Omg finally! Btw barby check the comments of your post on this video; you’ll see. About 30 people are spam texting, dming and commenting to hey u to notice us! We are a middle school in Macedonia (or north Macedonia; just gonna say both as to not cause controversy) and we watch your videos every day and have competitions! It’s a long story. But even out principal reached out to u! So, the real question is, are you still in Macedonia/North Macedonia?? If so, pls visit us!!
honestly, im absolutely effing shocked that you didn't talk about, or call upon someone from the Albanian minority in Macedonia (to get their perspective) which has a lot of influence (whether macedonians like it or not) culturally, politically and economically, and the seggregation that comes with it... grouping them with the Roma or Turkish people is massively underrating the impact they've had on the country whether its negative or positive. whether you like it or not, youHAVE to address it, honestly shame on you
honestly love these letter style videos, was actually introduced to your videos in year 9 (when i was 14) while we were studying nigeria as a case study for school, i am now going to university to study earth and planetary sciences and your videos were 100% an inspiration for this. I am glad to see that you have found a style of content that you seem to thoroughly enjoy! If you ever come back to europe please come to the United Kingdom and i would be honored to show you around.
Duuuude, it's good and all, but just FYI, we don't get married to get a BG passport. We pay a shady guy around 500 euro and he gets the job done. We get rid of those once we get German/Slovenian/Swedish etc passport. It's literally for business purposes. Nothing personal. P.S. About why the capital's got so many statues, in so many styles (aside the government spending) it's because Skopje has been many times in history destoyed to the ground and then rebuilt. Even that a&&hole Pikolomini described it as "town more beautiful than Prague" and then burned it. You've missed some keypoints: we're the main producers of cannabis, wine, rakia, and we've got casinos at every step, especially on the border with Greece near Gevgelija. Greeks are practically swarming that area, and unlike the vice versa, they don't feel unwelcomed. So, we're like Amsterdam on the Balkans. P.P.S. Those two youngsters accompanying you have skipped classes from school, obviously. At the end of the day, the Greeks have rebuild Acropolis in the 19-th century. What, you thought it was ancient? Yeah, almost. So, why wouldn't we? Enjoy the food & wine!
Actually the vast majority of BG passports were obtained in a legal way - by providing documents proving Bulgarian ancestry. I understand why you try to underplay that fact, but it is what it is.
@chris-3 And I understand why you're trying to undermine my comment. Nice try, but, false none the less. I'm very looking forward an inspection from the EU to check out how it's physically possible for over a 1000 residents to share an address. As for the "proving an origin" as a requirement for obtaining a passport, merely shows your lack of knowledge on the matter. I won't delve in the details, for you don't care anyways, and, as any bot, you don't care about actual condition, rather for warping a narrative. If you care, do your homework. All I've said is a fact, that, as you can see, is confirmed by practically everyone in the thread.
@@marym7758 I see that you couldn't resist insulting me, but I won't stoop so low as to respond in a similar manner. I'll just say that I know enough about the topic to come to the conclusion that you're underplaying the issue. I know why you do it, but it's not the truth.
@chris-3 I've merely responded to your insult that you've tried to pack (unsuccessfully) as a denominator. And yes, I'm aware you'll try to twist my words (again), making me the subject instead of keeping to the actual subject. Part of your training. I've seen it once too many. And, if I were you, I'd really stop at this point (I know you most likely won't, and also a chance to call for a backup as well).
As a profile that promotes and spreads awareness of our Macedonian identity, history, language and culture, I am pleasantly surprised how you presented us. You NAILED it! A big thank you for your very deep and kind words! 🙏🇲🇰
@skwvvev2783 Is modern Greek directly descended from ancient Greek and also largely derived from the Koine Greek dialect which Alexander played a massive part in promoting?
@@captainjack6010 is the language you speak directly correlated to your nationality? will we all be labeled “british” or “american” in 1000 years because of the spread of english language?
Was waiting for this for quite some time. For the short time that you were here, you definitely made the most out of it. Happy to see that also a lot of Macedonias follow and support your channel. Until next time 🇲🇰
Watching this, I feel like Barbs isn't telling us about the geography, more than making an amazing video about his mum and her travels. It's a beautiful video :)
I love the fact that you travel with your mom. I traveled with mine to Nicaragua last September and I really enjoyed spending time with her, especially after the loss of my dad. I wish you the best in this new stage of the channel.
Its surreal seeing you walk on the same streets i do daily,ive watched you for years and years and its so cool to see you enjoying our country si much you decide to do a whole vid on us, pozdrav
Honestly I know there’s lots of “small controversial” things I could’ve gotten into” but at least in the surface, I really liked Skopje and wish I could’ve stayed longer
Great video, a small note: "Gazi Baba" only means "stepping on a grandma" in the Macedonian language, but it's one of those words / phrases that have 2 different meanings in 2 different languages. Gazi Baba was the nickname of Ottoman poet Aşık Çelebi. Gazi in Turkish means war veteran and Baba means the same as in Arabic, which is father.
the kid just doesn't know that part of history, but that is the meaning of the municipality's name, he had a house/fortress (I'm not sure) on top of the Gazi Baba Forrest, and ruled most of the area that is now the central and west gazi baba(later on other parts of the region joined)
I lived in Skopje for three months and it was great. I love Macedonia. This video was so fun to watch and recognize so many places and hear someone talk about it so fondly in a way that echoes how I feel.
