The Enlightersof the Slavs

M a g a z i n e

� Activities of “Dobredojde”Macedonia Welcome Centre ��Holidays in Macedonia ��The unknowen Macedonia ��Culture ��Medicine

Contents:Management:Interview with Mr.Stevco Jakimovski,

Mayor of Karposh Municipality

Foreign citizens are alwayswelcome in our Municipality

Karposh, an open investmentdestination, is a decent place tolive, create, sport and leisurefor all, whether you are a new-comer to the area or are herefor a short or long term stay.

p.16

The Ortodox Way

The Yurics - unusual ethnic group

Great cultural heritage

They live mainly in the mountain

Plackovica and in the villa ges

Prnalija, Odzalija, Ju nuzlija...

p.20

Easrer in Macedonia

p.19

24 May

SS. Cyril and Methodius day,

The Enlighters of the Slavs

“Does the rain fallequally to all?Does the sun shineequally on everybody? Aren’t we all breathingthe same air?

p.22

Publisher“Dobredojde”

Macedonia Welcome CentreUl.”Alzirska”bb

MZ Vlado Tasevski1000 Skopje

Republic of Macedoniawelcomemacedoniacentre@gmail.com

Editor –in-ChiefEmilija Miladinova Avramcheva

aemica@gmail.com

Cooperators:Alagozovski Robert

robert.alagjozovski@gmail.com

Janeva Nadicanadicajaneva@gmail.com

Kelly Stantonkellystanton@hotmail.co.uk

Zaneta Gelevska Veljanovskaart@zani.name

Avramchev Georgiavramchev@bluewin.ch

Georgieva Irinasenseira@gmail.com

Graphic designerJasmina A. Casule

jasmina.arsova@forum.com.mk

Printed by:Akademski Pecat

graphic design & offset printingul.Partenie Zogravski br.77 a

1000 Skopje Republic of Macedoniaakademskipecat@yahoo.com

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Welcome to the first edition of theMacedonia Welcome Centre Mag-azine. It’s purpose is to enable youto explore it and learn more aboutMacedonia, as well as about theactivities of the “Dobredojde”Ma cedonia Welcome Centre. Wewant to reveal to you the unknownside of Macedonia, to show youMacedonia from a native’s per-spective, to feel it as we do. Wewould like you to see it throughour eyes and to taste it the way wedo everyday, to meet ordinaryMacedonians and get acquaintedwith Macedonia’s intelligentsia:writers, poets, artists, painters, ac-tors, philosophers etc. In The firstissue, we decided to provide youwith an insight into the traditionsthat are important in Macedonia,orthodox holidays which take pla -ce at this time of the year, includ-ing the celebration of St. Triphun,the protector of the vignerons, atthe “Stobi” vineyards; St Cyril andMethodius, the Macedonian monkswho created the Cyrillic alphabet,later adopted by all the OrthodoxSlavic nations and MacedonianEaster customs. We also write aboutMarch 8, International Wo men’sDay, its history and present daycustoms; the life of the Yurics, anunusual isolated ethnic group li v-ing in the Republic of Macedonia,and last but not least, the in terviewwith Mr. Stevcho Jakimovski, theMayor of Karposh, the biggesturban municipality in Skopje.

“Dobredojde” Macedonia Wel-come Centre is a non-governmen-tal Organization with an aim toguide, inform and help integratethe Internationals into the localcommunity, including familiesworking in the Diplomatic Mis-sions, International Organizations,NGO’s and the business commu-nity. We will introduce to you Ma -cedonian Cuisine, teach you theMacedonian language and folkdances, take yoga classes togetherand organize lectures and debateswith well known Macedonian sci-entists, writers, poets, and artists.Together we will visit many histor-ical sites and cultural events. Wewill present to you Macedonianhistory, culture and tradition. Wewill introduce you to a Macedon-ian social life and before leavingMacedonia, you will be living asMacedonians.Spring has arrived and with it thegood weather, which will enable usto go on many excursions. In themonths to follow, we plan to visitlots of interesting places in Mace-donia. Soon we will have our per-manent premises, the so called“dip lomatic club”, which will en-able us to meet on a regular basisand plan forthcoming activities. This Magazine will be issued quar-terly and will be the link betweenthe “Dobredojde” Macedonia wel-come Centre and its audience; itwill be your window into Macedo-nia.

See Macedonia through our eyesby Emilija Miladinova AvramchevaPresident of “Dobredojde” Macedonia Welcome Centre

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People love to relax, and we loveto share our experience with eachother, and after Yoga class there isa much inspired and somewhat in-timate conversations around. Oneis confident to say, “Wow, I ne ededthat class!”Just opposite, of the Yoga’s relax-ing coziness, is its’ dynamic, tran s -formational power. During thema ny years that I’ve been practic-ing Yoga, I have grown, and ma-tured, in ways I would have neverimagined possible before. Literal ly,I am not the same person I used tobe. I believe that the atoms andmolecules of my body are differentthen before I began a life of dailyYoga practice. Life is so much eas-ier now, not because there are nochallenges but, because now withYoga I can handle challengesmuch easier. My ability to move

on from crises in life I attribute tothe consistent, honest work-and-joy of a daily Yoga practice. The key word is “daily”. Don’t letthis intimidate you. Start out bythin king of it as a “steady” prac-tice, 10 or 15 minutes a day, youwill begin to feel taller, straighterand fitter. You will become moreaware of the rhythm of your bre ath,and deepen your breathing in orderto relax yourself. You may experi-ence a new and positive outlookthat becomes more permanent.Small issues, even big issues, nolon ger have the same power overyou, the way they used to. As timepasses, pain-mental and emotionalscars-heal and fade, as thoughfrom another far and distant dimlife time. You will begin to find thestrength and confidence to live yo urdreams, and beyond!

