Our next country was North Macedonia…
North Macedonia is another landlocked country in the middle of the Balkan States and as with the other countries we visited it has a long history.
North Macedonia's history spans from ancient Paeonian and Macedonian kingdoms to centuries of Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman rule, followed by its emergence in the 20th century as part of Yugoslavia and its modern independence. With a long history of Ottoman rule this country has a more Turkish feel than the other countries we visited. It is primarily an Orthodox Christian country rather than a Muslim country.
In contrast to the other Yugoslav republics, whose efforts to secede from Yugoslavia provoked campaigns of nationalist violence and ethnic cleansing in the early 1990s, the Republic of Macedonia was peacefully established as a sovereign and independent state on September 8, 1991, by a vote of the citizens of Macedonia.
It is a very mountainous country as we could see as we drive along…
The fall colours were just starting to show.
Lots of small villages and farms as well…
Our first stop was Skopje, the capital city of North Macedonia. It is also known as “ The City of Statues” as there are 100s throughout the city and some are massive. They were erected as an urban renewal project which costmillions and was not appreciated by many as a good use of funds in a poorer country.
This is Alexander the Great statue which caused an uproar from the Greeks when it was erected as they view him as their hero.
This one was dedicated to mothers and is a very tender statue…
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They are everywhere in the centre of the city…
There is a river running through the city with a 500 year old Stone Bridge crossing it, statutes on it as well…
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They give the city a really distinctive feel and there are also smaller statues everywhere you look…
Mother Teresa is also revered here as she was born in Macedonia to Albanian parents. There is a small church and statue dedicated to her…
In the center of town there is a large Orthodox Church as well…
Large open pedestrian areas…
The Macedonian flag…
Children playing…
There is also a very colorful Old Bazaar…
And lots of Turkish Delights…
And hot corn from a street vendor…
We then drove a long distance over a large mountain range to one of the most popular places in the south of Macedonia which was Lake Ohrid. This area is one of the oldest human settlements in all of Europe and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The lake was called the Light Lake by the Romans.
It is a very area and we were fortunate to have a warm sunny day as we have had lots of cooler, wet days. It reminded me of Lake Como in Italy.
We had a great breakfast there as well…
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Cafe latte with a view…
There is a beautiful old town inside a fortress which is at the top of the hill leading down to the lake…
It was settled over 3000 years ago and there has been evidence found that humans have been here for over 8000 years. This Roman amphitheater is 2200 years old and still well preserved.
We drove around the lake and stopped to see a replica of houses that were built on the lake between 1200BC and 700BC. The area is called the Bay of Bones. It was interesting to see how they lived that long ago over the water…
We then drove to the end of the lake to a monastery complex which is located in Galicia National Park called St. Naum. The surroundings were beautiful…
The lake is fed by this spring…
Peacocks everywhere…
The new section of town was also quite lovely…
A nice pedestrian shopping center…
Lots of colorful clothes…
The inner harbour…
The local ladies enjoying the sun and people watching.
And to end the day some hot Turkish tea and a bite of baklava.
We stayed a couple days in this area before we headed back to explore more of Albania. Like the other countries we have visited on this trip we didn’t really know what to except so Macedonia was a pleasant surprise… it was a great stop!
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