Project: New 50 football fields in Macedonia

Macedonian government, in 2009 started their project of building 50 football fields. The football fields are planed all around the country, with complete drainage system, dressing rooms, and stands for 500-3000 spectators.

The idea is to promote sport among the youth and give good conditions for better results for the profesional athletes in Republic of Macedonia. This is a project of the national Agency of youth and sport, led by Dragan Gjurcevski.

Macedonian Wine - Macedonia Timeless

On more video from the serial Macedonia timeless, for promoting Republic of Macedonia as a destination that you must visit. Great video, with many messages in it. Check it out, taste the wine, visit Macedonia! Welcome!

Greek politics on Macedonian issue tares EU apart

Greece once more showed why doesn't deserve the name "cradle of democracy". Today, once more in just 18 months Greece blocked Macedonia's euro integration process, after last years Bucharest NATO summit.

 
Today EU postponed the Macedonia's negotiation date, due to Greece's veto. But things didn't go so smoothly for Greece this time. Sweden, UK, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Italy, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Portugal strongly supported Macedonia, Germany and Bulgaria took neutral position, only Cyprus, France and Spain backed Greece.

EU is on a crossway. They have to decide either they follow their principals, or slowly they will fall a part. Macedonia and the Macedonians are important part of the European and the world history. Someone is trying to destroy that historical continuum. But like many times before, Macedonians will rise from the ashes and fight for their right to be free. MACEDONIA FOREVER!

P.S. Macedonia doesn't have problems with Greek people. We have problems with the Greek politics and the government no matter if it is PASOK or Nea Demokratia. This has to stop!

Legijata - Bonus traka

One of the best macedonian rap videos. The stars of the macedonian underground rap scene on one place performing the track called "Bonus track" (Macedonian: Бонус трака).


The video was recorded in the summer of 2007 and is still one of the most popular rap track among young Macedonians.

Aegean Women Dance "Žensko Beranče"

Ethnic Macedonian women from Kostur (Kosturcanki), Aegean Macedonia performing the ethnic Macedonian folk dance 'Žensko Beranče' - filmed by Radio Television Skopje.


The dance was brought from ethnic Macedonian refugees from the Greek civil war (1946-49) from the villages near Kastoria (Macedonian: Kostur), today Northern Greece.

Macedonia drawed against Iran in Teheran

Teheran, Iran - Macedonia drawed against Iran on Azadi Stadium in today's friendly.

Iran - Macedonia 1-1 (1-0)
Friendly Match, Teheran

Goals: 1-0 Teymourian (36' / Assist by Meydavoudi)
1-1 Pandev (49')

Today's friendly soccer match was a chance to check the capacity of both squads. On such a rainy day, both teams had one half to show their skills.


Iranian coach Afshin Ghotbi played with the following team: Rahmati - Kaebi, Aghili, Nosrati, Beikzadeh - Teymourian, Nekounam (46' Mobali) - Kazemian (46' Khalatbari), Shojaei (76' Ansarifard), Madanchi (57' Heydari) - Meydavoudi (67' Borhani).

Macedonian squad led by Mirsad Jonuz selected the following players:

Goalkeepers: Tome Pachovski - Germinal Beerschot, Belgium; Kristijan Naumovski - Rabotnicki, Macedonia;


Defenders: Goce Sedloski - SV Mattersburg, Austria; Vlade Lazarevski - FK Karpaty Lviv, Ukraine; Goran Popov - SC Heerenveen, Netherlands; Nikolce Noveski - FSV Mainz 05, Germany; Daniel Mojsov - FK Makedonija Gjorce Petrov , Macedonia; Robert Popov - Auxerre, France;

Midfielders: Veliche Shumulikoski - Preston North End, England; Filip Despotovski - FK Vorskla Poltava, Ukraine; Armend Alimi - NK Istra, Croatia; Slavco Georgievski - Ulsan Hyundai, South Korea; Gligor Gligorov - Sileks, Macedonia;

Strikers: Goran Pandev - SS Lazio, Italy; Aco Stojkov - FC Aarau, Switzerland; Filip Ivanovski - Polonia Warszawa, Poland; Besart Ibraimi - FK Renova, Macedonia; Dusan Savić - Rabotnicki, Macedonia.