Daily yoga practice

Change Your Life, Now You Canby Irina Gjeorgieva

Yoga Instructor

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As the official motto of Macedon-ian Government says it nicely, cul-ture is the most valuable asset ofMacedonia. The country has alwa ysbeen a crossroads between the Eastand the West, a cradle of civiliza-tions and mix of many cultures whichpass through its lands. Macedon-ian philosopher Ferid Muhic hascalled it “Catena Mundi/Naval ofthe world”. Indeed, ancient civi-lizations, Greece, Macedonia, Ro -me, Byzantine, has been at homehere, Ottomans left their centuries’long legacy. The remnants of themystic Peonian and Dardaniankingdoms fill the air. The mostcommon image of Macedonia isthe one of home-grown mix salad.

Let’s take a familiar example. TheMacedonian salad is fully visiblein Skopje. Once you enter Skopjesuburbs you feel not only the mixof different cultures, lifestyles, ur -ban infrastructure, but also diffe-rent pronunciations, different out -fits, different behavior. The feelingof Skopje is the feeling of diffe-rences, all laid side by side, alltran sforming one in one, on a verylimited space. The huge modernboulevards prolong into narrow,overpopulated Albanian quarters,ending in substandard Roma ghet-tos and then, through corridors ofempty land, run into faceless wor-kers sleeping residences and flowvia kitchy fenced huge new richeshaciendas.The city core opens with the Otto-man jewel, the Old Bazaar, withit’s forgotten crafts’ stores, emptyof customers, but full with mate-rials, furniture, little things you can

never imagine to have been stillexi sting, with amams and ans tran -s formed into galleries and restau-rants, with revitalized mosquesfe e ble to welcome all the newly il-luminate believers.Across the Skopje symbol, the age-less Stone Bridge, with the unavoi-dable plea of the poor people beg -ging for loose change or profferingfake trademarks, you immediatelyenter into brand new square full ofItalian like cafés, alongside taintedriver Vardar, crowded with city snobsshowing off, gossiping, and arran-ging new businesses.

Outside Skopje there is huge unk-nown territory waiting to be explo-red and revealed. The beautifulAlps like green mountains on thewest, the hidden waterfalls on Be-lasica, where far historical battleshas been won, the sunny wine ya r dsalong the Vardar Valey, or Bitola,the city of consules once the townwith the largest numbers of pianoper capita. You can follow the ri-sing of the Sun from the one of theworld top four megalith observatoryKokino. You can watch the red sun-set, as described in our first moder-nistic poem from the early sixties,of Mateja Matevski, in Ohrid, theMacedonian Jerusalem, and its la -ke, the Balkan pearl.

Macedonia lays bare before you,Within the Welcome MacedoniaCenter activities, I will do my bestto present you the Macedonian cul-ture and literature in several inter-active classes, with presence ofauthors an on-the-spot discussion.

Macedonia, the cradle of cultureby Robert ALAGJOZOVSKI,cultural manager, literary critic

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Basil,(or Vassilitzain Macedonian), isthe first day of theNew Year accord-ing to the oldJuliean calendar,which is still the

official calendar of the Macedonian Ortho-dox Church. Vassilitza, also popularly known

as the Old New Year, is widely celebrated byMacedonians in spite of having had cele-brated the official New Year 13 days before,on January 1.Traditionaly Vassilica is celebrated with lotsof food, wine, music and folk dancing. It istipical for that day that every family pre-pares special bread, called “pogatcha”, witha hidden coin inside. The head of the family

Activities of Welcome Macedonia

St.Celebrating

splits the bread among those present at thedinner table, bringing good luck and aprosperous year, to the one who finds thecoin in their piece of bread. That is whatpeople believe and makes them happy, es-specially the children.This year on January 13, on behelf of the“Dobredojde”Macedonia Welcome Centre,I organized the Vassilitza celebration at my

home where I also invited members of IWA. The ladies had a nice time dancing Mace-donian folk dances, enjoyed deliciousMacedonian food accompanied by Mace-donian wine. Of course one of us got luckyand found the coin, and I wish her goodluck and all the best in 2010.I would like to thank all the ladies that par-ticipated at the event.

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Vassilitza

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arch 8th, InternationalWomen’s Day, is a dayto celebrate the achi -evements of womenof the past and pres-ent, and set the stagefor the success of wo -

men of the future. It is an occasion for lo -oking back on past struggles and acco m-plishments, and more importantly, for look-ing ahead to the existing potential and op -portunities that await future generations ofwomen.International Women’s Day is the story ofordinary women as makers of history; it isrooted in the centuries-old struggle of wo -men to participate in society on an equalfo oting with men. International Women’sDay has been observed since in the early1900’s, a time of great expansion and tur-bulence in the industrialized world that sawbooming population growth and the rise ofradical ideologies. Women’s suppressionand inequality was encouraging women to be-come more vocal and active in campa igningfor change. Fifteen thousand women marchedin New York City on March eighth, 1908demanding better pay, shorter work hoursand voting rights. National Woman’s Daywas first celebrated in the United States onFebruary , 28, 1909. The next year a wo -men’s rights leader from Germany sug-gested the idea of an international ce le-bration. Clara Zetkin said women around

the world should set aside one day everyyear to protest repression and inequality.She suggested the idea at an InternationalConference of Working Women in Copen-hagen. More than one million people at-tended events in Austria, Denmark,Ger ma ny and Switzerland during the firstInternational Women’s Day. It took placein 1911. In 1914 the date for the obser-vance was changed to March eighth in honor

