Milton Manaki (1880-1964)

Milton Manaki was the first cameraman in the Balkans to begin his creative campaign with the camera 300 in 1905, just one decade after the miraculous invention of the Lumiere brothers.
He was born in the village of Avdela, Aegean Macedonia, near Grevena. In 1898, Milton and his older brother Janaki opened a photographic studio in Janina and in 1907 they moved to Bitola. And it was there that Milton Manaki created his pearls of Macedonian photography and documentary films. His star had already shone in Bucharest, by his "Klisurcanka With a Baby." For over 58 years, Milton portrayed the people surrounding him, the artisans of the Carsija, the freedom fighters in the hills, the Uriet and the Young Turks of 1908, the visit of the last Turkish Sultan Resad in 1911, World War I, the Crisis, the Balkan Wars, the occupation, etc.

Milton Manaki (1880-1964) lived in the right time - he knew how to make use of it, to put it on his slabs and film bands, and immortalize it.

The City of Consuls

As soon as the biggest European and Balkan countries realised the importance of Bitola as a strategic military and trade centre they started opening their consulates.

With its 12 consulates, Bitola became the main diplomatic centre in the region in the second half of the19th century and the first half of the 20th century. Starting from the 1990s, Bitola has regained its old fame. Three consulates have been reopened so far and the reopening of all 12 consulates is expected in the very near future.

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