OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2012
WIZZ MAGAZINE
35
BELOW:
SKOPJE’S VIBRANT NIGHTLIFE IS
POPULAR WITH LOCALS AND VISITORS ALIKE
RIGHT:
MUSICIANS REGULARLY PERFORM FOR FREE
IN THE CITY PARK
COVER FEATURE
SKOP J E
are not without their critics, but there is
no denying that the end result will be a
dramatic new face for Skopje.
That Skopje is changing in other ways
becomes clear when I go for a walk
around Debar Maalo, an up-and-coming
area near the city centre, with Skopje
resident Zdravko Trpkovski. An agricultural
consultant by day, Zdravko DJs at least
one night a week in Kafe Bar Kaldrma, a
venue popular with students and Skopje’s
growing cadre of young professionals.
“
Macedonians traditionally prefer rock
music,” he explains, “but all sorts of bands
are coming through now and the scene is
becoming really diverse”. Skopje’s lively
nightlife is concentrated in three main
areas: the Old Bazaar, Debar Maalo
and around the city park, which is where
I head next.
I meet up with Dime again at the Shell,
a free stage venue in the park where
various acts are going through their moves,
including Zvrks, a rock band from Mostar in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Vocalist Ajdin Brkovic´
is on his first visit to Skopje, attending a
summer music course. He’s impressed
by what the city has to offer. “There’s so
much going on here, both musically and
otherwise. It’s a really cool place, with
plenty of opportunities for young people.”
Yet what I notice are not just the young
fans crowding around the stage but people
of all generations joining in. Old ladies with
small dogs are as much a part of Skopje’s
alfresco nightlife as their grandchildren,
and entire families are enjoying homemade
picnics on the grass around the stage.
ABOVE:
OLD TOWN BAZAAR NIGHTLIFE,
EASTERN STYLE, TEA AND BOARDGAMES
OPTIONAL
“
FOR A
GREAT NIGHT
OUT, I HEAD FOR
DEBAR MAALO”
ZDRAVKO TRPKOVSKI
LEFT:
AGRICULTURAL CONSULTANT AND
PART-TIME DJ ZDRAVKO TRPKOVSKI