Do we really need one day for us?Interantional women’s day

M

Nadica Janeva, MDEarly Child

Development Consulting

and ResearchECD-CoR

of an historic protest for women’s rights.Since its birth in the socialist movement, In-ternational Women’s Day has grown to be-come a global day of recognition and ce le-bration across developed and developingcountries alike. Groups around the worlduse this day to honor the progress of womenand call attention to the social, political andeconomic problems facing women and girls.Among the issues are forced marriage, sexu alabuse, poverty and a lack of education.The new millennium has witnessed a sig-nificant change and attitudinal shift in bothwomen’s and society’s thoughts about women’sequality and emancipation. Many from ayounger generation feel that ‘all the battleshave been won for women’ while manyfeminists from the 1970’s know too welldeep-rooted complexity of patriarchy. Withmore women in the boardroom, greaterequality in legislative rights, and an incre -ased critical mass of women’s visibility asimpressive role models in every aspect oflife, one could think that women havegained true equality. But do we really havedesirable gender equality environment?Data below can not claim women have allthe same rights and opportunities as men. Each year, 1/2 million women die frompre gnancy complications and 100,000 fromunsafe abortions. From 1/5 to 1/2 of women worldwide experi-ence domestic violence during marriage. In several countries, testing for genetic de-fects is used to determine the sex of an unbornchild for the purpose of aborting females only. Women represent 2/3 of the more than onebillion illiterate adults who have no accessto basic education On average, by age 18, girls receive 4.4

years less education than boys.Employment ratios (i.e. the number of em-ployed persons as a percentage of the popu-lation of working age) gander gap rangesfrom 15% in developed regions to morethan 40% in South Asia and in the MiddleEast and North Africa. Women tend to be concentrated in occupa-tions that may be considered to have lowerstatus – such as nursing, midwifery, and com-munity health services – and are a minorityamong the highly trained professionals. Typi-cally, more than 70% of doctors are malewhile more than 70% of nurses are female.On average a woman is head of one in fivehouseholds and that these households areparticularly vulnerable to poverty.Within the formal workforce, women oftenface challenges related to their lower status,suffer discrimi nation and sexual harass-ment, and have to balance the demands ofpaid work and work at home, giving rise towork-related fatigue, infections, mental ill-health and other problems. Yet, despite many successes in empoweringwomen, numerous issues still exist in allareas of life, ranging from the cultural, politi-cal to the economic. Women’s rights aroundthe world are an important indicator to un-derstand global well-being. Large scale cele-brating events on March 8 in the futureshould honor women’s advancement dili-gently reminding the need of the continuedvigilance and action that is required to ensurethat women’s equality is gained and main-tained in all aspects of life nurturing culturein which men and women are truly partners.

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Stevcho Jaki-mov ski, secondtime “father”of KarposhMu nicipality,received theconfidence of

the citizens for the first time in 2000. Lastyear, 2009, was his second point in time totake the wheel of the Municipality. His“come back” to Karposh is not accidental.On the contrary, he is one of the most pop-ular politicians whose accomplishmentswere remembered, desired and finally wasentrusted a second term as a Mayor of Kar-posh. He is frank and open minded, he is aman of deeds and action and a man whokeeps his promises. What makes him spe-cial as a manager of his citizens’ money ishis passion for change, progress and Euro-peanization of his Municipality. Thousandsof kilometers of asphalt paved streets, pe -de strian paths, sidewalks, children play-grounds and pensioner’s clubs etc.; hasbranded the Municipality as an attractiveinvestment destination with equal treatmentof all its citizens’. He turned the Munici-pality into a transparent, engaging and ser -vi ce orientated authority, existing primarilyto fulfill the needs of its citizens’. Karposhis an urban, cultural and educational centre,hosting more than 20 IT companies, openinland and abroad to all foreign investorsand tourists.

The Law for Decentralization providesthe Municipalities with a possibility tose ek investors and lenders at the interna-tional financial markets. This is creatingthe possibility for a more serious localstrategy for International Cooperation.What are your plans and activities inthis direction?

You are right; in the long run we have beenworking very seriously where our interna-tional cooperation is concerned. In 2005,Karposh Municipality published an edition,called “Guide for Investors”, a small guidefor every investor with good intentions,seeking a suitable opportunity to develophis business, and make profit. For the pur-pose of facilitating the future investors andpresenting the Municipality as a more tran -s parent and attractive investment destina-tion, the Guide for Investors states all thenecessary conditions and documents ne ede dto start a business. Following this in 2007,we issued a map of areas available for in-vestments, i.e. all free and suitable plots ofland for construction. After the adoption ofthe Law for Decentralization, the Munici-pality itself entered into an investment phase.For the first time the municipality was en-gaged in a business relation with a financialinstitution, Unibanka (a Macedonian bankwith predominantly Bulgarian capital), thiscooperation has intensified and still contin-ues today. Already our business partners, aspotential creditors on certain municipal pro -jects, are the World Bank, the EuropeanBank for Reconstruction and Development,as well as a number of domestic investors. Karposh is becoming an interesting invest-ment territory; the Austrian firm “Man Fa -shi on” is constructing a big bu siness-shop-ping mall, between Manapo and Ljubljan-ska streets; another big foreign investmentis the office-apartments-shopping complexwhich is still to be built, by the Israel’s firm“Gazette Globe”, at the corner of the Alu-mina ex-factory; Hypo Leasing is constru -cting an office building at MI-DA businesscentre and dozen other investments. Tog e -ther with the Macedonian and Italian Min-istries of Environment we started a project,in all of the twenty kindergartens and ele-mentary schools within our Municipality,

Interview with Mr.Stevco Jakimovski, Mayor of Karposh Municipality

Karposh, an open investment destination, is a decent place to live, create, sport and leisurefor all, whether you are a newcomer to the area or are here for a short or long term stay.