Alright, here we go: As a Macedonian who has lived his whole life here, born and raised, i firstly want to Thank You from the bottom of my heart for representing us in a fair and overall positive light. Not many people come to visit us or even care all that much, so it's great to see some general interest from anyone who is willing to come and see our way of life. So here's my reaction to everything that you said: 1. Don't worry, it's alright to say Macedonia. Virtually no one here really uses the constitutional name outside of political squabbles, and most foreigners don't either. You won't get in trouble if you don't say " North ", in fact you'll gain more respect from the locals by just saying Macedonia. 2. Ok, fair point xD We have WAY too many statues, most of which are statues of famous poets, writers, revolutionaries, soldiers, kings, etc etc. it's just what we're known for. 3. I won't bother delving into the complex political, historical or geographic implications of any of this, since this video is meant to be more positive and uplifting. 4. As for the bulgarian tidbit: marital relationships between Macos and Bulgars are rare if any, and the whole EU citizenship thing can be explained in a very simple manner: Bulgarian passports are very easy to obtain and they're mostly used to emigrate to wealthier ones like Germany. Purely financial reasons instead of any ethnic ones. 5. Ah Ohrid, our little piece of heaven. I mean, IT IS the major tourist spot here. Everything from Свети Јован Канео to Св. Климент Пантелејмон to Музејот на Вода and so on, it's a marble of a place. You made the right choice in going there. (also, thank you for using Macedonian translations as well as English. A nice little touch. ) 6. Besides Ohrid, there are SO MANY hidden gems that are waiting to be discovered: Mt. Korab, The National Parks, Smolari Falls, Kuklica, Kokino, Stobi, Heraclea, Matka, Vodno, Trpejca, etc. When we lack in sea access, we make up in green access xD 7. FINAL POINT: Skopje is... interesting, to say the least. Personally, im not a big fan of the city and realistically, the Skopje 2014 project could've been handled better. It was mostly used as a promotional ploy to get tourists to visit. That's it. It has it redeeming qualities, like the old Bazaar, Kale, Roman Aquaduct among others, but it rarely hits everything for me. Also, that ship which you passed was a restaurant xD Finally: YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TOLD THE GUY AT THE RESTAURANT THAT YOU WERE A TOURIST. Like all balkan hotspots, tourists get scammed with higher prices easily. Just let Dimo and Andrej do the talking, but don't mention that you're a foreigner. Overall, if i were to summarize Macedonia then it would be: Пиреј, a simple word yet it carries a thousand meanings. It means unmoving, inrooted, unkillable. The Macedonians have struggled so much, having gone through wars, revolutions, conflicts, betrayals, conquests and yet at the end of the day we're still here. A Macedonian's spirit is a marvel: unwavering in the face of impossible odds. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone else like a Maco on this green earth. Till next time, or as we say in Macedonian: Се гледаме друг пат!
Hey Man love your videos. Been watching almost from the beginning. I like the way you do things with your mom. Both my parents have past and I wish I had more time with my mom. So enjoy all of the time you have.
Barbs I have been a subscriber since the Bosnia and Herzegovina episode and watched almost all your videos. I remember how exciting it was to see the video about Macedonia come out a few years ago, which was a very rare topic on youtube at the time (still kinda is). So to see you visiting is very cool thing and I'm very glad you enjoyed your trip! Pozdrav do Dima i Andrej for showing true Macedonian hospitality, hope many more people will want to experience it too! Na zdravje 🍻🇲🇰
I love how Andrej recognized you, and essentially just dedicated his day to helping Dima explain Skopje and Macedonia, so thanks to him for taking the time out of his day. And not to say that's what I gravitate towards to when I have my eyes open, but Dima, I hope you know you're handsome. Shameless, I know.
been here since 2017, I think I learned the most from you. I like these new videos, they feel very nice and more authentic! I will make one suggestion though: If you make food at the beginning of every video, why not make the food from the country you are “writing a letter” to? I think it’d be a cool addition!
Добро кажа, чудо е што воопшто постоиме. Фала ти на проникливоста и искреноста. Луѓето кои немаат предрасуди, најмногу дознаваат. За нас тоа Мајка Македонија❤
As an Ohrid resident, it always put a smile on my face when someone is genuinely flabbergasted by the views and sights or city gives. The thing is, we take this city's beauty for granted, and immediately assume that the west or some tourist sites can provide something more to look at than Ohrid. But then we go to those very tourist spots and we find ourselves not enjoying it all that much, and start becoming homesick for Ohrid.
Was cool seeing that you visited us Barbs. Looking forward to having you here again! Might be a personal bias but I believe the hospitality you will get from the people here is unmatched.
It's so trippy watching you walk the same streets I've walked on, so surreal, and drive on some of the roads I've driven on, like just puts into perspective that we live on the same planet, I sometimes forget that 🇲🇰
Amazing video! You showed off our country in a great way. I'm actually part from Ohrid and I loved your video. We welcome you with open arms if you visit again! I have been to Ohrid a million times, it's like my second home, but every time I visit I feel like I'm in a different state of mind, in a different world, I forget that life exists out of Ohrid. It's amazing.
@@aleksplavcev8044 Истокот има многу што да се види што дури јас не сум бил на доста места натаму. Башка и дедо ми е од село од Пробиштип, а во градот никогаш не сум бил до сега. Некогаш одам натаму да ги видам убавините на истокот на Македонија.
Kumanovo MUST be the next city checked off of your bucket list. For Kumanovo however a guide is a must-have. And I might just be back in Kumanovo next year 🫣
I love North Macedonia so much. Been visiting regularly since 2017. Only thing I would argue in this video is that Ohrid has been discovered. If you ever go during high season it’s always mobbed. For your next time in Skopje, definitely try to check out Vodno and Matka. Excellent views at both
Haha my Zimbabwe brother, we call it a "bear's wedding" here! So interesting we have these common sayings 🤣 Much love to you brother! (Actually I just reread your comment and realized you're not from Zimbabwe but all good lmao, I'm a clown)
I'm from Macedonia! I used to love your videos as a kid and wanted to tell you a fun fact about the rain and sun. Whenever it's raining and the sun is out in my town at least we say "A bear is getting married" or "Мечка се жене“. To be honest I don't know why but we have that saying.
Same in Bulgaria. It's probably similar in the Balkans overall. It's nothing regional, however. Nearly all languages have similar saying for a sunshower. For instances in India it's "Foxes are getting marred”; in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia is "wolfs", in Kenya,"hyenas or monkeys are getting married." And so on, the list is long.
