Macedonia was the first leg of our 2 week's journey , we landed in capital city - Skopje . And the airport named after famous Macedonian , Alexander the Great , seems to say that you are coming to the country of ancient history . And yet Macedonian themselves underline this fact ; we are descendants of great figure -Alexander's the Great - our country used to be the kingdom of macedonian dynasty . People arriving to this small country can see many symbols of that historical heritage ; monuments , in names of public objects .
But the simple fact is that ...
Macedonian people ( and other Slavic tribes ) came there eight hundred years after the rule of great Macedonian King .
Anyway , Skopje is changing and big monumental buildings are emerging , changing the face of the city centre . But obviously , you can visit as well old part of Skopje , finding traditional market stalls when you can buy everything from fresh fruits to screwdriver and sit down in the corner to have coffee and local delicacy . I must admit that macedonian cuisine is very delicious and in big diversity .
We were hosted in Skopje by a Dutch guy , Paul , in his house located in the outskirts , on the slopes of valley in which the city is stretched out . His house is the oasis of peace , all around garden trees , no sound of cars . Sitting on his terrace after dusk and drinking beer , he and his macedonian wife gave as a picture of this former yugoslav republic .
Paul has been living with family in Skopje for 7 years and running computer software company online , what let him enjoy life in Macedonia . Although he was employing as a helper local guy called Lubcza ( by the way he appeared to be a great guide and companion across Skopje ) , Paul complained about macedonian workers as not solid and organised ( well , as for a Dutchman no wonder considering southern people ) . But both Lubcza and Paul completely criticised Greeks - the enemy number one in Macedonia .
So , for our host the biggest problem in this country seemed to be corruption , what is the result of low wages . Even the government is corrupted , what makes politician ineffective . So for that reason , there is a huge sentiment for the times of former Yugoslavia .According to Paul , the weakness of the government resulted in successful protest of Greeks , demanding to stop using "Macedonia" as the official name of
republic. On the UN forum established the name FYROM ( Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ).
Muslim cemetery in Skopje
.
That's not only Greeks are troublemakers for Macedonian ,as there is a significant Albanian Diaspora , living mainly in western parts of country , in some parts on the albanian border even in majority . Since 2001when military conflict caused by albanian nationalists was ended , Albanians has been given cultural freedom,and Albanian language has become acknowledge as a second official . But despite that , we could feel that Macedonian don't like them .
There is another potential area of conflict on the east border with Bulgaria,as 5% of country's population are Bulgarians an with Macedonian minority living across the border.Bulgarian used to claim that Macedonian are just Bulgarians who use a different bulgarian dialect And what concerns public opinion is the fact that Bulgaria grants ethnic Macedonian citizenship , and even some 10 000 Macedonian citizens have been given so far bulgarian passports
After two days we leaving Skopje , moving down to the southwest part of country , to the Ochrid and Prespa Lakes region . We chose to stay at town called Struga on the north shore of Lake Ochrid .At this point I should mention something about Ochrid Lake as this is very significant place on the map of Balkan Peninsula .
The Lake Ochrid , along with Ochrid ( town ) was declared as a World Heritage site by UNESCO - this is the deepest lake of the Balkans( 288m) and the second largest.Shared by Macedonia and Albania ,the area around is now popular tourist destination .There are 200endemic species living in this oldest Europe's lake of tectonic origin, the same kind as Baikal and Tanganyika Lakes .It's crystal clear water is feed by under ground springs.We really enjoyed swimming in it's waters and admired emerald surface when cruising across to visit St . Naum Monastery located on the south - east shore . I really recommend journey to this place .
Lake Ochrid
And of course old town in Ochrid is must see , full of ancient monuments and located on the hilly shore is simply beautiful . In medieval times Ochrid was considered as " Slavic Jerusalem " and believed there were situated 360 orthodox churches and chapels , as religious centre in Byzantium . In Ochrid existed one of the oldest Universities in Europe build before 10th century ,the remains has been uncovered on the " Plaosnik".
In the end of 10 th century the Bulgarian Tsar Samuil moved the capital of his empire to Ochrid and established there Bulgarian Patriarchate . To this day Samuil's fortress dominates over the town high on the hill .
Samuil's Fortress in Ochrid
In Ochrid's marina we took a small boat to see the old town from the waters . The owner introduced himself as a licensed tourist guide and told as about the most interesting places in Ochrid . By the way , he mentioned that 30 years ago , working on such boat he had met a american girl ,who later on would become
his wife . Fortunately or unfortunately for him , as he said. He also asked us if we knew how the next war would begin .We didn't . "Because of water "-he replied . The Americans wants to put hands on sources of water in Macedonia - lakes Ochrid and Prespa contains huge volume of fresh water , so this is a liquid gold in this region . And other neighbouring countries would be interested in taking control over this waters .
I hope however , that will not happen and I will have occasion to visit this place again not destroyed by the next Balkan War .
Here more photos from Macedonia .
