- silence

- music

- Macedonia is a passing place in the heart of the Balkans. It has always been coveted by the various forces of the region.

- In the 3rd millennium BC, where Greek tribes had settled, Macedonia is one of the components of the Hellenic kingdom of Antiquity.

- During Alexander the Great’s time, the Macedonians emancipate themselves and launch themselves to the conquest of other Greek cities.

- But a continual coming and going of conquerors will leave several layers of civilizations and cultures.

- Two centuries before the Christian era, the Roman occupation.

- Then the Byzantine Empire, chased out by the Slavs in the 7th century.

- In the 10th century, Macedonia belongs to the Bulgarian Empire, for a short time, then returns to Byzantium in 1014 thanks to Emperor Basil II’s military successes.

- The Greek and the Slavs then learn to live together.

- The Greeks trade in the towns and on the coast, the Slavs occupy the rural hinterland.

- The influence of Byzantium comes after, in Europe of the Balkans, Athens’ and Rome’s.

- But first the Bulgarians, in the 11th century, then the Turks in the 15th century, oppose Byzantium and covet the area.

- The Ottoman Empire builds up and spreads. The Greek population, majoritary in Macedonia, will rub shoulders with the Slavs and the Tziganes.

- The cultures and the traditions learn to live together without any too obvious difficulties up to the 19th century.

- music