Macedonia - We're Blaring Битола

Whatcha doin? Just typing 5318008 into your calculator and turning it upside-down so it says BOOBIES huh? Us, too.

yup. this is what we get paid to do all day...

Man, after listening to that awful music, we have even more sympathy for the folks in Burma.

Hey! Let's go to Macedonia!!! You just missed some awesome accordion tunes set to a dance beat. F.O.R.R.E.A.L.

So after the crumbling of the Ottoman Empire, Macedonia eventually ended up becoming part of Yugoslavia. And, then when Yugoslavia imploded with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Macedonia was the only country to declare independence from Yugoslavia with no bloodshed. That's pretty amazing, huh? We all have so many associations of the Balkans with violence, it's nice to know that relative peaceful separation is possible. There was a tiny civil war ten years later, but hey, these things happen, amiright? Amiright? 

Anyway, Greece has been pissed ever since Macedonia declared independence mainly because the country shares it's name with a region of Northern Greece. That's where Thessaloniki is located, Greece's second-largest city and the birthplace of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the almost deified father of modern Turkey. 

and who wouldn't love this man? he looks like mr. magoo (without his glasses)

Buuuuuuuuut we digress... That naming argument has gone all the way to the UN and significantly impacted trade between the two states. It's still unresolved.

What else? Hmm... Mother Teresa and Alexander the Great were both from here, but we don't think they went to the same high school or anything.

Bitola High School Class of  MCCCXLVII

Most Likely to Be on Your 10th Grade World History Final

So! Pour yourself a glass of rakia (ракија) and let's tune into Радио 105 Бомбардер! For those of you who are a little rusty with your Macedonian, that's Radio 105 Bombader, broadcasting out of Bitola (Битола) in the south western corner of the country.

Radio 105 Bombader

And, be sure to check out their webcam, which Ellen likes better than the radio anyway.

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