After three years of planning, studying and dreaming about the journey, finally the beginning of a dream, became a reality. On July 25, 1995, Michael Keathley and myself landed at the airport of a former capital city of Pakistan, Rawalpindi. A light drizzle was falling down; it was about 9:00AM. Little did we know that this was the Monsoon season for that part of the world. We felt everything was under control.
We had a prepaid ticket from Pindi to Gilgit, which is a 700 kilometre flight. We took a taxi to the Pakistani Airline office. There we found out to our surprise, all flights to Gilgit or the Chitral Valley were cancelled. We asked if we could board the next day and they replied that we were to be at their office at 11:00 AM in the morning and we will see, weather permitting. Disappointed, we asked the driver to take us to a hotel. As we arrived at the hotel, we noticed that there were no women in the lobby or anywhere on the street. We do recall that on the airplane the women who boarded from Manchester, England, were dressed casually, and as we approached our landing, they all went to the washrooms, dressed in the Muslim dress, loaded with jewellery from head to toe. The men wore very loose baggy pants and a shirt or cover from shoulder to below the knees.
We had our first different cultural encounter with the hotel manager. We asked if he had a room for two; oh yes he replied, it would be thirty dollars American, but Why don't you have some breakfast first and we will get the room ready in the meantime. After we I had our breakfast, the manager said the room which he thought he had available, wasn't, but he had a better room for $38 American. Fine, we said and we accepted it.
After we rested, we decided to go out and look around. The streets were very busy, traffic moving in all directions cars, horse drawn buggies, bicycles-and on foot, constant congestion, but nobody gets, into an accident, also it seems that nobody moves out of the way for anyone. Small Suzuki cars everywhere, but no beggars, keep in mind this is about the centre of Pakistan. If you went south, where the population is enormous, there, I was told, you would find beggars and thieves. The men were very polite, all were dressed the same, and I mean exactly the same. Only men, everywhere, young and old, but no women.
The living standards are very poor, but they are all the same, so this way no one feels short changed. We were glad we took all the vaccinations back home. I believe that is the only thing that would save us. Things are not very clean, also no government assistance of any kind and only up to grade 3 free schooling. No alcohol of any kind, it is pure and simply illegal, or any other drugs. But the one and only drug is cigarettes and they are being exploited with advertising.
The next day, we knew the airport was closed again, so we hired a private taxi to take us to Gilgit. About 300 km up the highway, the traffic stopped still. We went to look and to our sad surprise the mountain had slid and the road was cut off, with big boulders and mud. We asked the Army men when the road would be cleared and they told us not for at least 2 days. So I took out my movie camera and started acting like a tourist. The scenery was spectacular, simply beautiful. Sky high mountains with a rushing river at the bottom of the gourge. People everywhere, some decided to walk past the slide and continue on to their destination. We decided to turn back because we didn’t know any better.
Back we turned, we were furious, mad, very mad. We thought we were doomed, back to Pindi, again no flights, no roads. The next day, this is now two days later, we had breakfast and headed to a Pakistani government office. There we told them our story and the purpose of our trip. The man was very nice, he told us to forget flying, because even if the sky cleared for a short time, government officials would be the first to board and because no flights took off for a week there was a back log of people. Take a 4x4, which is a jeep or stay here for the duration of your holiday. Thanks to Visa, plus 20% for the use of it, because we did not have an American Express, and they did not take any other cards or travellers cheque. We charted a different course, instead of going first to Hunza Valley, we would go west to Chitral Valley and meet the Kalashi people. This was the perfect destination, because I read a lot about the Kalashi people.
First point of interest on the road to Chitral Valley was pointed out to us by the driver, the road built by Alexander the Great and his army. This road was from Kabul, Afghanistan to Calcutta, India. We stopped to take photos and I walked on the same footsteps of Alexander. I felt very touched, 2300 years later, the first Macedonians, Steve Pliakes and Michael Keathly felt part of Alexander. You have to be there to feel the emotions.
As we went on our journey, the driver again pointed one of the narrow passes that Alexander went on. This pass was called the Malakand Pass, and not so far was Kyber Pass. These are mountain tracks, some places they are paved, but most are no more than 4 feet wide. But the road Alexander the Greats army built was solid. I believe the Macedonians were the first road builders and what other way can an army travel. Most of this road was scavanged and only parts remain intact.
The people in these parts of the country are very hard working. They take the mountain and slowly turn it into beautiful terraced and lush fields. Also the aquaduct methods that they use are out of this world. Every village and every household have water right to their homes. All by engineering methods of redirecting the river and making these aquaducts.
As we took a closer look at these people, they have blue eyes, a fair complexion. They are totally different from the Muslim Pakistanis, in fact they do not want to be called Pakistani, because they are not, they stated this to us. Michael and I even joked as to which one of these men were our brothers. As the day came close to the end, we decided to spend the night at a town called Dir. To our amazement, again more of our brothers and sisters were visible. We walked the main street of Dir. There we saw the small shops where people were selling anything they could sell. At the restaurant, we had mountain tea, thin bread called Chipati, a flat, round in the middle loaf of bread. In the east they call it Pita bread. They also served us yogurt or I call it sour cream, and a delicious plate of cucumbers, yogurt and garlic.
The next morning, off we go to Chitral, a Town and the valley called Chitral. It was about 100 km to Chitral, a very remote area, no road as we would call it. River flowing, rocks falling and rivers crossing and blocking the road. Now I understand how these people remained in isolation. We drove to a height of 10,500 feet. It was cold and windy and you couldn’t stand at the edge of the road for fear of being blown over.
People live and make a living from the mountains. We stopped for tea where a family lived and worked. We also bought goat cheese for the long drive. The speed we travelled was not more than 10-20 km/h.
We reached Chitral Valley. It is beautiful. The river flowing through the middle of the valley. The people have very fair complexions, with blue eyes; mind you there were darker people among the lighter skinned or Kalashe as they call themselves. Sadly, creeping civilization is not always good for some people and some areas in the world. But they must accept change, and as change comes, we lose the innocence and the old traditions. As far as Michael and myself are concerned, we came here in the nick of time. The first Macedonians and hopefully not the last.
Daily, I was writing my findings, as we witnessed everything. Early the next morning to be precise July 29, 1995, we are leaving Chitral for another valley called Kalash Valley. It took 2 ½ hours, over the most treacherous road you could imagine. Again, these are not roads, goat trails. If it were not for the jeep, we would never have reached anywhere. Stones were all over the road, falling everywhere, it was very scary. At one time, our driver, a Muslim asked if he could stop the jeep to pray. We agreed and even asked him to pray for all of us. As we approached Kalash valley, we were stopped by an official and he asked us to record the purpose of our trip, the passport number and the length of our stay. Naturally we had to pay him. They told us this is frontier territory and the locals do not like Pakistanis, so we obeyed as instructed.
As we entered the Kalash valley, we could see the beauty before us. The lush scenery, the rivers flowing and merging, the fruit trees, mainly apricots, plums, mulberries and grapes. The vegetation, small plots of land terraced into the mountain, with fresh vegetables growing everywhere. They grow two crops a year on the same plots, thus enabling them to survive because of land shortage. To make a plot of land, first they have to remove all rocks from the lot, then they built a stone wall horizontally so there won’t be any land erosion, then a slow process of planting first grass so that top soil could be retained. All this time an aquaduct has to be built to irrigate the soil and then ahouse will be built to accommodate the rest of the family.
We were met by a young man called Dawoo, who spoke English. He took us to the cemetary and showed us their method of burying people. He said as far back as approximately fifty years go, they were laying the coffin on the ground. This was a custom which came from Afghanistan, but recently they bury their dead under ground. He showed us a place where they gather during their festivities. An open concept with a roof. This is for the summer. There they dance and romance. There were many carvings on wooden posts or pillars. We saw the Macedonian flower, Zdravets on these carvings although the flower does not grow anywhere in Kalash valley or Hunza valley.
We went to the place of worship. An enclosed room, again decorated with carvings on walls and posts, more of the same and also shapes of the sunburst, Alexander’s flag. We asked what religion they worshipped and they said they believe in God, and if you are good in this life, you go up to a beautiful place, and if you are bad, you go down to bad places and suffer forever. They are not Pakistanis and they do not even like the Pakistanis. In their place of worship, I did see the sign of crosses, here they don’t pray, they sing and dance. As we concluded our walk, we finally stopped to rest and have some food. Talking and eating, we learned they were told by their elders and foreigners about Alexander the Great. Also they were told of their blue eyes and fair complexion and that they are descendants of Alexander the Great. All the countries that Alexander conquered, there were Macedonians living there. I asked them if they knew where Alexander was buried and they said maybe Bagdad.
Ever week they have dances at different villages. Kalash Valley has three villages. That same evening, we were asked if we wanted to go to their village dance. Of course we agreed and by 9:00PM we arrived on an open court yard where the dance was being performed. Only single girls dance, from the ages of about 8 to 15 or 16. They all dance the same as all Macedonians, counter clockwise, with a leader and a tall end person. All shoulder to shoulder with their hands stretched. Young girls in the centre of the oro and according to groups and the oldest girls on the outside. Men only observe. I should mention, no cover charge and no other business was conducted, very innocent. All the girls were dressed with their best costumes. Lovely embroidery and head pieces. The band consisted of two drummers, one small and one larger. The drummers sang and tapped their drums. The girls sang and danced. Men dance in the day time, I was told. The dance lasted until about 12:00 or 1:00AM and off to work the next morning.