The few spectators saw an even first half under pouring rain, in which the Macedonians had the better chances, but faild to convert, while Iranians mainly relied on shots from far out, which mostly were all but dangerous.

One such effort led to the homeside's lead in minute 36. Meydavoudi smacked a freekick on goal and Pachovski could not hold on to the wet ball, so Teymourian tapped in the rebound from close range.

Macedonia responded just four minutes into second half, when a cross from the right side found superstar Pandev on the far post, who perfectly headed the ball past the chanceless Mehdi Rahmati.

Iran now created more chances than in first half, but Iman Mobali (51' / shot), Mohammad Nosrati (52' / header), Teymourian (55' / shot) and Masoud Shojaei (64' / volley) faild to bring Iran back in front.

On the other side Macedonia remained dangerous through counter attacks, but Pandev (49') and Ibraimi (65') were denied by Rahmati.

Iran looked more eager to win than the guests during the final minutes, but saw a Hadi Aghili header saved by the goalkeeper, seven minutes from time.

Croatia beats Macedonia in FINA's World League match in Skopje

Skopje, Macedonia - FINA's World League debut match for Macedonia. Swimming poll "Mladost", attendance 600. The result 7-9 (1-1; 3-3; 1-3; 2-2) for Croatia.


Macedonian national water polo team had a great debut, even though Croatia won the match at the end.

Croatian team led by water polo legend Ratko Rudic came to Skopje with with a few newcomers. Macedonian coach Nonkovic put an a good strategy, pressuring the Croats all over the field.

The first two periods were tied. A few seconds before half time Macedonian led by 4-3, but Croats scored and went on break with draw.

The game was finally decided in the third quater. Croats played more agresively, and scored 3 goals more, recieved only one. At one point in the fourth quater, Croats led by 4 goals (9-5).

Macedonia scored twice before tha match was over, and showed that they are a team to be respected and feared in this group.


Macedonia will take on Greece in the next match, in Athens.

Macedonia trashes Canada in soccer friendly in Strumica

Macedonian national soccer team demolished the Canadians in the friendly match in Strumica, in the south-east part of Macedonia.

In front of 4500 spectators, Macedonian national team led by italian SS Lazio star, Goran Pandev started slowly. In the first 45 minutes, even though the Macedonian players controled the ball, and created chances it was draw, with no scoring.

The second half was opened after only 3 minutes, when the ex-captain of the national team, Goce Seldoski scored with a header.

1-0 Macedonia leads.

In the 56 minute, Ibraimi play with the hand in the 16, referee Genhcev gives penaly for Canada. Hume misses the goal.

Just 5 minutes later, duel between Dusan Savic and Paul Stalteri in the Canadian penalty area. Genchev puts the ball on 11 meters, Pandev scores.

2-0 for Macedonia.

One more penalty for Canada in the 69 minute. Mojsov fouls Rob Friend, Tome Pachovski once again undefeated. Jackson shot was saved by the macedonian goalkeeper.

In the extra time, on more penalty. Kevin McKenna stops the macedonian midfielder Despotovski, Goran Pandev scores once again with a exhibition shot.

3-0 Macedonia.

This match was the 98'th cap for the ex-captain Goce Sedloski, the 39'th and fairwell match fot the ex-national team player Goran Stavrevski, and a national team debut for the U-23 goalkeeper Kristijan Naumovski.

Galichnik

Galičnik (Macedonian: Галичник) is a mountain village in the Republic of Macedonia and along with Lazaropole is one of the two biggest Miyak villages in the region, in the municipality of Mavrovo - Rostusha. 

Galičnik has well preserved traditional architecture, including an amphitheater in the village square and is famous by its countryside and nature reserve.



The village of Galicnik which extends on the falls of Mount Bistra is found 110 km away from the capital city of Macedonia. The road to Galicnik runs through Lake Mavrovo dam, 14km uphill Mt. Bistra, at 1,450m above sea level. It passes by Tonivoda, the Macedonian steppe, where you will encounter wild horses freely grazing here. 