Mr.

Foreign citizens are always welcome in our Municipality

for the substitution of the expensive heatingprovided by Toplifikacija-Skopje, with theirown heating system based on geothermalheating pumps; replacement of the old inef-ficient windows and substitution of the pre -sent electric lights with a standalone pho -tovoltaic lighting system. This project isworth 13,000000 EURO, and will last untilthe end of 2010. We are also working veryclosely with the Chamber of Commerce ofAustria, whose Embassy hosted the presen-tation of our Program for Energy Effici en cyin Vienna, with many interested inv estorspresent, through whom we could arrangegrants, credits and carbon credits.

The presence of the International Com-munity in Karposh Municipality is evi-dent. On its territory there are Em ba-ssies, Residencies, and offices of Interna-tional Organizations. Do you interact?-Of course, bearing in mind that five Em-bassies and four Consulates are situatedwithin our Municipality, maintaining per-

manent and developing new relationshipswith the representatives of the DiplomaticCommunity is part of our everyday life andwork, as well as a target for the future ac-tivities of the municipal authority. Simply,we are bound to each other in our everydaycooperation and communication. The Em-bassies of Slovakia, Hungary, Austria, Ger-many, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as wellas the Consulates of Australia, Denmark andBulgaria are located on the territory of KarposhMunicipality. Besides our frequent official me -etings, we plan together activities of cultural,sports and business character, bringing our peo-ple and cultures closer and therefore, creating afriendly atmosphere. With the Slovak Republicwe had an exchange of folk groups. I would also like to stress the close collabo-ration we have developed with USAID,Ka r posh being a success story pilot munici-pality for several of their projects. Throughthe project for Energy Efficiency, we werethe only Municipality in the country to re-ceive a loan, exceeding 500,000 US dollars

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for the reconstruction of “Jan AmosKomenski” Elementary School.

Are the foreigners living and working inKarposh your target group, are you mo-tivated and do you have an idea how toinvolve them in the programs of the lo -cal, cultural, economic and social life ofthe municipality?-Definitely, the foreigners who work or liveon the territory of our municipality are ourtarget group and we work fundamentally ontheir involvement in our everyday life andactivities. For this purpose very soon, incollaboration with the NGO, “Dobredojde”Macedonia Welcome Centre, we plan toopen a so called “Diplomatic Club”, a pla -ce where the foreign nationals will be wel-comed to visit at any time, to mingle withothers and to organize events of their inter-est (lectures, presentations, movie projec-tions, charities etc). In the true sense it willbe a place to ‘hang out’, to meet each other,to use their free time developing creativeideas outside of their everyday working ro -utine. In collaboration with our Municipal-ity, they can organize a presentation of theircountry’s culture (art, music, poetry etc.) orother similar events.

What would you offer to the foreign na-tionals temporarily living in Skopje? Those foreign nationals staying and livingin Skopje, and in particular in the Karposhmunicipality, are already familiar with ourrich cultural and sports- leisure offer. A par-ticularly attractive event is the Karposh Cul -tural Summer, offering Macedonian ethnicgroups, classical and pop music, concertsand art happenings, theater plays etc. Alsopresent is the event” I am able, I can do it”,a unique opportunity for the foreign visi-tors to taste Macedonian cuisine special-ties; products of the domestic food industry(cheese, dry meat, processed fruits andvegetable, ajvar etc.); as well as the bestMacedonian wines and also to buy home-made handy craft. Beginning last year, Kar-posh is also well known for organizing,together with the British Business Group,the first ever cricket match in Macedonia.The banks of the river Vardar in Karposhare well maintained and together with thesport and leisure centers, are the most vis-ited spot in the Municipality during thesummer. Foreigners are especially fond ofthe biking and roller paths nearby.

Does Karposh Municipality have any-thing to offer to the foreign tourists on ashort visit to Macedonia? Do you deve lopa program dealing with cultural to urism?Which monuments, landmarks, and in

general which urban spots of Karposhthe foreigners shouldn’t miss.The development of cultural tourism is ourstrategic goal and it’s incorporated in theStrategy of Karposh Municipality, as wellas in all the other programs of our local go -ver nment. Besides the already mentionedurban destination, cultural events and lei surecenters, the Karposh Municipality is partic-ularly proud of the world famous St. Pan-teleimon Monastery dating from the 12th

cen tury, the Havzipasha Konaks datingfrom the Ottoman Empire and the ancientcity Skupi containing the unique area Ne -cro polis, dating back to the 1st and 2nd cen-tury A.D. The Millennium Cross is also inour territory, built to mark the 2000 yearsfrom the birth of Jesus Christ, the RomanAqueduct and many other landmarks thateveryone, even people just passing throughthe city, should see. We are a truly hospi -table municipality in every way and wewould like to convince every foreigner, nomatter the reason to visit or stay with us,here in Karposh.

