Posted
on September 8, 2014
A
lot of countries are about as old as my daughter—in their current
versions of nationhood, that is! That is because the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics pretty much broke up in 1991—the same year my
daughter was born—and Soviet “satellites” and other communist
nations such as Yugoslavia also broke apart or went through a
democratization revolution in or around 1991.
One
of the countries that emerged from the Yugoslavian split-up was
Macedonia. Today this eastern-European nation celebrates its 1991
declaration of independence from Yugoslavia...
Did
you know...?
Macedonia's
capital, Skopje, has been going through a very expensive makeover to
make it more attractive to tourists. Check out Macedonia Square,
where a huge statue of a warrior on a horse may or may not represent
Alexander the Great (it's controversial!). The statue is accompanied
by “dancing fountains” with music and lights!
Suto
Orizari (Shutka), in Macedonia, is one of the largest Roma
communities (that is, communities of gypsies) in the world. Romani is one of its official languages there, and the mayor is Romani.
Vrelo
Cave features a spring and natural rock formations (lit up here in a
most unnatural - but gorgeous! - way).
I
read that Lake Ohrid is the oldest lake in Europe and one of the
oldest in the world. Apparently most of the lakes of the world came
into being after the latest Ice Age. Glaciers ground down through
valleys and carved into rocks, making depressions that filled with
water when the glaciers retreated. But Lake Ohrid and a few other
lakes in the world existed before the last Ice Age. This lake is
considered a tectonic lake—which is the group of lakes that are
formed by uplift, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, or landslides.
Also
on this date:
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out my Pinterest boards for:
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