Lmao you just changed ''Мечка се жени'' and you call it a ''different language'' 🤣How funny. Btw in Western Bulgaria ''и'' is also replaced with ''e'' so yeah.
Hey man I remember I found your channel years ago when you released the Macedonia video, I have been watching your vids for a long time and you have all of our respect from Macedonia❤🇲🇰 (congrats on doing all countries)
As a Bulgarian who went to Macedonia this summer, it is incredible how similar my experience going there was. It started with the border police literally asking for a bribe because of some missing document, than a few unforgettable days in Ohrid followed by a trip to Skopje, and oh boy it was one of the most interesting cities I've ever seen. Macedonians are really nice people and the language thing keeps you entertained the whole time! 10/10 strongly recommend
Thank you so much Barbs for visiting 🇲🇰 this new video about my beautiful country is cool ! If you have the chance to go back there a second time please visit the eastern part its nice too (well the whole country is interesting) but I can recommend you many places ! I wish you the best Barbs 👏
BIG THANK YOU BROTHER!!! for promoting our Macedonian identity, history, language and culture, I am deeply deeply gratefull. Say hello to your mother and stay good. 😃😄🤗❤❤❤
It looks like you have visited the country in late summer. I'm from Skopje and in summer time I work in Ohrid. As a viewer of you channel through the years it would have been nice to greet you in the streets but I wasn't lucky haha. And the route you took to Skopje is disastrous lol, you could have chosen a less frequented one thay goes through the city of Debar (Dibra) with mountains and lakes, great sights. Looking forward to your Kosovo project. I go there often, great country.
The name "Gazi Baba" has a Turkish origin, left from the Ottoman times. The meaning is somewhere in the lines of "Veteran Father" (baba means "father" in Turkish but "grandma" in Macedonian). There's also a town called "Demir Hisar" (Демир Хисар in Cyrillic) which means "Iron Castle" in Turkish. Apart from Albanians and the Roma there are also Turks among the minorities.
As a person from Macedonia, glad we shocked you!! We will always wait for your next visit! (funny how for the first two minutes you talked about your sister's sculpture hehehe)🇲🇰♥️
@OnlyGoksii Забавно е как православни народи враждуваме сами по себе си и ти избираш мюсюлманите пред православните. Нищо чудно, че злоупотребявате с ,,Който не е с мене, той е против мене." Или пък ,,Врагът на моя враг е твой приятел."
@@Forever_Goksii Sadly for you this isn’t a matter of opinions. It’s historical knowledge. In any case, I really would like to be showed evidence that support your pride about a name that doesn’t belong to your nation
the macedonian marble is one of the best in the world. sheikh zayed grand mosque in abu dhabi, one of the most beautiful mosque in the world is bulid with macedonian white marble. thanks for visiting us
The simple answer to what Macedonians are could be found in the historical documents, which show how their revolutionaries declared themselves in the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, before the Communist propaganda took effect. All of those people declared as Bulgarian and they calked their language and traditions Bulgarian. Nowadays, they have a different consciousness so it will be hard to reconcile with Bulgaria, but that is the harsh reality.
Macedonian in macedonia have nothing to do with the real Macedonian that is time of illyrian Macedonian now are less than 50 years old they are simply bullgarian!! The real native of north macedonia are albanian that have origin from illyrian!!
I can't wait for the "Letter to Indonesia" video, there's so many interesting things in my country, and you've only visited one place for like 3 hours I can't remember, it was in your travel video in Singapore 😆 but I will be looking forward to it, and also let me know if you need a local Indonesian to help you get around ;)
Been waiting for so long to release this video. Thank you for visiting my beautiful country. I really hope you come visit again. Cheers from N.Macedonia!🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰
@@HeroManNick132Todor Zivkov and Asparuh created the "bulgarians" actually the Tatar TurkoMongolian and Mother Russia create your country and give you language same and we ,you speak half 🇲🇰 half 🇷🇺
5:45 are there many shows spoken/dubbed in Macedonian with Albanian subtitles? PS Please try to be respectful, I love both Albanians and Macedonians ❤️🇲🇰 ❤️🇦🇱
Lived here my entire life and let's just say, you were lucky that the road was managed because a lot of our roads that go through the wilderness look just like that, usually they're barely wide enough so that if you run into someone going the opposite way, you both stop and one of you has to pull over so the other person can pass
I think you did Macedonia more justice here than in the specific country episode. In any case, I'm happy you got to visit our country and were pleasantly surprised. Hope to have you back again soon, before 2028 if possible. Cheers from The Republic of Macedonia 🔴🟡
Thanks for the visit, man. I'm glad you enjoyed it. By the way, there are many, many more beautiful things to see in Macedonia. Skopje and Ohrid are just the entry-level, mainstream things and locations. Also, about the municipalities, the Gazi Baba municipality sounds funny in Macedonian and when you translate it from Macedonian to English, but the name is actually of Turkish origin. Gazi means war veteran in Turkish and Baba means father in Turkish. And the municipality is called Gazi Baba because the tomb of this ottoman judge that was ruling there during some time period, is located somewhere in the hils of the municipality of Gazi baba
@@HeroManNick132Не се секирај и кај вас за некое време ќе стане таму официјално Турски Јазик Ромски Јазик и Македонски Јазик може и Руски зашто да не 😂😉
12:33 this is so smart though...one of my friends is from iceland and her and her mom were driving though the mountains last year on a small narrow country road and someone approached from the other side, she then had to drive backwards for about 4 miles to let the person pass 😭
Hey "Mac...."
(also, For the record I was in charge of the cranberries and green bean casserole this year)
Dude finally im so exited cuz im a macedonian
He almost pissed off the Greeks again
@@philmappzau2009 who cares ?...
