The bickering over the name "Macedonia" stems from the fact that the modern state (FYROM) does not replicate the precise historical boundaries of the ancient Macedon. In fact, ancient Macedon now lies within no less than five modern states: FYROM, Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Albania. This "Macedonian Question" has plagued Balkan history and remains unresolved. All of FYROM's neighbors extend claims over parts of its territory, and some have counter-claims against each other as well. The Greek claim is essentially a historicist one: it hinges on the perceived connection between modern Greece and ancient Macedon, the extent of Byzantine control over the region, and Greek domination of the Orthodox millet during the Ottoman era. The Bulgarian claim has a historical as well as a cultural component: the 7th to 11th Century Bulgarian kingdom had its capital in Ohrid, at the western fringes of Macedonia, and controlled almost the entirety of Macedonia for centuries. After the Bulgarian Orthodox Church freed itself of Greek Orthodox control during the Ottoman period, the majority of the Macedonian population joined the Bulgarian church. The Macedonian language spoken by the Slavic population of FYROM is almost undiscernible from Bulgarian; the differences are largely a result of cultural "Yugoslavization" implemented by another of the claimants, Serbia, the medieval kingdom of which also included parts of Macedonia. During the 20th Century, Serb, Bulgarian, and Greek claims over Macedonia brought them into armed conflict on multiple occasions. Albania has not been the most vocal claimant, but is nonetheless an interesting case: about a fifth of FYROM's population are ethnic Albanians, some of whom advocate joining with a Greater Albania while others simply seek minority rights within the independent FYROM. The tension between ethnic Albanian and Slavic Macedonians erupted in a short war in 2001—yet another chapter in the long and violent history of Macedonia.

The Monkey visited Macedonia in September of 2000, spending a few days in Skopje, the compact capital of this compact country. Skopje is notable for its old Turkish bazaar, the largest in Europe since the destruction of Sarajevo's in the 1990s. The Monkey is hoping to return to Macedonia soon. In particular he is anxious to visit Ohrid, the medieval center of Slavic culture, and its eponymous lake, the deepest in Europe.

After a devastating earthquake in the 1963, much of central Skopje had to be rebuilt. Yugoslavia was always the most adept country in the Balkans at concrete architecture, and Skopje's reconstruction was quick and very modern. Here, the Monkey peers out over the Vardar and the 1960s concrete architecture of Skopje.

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