Furka
Encyclopedia
Furka is a village in the south-eastern part of Macedonia
. It is situated in the center of the imagined triangle between Bogdanci
, Dojran
and Valandovo
, 10 km far from Dojran. East of the river Vardar
, Pugana and Gabroska Reka, and west of Dojran basin, it is settled on height of 21 km², on altitude above sea-level of 350 m, but the highest peak is on 456 m. All around the village there are a few little heights, composed of sandy soil and rocks of granite. On the places where it's possible people use the soil for vine growing or fruit growing, and less for other. Today in Furka are living about 1000 people, all of them Macedonians
and Orthodox
Christians.
Furka is part of the municipality of Dojran, which is one of the most popular touristic places in Macedonia.
, and that the origin of the name is the Greek word "furka", which means "place of execution". This theory is considered as incorrect. Aleksandar Stojanovski thinks that origin of the name is from Turkish word "fursat" (bad people), because villagers had never allowed Turkish people to come to live in Furka.
Today, the origin of the name of Furka is still unknown.
, after were captured on the mountain Belasica
. As we already said, this theory is considered as incorrect.
A lot more facts are known for the period of Turkish occupation of the country. Furka then had been settled 2.5 km north from the village of today. That was a village in condensed form, with a few hostelries and 50 families, on the road Skopje
- Solun (Thessaloniki
) and the road between Istanbul
and Albania
. This locality means that a lot of people passed through the village and stopped to spent the night in well known Furka quarters for the night.
In 1530 Furka for the first time is mentioned as a derven village. Except for agriculture, people were occupied with dervening: They had taken the responsibility to keep the road Valandovo - Dojran, on which Furka was settled, from Turkish rebels, characteristic from the period of anarchy in Turkish Empire. At the derven place, one male of every family stood guard every day. Therefore, some historians believe that on the name Furka, for a few decades was added the name "derven".
In 1573 Furka was a big town with 125 families and 50 not married. It's still unknown how the number of inhabitants increased so greatly in only 43 years.
One of the most important moments of history of Furka occurred in the second half of the eighteenth century, when people started to move from old Furka and settled the new village, Furka of today, 2.5 km north of the old village. By the legend, three monks who passed through Furka stopped to spend the night in one of the hostelries, but they were brutally killed by Turkish rebels. Even the derven guard didn't do their job worse than before, people were scared of the frequently attacks and started to move on the height. Location of old Furka today is called Anishte (hostelries).
People didn't lose time and started to create conditions for normal life. They continued with agriculture, and in 1878 they built the new church Sveti Ilija (Saint Eliyah).
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
. It is situated in the center of the imagined triangle between Bogdanci
Bogdanci
Bogdanci is a small town in Republic of Macedonia, close to the border with Greece. It is located at around , and is the seat of Bogdanci Municipality.-Location:...
, Dojran
Dojran
Dojran was a city located on the western shore of Dojran Lake in the south-eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. Today, it is collective name for two villages that exist on the territory of the ruined city: Nov Dojran and Star Dojran, which contains both old ruins and recent construction,...
and Valandovo
Valandovo
Valandovo is a city in southeastern Republic of Macedonia.The city is the seat of Valandovo Municipality.-Ancient History:Evidence of life can be found beginning in the 10th-7th centuries B.C. There is a settlement known as Mal Konstantinopol dating from Roman times, and the life in the Middle...
, 10 km far from Dojran. East of the river Vardar
Vardar
The Vardar or Axios is the longest and major river in the Republic of Macedonia and also a major river of Greece. It is long, and drains an area of around . The maximum depth of river is ....
, Pugana and Gabroska Reka, and west of Dojran basin, it is settled on height of 21 km², on altitude above sea-level of 350 m, but the highest peak is on 456 m. All around the village there are a few little heights, composed of sandy soil and rocks of granite. On the places where it's possible people use the soil for vine growing or fruit growing, and less for other. Today in Furka are living about 1000 people, all of them Macedonians
Macedonians (ethnic group)
The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
and Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
Christians.
Furka is part of the municipality of Dojran, which is one of the most popular touristic places in Macedonia.
The name
About the origin of the name there are a few theories. According to the legend Furka had ever had the shape of the Cyrillic letter Ф (F), although historians discount this idea. Stjepan Antoljak says that Furka was the place where Byzantine king Vassilius in Furka had blinded the soldiers of Samuil of BulgariaSamuil of Bulgaria
Samuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal...
, and that the origin of the name is the Greek word "furka", which means "place of execution". This theory is considered as incorrect. Aleksandar Stojanovski thinks that origin of the name is from Turkish word "fursat" (bad people), because villagers had never allowed Turkish people to come to live in Furka.
Today, the origin of the name of Furka is still unknown.
History
According to historical sources Furka existed a long time ago, at least 1000 years. Through the history it always lived the same destiny with whole Macedonia. The first mention of Furka in literature is the theory of Stjepan Antoljak. By him in Furka had been blinded the soldiers of SamuilSamuil of Bulgaria
Samuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal...
, after were captured on the mountain Belasica
Belasica
Belasica is a mountain range in the region of Macedonia in Southeastern Europe, shared by northwestern Greece , southeastern Republic of Macedonia and southwestern Bulgaria...
. As we already said, this theory is considered as incorrect.
A lot more facts are known for the period of Turkish occupation of the country. Furka then had been settled 2.5 km north from the village of today. That was a village in condensed form, with a few hostelries and 50 families, on the road Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
- Solun (Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
) and the road between Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. This locality means that a lot of people passed through the village and stopped to spent the night in well known Furka quarters for the night.
In 1530 Furka for the first time is mentioned as a derven village. Except for agriculture, people were occupied with dervening: They had taken the responsibility to keep the road Valandovo - Dojran, on which Furka was settled, from Turkish rebels, characteristic from the period of anarchy in Turkish Empire. At the derven place, one male of every family stood guard every day. Therefore, some historians believe that on the name Furka, for a few decades was added the name "derven".
In 1573 Furka was a big town with 125 families and 50 not married. It's still unknown how the number of inhabitants increased so greatly in only 43 years.
One of the most important moments of history of Furka occurred in the second half of the eighteenth century, when people started to move from old Furka and settled the new village, Furka of today, 2.5 km north of the old village. By the legend, three monks who passed through Furka stopped to spend the night in one of the hostelries, but they were brutally killed by Turkish rebels. Even the derven guard didn't do their job worse than before, people were scared of the frequently attacks and started to move on the height. Location of old Furka today is called Anishte (hostelries).
People didn't lose time and started to create conditions for normal life. They continued with agriculture, and in 1878 they built the new church Sveti Ilija (Saint Eliyah).