Old Bazaar, Skopje
The Old Bazaar (Macedonian: Стара чаршија, romanized: Stara čaršija; Albanian: Çarshia e Vjetër; Turkish: Eski Çarşı or Üsküp Türk Çarşısı) also known as Turkish Bazaar (Macedonian: Турска чаршија, romanized: Turska čaršija; Albanian: Çarshia e Vjetër Turke) is a bazaar located in Skopje, North Macedonia, situated on the eastern bank of the Vardar River, stretching from the Stone Bridge to the Bit-Pazar and from the Skopje Fortress to the Serava river.
The Ottoman history of the bazaar is evidenced by roughly thirty mosques, numerous caravanserais and hans, among other buildings and monuments.
On 13 October 2008, the Macedonian Parliament adopted a law recognising the Old Bazaar as cultural heritage of particular importance for the country to be permanently protected.
[7] In early 2010, the Macedonian Government began a project for the revitalisation of the Old Bazaar, which includes the restoration of several objects and aiming a further economic and cultural development of the site.
In 518, Scupi was heavily damaged by a devastating earthquake, which prompted the Byzantine emperor Justinian I to rebuild a new capital that was located distantly from the destroyed city.
[9] During the reign of king Samuel, Skopje was given a particular strategic, political, economic, and cultural importance, so that the surrounding area of the Kale hill was embanked by the enactment of defensive walls, in order to keep the treasures that were present in the settlement.
[11] After the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire under Byzantine rule in 1018, the emperor Basil II transformed Skopje into a capital of a theme and an episcopal see, whose bishop was elected for a four-year term.
Following the death of Basil, his successor, Romanos III Argyros, undertook activities to reconstruct the Monastery of St. Georgi, which was situated on the place where today the Sultan Murad Mosque is located.
Strong development contributed to the city to take the position of an important trading center which was visited by merchants from many other places like Dubrovnik and Republic of Venice.
Major changes to the architectural character of the current Old Bazaar occurred during governorship of Ishak Beg and his son Isa Bey.
At the same time were built imarets i.e. public houses where food was prepared and served to the homeless and travelers who have stayed in the city.
Kurşumli Han inn was built in the middle of the century, and in 1543 began the construction of the Church of the Ascension of Jesus, which was the first Christian project that was approved during the Ottoman period in Skopje.
The strong earthquake which struck in Skopje 1555, caused massive damage in the bazaar, but the city soon recovered and continued unimpeded development of trade.
[13] The buildings have undergone changes in their social, religious and cultural usage such as mosques that were linked with madrassas, caravansaries, libraries, water fountains and burial chambers.
[13] Following the 1963 earthquake, urban planners pursued a museification of the area reserving it mainly for foreign visitors and ideological reasons for doing so were based upon Yugoslav socialism and its understandings of secularism and modernity.
[14] For some months following the inter-ethnic conflict of 2001, Macedonians were cautious and hesitant to stroll around the Old Bazaar as the place is associated with criminality, uncleanliness and Albanians.
[13] From 2005 onward Čair municipality outlined a vision for the capital city's historic core and implemented policies that promoted the revival of the Old Bazaar to its former Ottoman state with specific boundaries for the area.
[15] Its initiatives include the refurbishment of the area's historical architecture, inaugurating a Jazz festival, opening a House of the esnaf (professional guilds with Ottoman era origins) and reserving a hall for the arts and music.
[17] For local Albanians, the Yugoslav era and its socialist understanding of architectural modernism resulted in neglect and failure to properly restore Ottoman religious heritage in the area.
[17] A refurbishment initiative during the 1990s on the Old Stone Bridge prevented people from crossing the structure and it resulted in negative economic effects for many craftsmen of the Old Bazaar.
[6] Over a span of twenty to thirty years the area underwent a demographic change of Albanisation and it became reflected in the usage of the Latin alphabet and Albanian writing in shops of the Old Bazaar.
[6] The historical core of Skopje was viewed as more aesthetically pleasing unlike the southern half of the capital with its socialist era buildings.
[6] The conflict of 2001 was the turning point as Macedonians abandoned the Old Bazaar for the right bank of the river Vardar, especially after new restaurants and bars opened in that area.
[18] Skopje's clock tower, built in the 16th century on the foundations of an older edifice, is located just north of the Sultan Murad Mosque.
[24] Located on the highest hill in Skopje, overlooking the city and the river, the area upon which the fortress was built was first inhabited in prehistoric times, according to archaeological findings.
[26] The largest of the three remaining caravanserais, the Kuršumli Han (Turkish for 'Lead Inn') was built by Musein Odza, the son of a scientist at Sultan Selim II's court, in the 16th century.
The Sultan Murad Mosque is rectangular in shape, with a porch including four columns with decorated caplets, connected by arcades.
[35] Skopje's largest market, Bit Pazar is located next to the Old Bazaar proper and retained its multi-ethnic and multi-lingual environment where rural people come to sell farming produce and locals conduct business.
[36] An existing statue of Skanderbeg, an important historical figure to ethnic Albanians, is the main fixture of a square that bears his name located at the entrance to Skopje's Old Bazaar.
