NORTH MACEDONIA
North Macedonia was the only state not to have been involved in the terrible Yugoslavian civil war, thanks to the ability of its politicians who managed to convince the Serbian dictator Milosevic to let them go on their way without problems.
But let's go in order: after leaving unexciting Kosovo, I arrive in the beautiful capital SKOPJE from Prishtina, with a few hours by bus.
I find a nice little hotel, the Santos, in Karsia, the old city of Islamic which resembles the eastern part of Sarajevo. There are mosques, shops, restaurants, a bazaar extending along the edges, museums in the disused hamams (Turkish baths) and even a dervish temple which houses handicraft objects with a Turkish imprint.
I visit them with interest and admiration and I stop in a bar to talk with two friendly waiters before also visiting the beautiful national museum and the caravanserai (medieval hotel from the period of Turkish occupation) which has become an atelier of friendly young sculptors and architects with whom I become friends.
Climbing to the upper part you reaches the beautiful mosque, next to the fortress that dominates the city and the Vardar river below.
Unfortunately it is closed and guarded by military units, who knows why!
South of the old Islamic city, crossed a bridge that overlooks a large multi-lane thoroughfare, you reach Makedonska square, a landmark that can also be reached by crossing the pedestrian bridge over the Vardar river, presided over by the gigantic bronze statues of Cyril and Method, the religious creators of the Cyrillic alphabet, as well to other statues of national heroes of Macedonian independence.
The whole area is interested in renovation works on gigantic buildings that collapsed in the 1963 earthquake which destroyed 80% of the city's buildings. In my opinion, once the restoration is complete, Skopje will be a beautiful and relaxing city and already today people live there pleasantly, as confirmed to me by three Italian boys I met along the river and who have been living there for months thanks to the usual Erasmus university cultural exchange project, but also for meeting local girls (the friendly Lina who now speaks Italian). For the record, I spent a wonderful evening at the party with them at their friend's house in the company of a dozen young people, enlivened by their songs, good local wine and grappa and my endless chats.
To the left of Makedonska Square there is a huge multi-storey shopping center and galleries, with a surrounding city park, while on the riverside there are various clubs and bars including the famous Cubano, i.e. the Bodeguita del Medio, a copy of the place in Havana where Ernest Hemingway got drunk on the famous mojito. Instead, continuing across the bridge you cross Makedonska Ulica, the central pedestrian street full of bars and restaurants and a tribute to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, born in Skopje who built a temple house to remember her and a beautiful statue of her.
At the end of the road you arrive at the train station with the clock stopped at the time of the terrible earthquake of 1963.
The building has been transformed into a museum with a section of uninteresting modern paintings and instead a temporary exhibition dedicated to environments and objects from the 60s that I really appreciated because they date back to my childhood.
At the end of the building I see a column with photos of Tito, flags and the headquarters of the local Yugoslav communist party with nostalgic peers who invite me , they gave me a calendar with a photo of the marshal and his wife Jovanka, plus various cards and a pin. They tell me that the party received only 1% of the votes, but enjoys the sympathy of 30% of voters and are enthusiastic when I tell them that I visited Tito's tomb mausoleum in Belgrade.
Here they remember the period with pleasure of Tito's communist regime as Macedonia could count on the aid that arrived from Slovenia and Croatia which are now off to a flying start while the southern republics are struggling without that support, but still manage to maintain a dignified life even if far from Ljubljana and Zagreb . I wonder what would happen to our south if it were abandoned by Padania.
I also visit a beautiful park with the city stadium, tennis courts and a slightly neglected children's playground. Returning towards the center we first encounter the modern Orthodox cathedral with the faithful who, in the proximity of Easter, light the candles for the deceased and for the ritual prayers while inside the bearded pope offers the hosts to the faithful with a single spoon which is inserted deeply in everyone's mouth, regardless of hygiene.
Likewise, physical kisses on the icons are repeated by everyone, without regard to the fact that someone could be infected and transmit some disease. When I point this out to a local, he gets offended, pointing out to me that no one has gotten sick even during periods of cholera infection, as God protects them!
Aside from these hygiene problems, Skopje is really nice even if it is younger than myself, having been completely rebuilt in 1963 based on the designs of a Japanese architect.
I return to the center along the Vardar river and the fortress above and encounter an incredible, very crowded second-hand market OCHRID can be easily reached from Skopje in 4 hours by bus.
It is the tourist destination par excellence of the country, in the south, on the enormous lake, one of the oldest and deepest in Europe, 300 meters deep, while the other adjacent lake is more recent and only 30 meters deep!
