Omniglot - the blog

Where in the world?

Simon on 19 May 2007

Language and Travel and Quiz questions | Comments (13)

13 Responses to “Where in the world?”

1. Jason Frost on 19 May 2007 at 5:29 pm #

   Is it Luxembourg? I was just there a couple months ago and I’m trying to remember if I’ve seen these places. The old castle walls are what’s going it for me…They speak Luxembourgish, French, and German there.

2. James K on 19 May 2007 at 6:23 pm #

   Hi Jason,

   The only thing is that there’s a hamam (bath-house) in the foreground, one that looks rather Ottoman to me. Beyond that, I have no idea which city. In the Balkans somewhere?

3. Jason Frost on 20 May 2007 at 1:46 am #

   James,

   Ooh, you got me. That building didn’t look very Luxembourgish to me anyway.

4. Jonathan K on 20 May 2007 at 3:09 am #

   Hmmm….how about Sofia, where Bulgarian is spoken? It was once under Ottoman rule.

5. Ben on 20 May 2007 at 6:38 am #

   Istanbul? The walls look familiar.
   They’d speak Turkish there, of course.

6. Simon on 20 May 2007 at 10:11 am #

   Jonathan and James are getting close to the answer. It’s not Luxembourg, by the way.

7. Ephrat on 20 May 2007 at 12:23 pm #

   What about Romania? (Romanian)

8. renato figueiredo on 20 May 2007 at 12:44 pm #

   First of all I never had the opportunity to visit Europe. The only countries I know are Uruguay, Argentina and Bolívia, anyway I would quick in Albania, or former Yugoslavia, specially Bósnia.

9. James K on 20 May 2007 at 2:17 pm #

   Could it be Skopje in Macedonia? The languages would be Macedonian and Albanian, mostly.

10. Travis on 20 May 2007 at 6:30 pm #

    The domed structure in the foreground has to be Ottoman. I bet the others are correct in referring to the Balkans, but I’m going to take a wild guess. Cyprus. I’ve never been there but know it is also a mix of Turkish and Greek cultures. Interestingly, some of the buildings look deceptively Western European. That little “cafe” with awning to the left of the hamam-like structure, could blend in on Paris’ left bank :)

11. Simon on 20 May 2007 at 6:56 pm #

    James has got it - it is indeed Скопје (Skopje), the capital of the Republic of Macedonia.

    The name Skopje comes from the Latin Skupi, the word for ‘hut’ in the language of the Paionian people, who are thought to have founded the city during the 3rd century BC.

12. TJ on 20 May 2007 at 8:03 pm #

    could it be that they are the same people that produced Alexander the Great?

13. Aeneas on 22 May 2007 at 9:53 pm #

    I’m not up on the current state of the debate, but it’s my understanding that there’s a difference between ancient and modern Macedonians.

    The ancient Macedonians were part of Koine-speaking Greek world, although it’s not clear whether they originally spoke a Greek dialect or a different language altogether.

    Modern Macedonians are Slavic-speaking people. Now the great controversy is in the name, Macedonia. Current Macedonians claim that even though they don’t speak Greek, they’re actual descendants of ancient Macedonians. Northern Greeks, on the other hand, claim that they’re the real Macedonians, and that their Slav neighbors to the north do ont have the right to call themselves so….

    I think that’s pretty much the gist of the debate, but don’t shoot me if I’m wrong!