THE BEGINNING

The Skopje Bazaar is the place where the social and urban elites of the capitol emerged during the first decades of the 20^th century and this process was particularly strong in the years following the Second World War. Tenure of a shop in the bazaar meant public recognition for a distinct social status within the urban society. This gradually turned the Bazaar into Skopje’s main trading arena. The owners of the shops used to live in the houses above their shops, while the most frequent traders lived either in Skopje’s neighborhood of Serava, which is very close to the bazaar, or in Cair district, a Turkish designation for productive soil. The two are known as the oldest district areas of Skopje. Today, stories of “bazaar’s faces” are still told as stories of legends which speak of the long life and experiences of this ancient town inside a modern city.

When you come to the Old Bazaar from the part of Skopje built after the earthquake in 1963, you get the impression that this is the spot where the links to civilization are cut off: the dynamics and the stress of modern living are replaced by a state of coolness and idyllic tranquility. It is there that the aggressiveness of modern living ends and the respect for the tradition cultivated in typical forms of trade and crafts such as sleepers, bags or gold sets off. In the Old Bazaar family traditions are fostered- shops are carried from one generation to another and as such, they become the identifying symbols of the residents of the city of Skopje.

In addition to the small and narrow shops where some of the oldest crafts that clash with modern trends of industrialization are cultivated, the Old Bazaar is also a cultural and artistic center in which a number of cultural and historic monuments are located. Inside this former trading center, some of the most popular art galleries can be found, as well as some baths and “ans”- a term used to nominate motels or sleepovers built at the time of the Ottoman Empire. A constituent part of the Bazaar, though not physically inside it is the Albanian Drama Theater, a building which is unfortunately poorly maintained and left without care by the central authorities. Yet, despite all the difficulties and obstructions, the Theater has been actively performing plays for many decades now and its actors are often rewarded both in domestic and international theater festivals. The Old Bazaar is also host to many open-air music festivals and events organized on its rocks and at the same time it is home to the Children’s Theater Center, a multiethnic theater company which performs children’s plays. Within the framework of the Bazaar can also be found the Museum of Macedonia which is located close to Kurshumli An and the Mustafa Pasha mosque, and in the same area, opposite the Fortress of Skopje, visitors will spot the Museum of Contemporary Art.

The so-called “Esnafs” of the Bazaar are the craftsmen who practice and foster the tradition in a given field of crafting. The term “esnaf” comes from the medieval times and it was used to tag people who held economic, political, military and religious-educational positions. They were also interested in the problems of production and circulation of the mercandise. Being an “esnaf” today means respecting the unwritten rules of the Bazaar: open your shop early, receive and greet your clients politely or similar. The “esnafs” frequently meet up on various locations of the Bazaar to excange opinions, or hold meetings whenever important issues regarding the Bazaar are at stake. Their office is based inside the Kapan An compound which is located at the entrance to the Bazaar.

The craftsmen too have their center of daily activities known as the Craftsmen Chamber, a white building opposite Cifte Amam and the Murat Pasha Mosque. The Craftsmen chamber found in the Old Bazaar, apart from a business center is also used as a location for various social or cultural activities such as artistic exhibitions.