Shkupi Photography

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About Shkupi Photography

Shkupi is the capital of Macedonia (Ilirida), and it situated approximately 250m above sea level. Shkupi is a beautiful modern city, and it is a living dwell of near one million people. In the multi cultural cooperation of Albanians, Slavic Macedonians, Turkish and other nationalities, live side by side sharing the goodness among themselves. The city shears in the valley of the river Vardar, the biggest river in Macedonia (Ilirida), with his journey of 388 km. In one side is located the old town, and in the other the new build city.


The stone bridge, which is built by the Ottoman Turks on the site of a Roman bridge, it has eleven arches and bears a plaque in middle stating that it was restored by Sultan Murat II in the first half of the 15th century, gives access to the old part of the city with its many cultural and historical monuments. The old town called “Charshia” comprises about 1,000 shops, grills, restaurants, pastry shops, small manufacturing enterprises, and it is the heart and the historical symbol of Shkupi.



There are more historical monuments such as the caravanserais, the Kursumli An built in l6th centuries, the Suli An built in l5th century, and the Daut Pasha Baths built in l5th centuries with its two large and eleven small domes, now housing the Art Gallery. Other buildings, which may be found in the old town, are the Hajiuncar Mosque dating since l5th centuries, the Clock Tower built in l6th centuries, the Isak-Bey Mosque built in l5th centuries and the Mustapha Pasha Mosque dating since l5th centuries.



The old Shkupi’s fortress, called Kale built by the Ottoman Turkey in 10-l2th centuries, is situated directly above the Old Town. The traces left behind, remembers the Ottoman ruling which started in 1392 and ended in 1912. The beautiful city of Shkupi, as an important transit center on the Balkan peninsula, was always an attractive center for the rulers. As a commercial center, Shkupi became a throne for the Ottoman Sultans since 1400. Many of the Turkish writers wrote poms and tried to describe the beautiful city.


The city of Shkupi, for the first time, has been mentioned by Klaudie Diolomej in the third century BC, under its ancient name "Skupi.” In ancient writers the city of Skupi appears as a capital of Illyrian province of Dardania. The province of Dardania was ruled by the king Trajan, whose palace was in the city near the river Vardar. The artisans of Skupi were known to the neighboring places. The writings left behind from ancient writers describe the work of the artisans as noble and royal state of art. In the 4th century AD, Skupi became a Roman colony. During the Roman era, the city encountered real bloom on several fields, such as trade, architecture, and it became a large religious center with its own bishop.

The city experienced catastrophic earthquakes during its existence. It is believed that the city was totally drawn inside the earth in the fourth century BC. In the year of 518 the city was destroyed by a disastrous earthquake. Wonderful architectonic buildings, numerous public baths, the antic amphitheater, and the large basilica with mosaic floors have completely disappeared from the earth’s face. The witnesses of that time are the remains that can be seen on the archeological locality Skupi, located in Haraçina and Bardovca.

In 13 century BC, the first slavic tribes arrived in Shkupi. They were mostly beggars and poor people. However, the Albanians accepted them into the city and trained them for appropriate employment. Some of them were expelled to neighboring countries because of their criminal attitudes. During 1940 to 1945, Shkupi was surrender to the fascistic forces. The city of Shkupi experienced a rapid development after the Second World War: This trend was stopped in 1963, when most of the city was devastated by another catastrophic earthquake. Thanks to world solidarity, the city was quickly renewed and reconstructed. Today, Shkupi is a beautiful lovely place.