Gollobordë

The Islamization process is held to have occurred in Golloborda relatively late in Ottoman times.[4] In 1519, the region was still entirely Christian.[5] Some authors have held that the Islamization process in Golloborda to have occurred in the late 18th century,[5][4] whereas others asserted that the impetus to mass Islamization in the region was the bedel tax, imposed only on Christians because they were not drafted and initiated in the region in the year 1832. According to this second theory, this tax was particularly harsh and caused many families to turn to Islam as a means of avoiding it.[4][6] During the same period, a mass emigration process occurred, and many Muslim families settled elsewhere, including in Debar, in Struga's Drimkol region, and in Thessaloniki.[6][4][7] The families that settled in Debar became Albanized, but retain memory of their origins which are denoted by their last names, including Klenja, Trebishta, Ostreni, Torbaçi, Serpetova, and others.[7]

In 1913, the majority of the region was awarded to Albania while six villages were assigned to the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.[3] However, despite the border that divided the region in pieces, the region remained culturally and economically unified at this time, and Debar served as the unifying point for the entire region.[3] There were plenty of migratory movements across the border during this period, and during King Zogu's reign, people on both sides of the Albanian-Yugoslav border running through the region would cross it to cultivate farmland on the other side.[3] During this period, the official border changed a number of times—at one point, it ran between Klenja and Steblevo, but now these two towns are both in Albania.[3][8]

The fates of the two sides of the region diverged much more sharply after the rise of communism in the aftermath of World War II. In 1948, the regime of Enver Hoxha in Albania closed down the border, and a barbed wire fence was erected on the border, accompanied by guard posts.[3] The Albanian communist state was extremely suspicious of Gollobordian communities, a fact one Macedonian author attributed to their "weak Albanian patriotism".[8] This new heavy enforcement of the border caused many people to lose contact with their relatives who lived on the other side.[3]

In the region of Gollobordë, villages located on the Albanian side of the border have the following population demographics:

Trebisht administrative unit: Gjinovec and Klenjë are inhabited solely by a Slavic speaking population[2] which contain Muslim Macedonians (Torbeš)[10] or Bulgarian Pomaks.[11] Vërnicë is inhabited by an Albanian population that dominates demographically in the village that also contains a significant population of Muslim Macedonians and Orthodox Macedonians.[2][10] Trebisht is traditionally inhabited by a mixed Slavic Orthodox Christian and Muslim population considered Macedonian[10] or Bulgarian.[12]

Ostren administrative unit: Lejçan, Lladomericë and Tuçep are inhabited solely by Macedonian/Bulgarian Muslims; Radovesh, Kojavec, Orzhanovë are inhabited solely by a Slavic speaking population[2] which contain Macedonian/Bulgarian Muslims.[10][11] Okshtun i Madh, Okshtun i Vogël and Tërbaç have some Macedonian/Bulgarian Muslims residing there while Pasinkë, Ostren i Madh and Ostren i Vogël are inhabited by an Albanian population that dominates demographically in the villages that also contain significant populations of Muslim Macedonians/Bulgarians and Orthodox Macedonians/Bulgarians.[2][10][13]

The villages of Zabzun, Borovë, Llangë, Moglicë, Prodan are located in the Stëblevë administrative unit and two villages are inhabited by Slavic populations: Stëblevë, which is inhabited solely by a Slavic speaking population[2] that contains Macedonian Muslims.[10] Sebisht is inhabited by an Albanian population that dominates demographically in the village and contains three families from the Muslim Macedonian/Bulgarian and Orthodox Macedonian/Bulgarian population.[2][10][14]

Gjoricë administrative unit: Lubalesh has some Muslim Macedonians living in the village.[10]

The Muslim Bulgarian/Macedonian and Orthodox Bulgarian/Macedonian population of Gollobordë are speakers of a south Slavic language[2] (Macedonian[10] or Bulgarian[15]).The Muslim Macedonian speaking community of the area is known as Gollobordas and in Albania people from the community are considered Albanians instead of Macedonians, even by the Albanian state, and they are known to intermarry with Muslim Albanians and not with Orthodox Macedonians.[16][17] Until the 1990s the local Orthodox Macedonian minority, who have since migrated, used to live in some villages alongside the Gollobordas of whom in the 2010s number some roughly 3,000 people.[17]

In the region of Gollobordë, villages located on the Macedonian side of the border have the following population demographics:

Debar Municipality: Otišani has traditionally been inhabited by a Muslim Macedonian population and Džepište has traditionally been inhabited by Orthodox Macedonians and a Muslim Macedonian population.[10]

Struga Municipality: Manastirec, Drenok, Modrič and Lakaica[2] are inhabited solely by Orthodox Macedonians.[18]