Bitola (Битола) is a city in the southwestern part of Republic of Macedonia. Often considered Macedonia's second city, it is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing with Greece. It is an important junction connecting the south of the Adriatic Sea with the Aegean Sea and Central Europe. It is known from the Ottoman period as "the city of the consuls", as many European countries had consulates in Bitola. According to some sources Bitola is the second largest town in the country The Omri Annual Survey (1996): Forging ahead, falling behind, page 137 and by others the third. Bitola is also centre of the Bitola municipality.
