MONTENEGRO: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

I wonder how many people know that this beautiful country hides along the eastern side of the Adriatic Sea. Certainly, its neighbors are far better known, especially if you were old enough to understand anything about the news during the 1990s and early 2000s. But do you really know anything about this Slavic country with a Latin name?

The name Montenegro comes from the Venetian Italian for “black mountain.” They were referring to the dark coniferous forests on Mt. Lovcen. The Montenegrin term for their country is Crna Gora, which also means “black mountain.” In the past, this land was known as Zeta (named after the Zeta River) and Doclea/Dioclea (named after an ancient Illyrian tribe who was living around Podgorica).

Montenegro is surrounded by Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east, Albania to the southeast, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, and a tiny sliver of border with Croatia near the Bosnian border. Although it’s a smallish country, it’s quite mountainous, and its karst environment dives into the Adriatic Sea below. The highest mountain is the Zla Kolata, located along the border with Albania and part of the Dinaric Alps. The mountains jutting through Montenegro are some of Europe’s most rugged terrain. The Bay of Kotor is the largest bay in Montenegro and is listed as a World Heritage Site.

The Illyrians were the first people to move into this area and settle down. Their culture was pretty similar to that of the rest of the Balkans. As the Romans spread their empire across the Adriatic Sea, they moved into this area, too. They renamed the area the Province of Dalmatia, and its largest city was Doclea. Byzantine Emperor Justinian introduced Christianity to this province. During the Middle Ages, the land changed hands several times within the Serbian Empire until the Ottomans took over. Although the Montenegrins exercised a certain amount of autonomy under the Ottomans, they didn’t like being under their rule at all after a while, and fought to come out from underneath it. It was all brought to the front in the Great Turkish War. The country declared itself a principality in 1852 under the direction of Nicholas I. However, there were still political rifts between various parties, which led to some skirmishes because of it. However, Montenegro became a kingdom in 1910 and within a couple of years, the Ottomans lost all of the land in the Balkans. During WWI, Montenegro was part of Austria-Hungary and later became part of Serbia, but there were tensions there as well. In 1922, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes were incorporated into Yugoslavia. During WWII, Italian forces took control of the Montenegrin region of Yugoslavia. And in 1944, it was liberated by the Yugoslav Partisans and remained part of Yugoslavia until it was dissolved in 1992. During the Bosnian and Croatian Wars of the early 1990s, Montenegro generally sided with Serbia. This relationship lasted into the mid-2000s when Montenegro finally voted for their independence in 2006. (I didn’t realize it was such a young country.)

The capital city is Podgorica, which I’ve been mispronouncing the whole time. (It’s something close to POD-gor-ee-tsuh.) During the years the country was part of Yugoslavia, the city was known as Titograd. The city itself was founded sometime before the 11^thcentury and has gone by other names during that time. Today, it’s the largest city in Montenegro with a population of somewhere around 186,000 in the metro area. This city located in the southeast corner of the country, where the Moraca and Ribnica Rivers meet. Podgorica is the center of government, finance, and media. There are also many museums, theatres, galleries, sports venues, colleges and universities, and markets. It’s a city with a mix of ancient castles mixed with modern architecture.

Montenegro is in transition to a market economy. From what I can figure out, they use the euro although their national bank hasn’t officially adopted the it yet (pretty sure their bank’s Facebook status just says, “it’s complicated”). The vast majority of their economy is made up of the service industry with a little bit coming from industry and agriculture. Their infrastructure is extensive and laid out, but it’s not quite to the quality of other European countries. In recent years, Montenegro has grown to become one of those Unknown Tourist Destinations people rave about. 

The vast majority of Montenegrins belong to the Serbian Orthodox Church. The second largest religious following is Islam. A large portion of the Albanians living in Montenegro is Sunni Muslim. There is also a smaller number of Roman Catholics there as well. 

While the official language is Montenegrin, this country is a multi-lingual country. Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian, and Albanian are all spoken in various communities across the country, all with ties to their neighboring countries. During its Yugoslav days, the language was Serbo-Croatian, and during the decades leading up to independence, Serbian was the dominant language. 

Montenegro may not be one of the most well-known tourist destinations in the world, but for those who love the climbing mountains or skiing, it should be on their list. And actually, everyone can certainly appreciate the beautiful karst formations and Adriatic beaches. In fact, part of the movie “Casino Royale” (2006) was set in Montenegro (even though it was filmed in the Czech Republic). I have a feeling there are more hidden features here than they let on. And I’m on a mission to find out more.

Up next: art and literature

MACEDONIA: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

When I first started doing this blog, I was really interested in my statistics. I decided to keep a list of the countries that viewed my blog. I’m kind of a nerd like that. I have a note in my iPhone where I keep an updated number of pageviews and a list of countries where at least one person has read my blog (ok, at least landed on the page. I don’t know if they actually read it or not.). I did get a hit from Macedonia, but I could never figure out why it had [FYROM] in brackets behind it. (Is it like CD-ROM?) But then I looked it up (thanks, Wikipedia) and found out it stood for Former Yugoslav Republic Of Macedonia. But, why? (Hint: keep reading.) 