Omg finally! Btw barby check the comments of your post on this video; you’ll see. About 30 people are spam texting, dming and commenting to hey u to notice us! We are a middle school in Macedonia (or north Macedonia; just gonna say both as to not cause controversy) and we watch your videos every day and have competitions! It’s a long story. But even out principal reached out to u! So, the real question is, are you still in Macedonia/North Macedonia?? If so, pls visit us!!
honestly, im absolutely effing shocked that you didn't talk about, or call upon someone from the Albanian minority in Macedonia (to get their perspective) which has a lot of influence (whether macedonians like it or not) culturally, politically and economically, and the seggregation that comes with it... grouping them with the Roma or Turkish people is massively underrating the impact they've had on the country whether its negative or positive. whether you like it or not, youHAVE to address it, honestly shame on you
"I remember hearing the horrified screams of four traumatized Minnesota schoolgirls in my basement" - Barbs 2024
based on a true story 🤣
Out of context
@@UchqunbekuzLOL
Real.
A little support from someone who also loves Geography.
What?! WHOA Thanks! Really appreciate that! And I hope You are doing well in Singapore! Love that place!
Barbs thank you for visiting my country and we will wait for you with open arms to come back again🇲🇰
I think it is VERY likely I'll be back next year for my project in Kosovo.... stay tuned....
Твојата земја…? Нели има име..?
@@othersideofme8395 Macedonia drugar mozes i tvoja zemja da pises da ne sfakjame se seriozno
@@GeographyNowHELO YOU COME TO MY COUNTRY YES YES 🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰
Македония е българска
honestly love these letter style videos, was actually introduced to your videos in year 9 (when i was 14) while we were studying nigeria as a case study for school, i am now going to university to study earth and planetary sciences and your videos were 100% an inspiration for this. I am glad to see that you have found a style of content that you seem to thoroughly enjoy! If you ever come back to europe please come to the United Kingdom and i would be honored to show you around.
Thanks so much for enjoying the show for so long, I really appreciate it
Geography now postgame
The aftermath
Love it!
New Game +
Duuuude, it's good and all, but just FYI, we don't get married to get a BG passport. We pay a shady guy around 500 euro and he gets the job done. We get rid of those once we get German/Slovenian/Swedish etc passport. It's literally for business purposes. Nothing personal.
P.S. About why the capital's got so many statues, in so many styles (aside the government spending) it's because Skopje has been many times in history destoyed to the ground and then rebuilt. Even that a&&hole Pikolomini described it as "town more beautiful than Prague" and then burned it.
You've missed some keypoints: we're the main producers of cannabis, wine, rakia, and we've got casinos at every step, especially on the border with Greece near Gevgelija. Greeks are practically swarming that area, and unlike the vice versa, they don't feel unwelcomed. So, we're like Amsterdam on the Balkans.
P.P.S. Those two youngsters accompanying you have skipped classes from school, obviously.
At the end of the day, the Greeks have rebuild Acropolis in the 19-th century. What, you thought it was ancient? Yeah, almost. So, why wouldn't we? Enjoy the food & wine!
Actually the vast majority of BG passports were obtained in a legal way - by providing documents proving Bulgarian ancestry. I understand why you try to underplay that fact, but it is what it is.
@chris-3 And I understand why you're trying to undermine my comment. Nice try, but, false none the less. I'm very looking forward an inspection from the EU to check out how it's physically possible for over a 1000 residents to share an address. As for the "proving an origin" as a requirement for obtaining a passport, merely shows your lack of knowledge on the matter. I won't delve in the details, for you don't care anyways, and, as any bot, you don't care about actual condition, rather for warping a narrative. If you care, do your homework. All I've said is a fact, that, as you can see, is confirmed by practically everyone in the thread.
@@marym7758 I see that you couldn't resist insulting me, but I won't stoop so low as to respond in a similar manner. I'll just say that I know enough about the topic to come to the conclusion that you're underplaying the issue. I know why you do it, but it's not the truth.
@chris-3 I've merely responded to your insult that you've tried to pack (unsuccessfully) as a denominator. And yes, I'm aware you'll try to twist my words (again), making me the subject instead of keeping to the actual subject. Part of your training. I've seen it once too many. And, if I were you, I'd really stop at this point (I know you most likely won't, and also a chance to call for a backup as well).
@@marym7758 What training? What backup? Dude, stop living in a conspiracy world where everyone is up to get you.
As a profile that promotes and spreads awareness of our Macedonian identity, history, language and culture, I am pleasantly surprised how you presented us. You NAILED it! A big thank you for your very deep and kind words! 🙏🇲🇰
Do you think Alexander spoke what you speak?
You have no history, stop lying about it. Also do you live where MarioHistoryTalks lives? 🤣
@@captainjack6010did he speak what you speak? is modern greek the same as ancient greek?
@skwvvev2783 Is modern Greek directly descended from ancient Greek and also largely derived from the Koine Greek dialect which Alexander played a massive part in promoting?
@@captainjack6010 is the language you speak directly correlated to your nationality? will we all be labeled “british” or “american” in 1000 years because of the spread of english language?
I really like the Geography Now channel's new format of actually going to the areas they teach us about!
It's happening!
Was waiting for this for quite some time. For the short time that you were here, you definitely made the most out of it. Happy to see that also a lot of Macedonias follow and support your channel. Until next time 🇲🇰
it's so cool that you are doing this trip with your mom
She's the best!
@@GeographyNow God bless her!
Watching this, I feel like Barbs isn't telling us about the geography, more than making an amazing video about his mum and her travels. It's a beautiful video :)
That wrong turn you made is next level tourism free marketing
I love the fact that you travel with your mom. I traveled with mine to Nicaragua last September and I really enjoyed spending time with her, especially after the loss of my dad. I wish you the best in this new stage of the channel.
Its surreal seeing you walk on the same streets i do daily,ive watched you for years and years and its so cool to see you enjoying our country si much you decide to do a whole vid on us, pozdrav
Honestly I know there’s lots of “small controversial” things I could’ve gotten into” but at least in the surface, I really liked Skopje and wish I could’ve stayed longer
NORTH OF not (North)
I WAS WAITING FOR THIS VIDEO SINCE THE A LETTER TO THE BALKANS
It's here!