aster is a moveable feastmeaning it is not fixed to thecivil calendar. The FirstCouncil of Nicaea, the coun-cil of Christian bishops con-vened by the Roman EmperorConstantine in A.D.325, es-

tablished the date of Easter as the first Sun-day after the full moon following the vernalequinox which ecclesiastically is reckonedto be on March 21, therefore the date ofEaster varies from March 22 to April 25 .Eastern Christian, also known as Orthodox,base their calculation on the Julian calendarwhose March 21 corresponds to April 3 inthe Gregorian calendar, in which calendartheir celebration of Easter varies betweenApril 4 and May 8. On Sunday April 4,2010, the Orthodox Macedonians cele-brated Easter, which this year coincidedwith Catholic and Protestant Easter.To Orthodox Macedonians Easter is thegreatest holyday of all. The Easter Lent, inEastern Christianity also called the GreatFast, starts forty days before the GreatWeek (Holy Week) which is the most im-portant part of Lent. In the early morningof Maundy Thursday eggs are dyed in red,symbolizing victory and coming happinessin the resurrection. Resurrecting, JesusChrist actually defeated death. The red color

represents god’s might and strength. Thecolor of the Easter eggs reminds us of theblood Jesus shed on the cross. The first eggto be dyed is put aside and is called “Pro-tector of the House” (Chuvarsko jajce). It isplaced beside the family icon and sa veduntil the next Easter. The actual Easter fes-tival begins on Good Friday, the day of cru-cifixion, when at home only essentialduties are performed and the family obse r -ves a strict vegetarian fast, even fish andoils are omitted from the menu. On GoodFriday people go the church to see how thepriests take down the icon of Christ off thecross, wrap it in linen (plashtenica ), andput it in a casket symbolizing the tomb ofChrist which they kiss. On Saturday, theday of resurrection, one is not allowed toeat all day. Late in the evening OrthodoxMacedonians gather in crowds outside theirlocal church carrying with them unlit can-dles. At midnight the priest announces theresurrection of Christ declaring “Hristosvoskrese”, Christ has risen, then the peoplereply “voistina voskrese” truly risen, andhe lets the people light their candles of theHoly Flame taken from Christ’s nativitycave in Jerusalem. After resurrection thecelebration continues with songs and pra -yers inside the temples all over Macedonia.The fast is over and people slowly go home for

a meal, trying to keep the flame alive.On Easter Sunday, after attendingthe mass at church, friends and fam-ilies gather at homes celebratingChrist’s resurrection, eating lambs(Christ’s body) and red (Christ’sblood) eggs. Before the red eggsare eaten one must crack themagainst their neighbors, and who-ever wins by having whole egg atthe end will get all the luck.Until Ascension, in the fortydays following Easter, OrthodoxMacedonians declare their faithin resurrection and the greathappiness it brings them oftena often greeting each other with“Hristos voskrese”, Christ hasrisen, replying “voistinavoskrese”, truly risen.

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Easter in Macedonia

The Orthodox way

E

The Municipalityof Karbinci is situ-ated in the easternpart of Macedonia.The biggest part ofthe municipalityli es in the valley ofthe river Bregalni -ca, which is fertileand populated. Theother part from the

municipality is lift up in the mountain Plac -ko vica. The municipality is rarely populated, partic-ularly the villages. The main population ofthis municipality is Macedonians but therealso lives a Turkish population known asYuruks/Yuruci.They live mainly in the mountain Plack-ovica in the villages Prnalija, Odzalija, Ju -nuzlija, Kalauzlija, Muratlija, Ke pe k ce lija,Kurfalija. They were first noted in this region by theend of the 14th century. Their gradual im-migration went on during 15th century, itintensified during the first half of the 16 thcentury and concluded by the end of the 16th century.In the historic sources the Yuruks are re-ferred to as nomadic tribes of Turkmen ori-gin who had emigrated from the steppes ofCentral Asia to Anatolia, and from there inseveral waves settled in the eastern part ofthe Balkans.The migration of the Yuruks was probablythe most successful colonizing strategy ofthe Ottoman authorities in the Balkans.The reasons for their settling in the Balkanswere of a social- economic and military –stra tegic character. The favourable climateand the rich grazing pastures were the crucialmotive for the Yuruks to settle in the menti -oned villages.The villages where they live are smaller set-tlements, but they have at their dispositionlarger areas of cultivable soil and pastures.

The rural ambience in these villages is con-centrated agglomerate of old houses witharchaic architecture.The houses are very simple buildings withground flour (used as cellar and for keepinglivestock) and a story with a balcony (posi-tioned centrally or laterally with the roomsarranged around it).The houses are made from stone and wood,usually covered with flat stones, while thenewer ones are topped with tiles.Recently people have started building newhouses, still conforming to the model rules,but they nevertheless gradually disturb thearchaic authenticity of these rural settle-ments. The terrain surrounding the villagesis a clearing of cultivated soil and pastures.The only afforested area is the villagegraveyard, located higher in the hills, pla n -ted with old oak trees that are respected andpreserved because their cutting is believedto bring misfortune.The basic occupation in these Yuruk villa -ges used to be farming. Today farming, thatis, sheep breeding is reduced to a minimum.The present situation with regard to sheepbreeding forces the men from these Yurukvillages to go to work elsewhere, to the Stipand Strumica region.One of the basic occupations of the menfrom these villages is cutting and sellingwood for fuel. Agriculture has become theba sic occupation of the Yuruk people livingin the mountains, contrary their customs inthe past. The cultivated soil is chieflyplanted with tobacco, and rarely with wheat.One of the key external factors in the isola-tion of this traditional community is the greatdelay in providing the basics of modern life.Motorbikes are in huge demend within themale population. TV sets are still scarce,and if there any, they receive mainly thesatellite programs in Turkish (the femalepopulation, almost without exceptions spe -aks only Turkish). The traditional ways of this relatively iso-