The next morning we went back to their temple, although that is not what they call it. We took a few more pictures and then off to another valley and more people to see. But we had to use the same road, it was awful. This is when it dawned on me of the movie “Lost Horizons” Shangrila. In the movie it was snow storms and blizzards, with us it was rocks and floods.
On to Hunza, following a mountain range called Hindukush. We came to an old fort about 300 to 400 years old called Massooch. Here we met the owner of the property, who was a Prince before Pakistan took their title and made them commoners. We discussed religion and most of all, Alexander the Great. He told us that every young man, when he grows up wants to be as wise and strong as Alexander. They even study it in school and he told us that he felt he was a descendent of Alexander of Macedonia, who conquered Athens, Egypt, Persia, Afghanistan and down to day Pakistan and India, after about four cups of mountain tea, we returned to our tent for the night. The next morning, I found the dogs had chewed up one of my shoes. Breakfast was scrambled eggs and tea. On the road again. What road, 10 km/h was the fastest speed for another day.
We are following the hindukush mountain range with the Gilgit River running in the middle between both sides of the mountains. First stop was at a hotel on the road to Gilgit. The hotel consisted of three tents, one for the staff and two for customers. Bathroom facilities on the river. For lunch we had two little fish the size of smelt flat bread, corn soup and tea. As we drove for a few hours, we stopped by the river to wash our faces. Well, the water was so cold that if you were in it for 10 minutes you would be dead. Off we go chugging along 10 to 20 km/h more or less, until the next stop. Along the way, we found young boys fishing. We bought fish as we went on until we had about 10 of them. We finally found a place to stay, a cabin with no hydro of course. The driver cooked the fish we bought. We also bought some cucumbers and tomatoes, and we had the best drink ever, mountain tea. As I am writing this report three young boys are watching us and wondering what we are doing here in their land, but we must drive on after a nights sleep. I guess all good things in life you have to pay dearly, both physically and financially in order to see or feel.
On the road again. Now the Hindukush mountains become the Karakoram mountains. Spectacular view as usual and the road is called the Karakoram highway, built by China and Pakistan. Finally we reach Gilgit and rested at the Chinar Inn. We finally ordered a can of beer each, cool and delicious. After we drank it, we found out that it was non alcoholic which suited us just fine. We forgot that alcohol is illegal in Pakistan. I admire the Muslim religion, no alcohol. The next morning we are headed towards a town called Karimabad. As you know Gilgit is in Hunza valley. Along the way we stopped to buy apricots, mulberries and grapes, mangos and vegetables. We found a good stream and there we stopped for a picnic. At Karimabad, there was no room so we drove 2 km and came to a village called Altit. We found room here at a hotel called Kissar Inn. A real dream place, a beautiful grape covered shelter throughout the whole courtyard. In front, the mountain Rakaposhi, show capped. We even witnessed an avalanche. A beautiful sight all around us. We decided to have a shower, a very cold shower naturally. That same day we visited a fort called Fort Altit. As we entered the fort, we saw carvings of the flower Zdravets and the Sunburst. After the fort, we went shopping for souveniers and I mean real antiques, carvings and whatever you wished.
The following morning we went to visit the Mir of Hunza. We had a 9:30 AM appointment. A real gentleman, but also a rich one. We told him we are Macedonian and he said he was a descendent of Alexander the Great. We had about a two hour meeting. We covered a lot including the Muslims in Macedonia. He didn’t know there were Muslims in Europe. I gave him presents that I brought along. I should say that I gave presents everywhere I met people of interest to me. He loved the Macedonian Flag. He said that he would make every effort to adopt it as the flag of Hunza. He asked what Macedonia exported because he was very interested in us. I told him we export tobacco, shoes, clothes, jam and wines. He wants closer ties with us and the Republic. In the mean time he wants us to send him anything he could display at all of his hotels. As we departed he told us to stay at his brother’s Inn along the way because it had a museum. What a store, again we saw ancient souveniers, the Zdravets, the flag and real artistic works of art. The museum person told us that a particular stone was from the time of Alexander. I held it in my hand, I was very excited.
The next day we parted for China. We are on the Karakoram mountain range and Karakoram highway and the Gilgit river becomes the Hunza river. What a road, they call it the highway to Heavan, very scenic and very dangerous, rock slides and mud slides. Finally we reached China. The elevation was 17,000 feet above sea level. You could not run around here. I tried and got dizzy, then I realized the air is very thin. We met some Chinese tourists and naturally we told them we were Macedonians from the land of Alexander the Great. By now we weren’t surprised to hear that everybody knew of Alexander of Macedonia. As we left for Gilgit, we stopped along a beautiful river, a true turquoise colour, then we bought some fish and the young man cooked them for us, and made us tea. I believe we got hosed at the next town, which is normal, small amounts to us, but large for them.
The next day the driver took us and showed us his home. Five miles on the mountain, a one room house, dirt floor, chickens living under the bed, the stable was the next room. He had one bull, one water buffalo and two baby ones. He had three girls and two boys. His wife and mother cooked dinner for us, fried meat, okra, yogurt and tea. Inat, the driver, wanted us to sleep at his home that night, but there was no room. He was going to sleep in the stable if we stayed. So we decided to got to the nearest town called Balakose. There we booked at the hotel, had a shower and did our last clothing wash in a pail. The next day will be our last in Pakistan.
We went to a town called Taxila with plenty of history. A monestary with immense Macedonian information, a tremendous find for us. Everywhere we looked, we found history of Alexander. At the souvenir shop we gave the owner the Macedonian flag. At first he didn’t believe, but when he opened a book of all the countries of the world, sure enough there was Macedonia with its flag.
I urge all Macedonians wherever you may be, do not wait for someone else to write your history. Go out and tell the world the truth, see for yourselves, what is out there waiting for you. We must change the course that others took to falsify our history. We are as old as the Egyptians. We did have an Empire, which lasted 500 years. Alexander’s adventure took him about 7,000 miles, to promote culture. We travelled about 200 miles following in his foot steps. Imagine what is out there for us to find, more and more of our roots.
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Sunday, March 4, 2007
The Cultural History of Macedonia
Literature.
The texts of the Thessaloniki brothers Cyril and Methodius, written in the new alphabet, mark the beginning of Macedonian literature since the language they were written in was the language spoken by the Macedonian Slavs of Thessaloniki. For that reason, the beginning of literary activity among the Slavic peoples is closely linked to the beginning of Macedonian literature.
Clement, Naum and Constantine of Bregalnitsa, the disciples of the holy Brothers, carried on this literary work. Besides his religious and educational work, Clement of Ohrid translated works from Greek. Of even greater significance was his own composition of original poems and sermons, making him the first Slavic-and first Macedonian-poet and sermon-writer. Clement was, in fact, the author of a large body of sermons, prayers, hymns and other psalmodic songs in honor of Jesus Christ, the Holy Virgin, John the Baptist and other Christian figures. Many of Clement's literary works permeated the oldest period of Slavonic literature, translated mainly from Byzantine Greek. His works are simple, immediate and intelligible (his "Song of Praise to Our Blessed Father and Slavic Teacher Cyril the Philosopher" is wonderful). Because of their clarity and beauty, they soon came to hold a worthy place in almost all bodies of Slavonic literature. It is certain that the educational work of Clement of Ohrid was carried on by Naum of Ohrid, but Naum's two scant biographies and numerous folk traditions do not provide sufficient information on whether or not he carried on Clement's tradition as an author and poet.
The oldest Slavonic texts proving the literacy of medieval Macedonia are the Assemani Gospel, the Zograf Gospel, the Codex Marianus, the Sinai Psalter and the Sinai Euchologion, all dating from the 12th century. It has been ascertained that they were either written on Macedonian soil or contain characteristic traces of medieval Macedonian originals. All were written in Glagolitic script, proof of the continued use of this alphabet in Macedonia.
Constantine the Presbyter, known in literature and in church history also as Episcope Constantine of Bregalnitsa, was one of the younger disciples of Cyril and Methodius. Constantine was the author of the collected Teaching Gospels, 51 sermons including 42 original works. He is also most likely the author of the Introduction to the Gospel, which celebrates the fact that the Slavs had obtained the Gospel in their own language. The Alphabet Prayer, an introductory text to the Teaching Gospels, likewise delights in the education of the Slavs. But the dilemma over whether these works belong to Constantine/St. Cyril or to Constantine of Bregalnitsa remains to be solved by scholars.
Medieval history holds yet another enigma for scholars of Macedonia: did Crnorizec Hrabar ever exist, or was he a pseudonym for Cyril, Clement of Ohrid or even Naum? In any case, the first Slavonic polemical text, O Pismeneh (On Letters), is a defense of the alphabet of Cyril and Methodius from violent attacks by Greek critics.