The two lakes are separated by Mount Galicica which is still snow-capped and is a national park and in the southern part, near the border with Albania, it is enriched by the famous monastery of Sveti Naum, the true creator of the Cyrillic alphabet.
Ochrid has always been important, already in the time of the Greeks, then the seat of the patriarchate and therefore a religious but also political center.
The city is on a hill which is reflected in the lake and is enriched by a relaxing pedestrian walk along the lake of about 5 km with well-kept gardens, statues of the usual Cyril and Methodius and St. Clement.
I find a good hotel for 25 euros on the 5th floor of a large building facing the bazaar and the old city with a view of the fort above surrounded by extensive walls at the top of the hill.
After the bazaar and an old mosque there is a nice little square with a fountain and a spectacular plane tree which has around 2,000 years old and is one of the city's attractions. Immediately behind begins the central pedestrian street with many shops and bars leading to the lakeside.
On the left the long promenade along the lake, on the right the narrow streets, the ancient mosques, a museum housed in a patrician family house rich in merchants, two brothers who divided the building with the shared guest room on the top floor.
OCHRID is rich in prestigious Orthodox churches, such as the Church of St. Sophia on the Hill, with rich mosaics and a vast archaeological area still under excavation.
But the major attraction, in addition to the large Greek theater and another beautiful church on the hill, is the small church of S.Giovanni which can be reached via bridges suspended over the waters of the lake and then some stony beaches and finally some stairways at the end of the city, a panoramic and very photographable site with its beautiful garden and the view of the lake and the surrounding mountains.
Not satisfied I walk along some paths in the hills above the church I arrive after a couple of km at the fortress walls which I go around to reach the entrance door and climb the panoramic towers which allow a spectacular view of the city and the lake It's Easter Sunday, I take this opportunity to go up to the main church and observe the Orthodox Easter rites with the usual lit candles, the crossed icons, the countless signs of the cross and the very intimate and familiar atmosphere of these much more obsequious and religious of us Catholics, at least in my impression.
I retrace the itinerary towards the church of S.Giovanni a second time but this time from the upper part, through stairways and even more panoramic paths and I also return in the evening to see the churches illuminated by the headlights and the city which at night takes on an even more evocative appearance.
Truly a delightful location.
On the bus I had met a delightful Macedonian girl, Olghiza, whom I pleasantly meet again on the lakeside in the company of her friends.
The next day I leave for BITOLA, a beautiful elegant city almost on the border with Greece.
Birthplace of Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, to whom a monument is dedicated in the beautiful square with a park, two beautiful mosques and many spectacular period buildings.
Starting from the square a pedestrian street with bars and shops up to a huge park near the train and bus station.
I decide to overdo it and since I have already seen a large part of Bitola, I decide to take a bus to KRUSCEVO, the town of mountain at 1,300 meters above sea level, the city of Tose Proesti, the Michael Jackson of the Balkans, who died at the age of 26 in 2007 due to a road accident and is today considered a saint, complete with a temple, an almost religious service with his blow-ups and the concert of musical groups that repeat his pieces amidst the jubilation of young people who came from all over the country.
Tose Proesti was much loved by children, very generous, he had contributed to the restoration of ancient monasteries and helped many people.< br />A few days before his premature death, during his last concert he had said premonitory phrases of his passing and today he is considered as a saint.
There were scenes of mass pain and collective crying as much as and more than what happened in the USA for Michael Jackson and here for Lucio Battisti.
I am in the company of a young couple I met on the bus, a Spaniard, Tomas and Daniza, a Macedonian I met in Spain also on Erasmus who is above all useful for creating couples.
We have big problems reaching Khrushchevo since all the buses have been requisitioned due to the influx of fans and so we are forced to split the cost of a taxi. Unfortunately Daniza is impatient with so much human presence and asks us to take refuge in a place where we wait hours for a discreet lunch and so we miss the bulk of the party.
There are also problems returning to Ochrid. A single, very crowded and very slow bus that takes a couple of hours to get to PRILEP, a city almost in the center of the country, with imposing mountains and a spectacular fortress at the top.
In Prilep I manage to find the connection to Bitola and I have time to visit the old part before dark, the usual Carsia, the Muslim part, with the pedestrian streets, small shops and bars, but delightfully deserted for the Easter holidays.
Unfortunately I don't have time to visit HERACLEIA , the ruins of the Greek colony on the outskirts of the city, an important archaeological site that I will be happy to see in local postcards.
