Gostivar ( , Albanian and Turkish: Gostivar), is a city in North Macedonia, located in the upper Polog valley region. It is one of the largest municipalities in the country with a population of 81,042, and the town also covers . Gostivar has road and railway connections with the other cities in the region, such as Tetovo, Skopje, Kičevo, Ohrid, and Debar. A freeway was built in 1995, from Gostivar to Tetovo, long. Gostivar is the seat of Gostivar Municipality. Etymology The name Gostivar comes from the Slavic word gosti meaning "guests" and the Turkish word "dvar" meaning castle or fort. Geography Gostivar, at an elevation of 535 meters, is situated on the foothills of one of the Šar Mountains. Near to Gostivar is the village of Vrutok, where the Vardar river begins at an altitude of from the base of the Šar Mountains. Vardar River extends through Gostivar, cutting it in half, passes through the capital Skopje, goes through the country, enters Greece and finally reaches the Aegean Sea. Demographics According to the 2002 census, the city of Gostivar had a population of 35,847 inhabitants and the ethnic composition is the following: Albanians, 16,890 (47.1%) Macedonians, 11,885 (33.2%) Turks, 4,559 (12.7%) Romas, 1,899 (5.3%) others, 614 (1.7%) The most common mother tongues in the city were the following: Albanian, 16,877 (47.1%) Macedonian, 13,843 (38.6%) Turkish, 4,423 (12.3%) Romani, 301 (0.8%) Serbian, 124 (0.3%) others, 279 (0.7%) The religious composition of the city was the following: Muslims, 23,686 (66.1%) Orthodox Christians, 11,865 (33.1%) others, 296 (0.8%) History It is known that there was a town called Draudacum, Draudàkon (Δραυδάκον in Ancient Greek), built in 170BC, near or on the current place of Gostivar. Early mentions of the town was made by the Roman historian Livy. He records how during the Third Macedonian War the King of Macedon Perseus at the head of 10000 men, after taking Uskana (Kicevo), attacked Drau-Dak, today Gostivar. Ottoman Period In the late 14th century, Gostivar came under Ottoman rule along with the rest of Vardar Macedonia. In the late 19th and early 20th century, Gostivar was part of the Kosovo Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire. During this period it became the centre of a kaza (municipality) and grew into one of the richer towns of Ottoman Vardar Macedonia. Gostivar remained under Ottoman rule for more than 500 years until 1912, when it was occupied by