Recently the Greek newspaper “Ethnos” reported an interesting news. It is related to the prototype of the legendary character of Nikos Kazantzakis Zorba the Greek. Investigating Greek journalists discovered that in life his name was Yorgos (Georgios) Zorbas, not Alexis. He lived for two decades in Skopje until his end in 1941.  Journalists tracked down the prototype's relatives in Thessaloniki, Skopje and Belgrade. They even found his grave in the Butel cemetery in Skopje.

Georgios was born in Katerini, northern Greece. He married the beautiful Eleni, daughter of a rich mine owner, where he also worked. She died at the age of 36. After this tragedy, Zorbas, together with his 11-year-old daughter Ekaterina, went to Niš in the 1920s. There he bought a mine, and bought mines around Skopje. Shortly before his death, Ekaterina married the prominent Skopje merchant Niko Jada, with whom she went to live in Belgrade. They had a son, Vangel, who kept the only photograph of his grandfather.

I've never met anyone who could entertain as well as Zorbas. And how he only played sirtaki, Nikos Kazantzakis had told a journalist in Athens. Zorbas of Skopje corresponded with the writer until his death.