This is yet another village that many villagers have left to work abroad. It has large, robust houses and is virtually deserted. Yet, it gets crowded during the summer and then again desolate after September.


On Petrovden (St. Peter's Day), 12 July, Galicnik and its inhabitants are hosts to the only festival of this type, the traditional Galicnik Wedding, echoing the sounds of drums, zurlas, and pipes and displaying the most beautiful and ornate folk costumes of Macedonia. 

During the wedding, local men will dance the "Teškoto" (the "hard" or "heavy") - a dance that is meant to symbolize the overcoming of difficulties in life.



In this region you can taste first-class yellow cheese - kashkaval as well as the local salt brine white cheese "belo sirenje", yoghurt, lamb, and trout from Lake Mavrovo.


Notable people from Galičnik

* Aleksandar Sarievski (1922 - 2002)
* Georgija Pulevski (1838 - 1895)
* Partenije Zografski (1818 - 1876)
* Velimir Ginovski (born 1915)
* Vladimir Ginovski (born 1927)
* Vasil Grivchev (1922-1996)

Treskavec Monastery

About ten kilometers from Prilep, in the arms of the massive rocks of  Zlatovrv, there is the church Mother of God's Ascending, which with the dormitory shelters and the dining room of the Treskavec Monastery, provide God's energy and spiritual tranquility to this wonderful picturesque area.


The highland offers a clear view of all Pelagonija Plane, the mountains Pelister, Babuna and Kajmakcalan. The evening street lights in all parts of Prilep witness different events of the inhabitants of Prilep, Bitola and Krusevo.


Treskavec Monastery is believed to have been built in the 13th Century, during the rule of the Byzantine emperors Andronic II and Mihailo III who, according to the writings on the frescoes at the entrance gate, were the first donors to this monastery.

Its complex and diversified architecture points to the fact that the monastery was subjected to tearing down. Most probably, the monastery was renovated in the 14th Century, during the time of the Serb king Milutin.


The frescoes in the Church of St.Mary Mother of God (Македонски: Света Богородица), date from different periods. The oldest ones are on the walls of the two towers from the 15th Century. They illustrate themes of the calendar and of saints presented in full size. 

The portraits of the monastery founders, placed on the east wall of the south porch, were painted in the second half of the 14th Century. The picture of the Mother of God is painted in the nisa of the south door of the naos. According to the painting technique, this fresco belongs to the period of the 15th Century.


The naos is enriched with frescoes that were made towards the end of the 15th Century. The frescoes in the first zone are particularly interesting. The depict figures of standing saints in full natural size. They are dressed in noblemen's' clothes and wear richly decorated hats on their heads.


The frescoes were made by the hands of the Krusevo painting group from the 19th century are most remarkable.

Treskavec Monastery has other valuable artifacts. Most remarkable among them are the ones made in shallow wood carving: the two wing doors and the Emperor's Gate from the 16th Century, then the Kosmitos Cross from the 17th Century. It is worth mentioning the choir seats, the numerous holiday icons and the icons of the Apostles from the 17th and 18th Century.


People have been telling the legend of how Treskavec monastery came to life. It has a great religious and cultural significance. It says that on the day in honour of St. Mary Mother of God, the people from Prilep and Varosh, were all gathered in the little Church called Prichesta to celebrate the holy day. While the service was still going on a laud crash was heard hitting the monastery. 

The next mourning, the most courageous men of the village armed well and went to see what had happened. When they entered the monastery, they saw a murdered beast over the bones of the monks. After that event, the people reconstructed the monastery and continued to serve their religion like before. From that time on, the monastery was called Treskavec (crash place), because of the loud crash that was heard in it a long time ago.

Source: culture.org.mk

IN MEMORIAM - Ajri (Hayri) Demirovski

Ajri Demirovski (Македонски: Ајри Демировски, Türkçe: Hayri Demirovski) (1927 - october 21, 2009), is the author of the song „Битола мој роден крај“ (Bitola, my native city).

He was born in Bitola, Republic of Macedonia (former Kingdom of Yugoslavia). After the WWII liberation, Ajri Demirovski was the first student from Bitola who was sent to the Graphical school in Zagreb to study the printing craft. But he never worked as a printer in Bitola. 

