The U.S. has to play the big dog in Skopje, Macedonia too...!

The Macedonian Government and the US Embassy in Skopje have signed a contract [July 25] on selling the Kale Gradiste [Gradishte] site atop Skopje's fortress of Kale [the site is on the same hill, but some distance from the actual fortress], where the new US embassy compound will be constructed over the next three years.

View of central Skopje from Kale Fortress,
constructed in the 11th Century

this story may not be all that significant in the grand scheme of things but i will tell you why i'm posting it... i have been in and out of skopje since summer 2003, 4 trips altogether... this particular site for the new u.s. embassy has been discussed off and on for for that whole time... the back story is that the site overlooks the entire city and is located on a piece of ground with history that reaches back to at least the 11th century... (it could well be much earlier than that given the fact that the remains of a roman aqueduct extend for nearly a kilometer not far from there...) needless to say, more than a few locals are pissed that the u.s. embassy feels the need to build its new, hi-tech, post-modern, electronic and concertina wire-protected fortress in a location that pre-dates the ottoman empire... i fully agree and am additionally ticked off that it will be on the highest point within the city that actually looks down on the principal offices of the macedonian government...

and we wonder why people in other countries get annoyed with the u.s...

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