Thought it might be nice to lighten things up with a bit of history about Strumica; the new city that is allowing me so much “growth” as a person - lol. Some might say history is boring and I would have said that I was in this particular camp of thought years ago but it seems the older I get the more I find history riveting. So anyways my lecture will now begin. Strumica is a town situated in the south-east of the Republic of Macedonia (close to the Novo Selo-Petrich border crossing with Bulgaria). The population is close to 55,000 with an absolute Macedonian majority (90%). There are all together about 150,000 people living in the region surrounding the city. The city is named after the Strumica river which runs through it. The town is first mentioned in 2nd century B.C. with the Greek name "Αστραιον" (Astrayon). Later it was known by the Latin name "Tiveriopolis".
Hang in there as my lecture continues for all you history buffs (I will get to something a bit more fun eventually) ... in the IX century the town became part of the First Bulgarian Empire and it remained Bulgarian until 1014. After the Battle of Kleidon Strumica was seized by the Byzantine empire. In 1395 after another two centuries of Bulgarian control it fell under the Ottoman rule. During the National awakening in the second half of the XIX century a Bulgarian school and church opened their doors in the town. According to the 1878 ottoman census the Strumica had 2,400 households with 3,300 muslim and 2,120 Bulgarian citizens. In 1895 a IMARO committee was founded in the town by revolutionary leader d-r Hristo Tatarchev. In 1897 Strumica became part of the Bulgarian Exarchate. The census three years later showed that the population consisted of 6,100 Bulgarians, 3,100 Turks, and 700 jews. The majority of the Christian Bulgarians though sympathized the Constantinopole Greek Patriarchy. During the First Balkan War the city was liberated from the Turks and for some six years became part of Bulgaria. Following Bulgaria's defeat in World War I, under the 1919 Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine Bulgaria was forced to cede Strumica to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later to be called Yugoslavia. Strumica was occupied by Bulgarians in World War II. Following the World War II, Strumica remained in Yugoslavia and in 1945 became a part of the newly established Federative People's Republic of Macedonia. This federal republic remained in Yugoslavia until 1991, when it declared its independence as The Republic of Macedonia. It is also interesting to note that the country of Greece does not even recognize Macedonia as a country but instead refers to it as Skopje, which is Macedonia’s capitol city. Greeks feel that Macedonia took land rightfully belonging to them and therefore there is a great amount animosity between the two countries since Macedonia became a Republic.
In present days Strumica is the main agricultural center in the Republic of Macedonia and has many textile factories and a developed trade network. Large percent of the goods produced in Strumica are used for export in other cities in the Republic of Macedonia as well as in some European Union countries. One legacy of Strumica, once having been a part of Bulgaria, is the local dialect. Removed from Standard Macedonian language, its own features would make it unique in any case, but the few decades spent within Bulgaria did pass many Bulgarianisms down to each generation - the dialect is called Strumitsa (clever huh...haha). Strumica is one of the richest area in the Republic of Macedonia, which currently residing here is quite a shock to hear, but what is even more interesting is that Strumica is considered on the fast track to a becoming a developing modern city as it has expanded its infrastructure in the last few years. According to what I have read they determine improvement of infrastructure by Strumica's geographic position... not sure what that means but I can say that these next few fun facts I am going to share with you... well... I have never seen any of these to be true in what I would consider a developing modern city.
In Strumica it is not uncommon to experience any of the following on any given day:
-The refusal to accept or only make exact change. I have experienced this in a lot of ways like for instance today at local fruit/veggie market; I had four apples that i wanted and when the lady weighed them it was 26 denar so she proceeded to put three more apples in my bag to make it an even 30. I am thinking, “ok... i guess i will have 7 apples”! Another way they help you (but really themselves) exact change is but simply reducing the price - It’s 510 denar and u only have a 500 and 100 denar bill - well then it’s your lucky day bc you are gonna save 10 denar. One time when paying for gas (it’s $8 a gallon here btw) the price was 2398 denar - I gave the attendant 2500 denar and he gave me a 100 denar bill and a small chocolate (to cover the 2 denar he still owed me).
-People hanging laundry from the local park equipment. I just laugh when I see this because could you just imagine if someone went to a township park took their jeans, rug, towels and threw them over the swing set - it would so NEVER happen. Oh and the best part no one moves the stuff.
-Children play outside till 11pm and I mean small children. Bedtime for the average school age child is around 11-12pm (jr high and high schoolers are up much later). All I know is my kids are still going to bed at 8/8:30 and people think I’m the weird one.
-”Old” grandma types with fire red and purple hair, which btw they choose to dye this color all on their own -it is not some cosmetic mistake. I am guessing it’s a fashion statement here but I don’t think it’s a statement they should be making -haha. This reminds me of this time in high school when my sister dyed her hair purple and my grandma freaked - guess the grandmas here would just love it - may even be seen as a sign of maturity.
-Random animals mill around the city and I am not talking the occasional stray dog or cat. No, no I mean horse, goat, donkey, cow. On a few different occasions I have come to the basketball gym to find a white horse standing out front of the building - just hanging! Goats love the gym too - think we need to do a better job at mowing our grass (haha)!
-Tractors and horse-drawn wagons are still a main mode of transportation here in Strumica. Often I will pull into a parking lot and their is a tractor on my right and a BMW on my left.
I don’t know about you but none of this is really going on in the States... and although I am no world traveler none of the above screems developed or modern. There is one thing that is quite developed and modern about Strumica that I forgot to mention - their NIGHTLIFE. Apparently Strumica famous for being the home to some of the best clubs and lounges in the Republic of Macedonia. From what we hear people come from all over the ‘donia to party till the wee hours of the am. Some of our team has accompanied locals that we have gotten to know here and agree that it is pretty good - although when I mentioned it might be fun to come along (you know simply for research purposes) I was told that I was not young and vibrant enough to keep up. This person said I was would be falling asleep in the corner. I know I am 30, but I am plenty young and vibrant... not sure but I may have found something to write my next blog - haha! Hope everyone learned a little something here... later!
