On May 25, 2018, we took a long-distance bus from Pristina, Kosovo, to Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia.
North Macedonia is a very inconspicuous small country in Eastern Europe in today's world, with a territory of more than 20,000 square kilometers and a population of only 2 million. But 2,400 years ago, during China's Warring States Period, the Macedonian Empire was a unique superpower in the world, and its commander Alexander the Great was considered one of the greatest military strategists and politicians in history. Alexander studied under the ancient Greek scholar Aristotle since childhood. When he was 20 years old, he succeeded to the throne after his father Philip II was assassinated and quickly quelled the civil strife. In 335 BC, all of Greece was unified. The following year he led his army on an eastward expedition, sweeping across Asia Minor and the Middle East, annexing the Persian Empire and occupying Egypt. Later, he moved to Central Asia and conquered India in the south. He was invincible on the battlefield and had never been defeated. In thirteen years, he expanded his territory to five million square kilometers, spanning Europe, Asia and Africa, making Macedonia the largest empire in the world at that time. He promoted the spread of Greek culture eastward and profoundly affected the course of human history. While fighting, he also built many cities around the world, more than twenty of which are still named after him, such as Alexandria, the second largest city in Egypt. I visited this beautiful coastal city when I traveled to Egypt in 2014, and I left a very good impression. Alexander died of illness in 323 BC in what is now Babylon, Iraq, at the age of 33.
Both North Macedonia and Greece believe that they are the descendants of the ancient Macedonian national culture and spirit, and the dispute over the name of Macedonia originated from this. On November 20, 1991, North Macedonia became independent from Yugoslavia and named the country "The Macedonian Republic". When it applied to join the United Nations in the same year, it encountered strong opposition from Greece, which demanded that Macedonia change its name. Macedonia had to change its name to the nondescript name "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". When Macedonia applied to join NATO and the EU in 2019, Greece's old tricks repeated itself, and Macedonia was forced to change its name again to the "Northern Macedonian Peace".
As the capital and largest city of North Macedonia, Skopje has a population of 500,000, and its size may not be comparable to an ordinary county in China. But when I walked into this city, my eyes lit up, as if I had arrived at a beautiful urban sculpture park. The Roman-style buildings scattered throughout the city, hundreds of statues of various sizes, and the colorful hotels and casinos in the city center are dazzling. No wonder some people describe this city as "half Rome, half Las Vegas." All of this is thanks to the "Skopje 2014" plan implemented by the local government in 2010 to improve the city's appearance and revitalize tourism. In fact, I think the real purpose of this plan may be to promote national culture and spirit. After all, North Macedonia and Greece have great differences in this issue. They are competing secretly. Much of what you see in the city center today is the result of this plan. Due to controversy and funding issues from all walks of life, the plan was suspended before it was completed.
Located in the center of Macedonian Square in the center of the city stands a huge equestrian bronze statue of Alexander the Great. The bronze statue is 14.5 meters high and is located on top of a white column. There are eight bronze soldiers guarding the bottom of the column. There are eight bronze lions on the edge of the fountain pool around the column. Four of them are equipped with nozzles, and music will sound when they spray water. The bronze statue was cast in bronze at the Ferdinando Marinelli Art Foundry in Florence, Italy, at a cost of 7.5 million euros. The bronze statue was inaugurated on September 8, 2011. Due to pressure from Greece, the statue was named "Warrior on Horseback" when it was completed. Later, a plaque was added to the statue, "Dedicated to Alexander the Great."
There are two equestrian statues on each side of the stone bridge along the river in Macedonia Square. They are Georgi Delchev and Damian Gruyev. They are both internal revolutionary organizations in Macedonia. (IMRO) founder and leader. IMRO was founded at the end of the 19th century as an anti-Ottoman revolutionary organization. They carried out guerrilla warfare and advocated Macedonian independence. Their motto was "Freedom or Death".
The ruling party in North Macedonia in 2010 was the National Unity Democratic Party, an internal revolutionary organization in Macedonia. They claimed to be the successors of IMRO. Many statues of IMRO leaders in the city were built based on the Skopje 2014 plan proposed by the party.
There is a monument to Justinian I in the northeast corner of Macedonia Square near the Vardar River. This is a white marble statue of Justinian I sitting on a throne holding a scepter. It was hand-carved by a sculptor from the Bazanti Gallery in Florence, Italy. Justinian I was born in Skopje and served as emperor of the Roman Empire from 527 to 565 AD. He was one of the most important emperors in the late empire. He conquered the north and south, opened up new territories, and laid a solid foundation for the Byzantine Empire that would last for thousands of years. The "Justinian Code" compiled by him was the culmination of Roman law. More than a thousand years later, it became the blueprint for laws in many European countries. Justinian I, like Alexander the Great, is listed as one of the one hundred figures who influenced the course of human history.
Several main streets in the city center radiate outward from Macedonia Square. One of them is called October 11th Street, which is the anniversary of the Macedonian uprising against fascism. The Macedonian Porta, also known as the Arc de Triomphe, is located on this street not far from Macedonia Square. The gate was built in 2012 to commemorate the long history of the Macedonian people's struggle for independence. It is 21 meters high and has 32 reliefs carved on the outside. The carvings are very detailed and depict the main events from prehistoric times to Macedonian independence. There are two floors inside the arch, including a souvenir shop and a gallery, and an observation deck on the top. The construction of the Macedonia Gate cost 4.5 million euros, and it is said that the monthly interest repayment alone is as high as 20,000 euros.