During the Middle Ages, monks and other church figures in Macedonia patiently transcribed and copied church works. Beside the famous Ohrid center, transcription centers also existed on the Holy Mountain, in the Monastery of Lesnovo and in monasteries on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora. There, the monks transcribed the Gospels, the Epistles, the Psalters, the Triodions, the Menaions, the Oktoëchoses and the hagiographies of the saints. Along with transcription, they wrote sermons about famous church figures and composed Christian poetry. They even wrote romances (i.e., about Troja and about Alexander the Great) and fables (i.e., about Theophane the innkeeper and about Eladia, the man who sold his soul to the devil in order to obtain a desired woman). All these had, of course, a deeply religious content. Also widely known are the Dobromir Gospel, the Ohrid Epistle, the Bitola Triodion, the Grigorovich Paremeinikon, the Slepche Epistle, the Bologne Psalter, the Radomir Gospel, the Macedonian Gospel of Priest Jovan and the Vraneshnica Epistle-all created in the period between the 12th to the 14th centuries. These works are confirmation of the penetration of the Cyrillic script among generations of anonymous transcribers. The oldest Cyrillic inscriptions discovered in Macedonia are on the headstone of Tsar Samuil (993) and a Varosh inscription dated to 996. Besides these kinds of church literature, Macedonian medieval literature is rich in hagiographic texts and apocryphs.
The Ottoman conquest of the Balkans obstructed and slowed down the pace of literary activity. Macedonian literature regressed, and became confined to the monasteries, particularly the Monastery of Lesnovo (Kratovo), the Mateyche and St. Prohor of Pchinya monastaries (Kumanovo), the Monastery of Slepche (Demir Hisar), the Monastery of Treskavec (Prilep), the Monastery of the Most Pure Virgin (Kichevo), the Monastery of St. John Bigorski (Debar) and the Monastery of Polog (Tikvesh), where large libraries were preserved and helped to maintain Slavonic speech, although only with great effort and despite great difficulties.
By the end of the 17th century, the so called damaskins or apocryphal texts, sermons and prayers began to spread among the Macedonians, Serbs and Bulgarians. The Damaskins grew out of the writings of the Greek writer Damaskin Studit, who used vernacular Greek in his sermons. In the translations of damaskins from Greek, elements of regional Macedonian vernacular were gradually introduced.
Despite obstacles, a number of significant Slavonic literary works were created on Macedonian soil during this period. The best known include Clement's Chrysobull, the Slepche Text and the Macedonian Damaskin of the 16th century; the Tikvesh Collection created over the 16th and 17th centuries; and the Treskavec Codex from the 17th century. All were handwritten and in great demand despite the fact that in 1710 the first printing press in Macedonia was opened in the Monastery of St. Naum, with a second press opened somewhat later on the Holy Mountain. But both presses printed strictly in Greek, while the handwritten texts were Slavic.
The first generation of Macedonian writers, including Joakim Krchovski, Kiril Pejchinovich-Tetoec and Teodosij Sinaitski, were educated on the basis of this church literature. But the second generation of Macedonian writers, including the brothers Dimitar and Constantine Miladinov, Jordan HadziKonstantinov-Djinot, the brothers Constantine and Andrea Petkovich, Rayko Zhinzifov and Grigor Prlichev abandoned church literature, as did the lesser-known Georgi Dinkata, Kuzman Shapkarev, Parteniya Zografski, Veniyamin Machukovski, Georgiya Pulevski and Dimitar Makedonski. They laid the foundations of the modern Macedonian language and literature and opened themselves to the influences of world literature. Contemporary Macedonian literature can be traced back to the poems of Constantine Miladinov and the literary opus of Grigor Prlichev (the poems "The Sirdar", "Skenderbey" and the "Autobiography"). These were beginnings which could satisfy the highest criteria of literary writing.
Architecture.
The coming of Clement to Macedonia marked the beginning of a new period of art for the region. Objectively speaking, the history of art in these territories represented a history of church art. The influence of Byzantine art is indisputable, although artistic works created during the time of Clement and the time of Tsar Samuil are exceptions. The construction of the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople had a decisive influence on establishing criteria for building temples in areas the Orthodox church dominated. However, during the Macedonian Empire of Samuil, new characteristics can be noticed in Macedonian architecture, long after the Byzantine architectural school had run its course. This suggests the existence of a seperate Macedonian school of architecture.
With the construction of St. Panteleimon in Ohrid by Clement (893), downhill from Ohrid fortress, the Macedonian Slavs gained not only their first great religious and educational center but also the conditions necessary to develop their aesthetic feelings, accepting and continuing existing artistic forms but expanding into new directions as well. For example, Clement used a ruined three-conchae church for the foundation of St. Panteleimon, added some original parts, and obtaining thereby new "oval" forms. A similar procedure was applied in constructing the Church of St. Archangel, built on southern shore of Ohrid Lake and later renamed the Monastery of St. Naum. Later on, in the 10th and 11th centuries, the building of three-conchae churches was abandoned and four-conchae churches began to be built (the Church of the Holy Virgin Eleussa near Velyusa), as well as churches of basilica arrangement such as the Church of St. Achilles on the Island of Achilles in Prespa Lake, the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid, the Church of the Holy Virgin in the Strugan village of Vranishta and the Church of St. Leontes near Strumitsa.
One of the architectural masterpieces of Macedonia from the early period of Slavic culture is the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid, renovated by Archbishop Leo between 1037 and 1056. Its size and the arrangement of the fresco-paintings in the sanctuary seem to suggest that it was constructed as a cathedral. It began as a three-nave basilica with a transept, dome and nartex, suggesting a transition to the civil construction of the 12th to the 14th centuries when churches usually had a square base foundation and cruciform construction. The beauty of St. Sophia lies in its exo-nartex with its open galleries and two towers ending in small domes. It is interesting to note that the Church of St. Panteleimon in Nerezi (1164) has a similar cruciform layout, but is enriched by five domes, characteristic of nearly all monasteries surrounding Skopje, and the churches in Mateyche and Staro Nagorichane near Kumanovo. In general, the five-dome cruciform church represents one of the main characteristics of medieval architecture in Macedonia. The diversity of architectural forms in Macedonia was enriched by the late 13th century church dedicated to the Holy Virgin Perivleptos in Ohrid-a single-nave church built to a very strict and precise plan, in which the voluminous mass of the structure was carefully structured to give a harmonious balance overall.
The secular architecture of this time was generally insignificant. There are no remnants which would serve as a basis for shaping a picture of the palaces, houses or even towns of the early medieval period in Macedonia. There are, however, ruins of medieval fortresses, built of large carved rectangular stone blocks. Ohrid Fortress is considered to be the oldest and best-preserved fortress in Macedonia; Roman historians mention Ohrid as a town of fortresses, but the remaining ruins visible today chiefly belong to fortifications erected by Samuil. The height of its ramparts is in the range of 10 to 16 meters, originally protected by numerous towers-the ruins of 18 towers and four gates remain. The fortress itself was often renovated and new parts added to it during the medieval period.
Skopje Fortress is a second preserved example of secular architecture in Macedonia. Archaeological excavations have proven that the site of the fortress was inhabited as early as four thousand years ago. Likewise, research proves that the large defensive wall of the fortress was built during the time of Emperor Justinian, in about 535. The fortress was constructed from the stones of the town of Scupi, destroyed by the disastrous earthquake of 518. The only parts of this fortress which remain are about 120 meters of ruins and three towers: one square, one rectangular and one circular. The age of the medieval town accompanying the fortress has not been determined. It is hypothesized that the fortress was renovated and expanded in the 11th century, during the second period of Byzantium rule over the region. The fortress was refitted to protect Skopje, as an economic site and strategic border town, from attacks by neighboring states and barbarians like the Scythians and Pechenegs of the north. The remnants of the Byzantine fortress later served as the base for the construction of a new, fortified town. The traveler Eulia Chelebia writes that Skopje was a fortified town, with a double outer wall built, like the town gate, of stone which "shone as if polished".
The subjugation of Macedonia under Ottoman authority both hindered the development of architecture and encouraged it to adapt to the requirements of Islam and Ottoman urban life. The church was replaced by the mosque as the center of religious architecture. Fortified towns gave way to open settlements where the inn, the hammam (Turkish baths) and the mosque, concentrated as a group of public buildings, became a typical characteristic of the Ottoman urban planning. These buildings became the central point of a bazaar; with the addition of a bezesten (a domed marketplace) and covered markets, as typified by Arab markets, the inn, hamman, mosque and bezesten became the pivot of urban life. This was the greatest influence of Ottoman architecture on Macedonian architects during Ottoman rule.
Eulia Chelebia records a total of 120 temples in Skopje, 45 of which large mosques. The best known among these include the Mosque of Isaac Bey, built in 1438; the Mosque of Murad Hainukyar, built in 1436; the Mosque of Kodja-Mustapha Pasha, built in 1491; the Mosque of Burmali, built in 1495, but since destroyed; and the Mosque of Yahya Pasha, built in 1504 and including a 50-meter high minaret. Bitola was enriched by the Isac Mosque, built over 1508-1509; the Yeni Mosque, built in 1559; and the Mosque of Jahdar-Kadi, built in 1562 by Kodja Sinan, the most prominent Ottoman architect of the time. Chelebia lists 70 Moslem mosques in Bitola. Later, in the 17th century, the Painted Mosque was built in Tetovo, richly decorated with beautiful ornaments.