T

by Jasmina

MAZGALIEVA ethnologist

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Great culturalheritage

The Yurics unusual ethnic group

lated population are in obvious contrast withthe existence of some contemporary meansof communication (especially the cell pho -nes) and certain types of behavior of the m -ale population (referring especially to thosewho work outside the community).The contradiction between the traditionaland the contemporary way of life is refle -cted in the contrast between the male andfemale Yuruk population (the woman withtheir colorful and archaic traditional gowns,yet without the possibility of communicati on,mostly due to the language barrier, and themen who have already adopted the modernway of behavior and dressing). Except ra -rely, at a certain age and on special occa-sion, for example, the oldest men wear ascarf wrapped around the hat in a turban,wh ile the grooms and some of the childrenat weddings or holidays wear embroideredshirts ), the traditional dress of the Yurukstoday is shown only by the female popula-tion of all ages.They have a Turkish elementary school but onlyfirst through to fourth gread are taugh here .The female population who continue the ed-ucation after the fourth grade is very smalland this contributed for isolation of the fe-male population. The present language of the Yuruks is a con -served, archaic Turkish language, a specificTurkish dialect that has survived thanks tothe considerable isolation of this populationand the minimal external influences. The most significant traditional holidays with theYuruks, as with the other Muslim population, areSeker Bairam, Kurban Bairam and H’derlez.On the first day of Bairam the man go to amorning prayer at the mosque. Youngerwomen show their compliments for the hol-idays to their mothers or mothers in law byoffering them sweets. Sweets are also of-fered to the neighbors. According to the oldtradition, on Bairam or at the wedding theYuruks organize “ pelivan “ contests, stonethro wing “ tastimak “ contest and horse or

donkey races.The Yuruks commu-nity has preservedmany traditional cus-toms. The most inter-esting are thosereferring to marriageand the wedding cus-toms, and the cos-tumes related toAdak, practiced ondifferent occasions(for fulfilling a wishto have a baby boy ora baby girl, for thehealth of a child, etc).

The wedding customs are, certainly, the mostimpressive. The wedding invitation is madeseperate for the man – he is invited to dinnerby a representative, chosen by the host for asmall monetary contribution, and seperate tothe woman – she is invited to see the bride orto a “henna evening “– for a little girl by awoman who gets in return an eggs from eachinvited house and a symbolic compositionfrom the hostess. The bride is taken to the groom’s house 2 or 3days earlier, which is followed by a dinner fromthe closest relatives. This is happening mainlyon Wednesdays. The most important ritual –dying the bride’s hands and feet with hennawashing and the removing of the hand and feetwraps is performed at the village fountain.Then follow the ritual jumping over threeheaps of burning hay, performed by the brideand by the relatives of the groom. The firstdance – “ oro “ is started by the mother in lawwho burns the henna – stained clothes. The dance is still divided into men’s and wo -men’s. After the washing ritual, the weddingparty continues in the house of the groom.The wedding in this community still exist asan important collective event that contributesto maintaining social life and integrating thecommunity.The gold the bride receives remains in herpossession and in case of divorce she takes itwith her. The wedding procedure also in-cludes an agreement of giving money andgold breast coins, golden bracelets, rings andother jewelry for the bride.This is a kind of buying the bride and it isagreed in advance between the families, onlyin this case the bride’s father takes the money.One of the typical customs is the so calledThird Evening, and it refers to giving a nameto the newborn on its third evening. The traditional customs, the folkloric spe ci -fics and the language particularities managedto preserve the awareness of the Yuruk commu- nity of their ethnic and cultural particularity.

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“Does the rain falls equally to all? Do es the sun shines equally to everybody? Aren’t we all breathing the same air? Aren’t you ashamed to claim only three langu agesand to let all other peoples blind and deaf?”

The vast Slavic population throughout Europeand Asia, owes it’s alphabet and culture tothe work of the Thessaloniki brothers St.Cyril and Methodius, who invented the gla -go lic alphabet and spread the literacy andChristianity among the Pagan Slavs. All theSlavic speaking countries (Macedonia, Bul-garia, Serbia, Russia, Czech republic, Slova-kia) celebrates the day remembering the tre -mendous work of the saints. Saint Cyril’s re-mains are interred in a shrine-chapel withinthe Basilica di San Clemente in Rome, Italy.Each year, a high state delegation from Ma -ce donia visits the Vatican and the Pope onthis day. Macedonian Archibishop Stefanleads the liturgy devoted to the holy brothers.

The most educated Byzantines and supe-rior missionaries

In his early life Cyril (whose laicist name wasConstantin) had brilliant course of studies andhe was called Philosopher for his knowledge.His mastery in theology and the knowledgeof Arabic and Hebrew lead him to two mis-sions. Among the Arabs (Saracens) he discu -ssed the principle of Holy Trinity with Arabtheologians. In the Khazar Khaganate (nearSea of Azov) he penned fircely anti-Jewishpolemics traying to convince the ruler to ac-cept Christianity instead of Islam or Judaism.

The most important mission occured when theDuke of Moravia (present-day Chech Repub-lic) asked the Eastern Emperor Michael forpolitical independence from German rule andecclesiastical autonomy. Cyril and Method-ius undertook the missionary task. The Em-peror had no dillema to choosing Cyril andMe thodius saying « You two are from Thes-saloniki and all Thessalonians speak pureSlavic ».

