Crusader Mentality Reflected in Sculptures in Skopje

One of my favorite places is Skopje, the city center of the Ottoman province of Kosovo. She is the second heirloom after my homeland Turkey. The Republic of Macedonia is one of the five republics of Tito Yugoslavia, meaning the South Slavic Union that institutionalizes discriminations. Remember those days, with the death of Tito, after the civil war that broke out, Yugoslavia, which was standing by Tito's strong personality and artificial ties, collapsed into pieces. Macedonia, which gained its independence in 1991 after the dissolution of Yugoslavia, is a country with only 30 years of history. Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Greece in the international arena, which was constantly causing problems in this country's entry into NATO and the EU, the official name of the state could not escape from being the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYMR). Fortunately, an agreement was finally reached and this beautiful country, called North Macedonia, was able to become a NATO member. Both the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, who have been accustomed to spending their holidays on the coast of Thessaloniki, the capital of Historical Macedonia, for centuries, and their biometric passports are not recognized by Greece. Interestingly, entry/exit to Greece is done through Passavan Papers. On top of that, no matter what you call it, even English placards “This sign is not recognized by Greece” are affixed to the vehicle windows in order to show the whole Europe that “MK” is not recognized on the plates symbolizing Macedonia. This is a paradoxical intention, activating a mechanism that is set in motion to avoid the object that you fear and hate that has settled in your subconscious. Basically, any escape from such alarming situations damages your coping habits, I don't know if the Greeks were aware of that?

However, the reason for this is clearly evident in the historical process. It is the Greek politicians who hope to help Macedonia maintain its fragmented country position after the Balkan War.

It should be stated again that after the Ottoman First Balkan War, which opened a telegraph office in 1849, established a train connection with Thessaloniki in 1873, built the first theater under the name of Şevket Pasha in 1906, and screened the first film in 1907, in 1912. It withdrew from Skopje, therefore from Vardar Macedonia. However, Macedonia was conquered by Pasha Yiğit Bey during the reign of Yıldırım Bayezid in 1389, and it ruled in this geography for almost 550 years, the Ottoman Empire. Macedonia, whose name we are talking about today, is Vardar Macedonia, which was occupied by the Serbs after the Balkan War. Aegean Macedonia belongs to Greece; Vidin Macedonia is still under the occupation of Bulgaria. When we lost the whole Balkans, the Macedonian Province consisted of three provinces, which were called Vilayet-i Selase at that time, namely "Thessaloniki, Manastır and Kosovo". And let's say for the curious, the situation was the same in Ancient Macedonia, the center of the state was Thessaloniki, which means "state" in the USA. The common history of Greece and Macedonia is that both of them are fed from ancient history. It is a well-known fact that ancient history holds the Greeks together for the Turkish people who know Greece closely and make the Greek islands their next door neighbor thanks to the "cruise tourism" that has increased recently. The Greeks and the Hellenic culture, the Acropolis are combined, but the current Greek nation and the Hellenic culture have nothing to do with it.

This is why Macedonian politicians, who set out with the awareness of ancient history and lack the infrastructure related to ancient history, have invested 200 million Euros in the sculpture fetishism business in the capital Skopje. For a country where the average wage is 200-300 Euros and trying to survive with loans from the IMF, 200 million Euros is quite a lot of money. Skopje Square and the banks of the Vardar River were filled with gigantic sculptures, newly built bridges, building fronts, roofs, whatever you can think of, were tried to be adorned with sculptures. Skopje city center adorned with dozens of statues and the bridges over Vardar were not enough for this fetishism, new bridges are being built over Vardar in order to fill it with more statues. With the three Viking ships built for restaurant and cafe purposes, the top of the Vardar is almost invisible.

In particular, the Macedonian King Alexander the Great, his father Philip II, the Macedonian-born ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, Tsar Samuil, and the statues of Cyril and Methodius brothers, who invented the Cyrillic alphabet, filled the square of Skopje as prominent ancient history figures. However, in order not to frighten Greece, the statue of Alexander the Great, which was 22 meters high, cannot be called by that name. Even in prestige books published on colored and glossy papers promoting Macedonia, the name of Alexander the Great; however, he was able to find hardly a place for himself as the "Horse Warrior".

