Tetovo, Macedonia

By -


I am in Macedonia for the first time, again through a Youth in Action programme. Thank you EU for giving me this amazing opportunity!

 
 
 


The project was held in Tetovo, a city situated at one hour away from Skopje. With the remains of the war between the Macedonians and Albanians (2001) still present, the city is currently experiencing big changes. Everywhere there are new buildings being built. Most of the buildings are in a brick  state (with no façade), which means that they are not yet finished, so the owner does not need to pay taxes.  Well, you can see many houses finished inside and not finished on the outside.







 
In Tetovo life is easy. Travelling by taxi anywhere in the town costs no more than 2 or 3 euros.  A meal out costs 5 euros, a Vodka drink 2 euros.  A hair dresser (including washing, cutting, and blow dry) costs 6 euros.  A normal salary is between 150 -200 euros. And this is sad. With this money, people can live from one day to another, but can never afford to buy a house, or to travel abroad.
 




 
In Tetovo, the taxi driver can have a lunch  break on the grass and play guitar and drink bear with you, hehe:)  I herd that this is normal in Balkans :)
 

 

Here exists the only LGBT Centre in Macedonia.  The organization is hiding, moving from one place to another, as sexual minorities in Macedonia are hated and frightened.  We took some pictures with the LGBT flag in the central square of Tetovo though J

 

LGBT or not, the population of Tetovo is formed of Macedonians and Albanians (the latter has an increased number day by day).  After the Battle of Tetovo in 2001, Albanians bought properties here and only live or visit during holidays.  On the other side, Macedonians have houses in Tetovo and in the mountains – keeping the latter as refuge in case of conflicts (some still have armaments), or as holiday homes.



 


In Tetovo everything is possible.  People can check everything, any time. The organizer of the Youth in Action project checked the day I would arrive in the country,
when this information should be private and available only for me and the Police authorities. Somebody from the Airport or the Police gave him this private information! How is this possible?

But if you come to Tetovo, checked or not, go and visit the mountains around and the villages. You will find beautiful places, honest people and nice life stories.




 

 

Kiss and hugs for you J

 














 
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hakkari, Turkey

By -
Image
      If I would not get the opportunity to see Hakkari through an Youth in Action project, I probably would have never visit ed this blessed town, settled in the middle of the mountains. Hakkari is a place situated in the South East corner of Turkey, close to the border with Iraq and Iran.   It is composed of a Kurdish and Assyrian population and has approximately 57,844 people.     The history of this place takes your breath away. It was a refuge for the persecuted Christian Assyrians who ran away   in   the mountains to protect themselves against the Timurlane occupation (Turko-Mongolian   emir) in the 14 th century. Then in the 19 th century, they   were conquered by the Kurdish people and were turned into slaves or executed. There were also many conflicts between the Kurdish population an d the O t toman (later, Turkish) control. Hakkari was considered and it is still seen as an unsafe place to live.   Still, there is no r
Read more

Bitola. It's all about history here

By -
Image
Thanks to Youth in Action programme again, I came across an old, historical, Macedonian city called Bitola. Situated in the S-W part of Macedonia, Bitola settles at the foot of Baba Mountain and it is crossed by the Dragon River.   The place represents an important junction between the Adriatic Sea, the Aegean Sea and Central Europe. You would never guess, but this city has an impressive history.     It was founded as Heraclea Lyncestis (City of Hercules upon the Land of the Lynx) in the middle of the 4th century BC by Philip II of Macedon and it was an important settlement from the Hellenistic period until the early Middle Ages. Then, the Romans conquered this part of Macedon in 148 BC and destroyed the political power of the city. Still, the city remained prosperous because of the Via Egnatia Roman road which passed by the city. In the early Byzantine period (4th to 6th centuries AD) Heraclea was an important episcopal centre and bishops like Bishop Eva
Read more

The MARRIAGE in Saudi Arabia

By -
Image
Strange or not, the marriage in Saudi Arabia is a beautiful story. I know that “someone” in there regrets that it told me this, but now I know it and   I will tell it to everyone, hehehehe J Definitely, when it is about marriage, the men needs to decide he wants to marry. And from that time he starts to look forward to pick up a girl. Well, most of the women in Saudi keep their face hidden from age of 12-14 th ..and for the poor Saudi young men will be so difficult to choose someone. The easier way is to go for a girl from the family (a cousin for example). Yes, it is true, you can marry with your cousin!:)   Eh, when you have decided that she is the one, you need to go and “negociate” with the girl’s family. And you need to pay at least 40 000 Riyals (this is the limit, but some people paid more than 100 000 Riyals) for the bride’s family. With this money, the family will take care of the wedding and other stuffs. After this, the future groom will offer to the future br
Read more