He was employed at Radio Bitola as a guard where he had an unusual opportunity regularly to listen to the most popular Bitola and Macedonian singers in flesh. It made him think about the creation of new Macedonian music.



Ajri Demirovski composed over fifty songs. His most popular ones are: „Мариче, бре лично девојче“ (Marice beautiful girl), „А море мајко близу Битола“ (Somewhere mother near Bitola), and many others, which are thought to be folk song, since they have generally been accepted and sang. And certainly the most famous among them all is „Битола мој роден крај“ (Bitola my native city), infused with a passionate love towards his native Bitola, and which represents a music symbol of Bitola, by which Bitola is recognized and distinguished abroad.

Bitola's citizens, pronounced this song to be the song of the 20th century and thus its author Ajri Demirovski to be a honourable citizen of Bitola. He recieved this award in may, 2007. Few days ago (on october 21, 2009) Ajri Demirovski passed away in Izmir (Turkey) where he lived for the last 50 years. Rest in peace, big man!

Notes: This version of "Bitola moj roden kraj" was performed by Petranka Kostadinova.

Aegean Refugee Children Golgotha (1946 - 1949)

Political refugees of the Greek Civil War were members or sympathisers of the defeated communist forces who fled Greece during or in the aftermath of the Civil War of 1946–1949. The collapse of the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE) and the evacuation of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) to Tashkent in 1949 led thousands of people to leave the country. 

It has been estimated that by 1949 over 100,000 people had left Greece, including tens of thousands of child refugees who had been evacuated by the KKE in an organised campaign. The war wreaked widespread devastation right across Greece and particularly in the regions of Macedonia and Epirus, causing many people to continue to leave the country even after the end of the war.

Many people fled due the collapse of the DSE, it has also been claimed that many ethnic Macedonians fled to avoid possible persecution by the advancing National Army. A term used to describe the experience of the ethnic Macedonians who left Greece as a result of the Civil War is the Exodus of Macedonians from Greece, particularly in the Republic of Macedonia and the ethnic Macedonian diaspora. 

The KKE claims that the total number of political refugees was 55,881, an estimated 28,000 - 32,000 children were evacuated during the Greek Civil War, A 1951 document from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia states that the total number of ethnic Macedonians that left Greece during the Civil War was 28,595 whereas some ethnic Macedonian sources put the number of refugees at over 213,000.


On March 4 1948, "Radio Free Greece" announced that all children under the age of 15 would be evacuated from areas under control of the Provisional Government. The older women were instructed to take the children across the border to Yugoslavia and Albania, while the younger women took to the hills with the partisans. 

Widows of dead partisans soon became surrogate mothers for the children and assisted them in their journey to the Eastern Bloc. Many people also had their children evacuated. 

By 1948 scores of children had already died from malnutrition, disease and injuries. It is estimated that 8,000 children left the Kastoria area in the ensuing weeks. The children were sorted into groups and made way for the Albanian border. The partisan carers (often young women and men) had to help and support the children as they fled the Civil War.



Thousands of Greek, ethnic Macedonian and Aromanian children were evacuated from the Areas under communist control. Although a United Nations Special Committee on the Balkans (UNSCOB) report confirms that villages with an ethnic Macedonian population were far more willing to let their children be evacuated. They are now known as „Децата Бегалци “ (Decata Begalci) "the Refugee Children" in the Republic of Macedonia and the ethnic Macedonian diaspora. 

It is estimated that from 28,000 children to 32,000 children were evacuated in the years 1948 and 1949. According to some sources, the majority of the children sent to the Eastern Bloc had an Ethnic Macedonian origin and spoke their native Slav vernacular, but this is disputed by official KKE documents and statements made by political refugees in the years after the evacuation. Exceptions were made for children under the age of two or three who stayed with their mothers while the rest should be evacuated. 

Many of these children were spread throughout the Eastern Bloc by 1950 there were 5,132 children in Romania, 4,148 in Czechoslovakia, 3,590 in Poland, 2,859 in Hungary and 672 had been evacuated to Bulgaria.