@@GeographyNow Hello Didnt expect you replying, Im from Macedonia The Video Was Great, Worth The Wait👍
@@matejplejz08T You are from North Macedonia.....
Great video, a small note: "Gazi Baba" only means "stepping on a grandma" in the Macedonian language, but it's one of those words / phrases that have 2 different meanings in 2 different languages. Gazi Baba was the nickname of Ottoman poet Aşık Çelebi. Gazi in Turkish means war veteran and Baba means the same as in Arabic, which is father.
Haha, well, I mean, if it’s gonna be the language of the country, then it’s gonna have a funny translation
the kid just doesn't know that part of history, but that is the meaning of the municipality's name, he had a house/fortress (I'm not sure) on top of the Gazi Baba Forrest, and ruled most of the area that is now the central and west gazi baba(later on other parts of the region joined)
Macedonian language 😂😂😂
Thanks!
I lived in Skopje for three months and it was great. I love Macedonia. This video was so fun to watch and recognize so many places and hear someone talk about it so fondly in a way that echoes how I feel.
Skoje really blew my mind not gonna lie!
Great video man, thanks for posting this one separately! And you’re spot on about Lake Ohrid, so beautiful!
Alright, here we go:
As a Macedonian who has lived his whole life here, born and raised, i firstly want to Thank You from the bottom of my heart for representing us in a fair and overall positive light. Not many people come to visit us or even care all that much, so it's great to see some general interest from anyone who is willing to come and see our way of life. So here's my reaction to everything that you said:
1. Don't worry, it's alright to say Macedonia. Virtually no one here really uses the constitutional name outside of political squabbles, and most foreigners don't either. You won't get in trouble if you don't say " North ", in fact you'll gain more respect from the locals by just saying Macedonia.
2. Ok, fair point xD We have WAY too many statues, most of which are statues of famous poets, writers, revolutionaries, soldiers, kings, etc etc. it's just what we're known for.
3. I won't bother delving into the complex political, historical or geographic implications of any of this, since this video is meant to be more positive and uplifting.
4. As for the bulgarian tidbit: marital relationships between Macos and Bulgars are rare if any, and the whole EU citizenship thing can be explained in a very simple manner: Bulgarian passports are very easy to obtain and they're mostly used to emigrate to wealthier ones like Germany. Purely financial reasons instead of any ethnic ones.
5. Ah Ohrid, our little piece of heaven. I mean, IT IS the major tourist spot here. Everything from Свети Јован Канео to Св. Климент Пантелејмон to Музејот на Вода and so on, it's a marble of a place. You made the right choice in going there. (also, thank you for using Macedonian translations as well as English. A nice little touch. )
6. Besides Ohrid, there are SO MANY hidden gems that are waiting to be discovered: Mt. Korab, The National Parks, Smolari Falls, Kuklica, Kokino, Stobi, Heraclea, Matka, Vodno, Trpejca, etc. When we lack in sea access, we make up in green access xD
7. FINAL POINT: Skopje is... interesting, to say the least. Personally, im not a big fan of the city and realistically, the Skopje 2014 project could've been handled better. It was mostly used as a promotional ploy to get tourists to visit. That's it. It has it redeeming qualities, like the old Bazaar, Kale, Roman Aquaduct among others, but it rarely hits everything for me. Also, that ship which you passed was a restaurant xD
Finally: YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TOLD THE GUY AT THE RESTAURANT THAT YOU WERE A TOURIST. Like all balkan hotspots, tourists get scammed with higher prices easily. Just let Dimo and Andrej do the talking, but don't mention that you're a foreigner.
Overall, if i were to summarize Macedonia then it would be: Пиреј, a simple word yet it carries a thousand meanings. It means unmoving, inrooted, unkillable. The Macedonians have struggled so much, having gone through wars, revolutions, conflicts, betrayals, conquests and yet at the end of the day we're still here. A Macedonian's spirit is a marvel: unwavering in the face of impossible odds. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone else like a Maco on this green earth.
Till next time, or as we say in Macedonian: Се гледаме друг пат!
Многу убав коментар другар ! Браво 👏 да живее нашата убава земја 🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰
Yeah i ain't reading all that
@@albin4194 fair enough. It feels like i wrote a whole book xD
@@gocesamardziev8450 во право си 👏
Pre ubav komentar brate.. 👍🏻
Hey Man love your videos. Been watching almost from the beginning. I like the way you do things with your mom. Both my parents have past and I wish I had more time with my mom. So enjoy all of the time you have.
Greetings to North of Macedonia from Macedonia :D
I'm so excited! I'm literally flying to Skopje on Monday 🎉
You're gonna love it I guarantee
Skopje has been a lot of fun since I landed
That video bomber and your friend were pretty cool. Great video, Macedonia is beautiful!
Barbs I have been a subscriber since the Bosnia and Herzegovina episode and watched almost all your videos.
I remember how exciting it was to see the video about Macedonia come out a few years ago, which was a very rare topic on youtube at the time (still kinda is). So to see you visiting is very cool thing and I'm very glad you enjoyed your trip!
Pozdrav do Dima i Andrej for showing true Macedonian hospitality, hope many more people will want to experience it too! Na zdravje 🍻🇲🇰
Remember which country was the first one to recognise your independence.
I love how Andrej recognized you, and essentially just dedicated his day to helping Dima explain Skopje and Macedonia, so thanks to him for taking the time out of his day.
And not to say that's what I gravitate towards to when I have my eyes open, but Dima, I hope you know you're handsome. Shameless, I know.
North*
I'll be shameless with you because Dima was distracting me too with his looks
been here since 2017, I think I learned the most from you. I like these new videos, they feel very nice and more authentic! I will make one suggestion though: If you make food at the beginning of every video, why not make the food from the country you are “writing a letter” to? I think it’d be a cool addition!
