Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia
Do you know North Macedonia? In this country, not long ago, an 11-year-old girl named Embra Ademi was discriminated against by her classmates because of Down syndrome, and President Pendarovsky personally sent the girl to school after hearing about this. Behind the news, people also noticed this country with a strange name - North Macedonia.
All along, the reference to "Macedonia" has almost always been associated with the glorious Alexander Empire. "North Macedonia" should sound closely related to the splendor of the past.
But the reality is that North Macedonia has come a long way to be able to bear the name "Macedonia". Between history and reality, this small country is confused and moving forward, eager to find its place.
Dispute over the name of the country
The collapse of Yugoslavia, a federal republic fraught with conflict and turmoil, left a pile of "messes", and North Macedonia was a fragment of independence after this collapse.
At that time, its name was the original "Macedonia". This newly independent country, before it could think of a way to improve its national fortunes, received protests and warnings from the Greek side.
Greece believed that the name "Macedonia" would be reminiscent of the Macedonian kingdom that had risen from northwestern Greece, and then to the later glorious Empire of Alexander, which belonged to Greece alone. The fact that a small country that had just been born out of the disintegration of Yugoslavia dared to call itself "Macedonia" was both a suspicion of heat and a great offense to Greece's glorious history.
Portrait of Alexander the Great (Source: Visual China)
This bizarre dispute over the country's name hindered the development of North Macedonia at the beginning of its independence. The desire to join the United Nations and the European Union under the name "Macedonia" was strongly opposed by Greece. In the face of the delay in changing the name of "Macedonia", Greece has imposed an economic blockade for nearly 4 years as a punishment.
As a result, the EU countries urged "Macedonia" to join the United Nations under the provisional name of "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". But always naming it as the disintegrating "former Yugoslavia" is not a long-term solution.
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was officially renamed
Since 1992, "Macedonia" has been changing its name between wars and conflicts in the Balkans, Greek condemnations and sanctions. The naming of "Macedonia" provoked the Greeks to jump to their feet; the name "Southern Serbia" made the people indignant. As a result, this ill-fated little country stumbled through life, never being able to have a dignified name.
Until 2019, Greece was finally willing to discuss and agree with "Macedonia" on the issue of the name of the country: each step back. Eventually, "Macedonia" took its true name, North Macedonia.
Wonderful mix
After North Macedonia got its name, it was soon discovered by the well-known magazine Lonely Planet as one of the "Top 10 Best Travel Destinations in the World" in 2020.
Top 10 best travel destinations, with North Macedonia coming in third place. (Source: Lonely Planet official website)
Like its complex, wrinkled identity puzzles, North Macedonia's fusion and diversity are the main reasons for attracting tourists. Here, Persian, Greek, Roman, Serbian and other cultures are intertwined, and the Balkan Peninsula and mediterranean style go hand in hand, showing a rich human and geographical experience.
The capital, Skopje, was hit hard by the 1963 earthquake and had a chance to start all over again, returning to a "blank sheet of paper" and being graffiti again.
Macedonia Square in Skopje
The reconstruction around Skopje brings together a number of world architects led by The Japanese architect Kenzo Tange. The crowd lived up to their architectural ideals. Thus, in today's Skopje, we can easily see the embodiment of many architectural ideas: barbarism, neoclassicism, utopian realism... Countless sculptures and bridges solidify the past of the Ottoman Empire, the Byzantine Empire, and the Alexander Empire, where history seems to transcend the timeline and meet the present moment together.
One of the most famous is the statue of Alexander the Great in the middle of the town square. The surging posture of the horizontal knife and leaping upwards not only restores the heroic posture of the emperor in history, but also becomes a symbol of North Macedonia, which is in contrast with the modern architecture under the guidance of various "isms".
In addition to the capital Skopje, Ohrid, known as the "Little Switzerland of Eastern Europe", is also an important tourist city in North Macedonia. In addition to the historic buildings that are closer to the local story, there are also rolling peaks and ancient lakes.
Ohrid was once known as the "Jerusalem of Slavics," a nickname that implies its important place in religious beliefs: there are 365 churches, at least 23 Byzantine-era buildings, and the most famous church of Saint John of Kaneo in North Macedonia. Overlooking the quiet and ancient lake above the church, whether you convert to religion or not, it is probably a new and calming experience.
Ohrid, with its rolling peaks and ancient lakes
In addition to history, North Macedonia is also a popular destination for lovers of ice and snow sports and extreme sports. In The Mavrovo National Park, the largest park in North Macedonia, there is Mount Kolabi, the highest mountain in the territory. In winter, the 2,760-metre-high snow-capped mountain offers challenging slopes for skiers to challenge, and special canyons, waterfalls and birch forests are a surprise on trips and challenges that embellish memories of North Macedonia.
Mount Kolabi within Mavrovo National Park
Original country puzzle
The surprise of being able to experience multicultural stacks in tiny North Macedonia is a blessing for travelers and passers-by. But for North Macedonia itself, just as in the dispute over the name of the country that has been difficult to determine, where the original homeland is, where the foundation of the country and culture should be established and pursued, has always been the lingering pain after the independence of North Macedonia.
Take the statue of Alexander the Great in the center of North Macedonia Square, which is an achievement of the "Re-Image Of the Nation" launched by the then Prime Minister of North Macedonia in 2010, highlighting the ideological conversion and historical temperament of the entire country.
But in fact, the current North Macedonia is not in the same line as the ancient Macedonian kingdom, the once glorious Macedonian Empire, Alexander the Great, belonged to Greece; today's North Macedonian citizens are Russian-speaking, Slavs who have come from afar.
Comparison of the region of modern Macedonia with the kingdom of ancient Macedonia
The prime minister's reform campaign was aimed at North Macedonia to shed its "Yugoslav" past and emphasize the cultural attributes of "pan-Hellenism.". But whether it is Alexander the Great or the confused Slavs, they may know that under this transformation, the "original hometown" has become more and more distant.
In 2014, North Macedonia once again launched the urban renovation plan called "Skopje 2014" - transforming old historical buildings into new Baroque or neoclassical appearances, celebrating ancient national heroes, building face projects such as the "Arc de Triomphe" and the "Millennium Cross" memorial tower, and building thousands of statues of heroes, great men and poets, trying to visualize all the historical figurations associated with the "Macedonian" symbol as sculptures and buildings.
Millennium Cross at the top of Mount Votno in Skopje, North Macedonia (Source: Visual China)
"The land of monuments of pomp and decay" became synonymous with North Macedonia for a time. In May 2017, these overhauls were temporarily halted after the new government came to power because of the stacking and absurdity of these "modern histories" that rose from the ground, and the corruption and quality problems of the original government during the construction period.
The fog of national identity has never dissipated, and behind the choice of culture and history is the projection of politics.
North Macedonia itself is weak and can only rely on the protection of the United States and the European Union to put water droplets into the sea and avoid the huge tremors caused by international turmoil. In 2020, North Macedonia joined the US-led NATO through the opportunity of NATO's eastward expansion, from "longing for the protection of Alexander the Great" to "holding the thighs of powerful countries".
This time, can North Macedonia find its roots?
Author | Tao Kai
Contributing Editor | Jiang Wen
South Wind Window's international new media