"Skopje" a Skopje Travel Page by johnsakura

i spent wonderful times in Skopje. I was not expecting something like the one i found. people are great and the city, small, has a bit to offer.
I want to thank VT member "Malecka" for the help given and of course the little time waisted with me on th city. Maria thank you very much for the help on the Youth Hostel and city info.

On the pic is the City's Castle Skopsko Kale by night. And the brigde is the pedestrian zone, with the 15th-century Turkish stone bridge over the Vardar River linking the old and new towns.

Skopje (pop 444, 229)

The town is mentioned, under the name of Scupi, in the Roman period. Chroniclers have noted two important events in the history of Skopje occurring in 518 A.D.: the town was attacked by barbarian tribes and was struck by a disastrous earthquake. After this earthquake, another town was erected a few kilometres away from the old location. Later, the town on the banks of the River Vardar acquired its Slav name of Skopje.

The city of Skopje experienced a rapid development after the Second World War: This trend was halted in 1963, when most of the city was devastated by another catastrophic earthquake. Thanks to world solidarity, the city was quickly renewed and reconstructed.

http://www.soros.org.mk/mk/skopje/en/history.htm

Ethnic tensions flared in March 2001 when Albanian rebels calling themselves the National Liberation Army (UCK) clashed violently with Macedonian forces. The UCK says they are fighting for the rights of the 400,000 Albanians who live in the country. But the Macedonian government claims that the extremists are recent arrivals from Kosovo and have a different agenda altogether - to drum up support for a 'Greater Albania'. Most of the fighting has occurred near Macedonia's border with Kosovo in the north, though these clashes have the potential to spread to the nearby capital, Skopje, and ignite ethnic tensions throughout the country. It is expected that the Albanian insurgents will be brought to heel quickly and calm restored.