The Turkish municipality of Centar Zupa in Northern Macedonia aims to develop tourism to prevent migration
The Turkish municipality of Centar Zupa in Northern Macedonia aims to develop tourism to prevent migration
The municipality of Centar Zhupa, where a significant number of Turks live, is located in the western part of Northern Macedonia. To prevent migration to Europe, it aims to promote tourism, emphasizing the historical heritage, national cuisine and natural beauty of the region. Special attention is paid to the Ali Ryzy-Efendi Memorial House, which is a significant object for Turkish tourists.
PRESENTATION OF TURKISH AND MACEDONIAN CUISINE
Centar Zhupa, located about an hour's drive from the popular tourist towns of Ohrid and Struga, is famous for its unique natural beauty and Turkish-speaking population. It is one of the few places in the country where 85% of the inhabitants are Turks. Tourists are offered traditional Turkish and Macedonian cuisine.
The mayor of the municipality, Ariyan Ibrahim, told the Anadolu agency (AA) about the problems of infrastructure and the benefits of tourism for the region. Ibrahim noted that the population of the municipality used to be about 10 thousand people, and that migration from the region used to mainly occur to Turkey, but in recent years the outflow of population to European countries has increased. The remaining 15% of the inhabitants are Albanians and Macedonians. There are two primary schools and one secondary school within the municipality, where education is conducted in Turkish, Macedonian and Albanian.
AN IMPORTANT TOURIST SITE: ALI RYZA-EFENDI MEMORIAL HOUSE
The mayor also spoke about the Memorial House of Ali Ryza-Efendi, the father of the founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, located in the village of Kokadzhik. The house was built jointly by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Macedonia, the Turkish Agency for Cooperation and Coordination (TIKA) and the municipality of Centar Zhupa. This facility is an important destination for Turkish tourists.
However, Ibrahim noted that the difficult path to the museum reduces the number of visitors. According to him, this issue was discussed with Turkish and Macedonian politicians, and was recently raised at a meeting with Turkish Ambassador to Skopje Fatih Ulusoy.
RUSSIAN-SPEAKING GUIDES AT THE MEMORIAL HOUSE
The director of the Ali Ryzy-Efendi Memorial House, Deniz Hassan, spoke about the details related to this object. According to him, since 2014, the house has been visited by about 2,000 tourists annually. The museum presents local household items, as well as wax figures of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, his father Ali Ryzy-Efendi, grandfather Kyzyl Hafiz Akhmet Efendi and grandmother Ayshe Khanim.
Hassan stressed that the presence of Russian-speaking guides contributes to the popularization of not only the Memorial House, but also the region as a whole.