Invention of the Glagolica

For the purpose of this mission, they devisedthe Glagolitic alphabet suited to match the

specific features of the Slavic language.Then they translated the Gospels, the psalter,Paul’s letters and the liturgical books intoSlavic, and composed a Slavic liturgy.

by Robert

Alagjozovski

24 May – SS. Cyril and Methodius day

The Enlighters of the Slavs

Their free use of the vernacular in preachingled to opposition from the German clergy.The bishop refused to consecrate Slavic bish-

ops and priests, and Cyril was forced to ap-peal to Rome. On the visit to Rome, he andMethodius had the joy of seeing their newliturgy approved by Pope Adrian II. Cyril,who had long been an invalid, died in Rome50 days after taking the monastic habit.

Methodius continued mission work for 16more years. He was papal legate for all theSlavic peoples, consecrated a bishop and thengiven an ancient see. When much of their for-mer territory was removed from their jurisdic-tion, the Bavarian bishops retaliated with aviolent storm of accusation against Methodius.

Opposition continued after his death, and thework of the brothers in Moravia was broughtto an end and their disciples scattered. Butthe expulsions had the beneficial effect ofspreading the spiritual, liturgical and culturalwork of the brothers to Bulgaria, Bohemiaand southern Poland.

The alphabet has been traditionally attributedto Cyril. That fact has been confirmed expli -citly by the papal letter Industriae tuae (880)approving the use of Old Church Slavic saysthat the alphabet was “invented by Constan-tine the Philosopher”.

The Cyrillic alphabet which we now use wasa sim plification of the Glagolitic alphabetwhich more closely resemblies the Greek al-phabet. It has been attributed to Saint Cle mentof Ohrid, a disciple of St. Cyril and Method-ius.

Patrons of Europe

Today both the Roman Catholic Church andEastern Orthodox Churches celebrate StsCyril and Methodius’ feast day. According toold chro nicles, the day of the holy brothersused to be celebrated ecclesiastically as early as11th Cen tury.

The holy brothers are venerated in the Ortho-dox Church as saints with the title of “Equalsto the Apostles”. In 1980, Pope John Paul IInamed them additional co-patrons of Europe(with Saint Benedict).

The Basilica of SS. Cyril and Methodius inDanville, Pennsylvania is the Motherhousechapel of the Sisters of SS. Cyril and Met ho -di us a Roman Catholic women’s religiouscommunity of pontifical rite dedicated to ap o s-tolic works of ecumenism, education, evan-gelization, and elder care.

St Cyril Peak and St. Methodius Peak onLivingston Island in Antarctica are named

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Macedonian cuisine

mmm......it was delicious

“Dobredojde’’ Macedonia Welcome Centreorganized a demonstration of recipes ofMacedonian cuisine. Together with the Chef of the restaurant“DmD” we prepared- Macedonian pindjur- Cheese stuffed Green pepper -Fried zucchini-Pickled cabbage stuffed with rice andmeat- Sarma-Macedonian baked beans - Gravce tavceAfter that we had the opportunity to enjoythe food,we had prepared a variety ofMacedonian beverages.

Activities of Macedonia Welcome Centre

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Zani graduated from the Faculty of FineArt Skopje, Macedonia in 1989. She par-ticipated in numerous exhibitions in her na-tive Macedonia, involving herself in va ri-ous art related projects. Her work has re -ached over 15 countries worldwide and isin many private and public collections.

In 1999 Zani was invited to exhibit at theprestigious Blains Fine Art Gallery in May-fair, London and soon after that she relo-cated to England, where she is nowope rating as a full time freelance artist.

Zani is always experimenting and her pa in -tings are a unique blend achieved by com-bining acrylic and mixed media and a rangeof unusual materials. These materials havebecome a distinguishing feature of Zani’swork and in many cases the materials dic-

tate the form, as well as give the paintingstheir distinctive quality.

Zani’s paintings have a powerful strengthand refreshing spontaneity with rich varia-tions of colour and tone. Most of her inspi-ration is drawn from ordinary people andeveryday experiences and events. The workis often based on the relationship betweenpublic and private space, memories of thepast and visions of the future.

Zani is fast becoming a sought after talentin the world of contemporary art and exhi -bits her work during the year in a numberof galleries in London and throughout theUK. However, a permanent exhibition ofher work is on display, and can be viewed,in the Macedonian Embassy in London.

www.zani.name

Zaneta Veljanoska – ZaniCulture

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Nikola Madzirov (poet, essayist, translator)was born 1973 in Strumica, Macedonia, ina family of Balkan Wars refugees. His po-etry has been translated into more than twe n -ty languages and published in collectionsand anthologies both in Macedonia andabroad On Nikola Madzirov’s poetry

“We are the remnants of another age”—writes Nikola Madzirov in one of his poems.These poems are like Expressionist paint-ings: filled with thick, energetic streaks thatseem to emerge from the imagination andto return to it right away, like night animalscaught in the headlights of a car. “We arethe remnants of another age”—NikolaMadzirov succeeds in convincing us. Adam Zagajewski (Poland)

Nikola Madzirov writes some of the finestpoetry to come out of Eastern Europe - verymuch his own person but a powerful contin-uer of the line back to Vasko Popa, Milosz,Herbert... Surreal, human and humane, tak-ing in the darkness and always fresh, new.Peter Boyle (Australia)

Nikola Madzirov’s poems seem to springfrom elsewhere in time, reflective of a pre -ternaturally wise and attentive sensibility.As we read these poems, they begin to in-habit us, and we are the better for havingopened ourselves to them. Madzirov is arare soul and a true poet.Carolyn Forché (USA)

While we know that we’re in this world on lyfor a short time, some people act as if theworld belonged to them. Even writers arenot free of such arrogance. Yet Nikola Ma -dz irov chooses to approach reality with gr -eat humility. He almost makes himself in v-isible in order to let his poems glow. He kno wsall the desires of his generation and with-

draws himself: “Ancient is the wish for atouch on the forehead / when no one’s looking.”Michael Krüger (Germany)

There are times (now) when we long forexactly this kind of purity. Poetry doesn’tde velop, it starts over and over again. Whythis sounds fragile, gentle and fresh is be-yond our understanding.

