dojran - Republika Makedonija

On the west coast of Dojran Lake, one of the three natural lakes on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, there are the two fishing communities, Old and New Dojran. They are daily coming closer and becoming an urban entity.
	The church St. Ilija, 19th century

In the middle of the Dojran area is the lake, a remainder of Lake Peon that once used to exist here. The Dojran area is one of the most beautiful natural areas in Macedonia. Attracted, excited and inspired by it, the people made up stories and in their own way tried to get closer and show gratitude to this beautiful natural creation. According to the legend, once upon a time there used to be a well where people from the nearby villages filled water. After they had filled their vessels with water, they would lock the well with nine locks. One day, the most beautiful girl in the area named Dojrana came to fill her bucket. The young man she loved was waiting for her near the well. She filled the water, but enchanted by the love for the young man, she forgot to lock the ninth lock. The water began to come out of the well and flooded the entire valley. The lake got the name Lake Dojran by the girl called Dojrana.

According to another legend, the Turkish pasha fell in love with the beautiful Dojrana and ordered his soldiers to bring her to his tent. But the girl disobeyed his orders and because she didn’t want to be taken by force, she drowned herself in the water. After that, in honor of the beautiful and brave girl, the lake was called Dojran and the village near it Dojrana.

Studies point to the fact that the area around the lake was inhabited as early as pre-history. There are inscriptions from the 5th Century BC that describe the life in ancient times in the area of today’s Dojran Lake. The Greek historian Herodotus noted that Peons live near the lake Prazja (Dojran Lake) whose main occupation was fishing. He wrote that the lake was rich in fish and that it was enough to put empty baskets in the water at night and take them out in the morning filled with fish. He also mentions some of the neighboring dwelling places which could only be approached by boats, as well as the specific fishing method by means of birds (cormorans or other divers) that fly low and drive fish into the fishing ponds, the so called mandras by the Dojran fishermen. The description given by this historian is not much different from the picture that one can be seen today. Today one can also see the fishing cabins in the middle of the silence and peace of the water, as well as the ancient fishing style. It seems as though time had stopped and preserved this distinctive ritual and amazing beauty.

After the Roman period, Dojran was under Byzantine jurisdiction and was given the name of Polin, meaning "town". In 1391 it was conquered by the Turks and the citizens were forced to move to the place where Star Dojran is today. On the head of the Turkish army was Evrenos Bey, who is mentioned in another legend of how the town of Polin was renamed into Dojran. This legend says that the Bey came to Dojran crossing over the frozen lake, not knowing that he was moving on ice covered with snow. When he found out what kind of danger he and his army went through, they thought that Allah had taken care of them and made a feast in his honor. After the feast, he asked his soldiers how they felt and they answered "Dojuran", which in Turkish means content, well fed. After this, the town was called Dojran.

The facts say that in the 19th Century Dojran was a beautiful town on the hill facing the lake. It had 2000 houses and 8000 inhabitants, stores, inns, craftsmen’s workshops and resembled Thessaloniki, often called Small Thessaloniki. But most of Dojran was ruined during the bombing in the First World War when the people moved to today’s New Dojran

Several cultural monuments that give a special mark and identity to the town were built throughout history. Some of them are the Clock Tower, the Amam Spa, the old Eksi Cesma, the church of St. Ilija etc. The Clock Tower was half torn down during the First World War used to be the center of town. The mechanism of the clock was fixed in Ala Turka. A legend says that it was built by Evrenos Bey in honor of conquering the town of Dojran.

All rights reserved. Any reproduction of the content or any of its parts or any modification, in any form or by any method, known or yet to be invented, for any use besides private, without prior written permission by the authors is prohibited.