleries include an exhibit of 19th century icons and a memorial to the master of modern Macedonian painting Nikola Martinovski who was born in this town.

Because of its elevation, Krusevo is one of Macedonia’s winter sports destinations; the same quality also makes this pine-forested getaway a comfortable destination in summer, when the Krusevo air stays cooler and more pure than in the arid lowlands.




There is a project called "Krusevo ethno-town", supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia, developed by few enthusiasts. 

According to that project, Krusevo shall look like a town from the beginning of the 20th century, while it was the center of the Macedonian Ilinden Uprising in 1903, leading to the creation of the first Republic on the Balkans "The Krusevo Republic". People will be dressed like Ottoman Turks and Macedonian revolutionary freedom fighters. The project wants to make Krusevo a main tourist destination in five years.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Capaj i Venko Serafimov - Ako ljubis dukati


One of the most beautiful Macedonian rock ballads recorded in the mid 90's. Venko Serafimov (Macedonian: Венко Серафимов) is one of the best Macedonian guitarists, known by his many soundtracks for movies, documentaries and theatre plaits. He was awarded many times for the musical heritage that he left so far. 

This song is performed together with the artist from Kumanovo, known as Capaj (Macedonian: Чапај), is a song that will be listened for many years. Even though is more that 10-years old, sounds fresh every time you play it. Enjoy!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Tomi Stefanovski swum across the La Manche channel

The marathon swimmer Tomi Stefanovski has swum across the La Manche channel on Friday.

It took Stefanovski 7 hours, 42 minutes and 32 seconds to become the third Macedonian to achieve this accomplishment, after Niko Nestor in 1959 and Atina Bojadzi in 1969.

 

Although faced with unfavorable weather at the start, he managed to reach the goal.

This achievement makes Stefanovski eligible of receiving the national sports award “Sports Pension”. The award will be handed over to him in the premises of the Agency of Youths and Sports after his arrival in Skopje.

The fastest verified swim of the channel was by Petar Stoychev on 24 August 2007. He crossed the channel in 6 hours 57 minutes 50 seconds.

The English Channel (French: La Manche, "the sleeve") is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. 

It is about 560 km (350 mi) long and varies in width from 240 km (150 mi) at its widest, to only 34 km (21 mi) in the Strait of Dover. It is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some 75,000 km2 (29,000 sq mi).
 

Source Makfax.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Tanec - Pirin dance

Tanec (Macedonian: Танец) is an eminent, large professional folklore musical ensemble from Skopje, Republic of Macedonia. It is considered as an ambassador of the Macedonian folklore tradition worldwide.

The Tanec Ensemble of folklore dances and songs of Macedonia was founded by the Government of the People’s Republic of Macedonia in 1949 with an aim to collect, preserve and present the Macedonian folklore: folk songs and folk dances, folk instruments, national costumes etc.


The ensemble inspired by Macedonian culture and traditions also has a junior ensemble.


During the several decades of its existence Tanec has taken part in over 3500 concerts and festivals around the world including: USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, ex-USSR republics, France, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Kuwait, Israel, Egypt, Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Zaire and many other countries as well as concerts across the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

The ensemble has received numerous awards. Its first major success was the First Prize at the International Festival in Llangollen, UK in 1950. Since then, Tanec won numerous prizes. In 2008, Tanec received the "Order of Merits for Macedonia".

The dance on this video comes from the Pirin region, which is now in Bulgaria. Macedonians in Bulgaria still keep their roots and connections with the mother land.


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Bela - Karolina i Aki Rahimovski

"Bela" is originaly performed some 10 years ago, by the macedonian artist, Risto Samardziev. This new version of the song is a duet between one of the greatest macedonian music stars, Karolina Gočeva and Aki Rahimovski.

Karolina Gočeva (Macedonian Cyrillic: Каролина Гочева) (born April 28, 1980, in Bitola,Republic of Macedonia) is a Macedonian singer. She represented Macedonia in the 2002 and 2007 Eurovision Song Contests, ranking 19th and 14th, respectively. She became the first female Macedonian to represent Macedonia twice at Eurovision.

Aki Rahimovski
(Macedonian Cyrillic: Аки Рахимовски) (born 1953 in Nis, Serbia, raised in Skopje, Macedonia, where his family is from) is a ex-lead singer of Parni Valjak. Parni Valjak ("Steamroller") was a Croatian and former Yugoslav rock band from Zagreb. They were one of the top acts of the former Yugoslav Rock scene.

Parni Valjak was founded in 1975. Unlike many rock bands that would come later, their style was becoming more mainstream, becoming closer to pop, especially compared with the bands like Prljavo Kazalište or Film.