Nikola Madzirov

BEFORE WE WERE BORN

The streets were asphaltedbefore we were born and allthe constellations were already formed.The leaves were rottingon the edge of the pavement,the silver was tarnishingon the workers’ skin,someone’s bones were growing throughthe length of the sleep.Europe was unitingbefore we were born anda woman hair was spreadingcalmly over the surfaceof the sea.

SHADOWS PASS US BY

We’ll meet one day,like a paper boat anda watermelon that’s been cooling in the river.The anxiety of the world willbe with us. Our palmswill eclipse the sun and we’llapproach each other holding lanterns.

One day, the wind won’tchange direction.The birch will send away leavesinto our shoes on the doorstep.The wolves will come afterour innocence.The butterflies will leavetheir dust on our cheeks.

An old woman will tell storiesabout us in the waiting room every morning.Even what I’m saying hasbeen said already: we’re waiting for the windlike two flags on a border.

One day every shadowwill pass us by.

Translated by Peggy and Graham W. Reid,

Magdalena Horvat and Adam Reed

Culture

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In the five years existence of the First PrivateGeneral Hospital “Re-Medika”, every posi-tive and valid therapeutic procedure in oto-laryngology was applied. In the last year thehospital is updated with two lasers (Carbonand Diode Laser) along with the completeadditional equipment (apparatus and instru-ments) and the most contemporary the ra pe -utic pricipes and procedures in Oto laryngo-logy pathology where applied.

We use CO2 or Carbon Laser and Diode La -ser that are arranged in the 3D Laser groupby the General Laser Classification.

The most used lasers in Otolaryngology areCO2 Laser and Diode Laser. The main char-acteristics of a CO2 Laser are its wave lengthof 10600 nm, positioned in the infrared part

of the spectrum, soand its power adju sta -ble step by step from 1– 50 V. The laser rayof the CO2 Laser ishigh coherent and thelevel of divergence isminor. The energytran sport is with agreat intensity. Theusage of CO2 Laserfor the settled medicalprocedures needs addi-

tional devices where the same laser is placedand thru the same ones the laser ray is apply-ing in the tissue. The Micro-handler is a sys-tem with mirrors or lenses thru the laser rayis applying in the tissue that should be trea ted.The whole procedure is managing thru a mi-croscope where the handler is affixed. A laserof the first class in red color is applying as apilot light.

The Diode Laser has a wave length of 940nm and maximal power of around 60 V. Al -so, a laser of the first class in red color is ap-plying as a pilot light. The laser ray is tran -sferring thru a system of optic fibers calledlight-pilot. As side devices, in case of the ty -pe of application, the applicators with appro-priate forms and assignment are using. Thelaser ray resulted of the light-pilot is high di-vergence on the short reaches. The applica-tion of the laser ray for the settled medicalpro cedures is on the contacting way, but insome cases the application is free of contact.

The Carbon Laser has a wide diapason ofusage in surgical treatments of benign tumo -rs, nodules, polyps, dysplasia in laryngeal re-gion of muzzle, where the surgical treatmentis doing with a minimal invasive and fast re-covery without pain and minimal bleeding risk.

In the wide diapason of dysplastic mutationsin larynx, the usage of laser ray is not just acorrector of morphology and disordered ana -tomy, but also it is a therapeutic instrument(cure) that is applying by the vaporizationprin ciple (papillomas, leukoplakias, variousdysplasia systems, laryngeal pre-cancers).The therapeutic principles used by the goodtrained professionals becomes a dominatepriority treatment in malign disorders of vo -cal cords combined with a creativity in func-tional surgical corrections of larynx.

The Diode Laser presents a dominate instru-ment and tool in a surgical treatment of nosedisorders, par-nasal sinuses, mouth and lar-ynx. Tonsillectomy in all age groups is themost frequency surgical intervention withDiode Laser application.

A parallel study is done with classic tonsil-lectomy and classic hemostats principles ofthe same one, so and a group of tonsillec-tomed patients with Diode Laser application.

The same study showed a preferment of Di -ode Laser application. At the same surgicaltreatment the surgical bleeding is reducedsig nificantly, so and achievement the bettervisibility in surgical area. The principle ofcontinued catheterization enables lesser tra -uma in peritonsillar tissue and along with anachieved superficial hemostasis, the laser re-duces the pain significantly as a phenomenonof postsurgical phase in tonsillectomed pa-tients. In the postsurgical phase, due to a bio-logical effect of the laser with making ofsur face protein coagulation in the tonsil area,the level of appearance of fibrin sediments isreduced. That mean that the process of epit -he lialisation is faster and the complete recov-ery is achieving in shorter time according tothe classic conservative treatment.

The all abovementioned achievements resultswith lower step of pain, bigger comfort in thepostsurgical phase, lower risk of postsurgicalbleeding and dimidiated the hospital stay.

The Most Contemporary Procedures Application (Laser Treatment) in Otolaringologyat the General Surgical Hospital “Re-Medika”