From the end of XIX. century to the beginning of XX. century, the statues of terrorist saboteurs, mostly of Bulgarian origin, who rebelled against the Ottoman Empire, have also taken their place in the sculpture frenzy as parameters of othering. In addition, the statue of the Albanian leader Skender Bey (Gjergi Kastrioti), who converted from Islam to Catholicism and fought against the Ottoman Empire for 25 years, built at the entrance of the Turkish Bazaar in Skopje, as I witnessed closely, many Muslims who have a business in the bazaar. It disturbs Turks and Albanians. Skender Bey, a former Ottoman Pasha, II. He fought for the independence of Albania for 25 years during the reign of Murad and Fatih Sultan Mehmet, Pope III. Skanderbeg, who was given the title of "General Commander of the Sacred Place" by Kaliks (Alphonso Bourgia) for defeating the Ottoman raiders, II. He fell ill during the Albanian expedition and died in 1468. I ask you, what is the erection of this statue at the entrance of the Turkish Bazaar, if not the strife between two peoples living together here?

It is also known that the decision of the Macedonian government to erect statues of "Alexander the Great" in the central square of Skopje, "Nikola Karev" in front of the Parliament building, "Gotze Delchev" and "Pitu Guli" on the Taşköprü caused tension between the government and the opposition. In addition to this, a cross fetishism has become as widespread as possible against the mosques, the symbols of the Ottoman domination in Macedonia. The gigantic illuminated 'cross' erected on Vodna, the highest peak of Skopje, and the illuminated giant crosses erected in the Christian and resident places of Skopje symbolize the Islam-Mosque opposition in one place. A giant cross has been stubbornly built in front of four 40-storey skyscrapers, which are candidate to become a new Turkish settlement, which a Turkish company established with great efforts. The cross of the Turgutlu Mosque in Ohrid was even placed on the dome instead of the broken crescent. That's why people call this mosque "Kırst(cross) Mosque" nowadays.

Of course, how can the Macedonian politician explain all this to the Muslim voters whose population is approaching 35 percent? It is difficult. When we look at the subject without going deep, it is seen that all the parameters of othering have started to settle, and the Muslim and Christian quarters have started to separate from each other with definite lines on both sides of the Vardar River. Do not be curious, dear readers, politicians are more or less the same all over the world. Just like the "Canal Istanbul Project", the Macedonian people are told that Skopje will compete with Paris in tourism thanks to the sculptures. Our projects are mostly based on rent. They don't have "Rant" either, but let's inform you in advance that their breasts will also swell. The statues of the Komitas who rebelled against the Ottoman Empire would also attract the tourists… Make the statues of the seven terrorists who rebelled against the Ottoman Empire, and give them a detonating machine, and then give terrorist speeches. It is as if the tourist will leave aside all the mosques, complexes, madrasahs, bridges and castles, all of which are monuments of art and history from the Ottoman Empire, without reading anything, and will come to Skopje for the 2012 model statue of Alexander the Great's father. That's the logic. What should the conscious European tourist who comes to do, the Macedonian-born ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire, Tsar Samuil, the statues of Cyril and Methodius brothers from Thessaloniki, who found the Cyrillic alphabet for what's wrong.

The fetishism of amateurish and completely nationalist and fundamentalist Christian sculptures and crosses, erected in almost every city, university and educational institution of Macedonia, prevails in the country. Don't say you heard or not, you are building a nation with statues and crosses. A statue of a wedged Bulgarian bandit has even been erected in front of the Court House. Instead of the statue of a woman with her eyes covered, which symbolizes justice, it is a statue of a Bulgarian bandit swinging his dagger, hastily erected against the Albanian and Turkish Muslims inhabited place, where the historical mosques and the bazaar are located. Resist the statues of Ottoman Thinkers with their hands outstretched across the street. Why did I tell you all this, dear readers, is it necessary to ask now? Where are the symbols of the great trilogy of Fraternity, Equality and Freedom of the French Revolution. Where are the symbols of inter-communal peace?

O Macedonian politicians, you are building multicultural discrimination instead of innocent nationalism, social separation instead of integration in a multinational country, hatred and hatred instead of love and peace.