The official Greek position was that these children had been forcibly taken by the Communists to be brought up under a socialist system. The alleged abduction of children is referred to by Greek historians and politicians as the Παιδομάζωμα (Paidomázoma), an allusion to the Ottoman devşirme.

One major effect of the Macedonian exodus from Northern Greece was the effect of depopulation on the region of Greek Macedonia. This was most markedly felt in the Florina, Kastoria, Kozani and Edessa areas where the Communist party was popular and where the largest concentrations of Ethnic Macedonians could be found. Many of these depopulated and devastated villages and confiscated properties were given to people from outside of the area. 

Vlachs and Greeks were given property in the resettlement programme conducted by the Greek Government from the period 1952-58. Many properties were confiscated from those persons who had fled the war and had their citizenship subsequently stripped from them.

Law 1540/85 of April 10,1985 stated that political refugees could regain property taken by the Greek government as long as they were “Greek by genus”. This again excluded many people who were not "Greek by genus", namely the ethnic Macedonian refugees.

Citizenship was stripped from the evacuees without the fair hearing to an independent tribunal and other internationally accepted protocols for the seizure of citizenship such as legal representation and the opportunity to defend oneself. This process of seizing citizenship had "historically been used against people identifying as ethnic Macedonians". Despite it applying to all citizens regardless of ethnicity. 

It has been enforced, in all but one case, only against citizens who identified themselves as members of the "Macedonian" minority. Dual citizens who are stripped of Greek citizenship under Article 20 of the citizenship code are sometimes prevented from entering Greece using the passport of their second nationality. Although since 1998 there have been no new reported cases of this occurring.

Many people who had fled the country were also denied visa for re-entry into Greece. The refugees planned on attending weddings, funerals and other events but were denied access to Greece. These measures were even extended to Australian and Canadian citizens, many of whom have been barred from entering Greece. 

There have been claims that specifically the exiles who left Greece were especially targeted while other nationals from the Republic of Macedonia have had very little problems with entering Greece. The Greek Helsinki Monitor has called on the Greek government to stop using articles of the Citizenship code to deprive, "non-ethnic Greeks", of their citizenship.

_____________________________

Due to all of this, the refugee children took a lawsuit against Republic of Greece in from of the International court in The Hague. They are looking back for their property as well as the right for double citizenship. Estimated value of the lawsuit is around 40 billion euros.

Dzafer & Venko - Laga i Izmama

Laga i Izmama (Lie and Betrail) is one of the best Macedonian rock ballads. It was performed by Miki Jovanovski - Dzafer (Macedonian: Мики Јовановски-Џафер) one of the best vocals on the macedonian and ex-yugoslav music scene. 

His career lasts around 30 years . In his early days he was part of few rock bands, but he reached his peak during the 90-ties with his solo career and many unforgatable hits like: Pod Pelister, Sonce za tri sveta, Lovec ect.


The guitar was played by Venko Serafimov (Macedonian: Венко Серафимов). He 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. He is the Macedonian Carlos Santana.

Tose Proeski & Gianna Nannini - Aria

The name of the song is 'Aria' and it is in italian language. This beautiful ballad was recorded by the macedonian singer Tose Proeski and the italian Gianna Nannini in 2006. It is one of Tose's last duets before his tragic death in 2007. The video is with a translation of the lyrics in macedonian.

English Translation

Aria

You know
that’s how fairy-tales are born
fairy-tales I’d like to have
in all of my dreams
and I will tell them
so that I could fly into heavens that I don’t have
and it’s not easy to be left without fairies I’d like to catch
and it’s not easy to play if you are missing

Air, how delightful it is in the air
to slip out of this life of mine
Air inbreathe me with silence
do not say goodbye but lift up the entire world
yes
take me with you
among angelic secrets
and devilish smiles
and I will turn them into tiny gentle lights
and I will always manage to escape
among different colors that need to be discovered
and I will still manage to hear that music

Air, how delightful it is in the air
to slip out of this life of mine
Air inbreathe me with silence
do not say goodbye but lift up the entire world
Air embrace me
I will fly
air I will return into the air
that takes me out of this life
Air I will let go in the air
Air, how sweet it is in the air
to slip out of this life of mine
Air I will let go in the air