It's time to leave this beautiful country and arrive in Greece.
But let's go in order: after leaving unexciting Kosovo, I arrive in the beautiful capital SKOPJE from Prishtina, with a few hours by bus.
I find a nice little hotel, the Santos, in Karsia, the old city of Islamic which resembles the eastern part of Sarajevo. There are mosques, shops, restaurants, a bazaar extending along the edges, museums in the disused hamams (Turkish baths) and even a dervish temple which houses handicraft objects with a Turkish imprint.
I visit them with interest and admiration and I stop in a bar to talk with two friendly waiters before also visiting the beautiful national museum and the caravanserai (medieval hotel from the period of Turkish occupation) which has become an atelier of friendly young sculptors and architects with whom I become friends.
Climbing to the upper part you reaches the beautiful mosque, next to the fortress that dominates the city and the Vardar river below.
Unfortunately it is closed and guarded by military units, who knows why!
South of the old Islamic city, crossed a bridge that overlooks a large multi-lane thoroughfare, you reach Makedonska square, a landmark that can also be reached by crossing the pedestrian bridge over the Vardar river, presided over by the gigantic bronze statues of Cyril and Method, the religious creators of the Cyrillic alphabet, as well to other statues of national heroes of Macedonian independence.
The whole area is interested in renovation works on gigantic buildings that collapsed in the 1963 earthquake which destroyed 80% of the city's buildings. In my opinion, once the restoration is complete, Skopje will be a beautiful and relaxing city and already today people live there pleasantly, as confirmed to me by three Italian boys I met along the river and who have been living there for months thanks to the usual Erasmus university cultural exchange project, but also for meeting local girls (the friendly Lina who now speaks Italian). For the record, I spent a wonderful evening at the party with them at their friend's house in the company of a dozen young people, enlivened by their songs, good local wine and grappa and my endless chats.
To the left of Makedonska Square there is a huge multi-storey shopping center and galleries, with a surrounding city park, while on the riverside there are various clubs and bars including the famous Cubano, i.e. the Bodeguita del Medio, a copy of the place in Havana where Ernest Hemingway got drunk on the famous mojito. Instead, continuing across the bridge you cross Makedonska Ulica, the central pedestrian street full of bars and restaurants and a tribute to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, born in Skopje who built a temple house to remember her and a beautiful statue of her.
At the end of the road you arrive at the train station with the clock stopped at the time of the terrible earthquake of 1963.
The building has been transformed into a museum with a section of uninteresting modern paintings and instead a temporary exhibition dedicated to environments and objects from the 60s that I really appreciated because they date back to my childhood.
At the end of the building I see a column with photos of Tito, flags and the headquarters of the local Yugoslav communist party with nostalgic peers who invite me , they gave me a calendar with a photo of the marshal and his wife Jovanka, plus various cards and a pin. They tell me that the party received only 1% of the votes, but enjoys the sympathy of 30% of voters and are enthusiastic when I tell them that I visited Tito's tomb mausoleum in Belgrade.
Here they remember the period with pleasure of Tito's communist regime as Macedonia could count on the aid that arrived from Slovenia and Croatia which are now off to a flying start while the southern republics are struggling without that support, but still manage to maintain a dignified life even if far from Ljubljana and Zagreb . I wonder what would happen to our south if it were abandoned by Padania.
I also visit a beautiful park with the city stadium, tennis courts and a slightly neglected children's playground. Returning towards the center we first encounter the modern Orthodox cathedral with the faithful who, in the proximity of Easter, light the candles for the deceased and for the ritual prayers while inside the bearded pope offers the hosts to the faithful with a single spoon which is inserted deeply in everyone's mouth, regardless of hygiene.
Likewise, physical kisses on the icons are repeated by everyone, without regard to the fact that someone could be infected and transmit some disease. When I point this out to a local, he gets offended, pointing out to me that no one has gotten sick even during periods of cholera infection, as God protects them!
Aside from these hygiene problems, Skopje is really nice even if it is younger than myself, having been completely rebuilt in 1963 based on the designs of a Japanese architect.
I return to the center along the Vardar river and the fortress above and encounter an incredible, very crowded second-hand market OCHRID can be easily reached from Skopje in 4 hours by bus.
It is the tourist destination par excellence of the country, in the south, on the enormous lake, one of the oldest and deepest in Europe, 300 meters deep, while the other adjacent lake is more recent and only 30 meters deep!