One side of the Macedonian Gate is the National Parliament Building, and the other side is the Warriors Park, which contains many statues of historical figures, the most eye-catching of which is the equestrian statue of Pitu Guli and the Internal Revolution of Macedonia The group of sculptures that organizes (IMRO) meetings, Pitou Guli is also a member of IMRO.
After the death of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian Empire fell apart. Alexander's great conquests did not bring any blessings to the Macedonians. For more than two thousand years, the Macedonians continued to be ruled by other powers and suffered many hardships. After the Balkan War in the early 20th century, the Ottoman Empire collapsed. The Macedonians tried unsuccessfully to establish an independent country, and their settlement was divided among Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia. These countries are trying to assimilate the Macedonians within their borders, forcing them to give up their language and culture, and obliterating their memory of their nation and history. After the start of World War II, Serbia and Greece asked the Macedonians to help them fight fascism and promised to allow them to establish an independent country after victory. After the war, Serbia fulfilled its promise, and the Macedonians in Serbia established the Republic of Macedonia, which is now North Macedonia. Greece did not fulfill its promise. Instead, it banned the Macedonian people in northern Greece from using the Macedonian language and forced them to change their place names and names to Greek, which aroused dissatisfaction and resistance among the Macedonians. The picture below shows the tents and banners we saw set up by local people in Soldiers Park to protest against the genocide of Macedonians in Greece by the Greek authorities, but the voices of these protests seemed weak and weak.
Another street radiating out from Macedonia Square is Macedonia Street, which is a pedestrian street. At its intersection with the square there is a monument to Tsar Samuel. Tsar Samuel founded a Macedonian state in 976 AD, which lasted until its defeat by the Byzantines in 1018. This monument is carved from white marble. Tsar Samuel is sitting on the throne holding a scepter. The carving is so detailed that the patterns on his clothes are clearly visible. The statue was also hand-carved by a sculptor from the Bazanti Gallery in Florence, Italy. It was completed in 2011 at a cost of 3.5 million euros.
There is a Mother Teresa Memorial on Macedonia Street, which was transformed from the church where Mother Teresa was originally baptized. The museum introduces the life of this locally born Catholic charity worker and Nobel Peace Prize winner, and stores her handwriting and the white and blue ribbon clothes she often wore during her lifetime.
Walking along Macedonia Street to the end is the famous ruins of the original Skopje Railway Station, which has now been converted into the Skopje City Museum. The train station was destroyed along with 70 buildings in the city in the 1963 earthquake. The clock on the outer wall of the train station still stands at the moment of the earthquake. At that time, more than 80 countries participated in the earthquake rescue work, including soldiers from the Soviet Union and the United States. This was the first cooperation between the two militaries after the end of World War II. Skopje thus earned the title "City of International Solidarity".
There are three bridges across the Vardar River in the center of Skopje, among which the stone bridge connecting Macedonia Square is the most famous. It was built in the 15th century and was destroyed and rebuilt several times. The other two were newly built after the implementation of the "Skopje 2014" plan. One is called Eye Bridge, and there are 28 sculptures on the bridge, all of which are ancient figures. Another one is called the Art Bridge. There are 29 sculptures on the bridge, all of which are modern figures. The sculptures are all very beautiful, but unfortunately I don’t have time to identify them one by one.
There is an elegant wooden mast boat moored on the Vardar River. It is a four-star hotel called Senigalia. I checked it online. The standard room is 80 US dollars per night. Not big but unique.
We crossed the Vardar River along the ancient bridge. There is a Macedonian Independence Struggle Museum on the North Shore, which displays the history of the Macedonian people's struggle for independence. Next to it is the Macedonian Holocaust Memorial Center, which shows the life of Jews in Macedonia from ancient times until World War II. In February 1943, more than 7,000 Jews living in Macedonia were driven by the Nazis to concentration camps in Poland, where most of them were brutally murdered.
There are many beautiful modern buildings along the river on the north bank, such as the Macedonian Opera and Ballet Theater and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. Macedonians are really fond of statues. There are even four in front of government buildings like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Beautiful figure sculpture.
The former National Theater was destroyed in the 1963 earthquake and was rebuilt on the original site as part of the "Skopje 2014" plan. Some of the artistic statues in front of the theater are very vivid and interesting.
After crossing the Vardar River via the stone bridge and walking a short distance to the north, you can see the bronze statue of Philip II. Philip II was the father of Alexander the Great and was the king of Macedonia from 359 to 336 BC. During his more than 20 years on the throne, he transformed Macedonia from a small country with constant civil strife into the leader of a Greek city-state, and made military and economic achievements. Sufficient conditions were prepared for the great conquests of his son Alexander.
Behind the statue of Philip II is the Old Bazaar in Skopje, one of the largest bazaars in the Balkans. There is the Mustafa Pasha Mosque built in 1492, a 16th-century clock tower, a medieval merchant inn and a Turkish bath. The ancient Bazaar is lined with alleys, lined with various coffee shops and gift shops, and is filled with a strong Ottoman style. After all, this city was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for 520 years.
There is a Keller Fortress on the hillside near the old city, also known as Skopje Fortress. The castle was built in the 6th century, and now only the city wall remains. The large green space within the wall is loved by locals. A leisure and picnic spot overlooking the majestic scenery of this thousand-year-old city.