Fruit & Nutcase

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The Kale Fortress had loomed over us, since our arrival in Skopje. A visit to the Fortress was pencilled in for Sunday morning. It opened early – 0700 hours. We had what transpired to be our final breakfast at the hotel and climbed the hill from the Old Town. It was a surprisingly short walk and opened up a whole new world of drinking possibilities from those investigated to date. Who would have thought it? The First Microbrewery in Macedonia perched at the top of the hill. We made a note to return later. We walked across the grass beyond and up the hill to the main entrance. The Fortress is For Visitors proclaimed a very home-made looking sign. It actually said “Open” for Visitors, but that wasn’t immediately obvious. A mysterious large black Mercedes with Zagreb number plates was parked in the car park. A large guy dressed in a smart black stood nearby. Two elderly Americans were listening intently, as their guide informed them of the history of Skopje from this very high vantage point. The view from the car park allowed us to see miles in a westerly direction. It reminded me even more of Sarajevo – tower blocks scattered as far as the eye could see down the valley. We could see the curved roof of the Philip II Arena beneath us. The entrance into the Kale was free. As with Ohrid, Skopje seemed content not to extract every last bean out of the tourism trade. The security guard hut was empty, as indeed was the Fortress. One other visitor wandered around in a business suit – his jacket casually slung over his shoulder. We were eventually joined by the American couple, although one looked less than steady on his feet. He clung to his companion and they avoided climbing the walls. The Man in the Middle got close enough to eavesdrop on the private tour. We had a small wander round the limited walls, although the towers were all off limits for some reason. At the stadium end of the Fortress, there was no barrier – carry on walking and drop 150 metres. A Health & Safety man of our acquaintance would be waxing lyrical on the risk.





The mosque over the road from the Fortress looked worthy of closer inspection. Our business attired visitor from the Fortress, had just made a similar visit and the Americans would follow suit shortly. Were we the only few tourists on this Sunday morning? The rest were obviously having a lie in, after a sleepless night listening to drum and bass. The usual mosque rules applied - i.e. no shoes, although I am always wary and had no intention of watching my new North Face boots disappearing from sight. The Man in the Middle amused himself taking snaps of his finest Clark's outlet produce, as the solitary shoes on the rack. He chuckled at the thought of them wandering off, leaving him with a pair of Primark sandals in exchange to complete the rest of his Macedonian mission. There were no complementary plastic bags here, as there are outside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. The shoe total still intact, we descended towards the stone Bridge from our lofty perch and toyed with the idea of the Museum of the Macedonian Struggle next door. The pots and pans theory came into play again, after a brief interlude to read up about what we might encounter inside. The 300 Denar entry fee sealed the deal. No chance. We moved on towards the Holocaust Museum next door. It said it was open on the sign, but the door was locked. I pressed the intercom and waited. The door opened and we became the only visitors. The free entry came into play again. The museum was basically a walk through the history of Judaism in the Balkans after their expulsion from Spain and the events leading up to and during World War 2. As with many buildings in Skopje, it is a recent addition and a very attractive building it is too. The sun glinted off the glass panels to the front. The museum itself was informative and well laid out. There were even numbers on the floor to keep you on track.



After the Holocaust Museum, we considered our options. Kosovo had been mentioned as a possibility for our final full day before our flight on Tuesday. The Man in the Middle suggested we do it, as we had almost exhausted all remaining entertainment in Skopje. I knew it was a possibility as a day trip, having read an account by a Polish girl on her Wanderlust website. I checked we had no plans for another mission to the Eternal Derby of Serbia. The Serbian authorities apparently do not look too favourably on a Kosovan passport stamp. The lady at the very efficient Skopje Bus Station was more than helpful. In her excellent English, she explained our options. “A day trip. Why not?”. Five minutes later, we were the proud owners of 2 one way tickets to Pristina – 320 Denars each. The decision made, we returned to the First Microbrewery in Macedonia for a pre-match meal. Well maybe not - a pre-match beer then. “I’ll bring you a beer menu” advised the barman. He conveniently forgot to inform, that half of the selections on the said menu were unavailable. "OK, what do you have? " We opted for 2 light beers. It was clearly unfiltered, a bit cloudy and more expensive than any other drink we had on the trip, but very palatable all the same. It would have been rude not to have another. We set off for the match. Would there be glory in Macedonian Division 1?



We crossed the Vardar by another few paint splattered lion statues and headed past the Macedonian "White House". The buildings had the hallmarks of being the President's Palace. It looked splendid in the mid-day sun. An Orthodox church distracted us. It had similarities to the big cathedral in Belgrade, but as with most buildings in central Skopje was possibly less than 10 years old. The bus stop was just across from the church. I showed the Maps.me app on the tablet to a very helpful lady, who instantly seemed to recognize that Macedonian football was on our mind. She was remarkably well informed, even to the extent when we got close of indicating ..... one more stop......as I was itching to press the stop button. The lady couldn't even speak English either, so the assistance was a total bonus. The bus itself is all part of the Skopje Disney experience. Red double decker buses. What is that all about? We alighted in Gjorce Petrov, which was a western suburb. The ground was down a narrow road from the main carriageway. The opposite carriage way was being resurfaced, so we wandered across the other side unmolested. A few old guys were heading down the lane, so we figured it was the right place. Blue lights and riot police 300 or 400 hundred metres in advance of our position confirmed the fact.



