Centar Župa ( mk, ; tr, Merkez Jupa) is a municipality in the western part of

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

. ''

Centar Župa Centar Župa ( mk, ; tr, Merkez Jupa) is a village and seat in the municipality of Centar Župa, North Macedonia. The town is inhabited mainly by Turks. Demographics Centar Župa is a new village formed by families who settled in the area and ...

'' is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. Centar Župa Municipality is part of the

Southwestern Statistical Region The Southwestern Statistical Region ( mk, Југозападен Регион; Albanian: Rajoni jugperendimor) is one of eight statistical regions of North Macedonia. Southwestern, located in the west and southwestern part of the country, borders ...

History

After the Ottoman conquest in 1448,

Kodžadžik Kodžadžik ( mk, Коџаџик; tr, Kocacık), is a village in the municipality of Centar Župa, North Macedonia. The village is inhabited mainly by Turks. Name A former Ottoman fortress existed at the location of Kodžadžik before the end ...

was settled by Ottoman soldiers and Turkish nomads (

Yörüks The Yörüks, also Yuruks or Yorouks ( tr, Yörükler; , ''Youroúkoi''; bg, юруци; mk, Јуруци, ''Juruci''), are a Turkish ethnic subgroup of Oghuz descent, some of whom are nomadic, primarily inhabiting the mountains of Anatolia ...

). The local church was converted to a mosque, and Kodžadžik, as part of the ''sanjak'' (district) Debra-i Bala, became a center that connected the southeast with

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

and the

Adriatic Sea The Adriatic Sea () is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan Peninsula. The Adriatic is the northernmost arm of the Mediterranean Sea, extending from the Strait of Otranto (where it connects to the Ionian Sea) to t ...

. When North Macedonia proclaimed its independence in 1991, the Macedonian state implemented nationalist politics, which aimed to assimilate Macedonian Muslims into a broader category of "Macedonians". The government banned education in Turkish in all regions to "prevent Turkification". This, however, was met with resistance by Muslims who did not support the association and wanted to learn Turkish and continue their education in Turkish. The protests failed, although one person applied to the

European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR or ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights. The court hears applications alleging that ...

. The case revolved around rights to education in the mother tongue.

Geography

The municipality borders Struga Municipality to the south,

Debar Municipality Debar ( mk, Дебар , sq, Komuna e Dibrës) is a municipality in western part of Republic of North Macedonia. ''Debar'' is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Debar Municipality is part of the Southwestern Statistical ...

to the east, north and west, and

to the west.

Demographics

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Centar Zupa Municipality Municipalities of North Macedonia