Manastir, the City of Pride and Misery

Abstract

Manastiri, throughout the cosmopolitan history of the epochs, undoubtedly emphasizes a conglomerate of civilization values influenced by cultural processes developed through the broad lines of history from which the monuments of the past are proudly depicted and in particular, the old architecture with the main promenade called “Shirok Sokak”, where the eminent figures of Albanianism walked. During the 16th and 17th centuries the Turk administration named the city Manastir due to the legend of seventy churches and monasteries that existed in Manastiri and its surroundings during the Turks’ arrival.
Manastiri is an ancient medieval town inhabited by the Arber population. Situated at the border with Greece it represents an important junction connecting the south Adriatic Sea to the Aegean Sea and Central Europe.
It is known as the “city of the consuls” from the Ottoman period, since many European countries established consular offices in the cross-border area through which the European spirit penetrated. Evliya Çelebi in his work “Sejahatname”, four centuries ago, spoke about the mosques, the madrasa and life in Manastiri.
According to the legends, “Gods were furious with Zeus because he chose Olympus as the Gods’ pivot instead of the mountainous beauty, Pelisteri. Zeus, on the other hand punished and married Pelister with his Grandmother.”
Near Manastiri there is the well-preserved ancient city of Heraklea founded by Philip II of Macedonia in the 4th century BC.
This town is well-known for the merchant caravan routes from east and west to Southern Pelagius since the most important crossroad in that period was the Via Egnatia road built by the Romans, stretching from Durres or Vlora to Albania and to Istanbul through Thessaloniki. Heraclea became the most important stop in the region.
The railway connecting Manastiri and Thessaloniki had given special importance to this city because, as Sami Frashëri wrote, “It was a hub between Thessaloniki and Albania”.
The city of the Albanian Alphabet, of Bajo Topulli, of the Qiriazes, during the beginning of the 19th century, was one of the main focal points of the Albanian clubs.
At the beginning of the last century, a printing house was established in Manastiri, from where Albanian books and magazines were published. The Manastiri Club was appointed as the center for the establishment of the Albanian Club Federation.
Undoubtedly, November 22nd, the Day of the Albanian Alphabet is an important date leading us toward the advanced European nations.
On November 14th, 1908, in Manastiri, the Congress of Manastiri or the Congress of the Alphabet was convened to create a unique alphabet that would be the beginning of the Albanian literature.
The well-known poet Lasgush Poradeci, a pupil in the first year of the Romanian college in Manastiri, in his likely very first essay described this moment as: “It was a chilling, snowy day and we were waiting on both riverbanks of the Draguar that was running with godly serenity”.
The decisions of the Congress were the coronation of the activities performed by many generations of Albanians.
The Qiriazes were among the numerous Albanian families who devoted all their moral, material, spiritual and intellectual potential to the national cause.
The Congress of Manastiri was the most important cultural event for the Albanian people in the early 20th century, as evinced by the exhibition at the Albanian Alphabet Museum in Manastiri.
Today, Manastiri is a city that constantly affirms the urban lifestyle culture, inspired by its roots of the past.
For the Albanian people, the Congress of Manastiri was the most important event in the early 20th century, alongside the proclamation of Albania’s independence on November 28th, 1912.