Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, 14 kilometres north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing with Greece. The city stands at an important junction connecting the south of the Adriatic Sea region with the Aegean Sea and Central Europe, and it is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It has been known since the Ottoman period as the "City of Consuls", since many European countries had consulates in Bitola.
The history of North Macedonia encompasses the history of the territory of the modern state of North Macedonia.
North Macedonia is a country situated in southeastern Europe with geographic coordinates 41°50′N22°00′E, bordering Kosovo and Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. The country is part of the wider region of Macedonia and makes up most of Vardar Macedonia. The country is a major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Southern Europe and the Aegean Sea. North Macedonia is a landlocked country but has three major natural lakes: Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Lake Dojran. It has a water area of 857 km2, while its land area is 24,856 km2.
The Albanians in North Macedonia are the second largest ethnic group in North Macedonia, forming 446,245 individuals or 24.3% of the resident population. Of the 2,097,319 total population in the 2021 census, 619,187 or 29.52% are Albanians.
The Catholic Church in North Macedonia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope in Rome and is one of the major religious communities that exist on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia. Catholic believers from North Macedonia mostly include Albanians, Macedonians and Croats and are most concentrated in the Skopje Statistical Region and the Southeastern Statistical Region of North Macedonia.
The Ohrid Framework Agreement was the peace deal signed by the government of the Republic of Macedonia and representatives of the Albanian minority on 13 August 2001. The agreement was signed by the country's four political parties after international mediators demanded their commitment to its ratification and implementation within a four-year period.
The history of the Jews in North Macedonia stretches back two thousand years, beginning during Roman antiquity, when Jews first arrived in the region. Today, following the Holocaust and emigration, especially to Israel, around 200 Jews remain in North Macedonia, mostly in the capital, Skopje and a few in Štip and Bitola.
Muslims in North Macedonia represent just under one-third of the nation's total population according to the 2021 census, making Islam the second most widely professed religion in the country. Muslims in North Macedonia follow Sunni Islam of the Hanafi madhhab. Some northwestern and western regions of the country have Muslim majorities. A large majority of all the Muslims in the country are ethnic Albanians, with the rest being primarily Turks, Romani, Bosniaks or Torbeš.
The Serbs are one of the constitutional ethnic groups of North Macedonia, numbering about 24,000 inhabitants.
Turks in North Macedonia, also known as Turkish Macedonians and Macedonian Turks, are the ethnic Turks who constitute the third largest ethnic group in the Republic of North Macedonia. According to the 2002 census, there were 77,959 Turks living in the country, forming a minority of some 3.8% of the population. The community forms a majority in Centar Župa and Plasnica.
Dolno Srpci is a village in the municipality of Mogila, North Macedonia. It is located north-east of the city of Bitola in North Macedonia in the Pelagonia plain and is 593m above sea level.
Tourism in North Macedonia is a large factor of the nation's economy. The country's large abundance of natural and cultural attractions make it suitable for tourism.
The Aromanians in North Macedonia, also known as the Vlachs, are an officially recognised minority group of North Macedonia numbering some 9,695 people according to the 2002 census. They are concentrated in Kruševo, Štip, Bitola and Skopje.
North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, and Albania to the west. It constitutes approximately the northern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia. Skopje, the capital and largest city, is home to a quarter of the country's 1.83 million people. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25%, followed by Turks, Roma, Serbs, Bosniaks, Aromanians and a few other minorities.
Gorno Orizari is a settlement within the Bitola Municipality of North Macedonia. Originally a village, it is now a suburb of the wider city. It is located to the north of the city, east of the exit road for Prilep and close to the proposed M5 motorway, a limited-access road that bypasses Bitola linking the city with Ohrid and Resen (west) and Prilep (north).
Both Montenegro and the Republic of North Macedonia are full members of the Council of Europe and of the NATO. The Foreign Ministry of North Macedonia states the two countries have excellent political ties, without any open issues between the two countries. The embassy of North Macedonia to Montenegro is located in the capital city of Podgorica. Montenegro's embassy in North Macedonia is also located in the country's capital city, which is Skopje. Also, Montenegro has an honorary consulate in the city of Bitola.
North Macedonia was part of the Ottoman Empire for over five hundred years, from the late 14th century to the Treaty of Bucharest (1913). Before its conquest, this area was divided between various Serbian feudal principalities. Later, it became part of the Ottoman province or Eyalet of Rumelia. The name Rumelia means "Land of the Romans" in Turkish, referring to the lands conquered by the Ottoman Turks from the Byzantine Empire.
The 2012 Republic of Macedonia inter-ethnic violence started in early 2012 and involved ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians of the Republic of Macedonia.
Stevan Simić was a Serb geographer, educator and member of the Serbian Chetnik Organization in Old Serbia and an MP in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
