Macedonian Independence Day

Waiting at 6 am outside the Cultural Center, I couldn’t believe my luck! When I heard on Monday that our local 4-person music group using a Flute, a Gaida (a bag pipe and not the Scottish bagpipe though there are similarities), a guitar (4-string instrument looks like a mandolin) and a drum; was going to perform in the eastern Macedonian city of Strumica on Wednesday September 8th for the Independence Day music festival, I asked if I could join them and they agreed!

First a little bit about the peaceful birth of the Republic of Macedonia when it gained its independence from Yugoslavia, where it was a federal state, and became a sovereign parliamentary democracy.
"Dear citizens of Macedonia, allow me tonight to you and to all citizens of Macedonia to congratulate the free, sovereign and independent Macedonia," said the former President of the Republic of Macedonia Kiro Gligorov 19 years ago addressing the citizens who spontaneously gathered at Macedonia Square to celebrate the successful referendum at which Macedonian citizens voted for independent and sovereign state.
On September 8, 1991 over 95,5% of the citizens voted for independence of the Republic Macedonia……. The will of the people for independent state was confirmed with the declaration for acceptance of the results from the referendum on September 18, 1991 at the Macedonian Parliament.” ….Turkish Weekly

Back to my story: Though a little late getting started, we made our way east in a combi, through regional roads winding around picturesque valleys and villages, avoiding the main highway. Though mountainous and moderate climate prevails throughout Macedonia, the narrow mountain valleys differ enough in soil and microclimates to favor one crop over the other. In the region of Kavardarci and Negotino grapes abound, while the fields surrounding the small town of Valando figs and pomegranates’ are abundant. Macedonians make preserves, wines and a brandy like drink called rakija from all the fruit that they cannot consume – so with the ripened figs we made a few stops to pick ups kilo’s of figs for a preserve called “smokva slatko”, smokva being the Macedonian word for figs and slatko translated as gold.  Soon we were in slightly unfamiliar territory and took some wrong turns in the mountain roads, as we were not headed for Strumica but, much to my amazement and delight a small village called Koleshino.

Reminiscent of Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest, the forested glade had a spring winding down the side of the hill. Upstream where the spring dropped down a sheer face about 10 meters, a stage had been set up with the small waterfall making a picturesque backdrop. One of the largest bridges had seating for VIP’s while the remaining people found many rocks and nooks and crannies facing the stage to watch the performance. The path from the lower reaches to the stage had little hospitality tables set up with traditional foods that were made by the local village women and served free was the icing on the cake. It was charming, ingenious and a delightful outdoor music festival.

At the end of the festival another surprise showing an unexpected but very Macedonian concept of time. Our music group and one from the town of Probistip were invited for a cup of coffee by the host of the festivities in an adjacent village called Novo Celo, which literally means New Village!  Almost every municipality has a village with the name Novo Celo!  With creative people in our midst, the coffee time became a sing-along!

Close to 4 o’clock, I was ready for the long three-hour drive home. However, barely twenty minutes out, we stopped at a grocery store. I was only to find out 5 minutes later when we pulled into the driveway of a farmhouse, that we were not ready to drive straight back home. We enjoyed the hospitality of drinks, coffee, farm fruits and aforementioned smokva slatko. A farmhouse reminiscent of one in the villages of Punjab, India down to the family life and the hospitality!

By nightfall when we were about 45 minutes away from home, we stopped for refreshments and squeezed in a couple of young boys looking for a ride to one of the villages on our way.  In our community there is a strong sense of looking out for each other and often people will sit uncomfortably for long rides and patiently wait till the driver picks up or drops passengers slightly off the main route. This is strikingly different from our culture back home as we expect public transport to stick to given routes and published times!