The two lakes are separated by Mount Galicica which is still snow-capped and is a national park and in the southern part, near the border with Albania, it is enriched by the famous monastery of Sveti Naum, the true creator of the Cyrillic alphabet.
Ochrid has always been important, already in the time of the Greeks, then the seat of the patriarchate and therefore a religious but also political center.
The city is on a hill which is reflected in the lake and is enriched by a relaxing pedestrian walk along the lake of about 5 km with well-kept gardens, statues of the usual Cyril and Methodius and St. Clement.
I find a good hotel for 25 euros on the 5th floor of a large building facing the bazaar and the old city with a view of the fort above surrounded by extensive walls at the top of the hill.
After the bazaar and an old mosque there is a nice little square with a fountain and a spectacular plane tree which has around 2,000 years old and is one of the city's attractions. Immediately behind begins the central pedestrian street with many shops and bars leading to the lakeside.
On the left the long promenade along the lake, on the right the narrow streets, the ancient mosques, a museum housed in a patrician family house rich in merchants, two brothers who divided the building with the shared guest room on the top floor.
OCHRID is rich in prestigious Orthodox churches, such as the Church of St. Sophia on the Hill, with rich mosaics and a vast archaeological area still under excavation.
But the major attraction, in addition to the large Greek theater and another beautiful church on the hill, is the small church of S.Giovanni which can be reached via bridges suspended over the waters of the lake and then some stony beaches and finally some stairways at the end of the city, a panoramic and very photographable site with its beautiful garden and the view of the lake and the surrounding mountains.
Not satisfied I walk along some paths in the hills above the church I arrive after a couple of km at the fortress walls which I go around to reach the entrance door and climb the panoramic towers which allow a spectacular view of the city and the lake It's Easter Sunday, I take this opportunity to go up to the main church and observe the Orthodox Easter rites with the usual lit candles, the crossed icons, the countless signs of the cross and the very intimate and familiar atmosphere of these much more obsequious and religious of us Catholics, at least in my impression.
I retrace the itinerary towards the church of S.Giovanni a second time but this time from the upper part, through stairways and even more panoramic paths and I also return in the evening to see the churches illuminated by the headlights and the city which at night takes on an even more evocative appearance.
Truly a delightful location.
On the bus I had met a delightful Macedonian girl, Olghiza, whom I pleasantly meet again on the lakeside in the company of her friends.
The next day I leave for BITOLA, a beautiful elegant city almost on the border with Greece.
Birthplace of Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, to whom a monument is dedicated in the beautiful square with a park, two beautiful mosques and many spectacular period buildings.
Starting from the square a pedestrian street with bars and shops up to a huge park near the train and bus station.
I decide to overdo it and since I have already seen a large part of Bitola, I decide to take a bus to KRUSCEVO, the town of mountain at 1,300 meters above sea level, the city of Tose Proesti, the Michael Jackson of the Balkans, who died at the age of 26 in 2007 due to a road accident and is today considered a saint, complete with a temple, an almost religious service with his blow-ups and the concert of musical groups that repeat his pieces amidst the jubilation of young people who came from all over the country.
Tose Proesti was much loved by children, very generous, he had contributed to the restoration of ancient monasteries and helped many people.< br />A few days before his premature death, during his last concert he had said premonitory phrases of his passing and today he is considered as a saint.
There were scenes of mass pain and collective crying as much as and more than what happened in the USA for Michael Jackson and here for Lucio Battisti.
I am in the company of a young couple I met on the bus, a Spaniard, Tomas and Daniza, a Macedonian I met in Spain also on Erasmus who is above all useful for creating couples.
We have big problems reaching Khrushchevo since all the buses have been requisitioned due to the influx of fans and so we are forced to split the cost of a taxi. Unfortunately Daniza is impatient with so much human presence and asks us to take refuge in a place where we wait hours for a discreet lunch and so we miss the bulk of the party.
There are also problems returning to Ochrid. A single, very crowded and very slow bus that takes a couple of hours to get to PRILEP, a city almost in the center of the country, with imposing mountains and a spectacular fortress at the top.
In Prilep I manage to find the connection to Bitola and I have time to visit the old part before dark, the usual Carsia, the Muslim part, with the pedestrian streets, small shops and bars, but delightfully deserted for the Easter holidays.
Unfortunately I don't have time to visit HERACLEIA , the ruins of the Greek colony on the outskirts of the city, an important archaeological site that I will be happy to see in local postcards.
It's time to leave this beautiful country and arrive in Greece.
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