Theme Week Macedonia – Bitola

22 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Clock tower © Zdravevski/cc-by-sa-3.0

Clock tower © Zdravevski/cc-by-sa-3.0

Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, 14 kilometres (9 miles) north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing with Greece. It is an important junction connecting the south of the Adriatic Sea with the Aegean Sea and Central Europe. It has been known since the Ottoman period as “the city of the consuls”, since many European countries have consulates in Bitola. According to the 2002 census, Bitola is the second largest city in the country. Bitola is also the seat of the Bitola Municipality. Bitola is one of the oldest cities on the territory of Macedonia. It was founded as Heraclea Lyncestis in the middle of the 4th century BC by Philip II of Macedon. During the Ottoman rule the city was the last capital of Ottoman Rumelia.   read more…

Theme Week Macedonia – Tetovo

21 July 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

© Radica Pavleska/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Radica Pavleska/cc-by-sa-3.0

Tetovo (Albanian: Tetova) is a city in the northwestern part of Macedonia, built on the foothills of Šar Mountain and divided by the Pena River. The municipality of Tetovo covers an area of 1,080 km2 (417 sq mi) at 468 meters (1,535 ft) above sea level, with a population of 53,000. The city of Tetovo is the seat of Tetovo Municipality. The home of multiple ethnic Albanian political parties and a population in which Albanians form a majority, Tetovo has become the unofficial capital and centre of a predominantly Albanian region which extends in an arc from Tetovo to Struga. The city also has a multi-ethnic background which consists of Albanian, Macedonian, and Turkish elements. Just outside of Tetovo is the South East European University, Macedonia’s third largest university after Skopje and Bitola. Tetovo is also home to the State University of Tetovo.   read more…

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