I’ve been to ohrid! Simply stunning I wish everyone to go ❤
Добро кажа, чудо е што воопшто постоиме. Фала ти на проникливоста и искреноста. Луѓето кои немаат предрасуди, најмногу дознаваат. За нас тоа Мајка Македонија❤
I'm glad to see someone notice Macedonia as a beautiful place in the Balkans! :)
North*
I got this randomly on my homepage, thanks for visiting our country man! Your positivity towards Macedonia really kept a smile on my face
As an Ohrid resident, it always put a smile on my face when someone is genuinely flabbergasted by the views and sights or city gives. The thing is, we take this city's beauty for granted, and immediately assume that the west or some tourist sites can provide something more to look at than Ohrid. But then we go to those very tourist spots and we find ourselves not enjoying it all that much, and start becoming homesick for Ohrid.
Загубеният български град...
@HeroManNick132 речи ни го то в лице види после шо ќе те снајт 😁
@@HeroManNick132Охрид никогаш не бил и нема ни да биде татарски град,Охрид е чисто Македонско 🇲🇰☦️
@@DimeDimovski Вие каква армия имате?
@@Forever_Goksii А тогава защо не му викате Оврид или Орид? Нали Х-то при вас изпада в много думи и само в чуждици я имате?
Was cool seeing that you visited us Barbs. Looking forward to having you here again! Might be a personal bias but I believe the hospitality you will get from the people here is unmatched.
Hey i live in north Macedonia thanks for visiting it
It's so trippy watching you walk the same streets I've walked on, so surreal, and drive on some of the roads I've driven on, like just puts into perspective that we live on the same planet, I sometimes forget that 🇲🇰
Malayalam Alphabets on Barb's T-shirt!
Haha It's a good one! One of my subscribers sent it in for fan Friday
@@GeographyNow From Malayalam to Macedonia.
Loved it all the way through... Awesome series Berb! That lake is stunning, people in that area are blessed with views!
Barbs with the Malayalam alphabet tshirt!! Weird crossover but then again, typically Barbs.
Don't forget the Puerto Rico mug.... 😂
Amazing video! You showed off our country in a great way. I'm actually part from Ohrid and I loved your video. We welcome you with open arms if you visit again! I have been to Ohrid a million times, it's like my second home, but every time I visit I feel like I'm in a different state of mind, in a different world, I forget that life exists out of Ohrid. It's amazing.
Много обидно име имаш.
Was there is October! It’s beautiful
Indeed. Hope you come again, and explore the eastern part of N.Macedonia. Its seriously underrated and there are tons of things to see there.
@@Dac_DT_MKD точно ! Источна 🇲🇰 исто е прекрасна : Тиквеш Дојран Струмица Берово Крива Паланка Валандово Кожуф ...
❤🇲🇰
@@aleksplavcev8044 Истокот има многу што да се види што дури јас не сум бил на доста места натаму. Башка и дедо ми е од село од Пробиштип, а во градот никогаш не сум бил до сега. Некогаш одам натаму да ги видам убавините на истокот на Македонија.
Kumanovo MUST be the next city checked off of your bucket list. For Kumanovo however a guide is a must-have. And I might just be back in Kumanovo next year 🫣
I love North Macedonia so much. Been visiting regularly since 2017. Only thing I would argue in this video is that Ohrid has been discovered. If you ever go during high season it’s always mobbed. For your next time in Skopje, definitely try to check out Vodno and Matka. Excellent views at both
I recommend Mavrovo and especially Krushevo as well in the winter seasons
North Macedonia has no history.
Ohrid is not in north, it's in southwest part of Macedonia 🇲🇰
@@LilyVain ….hardy har
@@nostalgiakid100 Wow.
Excellent! Good balance between history and cinematography. I love the very personable side trips. Quite good
Something you said reminded me of the Zimbabwe episode. In Zimbabwe, when it rains but the sun is still shining, they call it 'a monkey's wedding'.
Haha I love that phrase
@@GeographyNow it's called "bear's wedding" in Macedonia
Haha my Zimbabwe brother, we call it a "bear's wedding" here! So interesting we have these common sayings 🤣 Much love to you brother! (Actually I just reread your comment and realized you're not from Zimbabwe but all good lmao, I'm a clown)
@@EyeOfTheTiger777 Born in the UK, but grew up there from the age of 9 until I had to leave when I was 20. I SO wish I could go back to visit.
Great video! Thanks for visiting my country❤️🇲🇰
Македонија
@@othersideofme8395North Monkeydonia...
@@othersideofme8395 Северна*
Love to our Macedonian brothers from Serbia.
Yes love to the Greeks who are the real Macedonians
No "Macedonians"...only north macedonians...
This series is fire Im hype for the next one
All Balkan countries have minorities of other ethnicities, but no every country is good at recognizing them
Just wait until we mention Pomaks, the Qizilbash and Cherkez people, Tatars and Wallachians.
North Macedonians are Bulgarian
@dazzlebreak4458pomaks are bulgarians
I am so happy you are still making videos, keep up the good work!!!
I have been in that lake. The only like I found where swimming felt as good as in the sea.
I'm from Macedonia! I used to love your videos as a kid and wanted to tell you a fun fact about the rain and sun. Whenever it's raining and the sun is out in my town at least we say "A bear is getting married" or "Мечка се жене“. To be honest I don't know why but we have that saying.
Pozdrav od Kumanovo brat
Same in Bulgaria. It's probably similar in the Balkans overall. It's nothing regional, however. Nearly all languages have similar saying for a sunshower. For instances in India it's "Foxes are getting marred”; in Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia is "wolfs", in Kenya,"hyenas or monkeys are getting married." And so on, the list is long.
In the American south we our own expression for that which is pretty similar. When we have a sun shower we say “the devil is beating his wife.” Lmao
@@DeltaTM06 interesting
Lmao you just changed ''Мечка се жени'' and you call it a ''different language'' 🤣How funny. Btw in Western Bulgaria ''и'' is also replaced with ''e'' so yeah.
