Macedonia Inaugurates Triumphal Arch
A lavish triumphal arch resembling the Arc de Triomphe in Paris was inaugurated in Skopje Friday in a move that could stoke Macedonia's row with neighboring Greece over its identity.
The marble "Porta Macedonia", inaugurated by Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska, has carved motifs from Macedonia's history up to the 1991 independence and images of historical figures, including Alexander the Great.
The arch, which cost an estimated 4.4 million euros to build, is 21 meters high and has a gallery and lookout point at the top accessible by stairs or elevators.
The construction is the latest addition to a massive government-backed makeover of the Macedonian capital dubbed Skopje 2014. Other monuments in the revamp include a controversial giant statue of Alexander the Great, renamed "Warrior on a Horse" following Greek complaints.
Athens accuses Macedonia of trying to appropriate Greek history "with the aim of stirring up nationalism and conflict" by claiming Alexander the Great, the fourth century conquering king of ancient Macedon, as its own.
Athens also refuses to accept its neighbor calling itself Macedonia, saying this implies a territorial claim on the Greek province of the same name, and has blocked the former Yugoslav republic's attempts to enter NATO and the European Union.
U.N. mediation has so far been fruitless but a new meeting between the two sides is expected to take place on 15 and 16th of January in New York.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://naharnet.com/stories/en/25853 |