Project for construction of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's family house presented

Mustapha Kemal Ataturk

A memorial house in honor of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk - the founder of the Republic of Turkey - will be built in the village of Kodzadzik in Centar Zupa Municipality (western Macedonia) starting this May. Its cornerstone was laid two years ago.

Two facilities will be built - the house in which Ataturk's father, Ali Riza Efendi was born and raised is going to be reconstructed, while a house of their relatives will be built next to it.

A protocol on reconstruction and conservation of Ataturk's family house was signed Friday by Minister of Culture Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska, Mehmet Süreyya Er - deputy president of the Turkish Cooperation & Coordination Agency (TIKA) - and the mayor of Centar Zupa, Mazlum Hasan.

The project, which will be realised with a donation by TIKA, was prepared by the National Conservation Center.

The two houses will be built on a hill covering an area of 340 square meters on archaeological remains. They will maintain the authenticity of the period they were constructed - the 19th century.

The house of the relatives is planned to serve as a museum where the origin and education of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and his work as a statesman and founder of moder Turkey will be displayed.

"The construction of a memorial house of Kemal Ataturk - the most important person in Turkey's history and the founding father of the country - is of great importance notably for Turkey and for the Turkish community here, but also for Macedonia. It is a symbol of our great friendship and will become a significant cultural and tourist destination," Minister Kanceska-Milevska said.

Mehmet Süreyya Er said he was satisfied with the project, praising the National Conservation Center for preparing it very quickly. He thanked the presidents and premiers of Turkey and Macedonia for supporting the project.

Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (1881-1938) was born in Thessaloniki, where his parents had settled after leaving the village of Kodzadzik.

Quake jolts Debar

An earthquake with a magnitude of 3 degrees on the Richter scale jolted the western part of Macedonia on Friday morning. According to Seismology Observatory at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, the quake's epicenter was 110 kilometers off Skopje, near Debar. Local residents in Debar and Struga said they felt the tremor.

STRING OF EARTHQUAKES IN DEBAR REGION

An earthquake measuring 7-8 degrees according to European Macroseismic Scale was felt late Sunday in western and central Macedonia. Epicentre of the quake, which happened at 23:49h, was 110 km southwest of Skopje.
Seismological observatory within Faculty of Science and Mathematics in Skopje reported that epicentre was on the territory of the neighbouring Albania, 15 km southwest of Debar. 

Memorial museum for Ataturk

A corner stone was laid Sunday in the village of Kodzadzik - Centar Zupa municipality - marking the start of a construction of Memorial House of Kemal Ataturk - the founder of modern Turkey. The greatness of Ataturk's deeds, a man who was the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, is being recognized in Turkey and beyond its borders, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski said. Many memories connect Ataturk with Macedonia, including the fact that the house of his parents is located exactly here in the village of Kodzadzik.
This memorial is of special significance for the Turkish state, Turkish community in our country and for Macedonia, Gruevski said at the ceremony. Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska and Turkish Deputy Culture Minister Nihat Gul also addressed the event, referring to the good cultural cooperation and friendly relations between the two countries.
The memorial will be build on the foundations of the old residence of Ataturk's father - Ali Riza. The project - worth about EUR 650,000 - will be realized by the local authorities of Centar Zupa municipality and the Government of Macedonia.