KEMBARA BALKAN - REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA (FYROM) | 03 SKOPJE : Ronda Ronda Sekitar Skopje

Masih lagi di Skopje, ibu negara Macedonia.

Statue and fountain in the centre of Macedonia Square

Ambik tau sikit pasal sejarah Skopje ni.

Apart from being the capital of the Republic of Macedonia, Skopje has always been a center of power long coveted by various empires.The city founded by the Paeonians in the 3rd century B.C.E. under the name of ‘Skupi’ was prized for its strategic location, in a long valley between two hills, situated on the banks of the Vardar River, a vital trade route.

Under the Romans, Skopje was made administrative center of the Dardanian Province. The city’s prestige grew when the Orthodox Church made it an episcopal seat during the early Byzantine Empire. The arrival of migrating Slavic tribes from the Carpathians in the 6th century C.E. changed both the city’s name and the composition of its people were assimilated by the Slavic newcomers.

Throughout the remaining Byzantine centuries, Skopje continued to be an important mercantile center, situated as it was at the crossroads of Balkan trade and communications routes. It was celebrated for its urban life and fortress, and renowned for having the most beautiful church in the region.

In 14th century, Skopje became the capital of the Empire of Serbia, which was one of the largest and strongest countries in Europe during that period. At the very end of the 14th century, Skopje and all of Macedonia fell under the rule of the Ottoman Turks. In the ensuing centuries, the look of the town changed with the construction of many mosques, Turkish baths, bridges, and other buildings attesting to the new Oriental influence. Today, the Ottoman legacy remains extremely visible in Skopje’s architecture and small Islamic minority.

After Macedonia was liberated from the Turks in the early 20th century, became a part of Kingdom of Serbia, then it became a republic of the Yugoslav Federation, with Skopje as the capital. At that time, the prosperous city boasted many ornate, Neoclassical buildings laid out harmoniously in a more or less Central European style. However, in 1963 a disastrous earthquake leveled much of the regal old city, and Skopje was reborn in the imaginative, futuristic style in vogue at the time.

Today, Skopje is a modern city and Macedonia’s major political, economical, educational, and cultural center.

Lepas merayap bertemankan guide tak bergaji dengan beberapa ekor anjing di kawasan kota Skopje di bahagian kota yang baru, kemudiannya kami bergerak merentas Stone Bridge dan Vardar River menuju ke arah Old City.

Vardar River dan Stone bridge

Merentas Stone Bridge

Stone bridge dan Vardar River

Antara tarikan di kawasan ni

Seberang Vardar River ni lah banyak terletaknya muzium muzium yang menjadi tarikan di kota Skopje ni antaranya Museum of Archaeology, Museum of Contemporary Art, Macedonian National Museum & Icon Gallery dan Museum of the Macedonian Struggle.

Holocaust museum dedicated to Jewish Macedonian people in a contemporary building, open since 2011

The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle

Museum of the Macedonian Struggle. is a national museum of the Republic of Macedonia located in the capital city of Skopje. Construction of the museum began June 11th 2008 and it was opened to the public on the 20th anniversary of the declaration of independence on September 8th, 2011. 

The building is located between the Museum of Archeology (under construction), the Holocaust Museum of Macedonia, the Stone Bridge and the Vardar River. The exhibit covers the fight for Macedonian statehood from the days of the Hajduks against the Turkish occupation during the Ottoman Empire until the declaration of independence from Ottoman Empire on 8th September 1391. 

The guided tours take the visitors through 13 exhibits ending in front of the original copy of the  Declaration of Independence. There ıs also a Museum of the Makedonian Struggle in Thessaloniki, so it is a very good chance to listen to different opinions about Macedonia.

Terdapat juga beberapa statues dan monumen penting di kawasan sekitarnya.

Monument of Saints Cyril and Methodius

Bangunan lama di Skopje

Olympias Monument ; Fountain of the Mothers of Macedonia

She was mother of Alexander the Great and her name is Olympia.

Terdapat juga Statue of Philip of Macedonia

King Philip ni adalah bapa kepada Alexander the Great

Di kawasan ni ada juga Church St. Demetrius

This cathedral style church dedicated to Saint Demetrius is located in the center of Skopje across the Old Stone Bridge on the other side of Ploshtad (Skopje main plaza) in the Jewish Neighborhood below the Skopje Fortress (Skopsko Kale) just past the Square of Phillip II (Ploshtad Filip Vtori) before you get to the area known as Stara Charsija (Old Bazaar).

The church is built in the shape of a ship and has three naves with an apse and a cupola (dome). The current church was built on the foundation of a 16th century church and underwent renovations near the end of the 19th century. During the 18th Century the church had the formal title of “Cathedral” as it served as the official Seat of the Skopje Eparchy (Diocese).1 The church’s role has since changes and remains open to tourists and to all believers.

The church was damaged by the big earthquake of 1963. Fresco work was then commissioned to Krste Koloski who completed the work between 1968 and 1973. The church compound includes a baptistery (krstilnitsa, крстилница) and a bell tower. Above the entrance on the south side of the church there is a mosaic of the St. Demetrius, Orthodox Saint and Military Martyr.

Mineret 

Dan kelihatan juga Kale Fortress tidak jauh dari situ

Tapi kami nak tuju ke area old bazaar dulu.... Usha usha kawasan tu.