FK Vardar

FK Vardar (Macedonian: ФК Вардар) is a football team from Skopje, Republic of Macedonia, that currently plays in the Macedonian First League. The club plays at the Philip II Arena (current capacity 25,000 - in construction).   The club was founded in 1947.  Vardar's most glorious moment came in 1987, when the team lead by Darko Pančev, Ilija Najdoski, Dragan Kanatlarovski, Čedomir Janevski and Vujadin Stanojkovic won the Yugoslav First League 1986-87 title.     By winning the league Vardar became the first and only Macedonian club to win the national Yugoslav Championship, temporarily breaking the dominance of the big four of Yugoslav football at that time; Red Star Belgrade, Partizan Belgrade, Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split.        Vardar won the title from Partizan Belgrade by 1 point due to Partizan and 9 other teams starting the 1986-87 season with negative 6 points due to match fixing irregularities committed on the 34th and final round of the season before. The title was subsequently awarded to FK Partizan in 1988 when the points deductions were successfully appealed to the Yugoslav Constitutional Court.      

 

Vardar did however represent SFR Yugoslavia in the 1987-88 UEFA European Champions Cup where they lost in the first round to Porto of Portugal over two legs. See Yugoslav First League 1985-86.  Following the breakup of Yugoslavia and the formation of the Macedonian First League, Vardar established itself as the dominant club in the new competition, winning three consecutive league titles and two Macedonian Cups.     

 

For the next six years however the club experienced a relative dry spell, yet still winning two national cups. The club's fortunes looked up with the return of coach Gjoko Hadžievski, who led the club to another two titles.     

League Titles Yugoslav Champions    * 1987      

Macedonian Champions    * 1993  * 1994  * 1995  * 2002  * 2003           

Cup Titles Yugoslav Cup    * 1961       

Macedonian Cup    * 1993  * 1995  * 1998  * 1999  * 2007  

  Records

* Most Goals: Andon Doncevski (217 goals)    * Best Goals Per Game Average: Darko Pancev (207 matches/132 goals - 0.65 goals per match)    * Most goals in single season (Macedonian League): Saša Ćirić 1992/93 (36 goals)    * Most goals in European Competition: Wandeir 2003/04-05 (14 goals)    * Most Successful Coach: Gjoko Hadzievski (5 league titles, 2 national cups)

   FK Vardar supporters are known as Komiti and they were founded in 1987. 

FK Pelister

FK Pelister (Macedonian: ФК Пелистер) is a football club based in the city of Bitola, Republic of Macedonia. The team plays in the Macedonian First League.

The club was originally formed back in 1924 under the name Omladina, followed by Pelister and then SK Bitola. In 1945 the team was renamed back to Pelister and has used that name ever since. 

The team played in the lower divisions of the former Yugoslavia and were champions of Macedonia in 1960, 1961, 1975 and 1982 along with winning the old Macedonian Cup in 1990. They earned promotion to the Yugoslav Second League for the first in team history in 1974. Soon after they were relegated but made another comeback in 1982 with Mitko Butlevski as chairman and Ivan Čabrinović as manager.

Their greatest achievement up to date was winning the 2001 Macedonian Cup, after which they played in the UEFA Cup. Since the formation of the Macedonian First League, they played there every season up until 2003 when the team fell on hard times caused by financial problems. 

A few years later former players Mitko Stojkovski and Toni Micevski were able to save the club from collapse, after taking over the club they brought instant success with the team winning the Macedonian Second League title in 2005. The following year they made a successful comeback to the Macedonian First League and got to the Macedonian Cup semi-final.

Notable players to come from the Pelister youth system are: Gjorgji Hristov, Dragan Kanatlarovski, Toni Micevski, Nikolče Noveski, Toni Savevski and Mitko Stojkovski. Overall the club is best known for developing some of the best young talents in the country.

Pelister played 3 times in the National Cup Finals (1993, 1994, 2001) and won the Macedonian National Football Cup once in 2001.