I knew that the opposition team were from the ethnic Albanian community, but the police presence seemed a shade on the disproportionate side. I guess everybody deserves overtime, if they want it. The turnstile was firmly closed up, so as we had an hour to spare we made our way into the bar under the stand and took a seat in the covered outdoor patio. It was nice and shady and Dab in bottles was on offer at a bargain price. The stereo typical impression of the English football fan was blown out the water, when the next order from us was 2 Serbian salads! They seemed most apologetic, but asked us to pay on ordering. Perhaps, it would get busy? We ordered another beer. The police over the fence tried to stay out the sun and eyed us up. The rest of the bar seemed to consist mainly of stewards and club security. There were no opposition fans, but we heard them coming in the distance. Loud, boisterous chanting flooded into the bar from the 300-400 Shkupi fans. They had been bused in from their northern suburb to avoid conflict. A line of riot police blocked the road outside when we re-emerged outside. A group of FK Macedonia 1932 “ultras” hung around sullenly near the small ticket office, staring intently through the lines of police at the way fans. The tickets were 100 Denars and we were successful in keeping them intact as a souvenir on entry. The water bottles we had just purchased in the bar were more of an issue. The bar had assured me all would be well with the water, but apparently not – “it is against the rules”. Mr Security finally relented, by which time I had drunk most of my match hydration supply.



The game itself was of no significant higher quality than the previous day’s Division 2 encounter. The pitch was superior and the stand we had allowed us not to look into the fierce afternoon sun. A small group of youths perched on the 6 foot wall behind one goal for a view without having to pay the entry fee. One of the number would periodically fall into the ground – pushed by his mates – prompting a scurry of activity from stewards, who forced them back up a ladder on to the free vantage point. The locals tried their best to provoke the police at half time. The only toilets and a drinking tap were behind one goal. The police denied them the opportunity to use the facilities. An altercation followed. The usual “I’m English, I don’t understand tactic” failed – the police gestured to the space behind the stand - so we no other option but to relieve ourselves underneath the stand. Shkupi had dominated and took a lead just before half time through their overseas import. The goal scoring feat made him even more unpopular amongst the local fans, who were busy hurling insults at everything not associated with their club. A firecracker landed just in front of the opposition coach, but he had been smart enough to sense it was on it’s way. However events took a turn for the 1970s, when Traore was substituted. A fan ran down and offered him a piece of fruit through the fence. The police who were stood no more than 2 metres from the incident did nothing. The rest of the local fans laughed. UEFA’s kick racism out of football campaign seemed not to have made it to Macedonia. I have been to many games all over the world and never seen anything like it for 35 years. The 2017 European Super Cup is scheduled to be played in the Philip II Arena, so UEFA appear to have some education to complete before that takes place. The game faded in the afternoon heat and the locals continued to taunt the police, as they were held in to allow their visitors to leave first.





We retreated to the bar to let the dust settle. The Club President was holding court. He owned the restaurant and bar, which by all accounts in Macedonia is sufficient to finance a Division 1 team The budding Roman Abramovichs should take note. A few of the key instigators in the agitations with the police were in the inner circle. We got talking to one of the outer circle. He enlightened on many things. The gems of knowledge gleaned included that English football could be saved by Alan Shearer – as a manager I hasten to add and not making a playing comeback. Newcastle United it seems were the favoured club. We were in Gjorce Petrov and it was specifically pointed out this “is not Skopje”. We queried the racism incident, the lack of reaction and suggested there would have been arrests elsewhere in Europe. “This is Macedonia – things will be like this for a long time – been in a 1000 years”. UEFA – you have been warned. We queried the altercation with the police. “The police are the first enemy of the Macedonian football fan. The away fans are secondary”. At the height of the half time dispute, one of the policemen had suggested some individuals fans come down to the front and discuss matters with him on a one to one basis. He had no takers. Bravery evaporated at this point. In return for our insight into the world of Macedonian football, we bought the beers. It turned out the lady behind the bar had lived in England and even visited the North East’s Premier Seaside Resort. Small world! The Man in the Middle left without his Forest cap. Newcastle and Alan Shearer were all forgotten. A convert to the cause soon had the article on his head. He would be soon going to Europe to win the Cup twice. Due to the road resurfacing, buses were on divert. We spied one cutting in from the side road. The Man in the Middle sprinted into life – no journey into Eastern Europe is complete without running for a bus. He is an old hand.



Appendix 1

Macedonia Pvra Liga

FK Macedonia 1932 0 FK Shkupi 1927 1


Date: 2 October 2016 @ 1500 Hours

Venue: Stadium Gjorce Petrov, Gjorce Petrov, Skopje, Macedonia

Scorers: 0-1 A Traore (FK Shkupi) 44 Mins


Attendance: 800

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Comments

[Rainyb]

Stunning building!

[Rainyb]

Great monument!

[Rainyb]

Interesting design!

[Rainyb]

Another interesting album!