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Coffee with ILIJA PSALTIROV

ILIJA PSALTIROV

43 years old, from Skopje, Macedonia, The ambassador of Macedonia to Kazakhstan

03.12.2017

Coffee with ILIJA PSALTIROV


About Astana



I’ve been living in Astana for almost a year and a half. The city has become native for me. Having just opened the embassy in Astana, we met a lot of difficulties. At first we didn’t even have a car. We had to call a taxi, wait until it came, while it was cold outside. But now we’re doing well. In summer the Astana weather reminds me of the weather in Macedonia. I like that it’s breezy here, the weather is pleasant even in winter, because all bacteria die at a low temperature and I can sleep well. My children don’t get sick in the winter. Many people say that Astana has never been as warm as it is now in April. Honestly, that makes me feel good, as I love sunny weather.


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Astana is an impressive city. Many compare it to Dubai, but Astana has its own peculiarities. The city has a special charm. The left bank is modern, new and interesting for foreigners, whereas the right bank is filled with old buildings of the soviet times. On the left bank I like everything, from the boulevards to the steppe, that surrounds the city from all sides. That makes me see the city growing in different directions.

I think that as an ambassador, I have to know a lot about the country where I am. So I read a lot about Kazakhstan, Astana, and history. It’s worth mention there’s a lot in common between the Macedonians and the Kazakhs. The Kipchak tribes lived on the territory of Kazakhstan. Later they immigrated to Bulgaria, which is not so far from Macedonia. A part of the tribe called Kumans arrived in the northern part of Macedonia and now there’s a city called Kumanovo. Also, Cyrillic was invented in Macedonia in Ohrid, it is a touristy and historical city of Macedonia.

Both Astana and Skopje have almost about 700 thousand people, but we have many tourists. Therefore sometimes I have a feeling that there are millions of people in Skopje. Our capitals are almost the same in size. Now I know Astana quite well. Unfortunately, I don’t know places outside the city to have a rest. I’ve heard of Borovoye, which is in 250 kilometers from the city. In Macedonia at this distance we could get to Greece. You see, for us such distance is too far. Macedonia can be driven across in two hours only.


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Having arrived here I visited the National museum to get a good look at the history of the country. I learned that some musical instruments are similar to Macedonian, in particular dombra, we call it tambour. But, of course, the culture and life of our peoples is different. I like to look for differences in the cultures of various peoples. If we were all alike, our life would be boring and uninteresting.

One can find similarities between our peoples, for example, hospitality. When visitors come, we try to set a table richly. Even if the owners are poor, they still try to put a lot of food on the table. Also, when the guests leave, we take the food from the table and give it away to the guests.

Food is one of the main cultural aspects. In Kazakhstan I was surprised to find out you eating horse meat. In Macedonia you cannot even buy such meat. I liked beshbarmak, especially dough, which in Macedonia is called yufka. We cook it in the same way and serve it with cheese.


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I like the quiet lifestyle of the capital. In Astana you don’t spend much time getting to work. I’m fond of boating on the Ishim. I like the way the city looks and respect the people taking care of the city. There’s no a litter all over the city. Our diplomatic corps also contributes to the development of Astana, for example, we founded a park near the Chubar district, where each country representative planted a tree.

I like living here. You can walk at 2-3 in the morning and not be disturbed. My children can play outdoors unattended, that’s great! It’s as safe as in Macedonia. I hope having finished my term as an ambassador, I’ll come to Astana.

I’m glad to have met many outstanding people in Astana and Almaty. I want to get in touch with them, they’ve got a desire to visit my native country. I’d like to tell that Macedonia is one of the few countries where residents of Kazakhstan can live without a visa for up to 90 days.

I wish Kazakhstanis to save the country and the nation just the way they are; develop the city, preserve the cleanliness of parks and streets. I want to come back here in 10 years and see that the city has grown and expand even more.


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