Secular architecture includes the Kurshumli Caravanserai in Skopje, covered by numerous small domes coated with kurshum (Turkish for lead). The Suli Caravanserai in Skopje has also been preserved to the current day. Particularly attractive were the Daut Pasha Hammam baths, the Chift Hammam baths in Skopje and the bezestens in Bitola and Shtip.
Also characteristic of the Turkish architecture throughout the Ottoman Empire were turbehs (burial chambers) in which distinguished Ottomans were buried, and tekehs (convents), a sort of Dervish monastery. Particularly fine architectural examples of turbehs included that of Mustapha Pasha in the Isaac Bey Mosque in Skopje, the open Kral K'zi turbeh and the eight-meter domed turbeh in Gazi Baba, Skopje. Outstanding among the Dervish convents are the Sultan Emir Tekeh in Skopje and the Arabati-baba Tekeh in Tetovo. Unfortunately, there are no preserved examples of individual domestic dwellings from the medieval or early to mid-Ottoman periods. It is theorized that such dwellings were constructed with materials which did not stand up to the test of time. However, fine examples of 19th and early 20th century houses still remain in Ohrid, Krushevo Kratovo, Bitola, Titov Veles, Prilep and Resen, testimonies to how architecture was adapted to respond to the specific needs of Macedonian conditions. The houses of Ohrid and Krushevo are particularly note-worthy.
A number of early 19th century houses in Ohrid survive, generally two to three stories with a stone ground floor and upper floors of wood. These houses are characterized by numerous windows, wide porches and belvederes. Due to local climate, terrain and geography, houses were placed close to each other and constructed to face Ohrid Lake. They are usually colored white and are characterized by boldly arranged facades supported by consoles, wooden eaves and several additional details.
In 1927, Le Corbusier visited Krushevo and was delighted by the 19th century architecture unique to this small town. The densely-packed houses are characterized by magnificent architectural arrangements. Together they create a harmonious whole of various architectural elements and vivid colors, mostly light blue or light yellow. The arrangements are supplemented by projecting balconies, wide belvederes, built-in wardrobes, porches with stone-fitted floors and large, heavy wooden gates.
Fresco-painting.
Despite a number of significant achievements, architecture in Macedonia in the early Middle Ages, compared to the accomplishments of Constantinople and Thessaloniki, was largely of provincial character. But fresco-painting in Macedonia in the same period equaled the greatest and most beautiful works of the Byzantine Empire. The finest works include the frescoes in Nerezi (1164), Kurbinovo (1191), Manastir (1271), the Church of St. Nicholas in Varosh (1290), the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid (the second layer of the fresco-painting dates from the 13th century) and the Church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos (1295). Macedonian is one of the richest regions in terms of medieval wall paintings, both in the Balkans and in Europe as a whole. Over the course of time, many generations of local painters created works of exceptional skill and beauty. Deserving of mention were the Deacon Jovan, Rufin, Michail Astrappa and Eutychius, Grigorius, Jovan Theorian, Mercurius, Jovan Zograf and his brother Makarius, Alexius, the monk Gligorius and the monk Yoanakis, all of whom worked in the period from the middle of the 13th to the first half of the 15th centuries.
The oldest fresco in Macedonia (only fragments of it have been preserved) is located in the Strumitsa Church of the Fifteen Holy Martyrs of Tiberiopolis, a local religious subcult of the Macedonian Slavs from the late 9th and early 10th centuries. Fresco-painting was particularly developed during the reign of Tsar Samuil, under the influence of the East. Unlike their teachers, who mainly came from Thessaloniki, Macedonian artists gave stronger emphasis to the expressions of the face and the compositions of the paintings are more explicit. Wall-painting was especially developed during the time of the Archbishopric of Ohrid (1018-1767), as proved by the frescoes in Vodocha (about 1037) and in the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid (1040-1045). The frescoes in St. Sophia represent a rare artistic treasure from the 11th century, which greatly enriched the art of the fresco-painting in Macedonia. According to general opinion, the visual arrangement of the sanctuary of this church is the most purely Slavic in the development of Macedonian art. The frescoes in this cathedral are characterized by the postures of the figures and the archaic forms, united in an artistic and iconographic whole unique to church painting of the time. The fresco-paintings in St. Sophia represent the most significant preserved works of Byzantine painting in general. A different group of painters worked in the late 11th and the first half of the 12th century within the framework of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, creating the frescoes in Velyusa (1085-1093), Vodocha (the second layer of frescoes), and taking part in the renovation of the Church of the Fifteen Holy Martyrs of Tiberiopolis in Strumitsa.
The second half of the 12th century was a period marked by the beautiful frescoes in Nerezi (1165-1168), the renovated church in Velyusa (1165-1170), the Church of St. George in Kurbinovo (1191) and the Church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos (now known as St. Clement) in Ohrid (1295). The frescoes in Nerezi ("The Lamentation", for example) and in Kurbinovo introduce a pronounced expression of the inner feelings of the characters, making these frescoes unique and exceptional. The refined colors, warm hues and of spirituality of the characters elevate the Nerezi frescoes to the highest levels of Byzantine fresco-art. Even in smaller churches such as the Church of St. George in Kurbinovo, the feeling of the inner experience of the characters is dominant in the dramatic scenes. The pronounced psychological element in the characters is likewise noticed in the fresco-paintings created in a later period, under new conditions.
Dramatic scenes depicted by the frescoes in the Church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos in Ohrid were expressed by the artists with near-documentary precision. These frescoes are characteristic of the early period of the two great masters of fresco-painting in Macedonia, Michail Astrappa and Eutychius. The fresco "The Lamentation" reveals the drama of man in general, rather than the drama of the saint. The saints on the frescoes in the church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos (St. Clement) are depicted as healthy, young people with athletic bodies, full of life. The fresco "The Lamentation of Christ" was painted by an anonymous Nerezi master 140 years before the great Italian painter Giotto painted his master-piece "The Lamentation" in the chapel of Scrovenni in Padova. The mother on the Nerezi fresco is depicted as convulsed by her anguish for her deceased son, the culmination of her distress and tragedy. The new element of expression in the Nerezi frescoes "The Lamentation of Christ" and "The Deposition from the Cross", supplemented by the dramatic fresco "The Lamentation of Christ" in the Church of St. Clement in Ohrid, obliges art historians to consider these frescoes as true heralds of the Renaissance which would spread throughout Europe about a hundred years later-and many art historians consider that the Macedonian school of fresco-painting directly influenced the Italian Renaissance. However, unlike developments in Italy, the Macedonian proto-renaissance was extinguished by the Ottoman conquest which inhibited the bloom of art and caused the art of fresco-painting to stagnate and decay.
The pursuit of the fine arts continued during Serbian rule over Macedonia. Many churches are preserved from that period, the most distinguished being the Church of St. Nikita on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora, the Church of St.George in Staro Nagorichane (where the fresco-paintings were created by Astrappa and Eutychius between 1307 and 1318), the Church of St. Archangel on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora, the Church of St. Archangel in Varosh, the Church of St. Andrew near the Treska River and the Church of St. Nicholas in the village of Lyuboten, near Skopje region. During the Serbian period, the monumental exo-nartex, a rare architectural accomplishment both in Macedonia and the world in general, was added to the Church of St. Sophia in 1317.
Portrait painting was also an important art in the medieval period. Among the most famous portraits made on Macedonian soil are the portraits of King Milutin and Simonida in Staro Nagorichane, the portraits of Dushan and Helena at Lesnovo, the group portrait of the Paskacha family at Psacha, and the portraits of Volkashin and his son Marko in the church of St. Archangel in Varosh and in Marko's monastery. In view of the popularity of portraits in Byzantium, it would be logical that portraits had long been included in Macedonian churches but no portraits have been preserved from the period prior to the 13th century.
Icon painting. After several visits by the Apostle Peter to Thessaloniki, Christianity began to quickly spread throughout Macedonia. Confirmation of this are a number of early Christian basilicas in Macedonia, including a hundred or so square meters of excellently-preserved floor mosaics abounding in iconography and showing a high level of technical expertise, remnants of stone sculptures and 50 recently-unearthed icons in ruins near the small town of Vinica. These icons are all made of terracotta, and hence called terracotta icons.
In 1985, during the excavations of the walls of a late-Roman/early-Byzantine fortress at Vinica, archaeologists discovered the foundations of several secular buildings and, their debris, discovered a true archaeological treasure: a number of unique icons of the early Christianity period worked in ceramics and thought to date from the late 4th century. These icons are unlike any others previously known, duplicated by using a mold and standardized painting. The figures are roughly 30 or 31 centimeters high, roughly 28 centimeters wide, and 4 centimeters thick. Inscriptions and signatures are written in Latin, with beautifully modeled letters, and the saints are presented without auras. The most frequent illustrations are those of Archangel Michael with his wings folded and that of St. Theodore on a horse, dressed in a uniform of a Byzantine soldier. The cross of Emperor Constantine is presented on a number of icons, as well as symbolic animals and floral motifs. Distinguished for their high artistic qualities are the icons "St. Christopher and St. George", "Daniel in the Lions' Den" and "The Fruits of the Promised Land". Excavations have recently been renewed following a three-year pause, and may yet uncover more examples of these intriguing icons.