Prosti mi - Tanja Stankovic Dimovska

Tanja Dimovska (previously known in the Macedonian public as Tanja Stankovic) is a Macedonian singer, born May 3rd 1967 in Skopje, in Republic of Macedonia. She graduates on the Macedonian music academy as a choir conductor and a music teacher in 1989. She works as a music school teacher, after she starts a music career and been active for few years.

During that period she has few big hits, performs on the most important Macedonian music festivals and has few duets as well. Takes place in the Macedonian Eurovision delegation in Birmingham, United Kingdom as a back up singer for Vlado Janevski in 1998.

In the late '90-ies she leaves the country and moves to Croatia with her family (husband Igor Dimovski - guitarist, well known to the Macedonian public, and her son Julian) where she earns a Master’s degree in church music from the Evangelical Theological Seminary in Osijek, Croatia.

In 2008, moves with her family in Chicago (Illinois), where she works as a piano and voice teacher in a private music school.

Tanja Stankovic's dicsography:

* Sareni snista (1993)
* Ruke podizem (2001)
* Ne zaboravlja me Isus moj (2003)
* Marushevec live with church choir of Marushevec(2004)
* Tanja and friends sing Christmas song to you (2006).

She was as well, a junior school music teacher to the author of this blog. Tanja, you are the best! ;-)

Jeremiah Massey

Jeremiah Massey (born July 22, 1982 in Detroit, Michigan), is a naturalized Macedonian professional basketball player, originally from the United States. Massey's Macedonian language Cyrillic name transcription is Џеремаја Мејси, and his Latin name transcription is Djeremaja Mejsi. At 6 ft 7 ½ in (2.02 m), weighing 235 lbs. (107 kg), he plays the power forward position. 

He currently plays for Real Madrid, a Spanish professional basketball team. Real competes in the Spanish League and the Euroleague.

He played his college basketball at Kansas State University, playing for the Kansas State Wildcats. He earned the Big 12 newcomer of the year honor in 2004. He was named to the 3rd and 2nd All Big 12 teams in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

He was selected 5th overall in the 2005 USBL draft. He started his professional basketball career in 2005 playing for Gymnastikos S. Larissas, a mid-level team in the Greek League. In 2005-06 season he was the leading rebounder in the Greek League. 

This was the main reason why he was acquired by Aris, one of the top 3 teams in the Greek League, prior to the 2006-07 season. He was declared the most spectacular basketball player of the Euroleague 2006-07 season.


Massey signed a two-year contract extension through the year 2009 with his club Aris in the summer of 2007, but Aris sold his rights to Real Madrid in 2008.

Massey plays internationally for the Macedonian national basketball team, after acquiring Macedonian citizenship in 2008. He has played for Macedonia in the EuroBasket 2009 qualification in September 2008, helping the team to reach the final tournament for the first time since 1999. On the current Eurobasket 2009 he is one of the most competitive players together with Pero Antic who is adored by the Macedonian supporters.

Fyrom - short story

This short story was written by Allan Stevo, Slovakian American where he shares his oppinion about the senseless name dispute between Macedonia and Greece. Allan Stevo, writer and lecturer, has been featured in Pravda, Twin City Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and other media.

His controversial 2008 U.S. congressional campaign was the subject of a forthcoming documentary along with the subsequent case that made it to the U.S. Supreme Court this past spring. He’s received grants from the Austrian Ministry of Education, funds from the Slovak government, tutored the children of Ambassadors and CEOs and given lessons to Iraqi NGO leaders.

He is the author of 4 books of poetry and has had his work published in, has translated for, or has edited for 45 publications. He is 29 years old and is currently working on a novel.

“Hi, my name’s Allan. Pleased to meet you.”
“You’re name’s not Allan, your name’s Fyrom.”
“Excuse me?”
“Fyrom, Fyrom’s your name. Not Allan.”
“How do you figure?”
“Well, Fyrom’s a name my friends and I came up with for you.”
“But my name’s Allan. That’s the name I’ve always had.”
“Always?”

“Well, ever since I’ve been around.”
“Ok. Well, listen. Your new name is Fyrom. The name Allan’s already been taken.”
“So what if it’s taken. It’s my name. Other people can use it too.”
“Well, we don’t like it when you use it. We know somebody else called Allan and if you use it, it makes you seem like an imposter.”
“But it’s my name.”
“What is?”
“Allan.”

