The Legend of Kalesh Andja

The author Stale Popov was born in a small, isolated mountain village of Macedonia in the final, turbulent decades of the Turkish Empire. From this background he is able to write a story for us in a voice of the village storyteller that takes us on a journey into the heart and soul of the medieval Turkish Empire in Europe. His story of the brave peasant girl Andja is based on an old legend and a documented peasant rebellion against Turkish rule in the year 1565 in the Mariovo region of Macedonia. Popov offers us a window into a world and a way of life that is foreign to us today. And yet, The Legend of Kalesh Andja's story of a struggle for freedom and justice, from far away and long ago, can still move readers, both young and old.