The high development of fresco-painting had its own reflection on the works created in the field of icon painting. The oldest icons discovered in Macedonia-more specifically, in Ohrid-date from the 11th and early 12th centuries. These include the icons "St. Vasilij and St. Nicholas", "The Forty Martyrs", "The Communion of the Apostles" and the Holy Virgin of "Annunciation with Archangel". Whatever the extent of influence by the Constantinople school on these icons, it is useless to deny their original and high artistic accomplishments.
In the sphere of icon creation the 13th century abounds in such a great wealth and variety of style that each icon virtually represents a unique style. Art historians stress, for example, that "Holy Virgin Odigitria" and "St. Barbara", both dating from the first half of the 13th century, are characterized by their refined sculpture, while "Jesus Christ Almighty on the Throne" unites the elements of the archaic and the contemporary, opening a new direction for artistic expression. Deacon John the painter, in his "St. George" expresses an entirely original conception of the painted sculpture. Experts point to the procession icon "Holy Virgin Odigitria with the Crucifixion", dating from the second half of the 13th century as belonging to the emerging 13th century school of sculpture.
The same applies to the icons by Michail Astrappa and Eutychius, "Deisis", "The Resurrection of Christ" and "The Evangelist Matthew", created at the end of the 13th century. In the early 14th century, the two masters of the paintbrush introduced elements of the Palaeologi Renaissance to icon-painting. Their new conception was accepted by many other icon-painters who worked in Macedonia at that time, resulting in a series of icons ("The Faithless Thomas", "The Baptizing of Christ", "Holy Virgin Episcepsis", "The Resurrection", and "Holy Virgin Odigitria" in the Church of St. Nikita near Skopje), of undeniable contribution to the general wealth of Macedonian icon-painting. These icons were mainly created by unknown icon-painters. However, in the 14th century the brothers Metropolitan John Zograf and Hieromonk Macarius were also active and their icons "Deisis", "Holy Virgin Pelagonitisa" and "Jesus Christ the Saviour and Lifegiver" represent the highest level of icon-painting in Macedonia.
But the 14th century was also marked by the Ottoman conquest of Macedonia, triggering a sharp decline in the quality of fresco-painting and icon-painting. A hundred years later these two arts began to develop again, but under entirely new conditions. Still, fresco-painters worked as icon-painters as well, as in the former periods. By the middle of the 15th century, Zograph Dimitriya of Leunovo (near Mavrovo) and his associate Jovan created icons in the iconostasis of Toplica Monastery near Bitola. In the early 16th century, Hieromonk Gerasim (creator of the "St. John the Theologian and Prochorus") and Hieromonk Kalinik (creator of "Deisis" in the monastery of the village of Slepche, near Demir Hisar) continued the new tradition of renewed icon-painting, based on the rich traditions of the Ohrid painting school.
Wood carving.
It is normal to suppose that decorative sculpture was complementary to fresco-painting and an integral part of the architectural arrangements and the architectural conception. The oldest specimens of decorative sculpture in Macedonia are the wood carvings on the altar screen in the church of St. Sophia in Ohrid. After the Ottoman conquest, the influence of Middle Eastern elements in the Macedonian wood carving became much stronger. The shallow and flat arabesque style of carving dominating until the 17th century began to be replaced by more intricate styles of carving. In the monasteries of Slepche, Treskavec, Zrze, Varosh (near Prilep) and in the Monastery of the Most Holy Virgin of Kichevo, a number of works by Macedonian wood-carvers have been preserved. They reveal the characteristics of the Slepche-Prilep wood-carver's school: shallow and flat carving and rich geometrically interwoven floral and animal motifs.
Wood carving in Macedonia in the 13th century continued its development with new vigor and was enriched by new elements. The members of the Miyak wood-carver's school introduced the human figure in their artistic works and integrated it within the ornamental whole in an amazing way. The art of wood carving was not confined to churches and monasteries only: wood-carvers' tayfi (groups) began to decorate mosques, as well as sarays (mansions) and houses of wealthy merchants. In 1814, Petre Filipovski's "tayfas" from the village of Gari made the Great Iconostasis, kept in the National Library in Belgrade until World War II when it was destroyed by bombing. Petre Filipovski "Garka", his brother Marko, and Makarie Frchkovski from Galichnik worked on the iconostasis in the Church of the Holy Savior in Skopje from 1824 to 1829-an iconostasis ten meters long and six meters high . Some of the characters in the Biblical scenes are depicted dressed in Galichnik folk costumes. Art historians are unanimous that the value of this masterpiece lies in the softness of its lines, its arrangement of the forms, its stylization and its baroque playfulness. In the period over 1830 to 1840, the famous master wood-carvers Petre Filipovski and Makarie Frchkovski carved the iconostasis in the Monastery of St. John Bigorski. They left behind self-portraits among the scenes of this iconostasis and again on the iconostasis in the Church of the Holy Savior. The iconostasis in St. John Bigorski is a grandiose example of Macedonian wood carving, divided into six horizontal squares abounding in floral and animal ornaments.
Music.
Macedonian musical styles developed under the strong influence of Byzantine church music. It can be stated with some certainty that all of the 3,500 disciples of Clement and Naum studied music as they prepared to spread and establish Christianity, as musical education was obligatory for service in the clergy. In addition to spreading the liturgy of the Orthodox church, they spread Byzantine liturgical music throughout Macedonia. As part of Clement's heritage, 14 Greek manuscripts have been preserved, written in the period between the 11th and the 14th centuries and accompanied by pneumatic notation. "The Bologne Psalter", written in Cyrillic in the village of Raven near Ohrid in about 1235, is accompanied with ecphonetic notation signs. Among the most prominent names in Byzantine church music was John Koukouzeles (14th century), a reformer of the Orthodox chant born in the village of Dzermenci near Debar. He was taken to Constantinople as a young boy, to become one of the most distinguished personalities of that time. A founder of new notation characters and new notational signs, he retained only twenty-five of the old ones. Several distinguished successors of Koukouzeles were born in Macedonia as well, such as Joseph, Peter and Grigorij Koukouzeles. Under Ottoman rule professional musical activity ceased to be practiced, and only folk songs remained. Macedonians created their own musical wealth, expressing their sufferings and joys, distresses and beliefs. The folk song remained the only musical activity in Macedonia until the 19th century.
In 1894, the first cultural and artistic association was founded in Veles, with the music being its dominant activity. The first modern Macedonian musician was Atanas Badev, born in Prilep in 1860, a student at the Moscow Academy of Music, but his only preserved work is the "Liturgy For a Mixed Choir".
The texts of the Thessaloniki brothers Cyril and Methodius, written in the new alphabet, mark the beginning of Macedonian literature since the language they were written in was the language spoken by the Macedonian Slavs of Thessaloniki. For that reason, the beginning of literary activity among the Slavic peoples is closely linked to the beginning of Macedonian literature.
Clement, Naum and Constantine of Bregalnitsa, the disciples of the holy Brothers, carried on this literary work. Besides his religious and educational work, Clement of Ohrid translated works from Greek. Of even greater significance was his own composition of original poems and sermons, making him the first Slavic-and first Macedonian-poet and sermon-writer. Clement was, in fact, the author of a large body of sermons, prayers, hymns and other psalmodic songs in honor of Jesus Christ, the Holy Virgin, John the Baptist and other Christian figures. Many of Clement's literary works permeated the oldest period of Slavonic literature, translated mainly from Byzantine Greek. His works are simple, immediate and intelligible (his "Song of Praise to Our Blessed Father and Slavic Teacher Cyril the Philosopher" is wonderful). Because of their clarity and beauty, they soon came to hold a worthy place in almost all bodies of Slavonic literature. It is certain that the educational work of Clement of Ohrid was carried on by Naum of Ohrid, but Naum's two scant biographies and numerous folk traditions do not provide sufficient information on whether or not he carried on Clement's tradition as an author and poet.
The oldest Slavonic texts proving the literacy of medieval Macedonia are the Assemani Gospel, the Zograf Gospel, the Codex Marianus, the Sinai Psalter and the Sinai Euchologion, all dating from the 12th century. It has been ascertained that they were either written on Macedonian soil or contain characteristic traces of medieval Macedonian originals. All were written in Glagolitic script, proof of the continued use of this alphabet in Macedonia.
Constantine the Presbyter, known in literature and in church history also as Episcope Constantine of Bregalnitsa, was one of the younger disciples of Cyril and Methodius. Constantine was the author of the collected Teaching Gospels, 51 sermons including 42 original works. He is also most likely the author of the Introduction to the Gospel, which celebrates the fact that the Slavs had obtained the Gospel in their own language. The Alphabet Prayer, an introductory text to the Teaching Gospels, likewise delights in the education of the Slavs. But the dilemma over whether these works belong to Constantine/St. Cyril or to Constantine of Bregalnitsa remains to be solved by scholars.
