KyustendilKyustendil (Кюстендил kjustenˈdiɫ) is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of the Kyustendil Province, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. The town is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, near the borders of Serbia and North Macedonia; 90 km southwest of Sofia, 130 km northeast of Skopje and 243 km north of Thessaloniki. The population is 37 799, with a Bulgarian majority and a Roma minority. During the Iron Age, a Thracian settlement was located within the town, later known as Roman in the 1st century AD.
SkopjeSkopje (ˈskɒpjeɪ , USalsoˈskoʊpjeɪ ; Скопје ˈskɔpjɛ; Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. Skopje lies in the Skopje Basin. Scupi is attested for the first time in the second century CE as a city in Roman Dardania. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople.
Torlakian dialectsTorlakian, or Torlak is a group of Eastern South Slavic dialects of southeastern Serbia, Kosovo, northeastern North Macedonia, and northwestern Bulgaria. Torlakian, together with Bulgarian and Macedonian, falls into the Balkan Slavic linguistic area, which is part of the broader Balkan sprachbund. According to UNESCO's list of endangered languages, Torlakian is vulnerable. Torlakian is not standardized, and its subdialects vary significantly in some features.
Vardar BanovinaThe Vardar Banovina, or Vardar Banate (Vardarska banovina; Вардарска бановина; Banovina e Vardarit), was a province (banate) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. It was located in the southernmost part of the country, encompassing the whole of today's North Macedonia, southern parts of Southern and Eastern Serbia and southeastern parts of Kosovo and Serbia. It was named after the Vardar River and its administrative capital was the city of Skopje.
Bulgarian Armed ForcesThe Bulgarian Army (Bŭlgarska armiya) is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military command is in the hands of the Defense Staff, headed by the Chief of the Defense. There are three main branches of the Bulgarian military, named literally the Land Forces, the Air Forces and the Naval Forces (the term "Bulgarian Army" refers to them encompassed all together).
BitolaBitola (ˈbiːtoʊlə,_-tələ; Битола ˈbitɔɫa) 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, 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.
BelasicaBelasica (Macedonian and Bulgarian: , also translit. Belasitsa or Belasitza, Ottoman Turkish: بلش Turkish: Beleş), Belles (Μπέλλες, Bélles) or Kerkini (Κερκίνη, Kerkíni;), is a mountain range in the region of Macedonia in Southeastern Europe, shared by northeastern Greece (about 45%), southeastern North Macedonia (35%) and southwestern Bulgaria (20%). The mountain range is fault-block mountain about long and wide and is situated just northeast of Dojran Lake.
Macedonians (ethnic group)Macedonians (Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians, who speak a South Slavic language, and share a cultural and historical "Orthodox Byzantine–Slavic heritage" with their neighbours. About two-thirds of all ethnic Macedonians live in North Macedonia and there are also communities in a number of other countries.
Skopje International AirportSkopje International Airport (Меѓународен аеродром Скопје, ), also known as Skopje Airport (Аеродром Скопје), and Petrovec Airport (Аеродром Петровец) and is the larger and busier of the two international airports in North Macedonia, with the other being the St. Paul the Apostle Airport in Ohrid, which is located southwest from the national capital Skopje. The airport was previously named Skopje Alexander the Great Airport (Аеродром „Александар Велики“ Скопје). The airport was built in 1928.
SerbianisationSerbianisation or Serbianization, also known as Serbification, and Serbisation or Serbization (србизација or посрбљавање; serbizimi; сърбизация or посръбчване; србизација; serbificare) is the spread of Serbian culture, people, and language, either by social integration or by cultural or forced assimilation. Populated by Bulgarians and Romanians, the area between the Morava and Timok rivers became part of the Serbian state in 1291/1292 which began the Serbianisation of the region.
