Mečkin Kamen (Mechkin Kamen)


Mečkin Kamen – Мечкин Камен – Mechkin Kamen

This monument located on a hill named Mechkin Kamen (The Bear’s Stone) is dedicated to the gallant and heroic efforts of Pitu Guli and his men during the famous Battle of Mečkin Kamen (битка кај Мечкин Камен).  On 3 August 1903, as part of the Ilinden Uprising against the Ottoman Empire, the state of the Krushevo Republic was declared with Nikola Karev serving as president.

Upon hearing the news that over 10,000 Turkish soldiers were approaching the town of Kruševo (Krushevo), Pitu Guli, a commander in the Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (Македонската Револуционерна Организација) left the assembly and took a small contingent with him to hold off Pasha Bakhtiar’s army, giving others time to escape.1

It was on this hill that Pitu Guli and his men, faced attacks from three sides.  Not to waste ammunition, they waited for the Turkish army to draw near before firing their weapons.  The legend states that Pitu and his men kept firing their weapons and when they ran out of ammunition, they started picking up boulders and hurled them at the advancing army.

Pitu Guli, of Vlach origin, was born in Krushevo in 1865. This monument dedicated to him and to the battle is located about four kilometers south of Krushevo just off of route R1306.  Another monument built in honor of the uprising is the Ilinden Monument (Makedonium).

 

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  1. https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/битка_кај_Мечкин_Камен

About Brko

I am a Macedonia enthusiast and an adventurer. I really enjoy being immersed in the Macedonian culture, meeting people from all over Makedonija and sharing their traditions and cultural heritage.