Medieval history holds yet another enigma for scholars of Macedonia: did Crnorizec Hrabar ever exist, or was he a pseudonym for Cyril, Clement of Ohrid or even Naum? In any case, the first Slavonic polemical text, O Pismeneh (On Letters), is a defense of the alphabet of Cyril and Methodius from violent attacks by Greek critics.
During the Middle Ages, monks and other church figures in Macedonia patiently transcribed and copied church works. Beside the famous Ohrid center, transcription centers also existed on the Holy Mountain, in the Monastery of Lesnovo and in monasteries on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora. There, the monks transcribed the Gospels, the Epistles, the Psalters, the Triodions, the Menaions, the Oktoëchoses and the hagiographies of the saints. Along with transcription, they wrote sermons about famous church figures and composed Christian poetry. They even wrote romances (i.e., about Troja and about Alexander the Great) and fables (i.e., about Theophane the innkeeper and about Eladia, the man who sold his soul to the devil in order to obtain a desired woman). All these had, of course, a deeply religious content. Also widely known are the Dobromir Gospel, the Ohrid Epistle, the Bitola Triodion, the Grigorovich Paremeinikon, the Slepche Epistle, the Bologne Psalter, the Radomir Gospel, the Macedonian Gospel of Priest Jovan and the Vraneshnica Epistle-all created in the period between the 12th to the 14th centuries. These works are confirmation of the penetration of the Cyrillic script among generations of anonymous transcribers. The oldest Cyrillic inscriptions discovered in Macedonia are on the headstone of Tsar Samuil (993) and a Varosh inscription dated to 996. Besides these kinds of church literature, Macedonian medieval literature is rich in hagiographic texts and apocryphs.
The Ottoman conquest of the Balkans obstructed and slowed down the pace of literary activity. Macedonian literature regressed, and became confined to the monasteries, particularly the Monastery of Lesnovo (Kratovo), the Mateyche and St. Prohor of Pchinya monastaries (Kumanovo), the Monastery of Slepche (Demir Hisar), the Monastery of Treskavec (Prilep), the Monastery of the Most Pure Virgin (Kichevo), the Monastery of St. John Bigorski (Debar) and the Monastery of Polog (Tikvesh), where large libraries were preserved and helped to maintain Slavonic speech, although only with great effort and despite great difficulties.
By the end of the 17th century, the so called damaskins or apocryphal texts, sermons and prayers began to spread among the Macedonians, Serbs and Bulgarians. The Damaskins grew out of the writings of the Greek writer Damaskin Studit, who used vernacular Greek in his sermons. In the translations of damaskins from Greek, elements of regional Macedonian vernacular were gradually introduced.
Despite obstacles, a number of significant Slavonic literary works were created on Macedonian soil during this period. The best known include Clement's Chrysobull, the Slepche Text and the Macedonian Damaskin of the 16th century; the Tikvesh Collection created over the 16th and 17th centuries; and the Treskavec Codex from the 17th century. All were handwritten and in great demand despite the fact that in 1710 the first printing press in Macedonia was opened in the Monastery of St. Naum, with a second press opened somewhat later on the Holy Mountain. But both presses printed strictly in Greek, while the handwritten texts were Slavic.
The first generation of Macedonian writers, including Joakim Krchovski, Kiril Pejchinovich-Tetoec and Teodosij Sinaitski, were educated on the basis of this church literature. But the second generation of Macedonian writers, including the brothers Dimitar and Constantine Miladinov, Jordan HadziKonstantinov-Djinot, the brothers Constantine and Andrea Petkovich, Rayko Zhinzifov and Grigor Prlichev abandoned church literature, as did the lesser-known Georgi Dinkata, Kuzman Shapkarev, Parteniya Zografski, Veniyamin Machukovski, Georgiya Pulevski and Dimitar Makedonski. They laid the foundations of the modern Macedonian language and literature and opened themselves to the influences of world literature. Contemporary Macedonian literature can be traced back to the poems of Constantine Miladinov and the literary opus of Grigor Prlichev (the poems "The Sirdar", "Skenderbey" and the "Autobiography"). These were beginnings which could satisfy the highest criteria of literary writing.
Architecture.
The coming of Clement to Macedonia marked the beginning of a new period of art for the region. Objectively speaking, the history of art in these territories represented a history of church art. The influence of Byzantine art is indisputable, although artistic works created during the time of Clement and the time of Tsar Samuil are exceptions. The construction of the Church of St. Sophia in Constantinople had a decisive influence on establishing criteria for building temples in areas the Orthodox church dominated. However, during the Macedonian Empire of Samuil, new characteristics can be noticed in Macedonian architecture, long after the Byzantine architectural school had run its course. This suggests the existence of a seperate Macedonian school of architecture.
With the construction of St. Panteleimon in Ohrid by Clement (893), downhill from Ohrid fortress, the Macedonian Slavs gained not only their first great religious and educational center but also the conditions necessary to develop their aesthetic feelings, accepting and continuing existing artistic forms but expanding into new directions as well. For example, Clement used a ruined three-conchae church for the foundation of St. Panteleimon, added some original parts, and obtaining thereby new "oval" forms. A similar procedure was applied in constructing the Church of St. Archangel, built on southern shore of Ohrid Lake and later renamed the Monastery of St. Naum. Later on, in the 10th and 11th centuries, the building of three-conchae churches was abandoned and four-conchae churches began to be built (the Church of the Holy Virgin Eleussa near Velyusa), as well as churches of basilica arrangement such as the Church of St. Achilles on the Island of Achilles in Prespa Lake, the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid, the Church of the Holy Virgin in the Strugan village of Vranishta and the Church of St. Leontes near Strumitsa.
One of the architectural masterpieces of Macedonia from the early period of Slavic culture is the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid, renovated by Archbishop Leo between 1037 and 1056. Its size and the arrangement of the fresco-paintings in the sanctuary seem to suggest that it was constructed as a cathedral. It began as a three-nave basilica with a transept, dome and nartex, suggesting a transition to the civil construction of the 12th to the 14th centuries when churches usually had a square base foundation and cruciform construction. The beauty of St. Sophia lies in its exo-nartex with its open galleries and two towers ending in small domes. It is interesting to note that the Church of St. Panteleimon in Nerezi (1164) has a similar cruciform layout, but is enriched by five domes, characteristic of nearly all monasteries surrounding Skopje, and the churches in Mateyche and Staro Nagorichane near Kumanovo. In general, the five-dome cruciform church represents one of the main characteristics of medieval architecture in Macedonia. The diversity of architectural forms in Macedonia was enriched by the late 13th century church dedicated to the Holy Virgin Perivleptos in Ohrid-a single-nave church built to a very strict and precise plan, in which the voluminous mass of the structure was carefully structured to give a harmonious balance overall.
The secular architecture of this time was generally insignificant. There are no remnants which would serve as a basis for shaping a picture of the palaces, houses or even towns of the early medieval period in Macedonia. There are, however, ruins of medieval fortresses, built of large carved rectangular stone blocks. Ohrid Fortress is considered to be the oldest and best-preserved fortress in Macedonia; Roman historians mention Ohrid as a town of fortresses, but the remaining ruins visible today chiefly belong to fortifications erected by Samuil. The height of its ramparts is in the range of 10 to 16 meters, originally protected by numerous towers-the ruins of 18 towers and four gates remain. The fortress itself was often renovated and new parts added to it during the medieval period.
Skopje Fortress is a second preserved example of secular architecture in Macedonia. Archaeological excavations have proven that the site of the fortress was inhabited as early as four thousand years ago. Likewise, research proves that the large defensive wall of the fortress was built during the time of Emperor Justinian, in about 535. The fortress was constructed from the stones of the town of Scupi, destroyed by the disastrous earthquake of 518. The only parts of this fortress which remain are about 120 meters of ruins and three towers: one square, one rectangular and one circular. The age of the medieval town accompanying the fortress has not been determined. It is hypothesized that the fortress was renovated and expanded in the 11th century, during the second period of Byzantium rule over the region. The fortress was refitted to protect Skopje, as an economic site and strategic border town, from attacks by neighboring states and barbarians like the Scythians and Pechenegs of the north. The remnants of the Byzantine fortress later served as the base for the construction of a new, fortified town. The traveler Eulia Chelebia writes that Skopje was a fortified town, with a double outer wall built, like the town gate, of stone which "shone as if polished".
The subjugation of Macedonia under Ottoman authority both hindered the development of architecture and encouraged it to adapt to the requirements of Islam and Ottoman urban life. The church was replaced by the mosque as the center of religious architecture. Fortified towns gave way to open settlements where the inn, the hammam (Turkish baths) and the mosque, concentrated as a group of public buildings, became a typical characteristic of the Ottoman urban planning. These buildings became the central point of a bazaar; with the addition of a bezesten (a domed marketplace) and covered markets, as typified by Arab markets, the inn, hamman, mosque and bezesten became the pivot of urban life. This was the greatest influence of Ottoman architecture on Macedonian architects during Ottoman rule.