Old Bazaar, Skopje

The Old Bazaar (Macedonian: Стара чаршија, translit. Stara čaršija; Albanian: Çarshia e Vjetër; from the Turkish: Çarşı meaning marketplace) is a bazaar located in Skopje, situated on the eastern bank of the Vardar River, stretching from the Stone Bridge to the Bit-Pazar and from the Skopje Fortress to the Serava river. The Old Bazaar falls primarily within the borders of Čair Municipality but a part of it is located in Centar Municipality. As one of the oldest and largest marketplaces in the Balkans, it has been Skopje's centre for trade and commerce since at least the 12th century.

The earliest known sources that describe the existence of a merchant quarter on the bazaar's territory date back to the 12th century. During Ottoman rule of Skopje, the Old Bazaar developed rapidly to become city's main centre of commerce. The Ottoman history of the bazaar is evidenced by roughly thirty mosques, numerous caravanserais and hans, among other buildings and monuments. The bazaar was heavily damaged by earthquakes that occurred in 1555 and 1963, as well as during the First and the Second World Wars and faced various rebuildings following these events.

Beside its importance as a market place the Old Bazaar is known for its cultural and historical values. Although Ottoman architecture is predominant, remains of Byzantine architecture are evident as well, while recent reconstructions have led to the application of elements specific to modern architecture. The Old Bazaar still is home to several active mosques, türbes, two churches and a clocktower, that, together with the buildings of the Museum of Macedonia and the Museum of Modern Art, form the core of the modern bazaar.

Old_Bazaar,_Skopje

Pagi hari

Suasana jalanan di Old bazaar

Kedai belum bukak lagi

Masjid

View old bazaar

Lapar !!!

Çifte Hamam

Dahulunya menjadi kawasan Muslim  

Kini sebagai salah satu tempat shopping barangan yang menjadi tarikan di Skopje

Sebab masih pagi kawasan Old Bazaar ni masih sunyi sepi. Banyaknya kedai cenderamata, kedai tekstil, jualan tembaga dan lain lain. Kalau time peak hour aku rasa kawasan ni memang meriah.

Even though some parts of the old bazaar have been destroyed to make streets and parking lots, it still is the largest one in the Balkans. It has developed and changed during the centuries but it still has its original use as a shopping place. The old bazaar was never used for living, it always was a shopping area and contact zone of the Christian and the Muslim population as they lived in separate parts of the town. It is a structure of many streets lined with small shops. 

The crafts were divided between the Christians and the Muslims. All the shops used to be same size no matter if they belonged to a Christian or a Muslim. Each street hosted different craft, and all stores from that craft were on one street (for example gold street, shoes street, pots street, dress street, etc). The stores were closed with wooden shutters which were lowered when the stores were opened and the goods were displayed on them. The old bazaar was surrounded with markets. Hygienic care was taken and different markets were placed on opposite sides of the bazaar (for example the food market was on the opposite side of the bazaar from the animal market; milk, milk products and honey market opposite from the wood market etc). Beside the stores there were other objects in the old bazaar too, like amams (Turkish baths), hans (hotels), mosques, and some churches. The outside walls were usually were surrounded with stores so no space would be wasted. Even today it is hard to spot some of this object.

Old bazaar, Skopje

Masa kat area ni mamat Yarev bertanya.

"Do you mind if I pay you eating with me?"

Hahaha.. Terabur jugak la ayat dia tapi aku faham ! Tapi lebih pada terharu lak. Nak belanja pun nak mintak izin. Tak tau ke aku ni lapar dan seorang yang pelahap?

Aku setuju je tapi aku bagitau dia aku Muslim dan aku ada preference tempat cemana aku nak makan.

"Dont worry. I know"

Kadang kadang dia susah nak bersembang sebab ayat dia tak lengkap. Dia pun cakap English dia tak bagus macam adik dia. Adik dia selalu kutuk kutuk bila dia cakap English. Tapi bagi aku OK je since aku pun boleh faham.

Since banyak kedai tak bukak lagi dan kedai makan yang dia nak bawak aku pun masih tutup jadi kami berkeliaran lagi di kawasan sekitar Old Bazaar Skopje ni sehingga membawa ke area Kale Fotress tak jauh dari situ.

Kale Fotress. Kawasan kubu di atas bukit di bandar Skopje

Bandar Skopje

Memula aku macam malas nak panjat pun kubu tu since aku ingat macam nak gerak je balik ke terminal bus dan beli tiket untuk perjalanan seterusnya. Tapi, mamat Yerev ni memang agak memaksa aku follow dia pulak.

"Hey ! Aku banyak konsert kat tempat lain lagi ni nak kena buat, tak de masa nak layan peminat di Skopje ni semata mata !!"

Tak de lah aku sampai hati nak tolak bila dia ajak panjat kubu ni. Lagi haru dia kata dia sendiri pun tak pernah sampai ke atas tu.

Oh..... tak tau aku nak ber-reaksi bagaimana.

Menuju ke entrance Kale Fotress. Tetiba Katy Perry muncul semula

Justin Bieber dari tadik dok ikut aku. Cuma Katy Perry dan Selena Gomez asyik asyik hilang ntah ke mana. Cemolot belakang lorong agaknya.

Aku follow je mamat Yarev yang berkobar kobar nak naik ke atas sana

Terpongeh jugak nak memanjat sampai atas. Dah la kena pusing jauh untuk sampai ke pintu masuk nya. 

Dah nak sampai tu, boleh pulak mamat Yarev tu tetiba buat kelakar seram.

"I dont know if we can go in or not. Maybe they closed"

Dang !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

* kesat peluh yang menitis dengan rasa kepundek-an yang luar biasa

Apakah masa aku terbuang begitu saja di sini?

Menangis kah peminat peminat di tempat lain yang mendambakan kemunculan artis antarabangsa pujaan dunia ni kalau aku tersadai lama lama di sini?

bersambung...................