Macedonian MarvelsOct 10, 2008
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(To see these photos up close, run your mouse over the botton left corner of the slideshow and click on Macedonia. This will take you directly to the album on Picasa.) Our journey into the Balkans began in Macedonia, a fascinating and stunningly beautiful country. Although landlocked, Macedonia is nonetheless an absolute paradise of mountains, lakes and rivers, not to mention many historical ruins and old ancient cities that have remained practically unchanged for centuries. Macedonia has a long history of political struggles and regional changes, most recently having been part of the former Yugoslavia. Its internationally recognized independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 was delayed by Greece not wanting to share the country's name with that of one of their own regions, the tension of this remains apparent in regular interactions with the locals of each country. Our one week in Macedonia was split between two cities, the capital city of Skopje and the gorgeous historical lakeside town of Ohrid. Skopje is a relatively new city as most of it was rebuilt following a devastating earthquake in 1963 that destroyed over 75% of the city's buildings and infrastructure. We explored the city on foot as we always do, focusing mostly on the Old Town, visiting beautiful Orthodox churches and Ottoman mosques. One particularly noteworthy church, St. Saviour, had the most incredible icon screen we have ever seen. Carved completely out of wood from 1819-1824, this 10 meter long, 7 meter high natural carving was pure simple elegance. An additional highlight was exploring the views offered by hiking the Kale Fortress (10th century), which stands on the highest hill in the Skopje valley (see photos). We then took a 4 hr bus ride to Ohrid, a beautiful town on a lake near the Albanian border. The scenery on the bus ride was its own delight! We were fortunate to be traveling in this part of the world during Autumn, so we were surrounded by lush mountains full of trees with their leaves changing colors, along with some gorgeous snow capped peaks! We spent four days in Ohrid enjoying the beauty of the lake and mountainside, and touring the Old City which has fascinating 11th to 14th century churches. During a visit to one particular church we noticed an American tourist with a group of security guards with him and a police escort. Up close we didn't exactly recognize him, but we later found out that it was American Defense Secretary Robert Gates, visiting little 'ole Ohrid for a NATO meeting...go figure!! Macedonia is one of the few countries thus far that we feel we have been able to capture its natural beauty reasonably well on camera, so we will sit back and let the photos share with you the treasure that we found in this blessed country! Enjoy! |
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