Eulia Chelebia records a total of 120 temples in Skopje, 45 of which large mosques. The best known among these include the Mosque of Isaac Bey, built in 1438; the Mosque of Murad Hainukyar, built in 1436; the Mosque of Kodja-Mustapha Pasha, built in 1491; the Mosque of Burmali, built in 1495, but since destroyed; and the Mosque of Yahya Pasha, built in 1504 and including a 50-meter high minaret. Bitola was enriched by the Isac Mosque, built over 1508-1509; the Yeni Mosque, built in 1559; and the Mosque of Jahdar-Kadi, built in 1562 by Kodja Sinan, the most prominent Ottoman architect of the time. Chelebia lists 70 Moslem mosques in Bitola. Later, in the 17th century, the Painted Mosque was built in Tetovo, richly decorated with beautiful ornaments.
Secular architecture includes the Kurshumli Caravanserai in Skopje, covered by numerous small domes coated with kurshum (Turkish for lead). The Suli Caravanserai in Skopje has also been preserved to the current day. Particularly attractive were the Daut Pasha Hammam baths, the Chift Hammam baths in Skopje and the bezestens in Bitola and Shtip.
Also characteristic of the Turkish architecture throughout the Ottoman Empire were turbehs (burial chambers) in which distinguished Ottomans were buried, and tekehs (convents), a sort of Dervish monastery. Particularly fine architectural examples of turbehs included that of Mustapha Pasha in the Isaac Bey Mosque in Skopje, the open Kral K'zi turbeh and the eight-meter domed turbeh in Gazi Baba, Skopje. Outstanding among the Dervish convents are the Sultan Emir Tekeh in Skopje and the Arabati-baba Tekeh in Tetovo. Unfortunately, there are no preserved examples of individual domestic dwellings from the medieval or early to mid-Ottoman periods. It is theorized that such dwellings were constructed with materials which did not stand up to the test of time. However, fine examples of 19th and early 20th century houses still remain in Ohrid, Krushevo Kratovo, Bitola, Titov Veles, Prilep and Resen, testimonies to how architecture was adapted to respond to the specific needs of Macedonian conditions. The houses of Ohrid and Krushevo are particularly note-worthy.
A number of early 19th century houses in Ohrid survive, generally two to three stories with a stone ground floor and upper floors of wood. These houses are characterized by numerous windows, wide porches and belvederes. Due to local climate, terrain and geography, houses were placed close to each other and constructed to face Ohrid Lake. They are usually colored white and are characterized by boldly arranged facades supported by consoles, wooden eaves and several additional details.
In 1927, Le Corbusier visited Krushevo and was delighted by the 19th century architecture unique to this small town. The densely-packed houses are characterized by magnificent architectural arrangements. Together they create a harmonious whole of various architectural elements and vivid colors, mostly light blue or light yellow. The arrangements are supplemented by projecting balconies, wide belvederes, built-in wardrobes, porches with stone-fitted floors and large, heavy wooden gates.
Fresco-painting.
Despite a number of significant achievements, architecture in Macedonia in the early Middle Ages, compared to the accomplishments of Constantinople and Thessaloniki, was largely of provincial character. But fresco-painting in Macedonia in the same period equaled the greatest and most beautiful works of the Byzantine Empire. The finest works include the frescoes in Nerezi (1164), Kurbinovo (1191), Manastir (1271), the Church of St. Nicholas in Varosh (1290), the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid (the second layer of the fresco-painting dates from the 13th century) and the Church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos (1295). Macedonian is one of the richest regions in terms of medieval wall paintings, both in the Balkans and in Europe as a whole. Over the course of time, many generations of local painters created works of exceptional skill and beauty. Deserving of mention were the Deacon Jovan, Rufin, Michail Astrappa and Eutychius, Grigorius, Jovan Theorian, Mercurius, Jovan Zograf and his brother Makarius, Alexius, the monk Gligorius and the monk Yoanakis, all of whom worked in the period from the middle of the 13th to the first half of the 15th centuries.
The oldest fresco in Macedonia (only fragments of it have been preserved) is located in the Strumitsa Church of the Fifteen Holy Martyrs of Tiberiopolis, a local religious subcult of the Macedonian Slavs from the late 9th and early 10th centuries. Fresco-painting was particularly developed during the reign of Tsar Samuil, under the influence of the East. Unlike their teachers, who mainly came from Thessaloniki, Macedonian artists gave stronger emphasis to the expressions of the face and the compositions of the paintings are more explicit. Wall-painting was especially developed during the time of the Archbishopric of Ohrid (1018-1767), as proved by the frescoes in Vodocha (about 1037) and in the Church of St. Sophia in Ohrid (1040-1045). The frescoes in St. Sophia represent a rare artistic treasure from the 11th century, which greatly enriched the art of the fresco-painting in Macedonia. According to general opinion, the visual arrangement of the sanctuary of this church is the most purely Slavic in the development of Macedonian art. The frescoes in this cathedral are characterized by the postures of the figures and the archaic forms, united in an artistic and iconographic whole unique to church painting of the time. The fresco-paintings in St. Sophia represent the most significant preserved works of Byzantine painting in general. A different group of painters worked in the late 11th and the first half of the 12th century within the framework of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, creating the frescoes in Velyusa (1085-1093), Vodocha (the second layer of frescoes), and taking part in the renovation of the Church of the Fifteen Holy Martyrs of Tiberiopolis in Strumitsa.
The second half of the 12th century was a period marked by the beautiful frescoes in Nerezi (1165-1168), the renovated church in Velyusa (1165-1170), the Church of St. George in Kurbinovo (1191) and the Church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos (now known as St. Clement) in Ohrid (1295). The frescoes in Nerezi ("The Lamentation", for example) and in Kurbinovo introduce a pronounced expression of the inner feelings of the characters, making these frescoes unique and exceptional. The refined colors, warm hues and of spirituality of the characters elevate the Nerezi frescoes to the highest levels of Byzantine fresco-art. Even in smaller churches such as the Church of St. George in Kurbinovo, the feeling of the inner experience of the characters is dominant in the dramatic scenes. The pronounced psychological element in the characters is likewise noticed in the fresco-paintings created in a later period, under new conditions.
Dramatic scenes depicted by the frescoes in the Church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos in Ohrid were expressed by the artists with near-documentary precision. These frescoes are characteristic of the early period of the two great masters of fresco-painting in Macedonia, Michail Astrappa and Eutychius. The fresco "The Lamentation" reveals the drama of man in general, rather than the drama of the saint. The saints on the frescoes in the church of the Holy Virgin Perivleptos (St. Clement) are depicted as healthy, young people with athletic bodies, full of life. The fresco "The Lamentation of Christ" was painted by an anonymous Nerezi master 140 years before the great Italian painter Giotto painted his master-piece "The Lamentation" in the chapel of Scrovenni in Padova. The mother on the Nerezi fresco is depicted as convulsed by her anguish for her deceased son, the culmination of her distress and tragedy. The new element of expression in the Nerezi frescoes "The Lamentation of Christ" and "The Deposition from the Cross", supplemented by the dramatic fresco "The Lamentation of Christ" in the Church of St. Clement in Ohrid, obliges art historians to consider these frescoes as true heralds of the Renaissance which would spread throughout Europe about a hundred years later-and many art historians consider that the Macedonian school of fresco-painting directly influenced the Italian Renaissance. However, unlike developments in Italy, the Macedonian proto-renaissance was extinguished by the Ottoman conquest which inhibited the bloom of art and caused the art of fresco-painting to stagnate and decay.
The pursuit of the fine arts continued during Serbian rule over Macedonia. Many churches are preserved from that period, the most distinguished being the Church of St. Nikita on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora, the Church of St.George in Staro Nagorichane (where the fresco-paintings were created by Astrappa and Eutychius between 1307 and 1318), the Church of St. Archangel on Mt. Skopska Crna Gora, the Church of St. Archangel in Varosh, the Church of St. Andrew near the Treska River and the Church of St. Nicholas in the village of Lyuboten, near Skopje region. During the Serbian period, the monumental exo-nartex, a rare architectural accomplishment both in Macedonia and the world in general, was added to the Church of St. Sophia in 1317.
Portrait painting was also an important art in the medieval period. Among the most famous portraits made on Macedonian soil are the portraits of King Milutin and Simonida in Staro Nagorichane, the portraits of Dushan and Helena at Lesnovo, the group portrait of the Paskacha family at Psacha, and the portraits of Volkashin and his son Marko in the church of St. Archangel in Varosh and in Marko's monastery. In view of the popularity of portraits in Byzantium, it would be logical that portraits had long been included in Macedonian churches but no portraits have been preserved from the period prior to the 13th century.
Icon painting. After several visits by the Apostle Peter to Thessaloniki, Christianity began to quickly spread throughout Macedonia. Confirmation of this are a number of early Christian basilicas in Macedonia, including a hundred or so square meters of excellently-preserved floor mosaics abounding in iconography and showing a high level of technical expertise, remnants of stone sculptures and 50 recently-unearthed icons in ruins near the small town of Vinica. These icons are all made of terracotta, and hence called terracotta icons.
