Mighty Macedonia
“Travel does what good novelists also do to the life of everyday, placing it like a picture in a frame or a gem in its setting, giving to it the sharp contour and meaning of art.” – Freya Stark
North Macedonia, once a part of Yugoslavia during the communist regime now contested over by Greece who has absorbed a portion, forcing the country to add North to its name and horrors of horrors wants to claim the famous hero of Macedonia, Alexander the Great for its own.
All the history books that I ever read growing up referred to Alexander as Macedonian, I told our tour manager Nikolai who himself hails from this country. Regardless of any claims to the contrary, gracing the city center of the capital Skopje is a massive statue of Alexander on his horse in direct line to a statue of his father Phillip in the distance. The entire city center is graced by massive new buildings and enough statues to dam the river that flows through it. And as I heard from the local experts the Macedonians would revolt if any attempt was made to remove these statues.
As you see double decker buses on the roads that were once presented by England and the beautiful modern with an ancient twist buildings, bridges and statues it is hard to believe that this country is in the process of throwing off the shackles of years of oppression and poverty.
They are not a part of the European Union yet, though that too is a long-held dream and other than Bulgaria putting a spanner in the works, they hope to start negotiations soon. Even though they have their own currency, most shop keepers happily took euros and dollars.
This small little visited landlocked country has a lot to offer visitors. From great food, wine tasting, ancient ruins, and beautiful scenery the time to visit is now while your money can go a long way.
The city of Skopje is dominated by an ancient fortress whose outer walls and ramparts are somewhat intact. Fortunately for us we did not have to walk up the hill. Our bus dropped us off at the top and we got to spend some time walking the ramparts and enjoying the superb views of the city such as the Skopje arena that is used for football and concerts pictured here.
On the flip side, we did have to walk from this point through the older part of the city, the Turkish bazaar, through to the newer part of the city and across the Victory Arch all the way to visit the Mother Teresa Memorial house that celebrates the other famous person who was born here.
The city was once ruled by the Ottomans and is now approximately 70% Christian and 30% Moslem. The Mustafa Pasha Mosque was first built during the Ottoman period but is still used as a practicing mosque. Turkey sent funds to restore this in 2011. After a quick visit here, which included a visit to the inside we walked to the Church of the Holy Ascension in the old city. This church was once disguised to look like an ordinary house to escape detection first from the Ottomans and then from the Communists.
The old town Bazaar which was organized into specific areas by merchandise like fabric, gold, tchotchkes, and food. Thanks to our Tour Manager Nikola we tasted the most amazing local sweets. Most of us were salivating and remembering them for days after.
We stepped in and out of the shops except I ran afoul of one of the shop owners when I stepped in not realizing that she was finishing mopping her shop floor and it was still wet. Despite my oh so profuse apologies she was not a happy camper especially since I did not buy anything either having been in pursuit of a better picture without the reflection from the glass showcase.
Jews had been welcomed and settled in Skopje and other parts of Macedonia during the Ottoman rule when they were welcomed by the then sultan. During WWII, just a touch over 7000 jews were rounded up and sent to the death camps at Treblinka.
Macedonia has been unique in attempting to restore property and funds to heirless Jews. A Jewish Holocaust Museum has also been created in what was once the Jewish Quarter. Today only a handful of Jews remain in Macedonia from what was once a thriving community that went back to the Ottoman Empire.
The Eye Bridge is a modern suspension bridge that connects the old town of Skopje to the new part of the city. While we actually crossed the stone bridge which is parallel to this one the scenic beauty made quite the impact.
Alexander the Great. The history that I studied said that he was Macedonia but apparently Greek wants to claim him as their own. Regardless the Macedonians might have to live with the country being referred to as North Macedonia instead of Macedonia they definitely were not going to give up these statues and their claim to the great Alexander who is living up to his adage of “I would rather live a short life of glory than one of obscurity”.
Mother Tereas, the patron saint of Calcutta where I grew up was actually Albanian, born in Skopje. I had been looking forward to visiting the Mother Teresa Memorial House in Skopje. The original house where she was born was destroyed in an earthquake and the current memorial museum is in a new house built on the same site. The museum contains pictures, journals, and certificates plus some mementoes of her life in Calcutta.
