Bitola, Macedonia
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing with Greece.
It is an important junction connecting the south of the Adriatic Sea with the Aegean Sea and Central Europe. It is known from the Ottoman period as "the city of the consuls", as many European countries have consulates in Bitola. According to some sources, Bitola is the second largest town in the country, and to others the third. Bitola is also the centre of the Bitola Municipality.
According to Adrian Room, the name Bitola is derived from the old Slavic word Obitel (monastery or abode), since the city was formerly noted for its monastery. When the meaning of the name was no longer understood, it lost its prefix "o". The name Bitola is mentioned in the Bitola inscription, related to the old city fortress built in 1015. Modern Slavic variants include the Macedonian Bitola (Битола), the Serbian Bitolj (Битољ) and Bulgarian Bitolya (Битоля). In Byzantine times, the name was hellenized to Voutélion (Βουτέλιον) or Vitólia (Βιτώλια), hence the names Butella by William of Tyre, Butili by the Arab geographer al-Idrisi). The Aromanian name Bituli is also derived from the Slavic name.
Another Greek name of the city, which is currently in use, is Monastíri (Μοναστήρι), also meaning "monastery". The Turkish name Manastır (Ottoman Turkish: مناستر) is derived from the Greek name, as is the Albanian Manastiri.
Source: Wikipedia
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