In 1985, during the excavations of the walls of a late-Roman/early-Byzantine fortress at Vinica, archaeologists discovered the foundations of several secular buildings and, their debris, discovered a true archaeological treasure: a number of unique icons of the early Christianity period worked in ceramics and thought to date from the late 4th century. These icons are unlike any others previously known, duplicated by using a mold and standardized painting. The figures are roughly 30 or 31 centimeters high, roughly 28 centimeters wide, and 4 centimeters thick. Inscriptions and signatures are written in Latin, with beautifully modeled letters, and the saints are presented without auras. The most frequent illustrations are those of Archangel Michael with his wings folded and that of St. Theodore on a horse, dressed in a uniform of a Byzantine soldier. The cross of Emperor Constantine is presented on a number of icons, as well as symbolic animals and floral motifs. Distinguished for their high artistic qualities are the icons "St. Christopher and St. George", "Daniel in the Lions' Den" and "The Fruits of the Promised Land". Excavations have recently been renewed following a three-year pause, and may yet uncover more examples of these intriguing icons.
The high development of fresco-painting had its own reflection on the works created in the field of icon painting. The oldest icons discovered in Macedonia-more specifically, in Ohrid-date from the 11th and early 12th centuries. These include the icons "St. Vasilij and St. Nicholas", "The Forty Martyrs", "The Communion of the Apostles" and the Holy Virgin of "Annunciation with Archangel". Whatever the extent of influence by the Constantinople school on these icons, it is useless to deny their original and high artistic accomplishments.
In the sphere of icon creation the 13th century abounds in such a great wealth and variety of style that each icon virtually represents a unique style. Art historians stress, for example, that "Holy Virgin Odigitria" and "St. Barbara", both dating from the first half of the 13th century, are characterized by their refined sculpture, while "Jesus Christ Almighty on the Throne" unites the elements of the archaic and the contemporary, opening a new direction for artistic expression. Deacon John the painter, in his "St. George" expresses an entirely original conception of the painted sculpture. Experts point to the procession icon "Holy Virgin Odigitria with the Crucifixion", dating from the second half of the 13th century as belonging to the emerging 13th century school of sculpture.
The same applies to the icons by Michail Astrappa and Eutychius, "Deisis", "The Resurrection of Christ" and "The Evangelist Matthew", created at the end of the 13th century. In the early 14th century, the two masters of the paintbrush introduced elements of the Palaeologi Renaissance to icon-painting. Their new conception was accepted by many other icon-painters who worked in Macedonia at that time, resulting in a series of icons ("The Faithless Thomas", "The Baptizing of Christ", "Holy Virgin Episcepsis", "The Resurrection", and "Holy Virgin Odigitria" in the Church of St. Nikita near Skopje), of undeniable contribution to the general wealth of Macedonian icon-painting. These icons were mainly created by unknown icon-painters. However, in the 14th century the brothers Metropolitan John Zograf and Hieromonk Macarius were also active and their icons "Deisis", "Holy Virgin Pelagonitisa" and "Jesus Christ the Saviour and Lifegiver" represent the highest level of icon-painting in Macedonia.
But the 14th century was also marked by the Ottoman conquest of Macedonia, triggering a sharp decline in the quality of fresco-painting and icon-painting. A hundred years later these two arts began to develop again, but under entirely new conditions. Still, fresco-painters worked as icon-painters as well, as in the former periods. By the middle of the 15th century, Zograph Dimitriya of Leunovo (near Mavrovo) and his associate Jovan created icons in the iconostasis of Toplica Monastery near Bitola. In the early 16th century, Hieromonk Gerasim (creator of the "St. John the Theologian and Prochorus") and Hieromonk Kalinik (creator of "Deisis" in the monastery of the village of Slepche, near Demir Hisar) continued the new tradition of renewed icon-painting, based on the rich traditions of the Ohrid painting school.
Wood carving.
It is normal to suppose that decorative sculpture was complementary to fresco-painting and an integral part of the architectural arrangements and the architectural conception. The oldest specimens of decorative sculpture in Macedonia are the wood carvings on the altar screen in the church of St. Sophia in Ohrid. After the Ottoman conquest, the influence of Middle Eastern elements in the Macedonian wood carving became much stronger. The shallow and flat arabesque style of carving dominating until the 17th century began to be replaced by more intricate styles of carving. In the monasteries of Slepche, Treskavec, Zrze, Varosh (near Prilep) and in the Monastery of the Most Holy Virgin of Kichevo, a number of works by Macedonian wood-carvers have been preserved. They reveal the characteristics of the Slepche-Prilep wood-carver's school: shallow and flat carving and rich geometrically interwoven floral and animal motifs.
Wood carving in Macedonia in the 13th century continued its development with new vigor and was enriched by new elements. The members of the Miyak wood-carver's school introduced the human figure in their artistic works and integrated it within the ornamental whole in an amazing way. The art of wood carving was not confined to churches and monasteries only: wood-carvers' tayfi (groups) began to decorate mosques, as well as sarays (mansions) and houses of wealthy merchants. In 1814, Petre Filipovski's "tayfas" from the village of Gari made the Great Iconostasis, kept in the National Library in Belgrade until World War II when it was destroyed by bombing. Petre Filipovski "Garka", his brother Marko, and Makarie Frchkovski from Galichnik worked on the iconostasis in the Church of the Holy Savior in Skopje from 1824 to 1829-an iconostasis ten meters long and six meters high . Some of the characters in the Biblical scenes are depicted dressed in Galichnik folk costumes. Art historians are unanimous that the value of this masterpiece lies in the softness of its lines, its arrangement of the forms, its stylization and its baroque playfulness. In the period over 1830 to 1840, the famous master wood-carvers Petre Filipovski and Makarie Frchkovski carved the iconostasis in the Monastery of St. John Bigorski. They left behind self-portraits among the scenes of this iconostasis and again on the iconostasis in the Church of the Holy Savior. The iconostasis in St. John Bigorski is a grandiose example of Macedonian wood carving, divided into six horizontal squares abounding in floral and animal ornaments.
Music.
Macedonian musical styles developed under the strong influence of Byzantine church music. It can be stated with some certainty that all of the 3,500 disciples of Clement and Naum studied music as they prepared to spread and establish Christianity, as musical education was obligatory for service in the clergy. In addition to spreading the liturgy of the Orthodox church, they spread Byzantine liturgical music throughout Macedonia. As part of Clement's heritage, 14 Greek manuscripts have been preserved, written in the period between the 11th and the 14th centuries and accompanied by pneumatic notation. "The Bologne Psalter", written in Cyrillic in the village of Raven near Ohrid in about 1235, is accompanied with ecphonetic notation signs. Among the most prominent names in Byzantine church music was John Koukouzeles (14th century), a reformer of the Orthodox chant born in the village of Dzermenci near Debar. He was taken to Constantinople as a young boy, to become one of the most distinguished personalities of that time. A founder of new notation characters and new notational signs, he retained only twenty-five of the old ones. Several distinguished successors of Koukouzeles were born in Macedonia as well, such as Joseph, Peter and Grigorij Koukouzeles. Under Ottoman rule professional musical activity ceased to be practiced, and only folk songs remained. Macedonians created their own musical wealth, expressing their sufferings and joys, distresses and beliefs. The folk song remained the only musical activity in Macedonia until the 19th century.
In 1894, the first cultural and artistic association was founded in Veles, with the music being its dominant activity. The first modern Macedonian musician was Atanas Badev, born in Prilep in 1860, a student at the Moscow Academy of Music, but his only preserved work is the "Liturgy For a Mixed Choir".
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Ancient Macedonia
Macedonia belongs to one of the richest archaeological findings on the Balkan peninsula, and without its artifacts completing the history of Europe and the world is impossible.Her cultural layers are rich of remains of a material culture which, up till now can be dated: starting somewhere at the end of the Mesolithic and the beginning of the Neolithic period.(Picture 1), i.e. from 7.000 - 6.000 B.C. up till now. An absolute chronology of her development suggests a long continuity of people living in these places, of many changes and events, of the presence of a high culture of the so called pre Slav population, of the coming and leaving of invading waves, of catastrophies and violence, of attempts of assimilation and syncretism, but also of the survival of the identity of the Macedonian people, of the prevedic culture mythology and a cult of the sun and the cosmos ( space, universe) of the prehistoric Macedonian phonetic alphabet and the prehistoric Macedonian language, of the existence of prehistoric Macedonian laws and prehistoric Macedonian state. Homer in the "Iliad" mentions Macedonian tribes (Payonian, Pelazgian, Venets or Enets, Brygian or , Phrygian etc.) that fight on the side of the Trojans against the allies of the new coming conquerors of the Balkans - Danaians, i.e. in the "Iliad" is portrayed a happening that occurred in 1193 - 1183 B.C. that is according to the famous alexandrian scientist Eratosten (III century B.C.) the happening which in the epic is portrayed on 15.693 should be treated in fact as the WW I between the so called pre Slav population of the Balkan - Anadolian cultural complex and the allies of the new incoming conquerors on the Pelopones (Morea) and Atica - the Danaians. Beside this, it is also known that in the IV century B.C. the Macedonians succeeded to create a Macedonian kingdom or Macedonian empire on a territory of about 3.8 mil km2, (map2) and later in the epoch Macedonian period in the shape of 4 kingdoms with their Macedonian dynasties continued to spread Macedonian culture and to breed the spirit of creativity and bringing the peoples, cultures and regions of the world together. Macedonians were and remain an authentic people on the Balkan peninsula while others came and went as guests or conquerors.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)