18:13 So like a cheese-stuffed, flattened-out meatloaf? Sounds delicious! Sign me up!
More like “burger patty” but yeah!!! SUPER GOOD!
I love this style of video! Much more engaging than a typical "travel vlog"
Hey man I remember I found your channel years ago when you released the Macedonia video, I have been watching your vids for a long time and you have all of our respect from Macedonia❤🇲🇰 (congrats on doing all countries)
Also thank you for representing my home town Ohrid so wonderful ❤
@@PzMartinB Северна*
@@HeroManNick132Северна на стрина ти газот немиен
@@Forever_GoksiiСЕКОГАШ ТАТАРСКА СЕВЕРДЖАНИЯ... НИКОГАШ МАКЕДОНИЯ....
@IvanIvanov-rv2bs Татар Тујркомонгол 🇲🇳
Always happy to see your videos about my country. You kept it very respectful and you're always welcomed here :)
As a Bulgarian who went to Macedonia this summer, it is incredible how similar my experience going there was. It started with the border police literally asking for a bribe because of some missing document, than a few unforgettable days in Ohrid followed by a trip to Skopje, and oh boy it was one of the most interesting cities I've ever seen. Macedonians are really nice people and the language thing keeps you entertained the whole time! 10/10 strongly recommend
You are the first bukvarian i have seen that doesnt scream 'MACEDONIA IS BULGARIEN' in my face..
@@Notthebrightest-l2h bro.. let that behind you you have been talking to kids
enjoy the real people
@bobanmeijer i know bro.. and i will
@Notthebrightest-l2h Stop watching the news and go to Bansko for a few days. You will meet some more. Поздрав ;)
@borisuzunov7597 i did go recently and it was amazing.
Thank you so much Barbs for visiting 🇲🇰 this new video about my beautiful country is cool ! If you have the chance to go back there a second time please visit the eastern part its nice too (well the whole country is interesting) but I can recommend you many places !
I wish you the best Barbs 👏
Tamo gdjeeeee vječno Sunce sjaaaaa....!
Tamo e Makedonija!
Narod i zemlja koju volim ja
🇲🇰☦️❤️
@@LilyVainТам е Татарска Северджанска,пълни със северджански сърбизирани татари....😂😂😂
Това е Монголия, не Северна Македония, ама забравих, че и Монголия е бивша македонска територия, както и Луната и Слънцето са. 🤣
I love that the random fan just started following you!!
BIG THANK YOU BROTHER!!! for promoting our Macedonian identity, history, language and culture, I am deeply deeply gratefull. Say hello to your mother and stay good. 😃😄🤗❤❤❤
You have no identity. You are Bulgarian. Macedonia is Greek.
100 денара? Това са 3 лева. 🤣
Macedonia is factually Greek. The Vardaskans have nothing to do with Macedonia they are bulgarians that lived in yugoslavia.
It looks like you have visited the country in late summer. I'm from Skopje and in summer time I work in Ohrid. As a viewer of you channel through the years it would have been nice to greet you in the streets but I wasn't lucky haha.
And the route you took to Skopje is disastrous lol, you could have chosen a less frequented one thay goes through the city of Debar (Dibra) with mountains and lakes, great sights.
Looking forward to your Kosovo project. I go there often, great country.
The name "Gazi Baba" has a Turkish origin, left from the Ottoman times. The meaning is somewhere in the lines of "Veteran Father" (baba means "father" in Turkish but "grandma" in Macedonian). There's also a town called "Demir Hisar" (Демир Хисар in Cyrillic) which means "Iron Castle" in Turkish. Apart from Albanians and the Roma there are also Turks among the minorities.
aromanians also ;)
Baba is Arabic which means father. As you know Ali Baba is not Turkish.
Glad you enjoyed it, check out Bitola, Lake Prespa & a few other places. Ohridnis my favourite because I'm born there though!
Охриднис?
Да Охриднис
As a person from Macedonia, glad we shocked you!! We will always wait for your next visit! (funny how for the first two minutes you talked about your sister's sculpture hehehe)🇲🇰♥️
North*
@@HeroManNick132North (Vardar)
South ( Egej - Aegean )
East ( Pirin )
😉🇲🇰☦️
You are Bulgarian. Macedonia is GREEK
@Fireball_og He is Macedonian 🇲🇰,
Cyprus is Turkey and Istanbul is Turkey 🇹🇷
Fake 🇬🇷🙋🏿♂️
@OnlyGoksii Забавно е как православни народи враждуваме сами по себе си и ти избираш мюсюлманите пред православните. Нищо чудно, че злоупотребявате с ,,Който не е с мене, той е против мене." Или пък ,,Врагът на моя враг е твой приятел."
Barbs, I really enjoy watching you fix a meal & typing. That sun shower thing happens quite often in Colorado.
Thank you for visiting our country, much love from Macedonia! ❤️🇲🇰
It was great! Loved it.
North* Macedonia
@@marioss_Macedonia 🇲🇰
@@Forever_Goksii Sadly for you this isn’t a matter of opinions. It’s historical knowledge. In any case, I really would like to be showed evidence that support your pride about a name that doesn’t belong to your nation
@@marioss_yes north is capital of all macedonia skopje is capital of central macedonia bro
Barbs keep this style up! I am in love with it!
the macedonian marble is one of the best in the world. sheikh zayed grand mosque in abu dhabi, one of the most beautiful mosque in the world is bulid with macedonian white marble. thanks for visiting us
I was shocked when I say almost the ENTIRE river surrounded by it! That is one EXPENSIVE road! Lol
@GeographyNow Idk if anyone told you, but the pillars of the white house are also made of macedonian narble.
Letsgoo been waiting ages for this vid
The simple answer to what Macedonians are could be found in the historical documents, which show how their revolutionaries declared themselves in the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, before the Communist propaganda took effect. All of those people declared as Bulgarian and they calked their language and traditions Bulgarian. Nowadays, they have a different consciousness so it will be hard to reconcile with Bulgaria, but that is the harsh reality.
