16°C
The village Gari is located at an altitude of 1100 m along the course of the Garska Reka at the foot of the Stogovo mountain.
The total area of Atarot is 37,439,943 m2 or 37.44 km2 and is the largest of the surrounding villages.
According to some traditions, the village Gari is one of the oldest washing villages and is believed to have existed as early as the 14th-15th century. The first location was in Prisoj, but due to its location, as it was on the Debar-Kicevo road, it was under attack from the Turkish Bashibozus. In order to protect themselves, the people decided to change the place and determined a second location called Dreniče, which is located 200 m higher than the current one. The living conditions in this place were very difficult. The climatic conditions were harsh. There was a shortage of water.
A legend says that the icon of St. Spas several times “flew away” from the existing church to the place where today’s church of St. Bogoroditsa was later built. It was a sign that our ancestors should have built houses and lived in the place where the village is now. It is assumed that the icon is about 450 years old and has been preserved. It is currently located in the St. Spas church in Skopje.
There are several legends about the name of the village. One of the legends says that when the villagers were tired, they cheered themselves up with the words GAYRET GAYRET, so they started calling the village GAYRET, later GARI.
The second legend, and probably the most reliable, is related to the visit of the villagers Jovan and Jankula to Constantinople to the Sultan.
As the village gradually expanded, its inhabitants wanted to legalize the atar. For this purpose, they sent Jovan and Jankula with horses to Constantinople to finish that work. However, when they arrived, the vizier did not let them see the sultan. In order to attract the attention of the Sultan, they decided to wrap Jovan in Ruguzina and sprinkle him with gas. They set the day as Friday when the sultan went to the mosque. When the Sultan arrived with his chariot, Jankula set fire to the rug in which Jovan was wrapped. The people and the police immediately ran to see why the man was on fire, and the king did the same. When asked why they did that, they answered that only the king would be told why the man was on fire. The next day, the King called them to a conversation and issued a firman to immediately give them deeds for the place they indicated, with the previously determined borders and signors. When they returned, they named the village GORI, which later changed to GARI.
There are other legends, but this one is considered the most accurate.