The name of Macedonia is kind of confusing. The neighboring country of Greece to the south has a region called Macedonia that once included the country of Macedonia. The word in and of itself is of Greek origin, meaning “tall” or “taper,” possibly in reference to the height of the people. 

Macedonia is a landlocked country located in southern Europe. It borders Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the east. The country is mountainous, and there are several rivers and lakes that dot this area. The summers are hot and dry, but the winters are fairly cold. It’s certainly colder the higher in the mountains you go. 

In ancient times, this area was originally the kingdom Paeonia. The Persians moved in during the 6^th century. Later, Philip II of Macedon —Alexander the Great’s father—took over the southern part of the region and Alexander the Great took over the rest of it. Then the Romans moved in and established the Province of Macedonia. The Slavs later began to settle into this area along with the Bulgars. The Byzantines invaded Bulgaria and proceeded to take over most of the Balkans, Macedonia included. The Bulgarian Empire rose to power during the 13^th century and took back the region. But a century later, it was passed back to the Byzantines and then it got handed off to the Serbian Empire. Eventually, it all fell under the reign of the Ottoman Empire. There were several movements during the 19^th century calling for more autonomy for Macedonia. After the Ottoman Empire broke up, the area was essentially divided between Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria; Macedonia was annexed to Serbia. However, this area was renamed as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (specific, but man, what a mouthful). It was later changed to Yugoslavia in 1929 (which is what I knew growing up). Greek and Bulgarian communists denied a free Macedonia; however, Macedonia was known as Vardar Macedonia back then and a special resolution acknowledged this separate nation and its own Macedonian language. There were a lot of struggles between different powers and parties, and it remained part of Socialist Yugoslavia until 1991 when Yugoslavia broke up. There have been some conflicts with ethnic Albanians living in Macedonia. Today, Macedonia is working toward gaining entry into the EU. 

Originally called Scupi when it was under Roman rule, the capital of Skopje is also Macedonia’s largest city. Located along the Vardar River in the northern part of the country, the city has roughly a half million residents. It’s located in the middle of several mountain ranges and surrounded by several lakes, rivers, and cave systems. Skopje serves as the nation’s capital for finance, government, media, and commerce. With several hospitals, universities, sports venues, theatres, museums, a nightlife scene, and several festivals held throughout the year, Skopje is every bit of a modern city. Mother Teresa was probably the city’s most famous resident. 

Since the mid-1990s, Macedonia has seen gradual, steady growth economically. The government has worked to fight against inflation and has experimented with a flat tax system in order to attract more foreign companies and investment. They have brought in some multinational companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Lear Corp, and Visteon Corp. However, even though these measures have proven moderately successful, Macedonia still has a really high unemployment rate at nearly 27%. Their main export is chemicals and other related products as well as machinery. Of the former Yugoslav countries, Macedonia has a much smaller economy in comparison to the others. Although they are less developed than other Balkan countries, Macedonia’s IT market has made significant increases, making it one of the fastest growing markets in this region.

Church of St. Clement of Ohrid, Skopje

About two-thirds of Macedonians follow Eastern Orthodoxy religion. Other Christian denominations and Jewish populations are also found here but make up a scant number of people. The remaining third of Macedonians are Muslim and are mostly of Albanian, Turk, or Romani ethnic origins. 

The official language is Macedonian, part of the South Slavic language family. Macedonian is actually closely related to Bulgarian and uses the Cyrillic script. However, because of Macedonia’s diverse ethnicity, there are several other languages spoken in areas where there are a large number of speakers (and in some cases, carry a co-official status in certain communities): Albanian, Turkish, Romani, Serbian, Bosnian, and Vlach.  

And finally what you’ve been waiting for: the TV Guide version of its naming dispute. When Yugoslavia broke up in 1991, officials wanted to call itself Macedonia. However, Greece held their hand up, saying it would be confusing because of the region in Greece of the same name. There are millions of people in Greece who identify themselves as Macedonians but are ethnically unrelated to the Slavic people living in Macedonia who also call themselves Macedonians. And they’ve gone round and round about the name. However, the UN had to call them something when they declared their independence. So, for right now, the compromise is Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, often shortened to Republic of Macedonia. Even their flags have been disputed. (Man, they can’t catch a break.) To make matters even stranger, Greece and Macedonia have even brought in Alexander the Great and Phillip of Macedon to argue who’s more ethnically tied to the name of Macedonia. The problem is that these arguments are stalling Macedonia’s application to the EU and NATO. So, regardless of who’s called what and who came from where back in antiquity, one thing for sure is that they all have great food. Perhaps they should just have dinner together and talk it out over a bottle of wine: in vino veritas.

Up next: art and literature