“No. Your name’s Fyrom. Allan is somebody else’s name.”
“Okay, you can call me Fyrom if you want, but my name’s still Allan.”
“No, it isn’t. It’s Fyrom.”
“How are you going to tell me what my name is?”
“That’s what I’m doing right now.”
“Okay, well you can call me that, but I’m still going to introduce myself to people as Allan.”

“No you won’t.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, if you do that, they’ll just sort of laugh at you uncomfortably.”
“Why?”
“Because your name’s Fyrom, and there can only be one Allan, and they will know you aren’t him.”
“What are you going to do, talk to everyone in the world and tell them my name’s not really Allan?”
“If we have to.”

Allan stared blankly at him. He had hoped this would be kind of a fun evening. It was his 18th birthday. Tonight meant independence at last.
“Well, I don’t care for the name Fyrom.”
“Which name would you prefer?”
“Allan.”
“Not possible.”
“Fyrom sounds weird.”

“Pick a better name then.”
“Nope, I’m Allan.”
“Have it your way. Good luck trying to convince anyone of that.”
“Listen, I’m Allan. My parents know I’m Allan. My brothers and sisters know I’m Allan. They all call me Allan. All the most important people in my life call me Allan.”
“Yeah? When was the last time they did that?”
“I don’t know. When they walked in the door and wished me happy birthday.”
“No, none of them called you Allan. They’ve all agreed that your new name is Fyrom. We spoke to them earlier today. They just prefer not to call you Fyrom to your face because they know it will bother you. All except for that weird Swedish guy in the corner. He’s still calling you Allan. He even calls you Allan when you’re not around. He refuses to call you Fyrom.”

Allan looked over at the Swedish guy kind of uncomfortably. Allan barely even knew him. Could that really be the only person in this room still calling him Allan?

“Okay, Fyrom, I’ve gotta run. Congratulations on turning 18. Welcome to the world. You’re on your own now. I wish you all the best. And even though Fyrom’s a weird name, I appreciate you being so good about this.”

And he walked away.

And then Fyrom looked around the room, not quite sure what to believe.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

Kokino - megalithic observatory

Kokino (Macedonian: Кокино) is an important archaeological site and a megalithic observatory discovered in 2001 by archeologist Jovica Stankovski in the northeastern Republic of Macedonia, approximately 30 km from the town of Kumanovo, near the village of Staro Nagoričane The Megalithic Observatory Kokino is located in the north-east part of Macedonia, near the border with Serbia (more accurate: latitude 42° 15" 47', longitude 21° 57" 32').

The observatory Kokino is near the village Kokino, on the border-line with the village Arbanasko. The entire region today is with small density of population as there are less than 1000 inhabitants in the area of the ten nearby villages.

Wider region registers great number of archaeological sites dated from the time of Neolith up to the Meddle Age indicating the history rich with important settlements, sanctuaries, events and people of at least 6000 years.


The site is more than 3800 years old. The oldest archaeological finds date from the Early Bronze Age. Finds from the Middle Bronze Age are the most numerous (mainly ceramic vessels, stone-mills and a few molds). 

An agglomeration from the Iron Age has also been discovered. The archaeo-astronomical research was carried out by the Bulgarian astro-physicians A. Stoev and M. Mulgova and continued in 2002 by physicist Gjore Cenev from the Planetarium at MKC in Skopje, who got involved in the researches of the site and made the first more comprehensive archeo-astronomical analysis.


Kokino consists of two parts. It includes special stone markers used to track the movement of the Sun and Moon on the eastern horizon. The observatory used the method of stationary observation, marking positions of the Sun at the winter and summer solstice, as well as the equinox.



Kokino has been nominated to be included on UNESCO’s World Heritage Site list.


The importance of the site was confirmed by the U.S. space agency NASA, which placed it on its list of ancient observatories.

1. Abu Simbel, Egypt
2. Stonehenge, Great Britain
3. Angkor Wat, Cambodia
4. Kokino, Macedonia
5. Goseck circle, Germany

Sources: wikipedia, Kokino - The official website