Polyparty-ism - Search for Common Ground

The bazaar that does not exist anymore
Free falling
78
What do the
craftsmen and
what do the rest of
the citizens think
about the Old
Bazaar in Skopje
- The penetration
of trade - devastating
for the craftsmanship,
whereas
the revitalization
measures appear
to be too slow
Daut Dauti
The Old Bazaar of
Skopje - in the past,
present and future - is
a story that can barely
be foretold. It is so
complex, so rich in
layers, so much part of
the past, that it seems
that its present and its
future still depend on
its past, or, in other
words, depend on
whether it will go back
to its roots.
THE DISAPPEAR-
ANCE OF CRAFTS
"When I speak about the Old
Bazaar, my heart hurts", says the
popular filigree silversmith,
Dzeladin Hasani, best known as
a comedian (uncle Dzelo) and a
newly fledged actor (from the
series "Our neighborhood").
- It hurts me, since I do not
want to see it the way it is - he
added in a rather upset manner,
when we paid him a visit in his
workshop, which was no bigger in
size than few square meters. On
the other hand, his neighbor, situated
just a few shops away from
him, in the "Belgradska" street
(the main street often referred to
as "the covered bazaar"), the hat
maker Pero Trajkovski, even started
crying while talking on this
sensible topic.
"Yeah, the bazaar is not what
it used and what it is supposed to
be", every shop owner in this
bazaar would say...
The destruction of the image
of the Bazaar started with the
spontaneous re-orientation of
activities. When the Old Bazaar
of Skopje is mentioned, the first
thought that comes to ones mind
is its crafts. This is exactly where
its downhill starts. Many crafts
have become fewer represented.
Out of a variety of crafts that
were represented before through
tens and hundreds of shops, only
a handful have remained today.
There are fewer tailors, sleeper
makers, shoe makers and blacksmiths.
- The trading entered in
the Bazaar - said the hat maker
Trajkovski. In the past,
almost everybody used to be
craftsman, whereas at present
everybody likes to become a
trader. In the past, there were
about fifteen hat makers, and
now there are only two to three
of us who have remained. There
are no longer guildsmen.
Everybody appears to be attracted
by opportunities of getting
rich quickly, that trading offers -
he says, and also adds that over
half a century he has been working
in his own craft, and that he
is happy that, unlike other older
craftsmen, he has somebody
whom he can leave this skill in
inheritance. These are his two
sons. Just like everybody else in
the Bazaar, he believes that the
crisis is taking the tall. "There
are no customers with ample
cash. People think a lot more
about a loaf of bread than of a
hat, but, still, I do not complain.
I managed to build four houses
with these two hands of mine.
What else could I have done with
honest work? He and the other
craftsmen emphasized another
aspect - there is no bulk buying
anymore. Due to the changes that
were caused in the region, there
are no longer traders coming
from Kosovo and Novi Pazar,
who used to be regular customers.
One of the classic crafts of
the bazaar is blacksmithing,
which is still upholding thanks to
the enthusiasts such as Ajdar
Zekir, twenty year old young lad,
who, along with his brother
Nehat, as he puts it, is continuing
his family tradition. Their father,
Ibrahim Zekir, fifty year old,
managed to pass on the love for
this craft to both sons.
- Our grandparents used to be
blacksmiths - cartwrights, but
since today there are fewer carts,
our crafts must go through certain
modifications. At present,
due to the fact that we are no
longer repairing carts, because
the new technology has done
what it has done, we are now
making new products - says
Ajdar Zekir, who owns one of
the remaining six blacksmith
workshops (long time ago there
were fifteen of them).
"We remained with this craft
because we wanted to retain the
family tradition, and because it
never leaves one hungry", added
A. Zekir.
In all that our interlocutor
said, the dominant topic was the
time factor. Argetim Nagavci is
the owner of one of the remain-
What is happening to us?, May 2002