Macedonian in macedonia have nothing to do with the real Macedonian that is time of illyrian Macedonian now are less than 50 years old they are simply bullgarian!! The real native of north macedonia are albanian that have origin from illyrian!!
Thank you for your visit to Macedonia buddy, love your channel !
North*
@@HeroManNick132 ????
@@Mako2401 Северна Македония*
@HeroManNick132 Que?
@Mako2401 Monkeydonian?
As someone who is from Macedonia and has been watching Geography now since I was 5 years old, I really thank you so much for making this video❤️🇲🇰
ПСЕВДОБЪЛГАРИ
North*
@@HeroManNick132 ok mr. Seven year old greek
@@SNORBIL I'm not 7, nor Greek. So good try.
@HeroManNick132 looks like you aint smart either
I really like your way of vlogging⚡️❤️
Barbs please move to Croatia, you will love living here
Great video mate,
Fun fact, at 8:23 that was the apartment I stayed at called Villa Ohrid, great place and great owner.
Stay there if you ever return.
Ohrid was seriously one of the places that surprised me the most in all my travels 
So cool to be in North Macedonia as you release this!
I really enjoy this series I hope you keep doing more of it :)
was hyped for this lol
Thank You for visiting our country, next time come to Bitola!
Barb has a sister? Somehow I was convinced he was an only child. ^^
I can't wait for the "Letter to Indonesia" video, there's so many interesting things in my country, and you've only visited one place for like 3 hours I can't remember, it was in your travel video in Singapore 😆 but I will be looking forward to it, and also let me know if you need a local Indonesian to help you get around ;)
Been waiting for so long to release this video.
Thank you for visiting my beautiful country. I really hope you come visit again.
Cheers from N.Macedonia!🇲🇰🇲🇰🇲🇰
Цркни будала северџанска
@@othersideofme8395 Плачи
You gotta come to Bitola next year! It's also very beautiful.
@dorotea9 - Yeah, Bitola, ancient Monastiri, where at the time of the 2nd Balkan War, was a majority-populated Greek city under occupation.
Thank you for visiting Macedonia 🇲🇰
North Macedonia.
nmk
Kaj si be brat
@@faenethlorhalien nah
@@faenethlorhalienMacedonia
I am really digging this series. Good job bud
I really do love these letter's to places you are visiting, its like we are on a post-Country series vacation with you.
From Macedonia to Slovenia you always have to have a Tito picture at least in one building. 🇲🇰
Tito created the Macedonians.
@@HeroManNick132 lol true
@@HeroManNick132Todor Zivkov and Asparuh created the "bulgarians" actually the Tatar TurkoMongolian and Mother Russia create your country and give you language same and we ,you speak half 🇲🇰 half 🇷🇺
@@turkishmappingtheturkishguylol hell no
@@Forever_Goksii Lol true 👍
5:45 are there many shows spoken/dubbed in Macedonian with Albanian subtitles? PS Please try to be respectful, I love both Albanians and Macedonians ❤️🇲🇰 ❤️🇦🇱
🇲🇰👍
Macedonia only 🇲🇰☦️ !
North Macedonia....
@IvanIvanov-rv2bs Republic of Macedonia....
@@Forever_Goksii Republic of North Macedonia....or fake Macedonia....
@@Forever_Goksiiwest Bulgaria
@@allstarlord9110 tatar TurkoMongolians Gaylgaria Asparagus 🇲🇳🇧🇬🙋🏿♂️
Lived here my entire life and let's just say, you were lucky that the road was managed because a lot of our roads that go through the wilderness look just like that, usually they're barely wide enough so that if you run into someone going the opposite way, you both stop and one of you has to pull over so the other person can pass
I think you did Macedonia more justice here than in the specific country episode. In any case, I'm happy you got to visit our country and were pleasantly surprised. Hope to have you back again soon, before 2028 if possible. Cheers from The Republic of Macedonia 🔴🟡
North Macedonia*
@@HeroManNick132only Macedonia 🇲🇰
@@Forever_GoksiiNorth Monkeydonia...
@IvanIvanov-rv2bs Gayrecee
@@Forever_Goksii Have said the mentally ill severdzan paid troll from North Monkeydonia....
Thanks for the visit, man. I'm glad you enjoyed it. By the way, there are many, many more beautiful things to see in Macedonia. Skopje and Ohrid are just the entry-level, mainstream things and locations.
Also, about the municipalities, the Gazi Baba municipality sounds funny in Macedonian and when you translate it from Macedonian to English, but the name is actually of Turkish origin. Gazi means war veteran in Turkish and Baba means father in Turkish. And the municipality is called Gazi Baba because the tomb of this ottoman judge that was ruling there during some time period, is located somewhere in the hils of the municipality of Gazi baba
Турският ще ви стане третият официален език след албанския.
@@HeroManNick132Не се секирај и кај вас за некое време ќе стане таму официјално Турски Јазик Ромски Јазик и Македонски Јазик може и Руски зашто да не 😂😉
@@Forever_Goksii Сънувай.
@HeroManNick132 Не ти го разбрав рускиот збор извини🇷🇺😉
@@Forever_Goksii На руски е ,,сниться'' така че говориш глупости.
stfu, why u even care to make other countries mad> that makes zero sense, you should respect the country you are talking about
12:33 this is so smart though...one of my friends is from iceland and her and her mom were driving though the mountains last year on a small narrow country road and someone approached from the other side, she then had to drive backwards for about 4 miles to let the person pass 😭
Great video man! But you should know that we are mostly just slavophones(Slavic speakers),not Slavs.
Loved your letter hope we'll see you again!
What do you get when a Slavic-speaking (North) Macedonian takes a shower? A pure (clean) Bulgarian. 😂
Wow not at all disrespectful. I'm sure the other side has much nastier jokes about you. ;)
Nice one, Barbs!!!!
You are welcome here in PH! ❤
Lets gooo