I am still to visit Albania where she is celebrated as well since she is of Albanian descent even though her parents were living in Macedonia. Many Albanians have settled in Macedonia as I was to find out one morning at breakfast while we were in Ohrid. I ended up sharing a table with two sharply dressed ladies who turned out to be government representatives attending a retreat. I was intrigued that one of the ladies was originally Albanian living in Macedonia and serving in the Macedonian House of Representatives.
Even the skies wept as we departed Skopje and made our way towards the beautiful Lake Ohrid. On the way we were scheduled to tour an archeological site but other than 2 brave souls most of the group chose to remain in the bus and out of the rain and wet. I suppose at some stage, one does get saturated with historical sites and archeological facts and when it is wet and slippery outside safety was a good option.
I will say that a bus full of people arrived while we were comfortable seated in ours and all the people got out and made their way to the ruins including a paraplegic in a wheelchair being managed by a family member.
We happily made our way to a winery tour, wine tasting and a delicious lunch as the sun started coming out. From here we took country roads through towns and villages that are a mix of beautiful homes financed by Macedonians living abroad which are locked up and empty but for the time when these folks come home to vacation and apple orchards. At one point we stopped and bought a crate of apples for about $2 and we couldn’t finish all the apples.
Along the way we were stopped by policemen who were trying to help a Turkish tour bus two of whose passengers had misplaced their passports. With cries of American Tourists, our tour manager and bus driver managed to wave off the policemen so we could be on our way.
We arrived at our hotel in Lake Ohrid to witness a beautiful sunset before the group got ready to walk along the lake shore and go to dinner. I was tired from all the traveling all day and not very hungry, so I happily skipped dinner and spent the evening relaxing in my room.
For once I was seated on the right side of the bus for gorgeous views as we made our way to the picturesque Bay of Bones. The site is a reconstruction of an archeological find of a prehistoric settlement that dates back to 1200 to 700 B.C.
The car parking is just off the road, and you have to head downhill towards the platform on the water that hold the replica of the reconstructed village as well as a museum. I felt like my head was on a swivel as I tried to manage the steep slope, my hiking sticks and the beautiful views and my phone so I could take pictures.
The water is crystal clear. Actually, the lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Europe and the scenery is absolutely outstanding on the drive all along the lake towards the Monastery of Naum which was our next destination. An absolute not to be missed excursion in this part of the world.
The Monastery of St. Naum is a Byzantine church located on the top of the hill in the most beautiful grounds. Between the boats, the restaurants on the lake, the church on the hill with peacocks dancing in full plumage the total visit was a delight and way too short.
This area is only 29 KM from Ohrid and it is possible to visit via boat which might have been a fabulous trip. We got to walk all the way from the entrance to the church, see the inside of the church and the views from the top of the hill before walking through the beautiful landscape.
Our day wasn’t over, and Lake Ohrid had more delights to offer us. We made our way high up to the old city walls and a surviving city gate. We entered through the city gate and made our way downhill to visit ruins of an ancient amphitheater, the church of St. Sophia, and a workshop that makes handmade paper and has one of two remaining Gutenberg Presses in the world before shopping for some local pearl jewelry and grabbing a snack and a drink in a local waterfront cafe.
Yes! this is a picture of the town of Lake Ohrid from the water. Being on the waterfront or on the water makes you feel like you could be on the Italian Rivera or Greece.
The Church of St John most likely built in 1400 before the Ottomans ruled Macedonia. While we had the chance to visit St. Sophia and the Monastery at Naum this is one church that we got to admire from afar as we sailed along the lake. This area is often referred to as Jerusalem as there are 365 churches in Ohrid, one for every day of the year.
No fortunately we did not visit any other churches. Sometimes there is too much of a good thing.
I am so grateful for all the opportunities that I have had and for all the places in the world that I have seen and experienced. Yet, as I stared at this man soaring over the lake, I wished I had the courage to try this.
Not today but who knows what tomorrow holds for me.