There is a special place waiting for you. A place still unspoiled, yet experienced by more and more nature lovers and adventurers each year. That special place is Macedonia – where beauty and culture blend to create unique experiences.
“There, where the sun shines forever - there is Macedonia” is from an old popular song. Macedonia is exactly that - a small country where the sun always shines, in the scenic heart of the Balkans.
About Macedonia Macedonia - that unforgettable name evoking images of ancient, great civilizations and exotic adventure - is also a warm and welcoming modern-day republic in the very heart of southeastern Europe.
While easily accessible from all points abroad, and boasting all the amenities of the Western world, Macedonia remains one of Europe’s last great undiscovered countries: a natural paradise of mountains, lakes and rivers, where life moves to a different rhythm, amidst the sprawling grandeur of rich historical ruins and idyllic villages that have remained practically unchanged for centuries.
Macedonia’s geographical and cultural position as bridge between East and West, as the crossroads between Christian Europe and the mystical Orient, is attested to today in its inhabitants. The Macedonian people – a mixture of ancient Macedonians and Slavic tribes that settled here starting in the 5th century C.E. – make up the greatest part of a country where that mixed population is a vibrant reminder of Macedonia’s rich and lengthy history. Minority populations include: Albanians, arriving first from mountains of Albania and Kosovo; a Turkish population established during Ottoman times; The Roma, hailing ultimately from far-off India; Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats; and Vlachs, famous tradesmen and likely descendants of ancient Romans.
In essence, today’s Macedonia is a unique patchwork of cultures, where Balkan bloodlines have mixed with others more exotic still. Macedonia resonates with the names of the many peoples who have set foot on its eternal soil: from Armenians, Avars and Ashkenazi to Hellenes, Peonians and Gorani; from Kumans, Montenegrins and Jews to Dardanians, Ukrainians and Bulgars.
Such a diverse range of peoples has co-existed for thousands of years in Macedonia, a place where hospitality always welcomes visitors and it comes from the heart. And indeed, the country’s charms have not been lost on an increasing number of Westerners today who are now choosing it as their second home!
In addition to its diversity,, Macedonia’s cultural richness is expressed in its archaeological legacy. Although just a little country, it holds many antique theaters, Byzantine churches and Ottoman mosques, in addition to relics from the Stone Age and even earlier periods of human civilization.
The oldest traces of human habitation in Macedonia are the cryptic, 30,000 year-old stone engravings or “rock art” unearthed in the Kratovo area, as well as the astronomical observatory/ religious ritual site of Taticev Kamen, dating back almost 4,000 years.
The word Macedonia instantly conjures up memories of Philip II and his son Alexander the Great, legendary emperor of the 4th century B.C.E. who brought great expanses of the known world under Macedonian rule. In this period, and the Hellenistic and Roman ones that followed it, Macedonia reached the apogee of its influence and power. Today, many ruins remain to attest to this ancient heritage, in the sites of cities such as Heraclea, Stobi and Skupi, strewn with amphitheaters and temples, and decorated with intricate mosaics and frescoes.
The missionary Apostle Paul brought Christianity to Macedonia for the first time. Nine centuries later, his Byzantine successors Cyril and Methodius created a brand new alphabet, the precursor to Cyrillic, to expedite their missionary work with the Slavic-speaking Orthodox Christians of the Balkans. Macedonia’s experience of Christianity has thus always been linked with literacy and education. In fact, the first Slavic university was established in the 10th century, in placid Ohrid - famous during Byzantine times for its 365 churches, one for each day of the year.
Today, Macedonia’s Christian heritage is visible everywhere, from the myriad churches that fill up the landscape throughout the country to the enormous “Millennium Cross” that lights up the Skopje night sky from high atop nearby Mt. Vodno.
Following the decline of the Byzantium Empire, Macedonia and the entire Balkans came under control of the Ottoman Turks. Macedonia owes its Oriental influences to five centuries of Ottoman rule, a phenomenon that affected everything from cuisine and language to architecture and religion. The mosques of Tetovo and Skopje and the latter city’s grand castle (Kale), and Stone Bridge exemplify vividly Ottoman aestheticism.
While firmly rooted in its traditions and nostalgia for the past, today’s Macedonia is also a forward-looking country that has embraced its diversity and is becoming integrated within European political and economic institutions, continually expanding its links to the greater global community and economy. It thus provides the curious traveler with the best of both worlds: age-old traditions, historical treasures, and a pristine natural environment, as well as all of the modern amenities, services and consumer goods that today’s sophisticated travelers need. Macedonia today is an undiscovered jewel in the heart of Europe, offering something for tourists of all ages, nations, interests and desires.
Getting to Macedonia
By air: International airports in Skopje and Ohrid connect Macedonia with several major European cities. Close regional airports in Belgrade, Sofia and Thessaloniki can also be used, as they are all within a few hours’ drive from Macedonia.
There is unfortunately no airport shuttle bus yet in Skopje, which means travelers are obliged to take a taxi for the 17 km (10.2 m) trip to Skopje. This costs around 10 euros ($12).
By train: An international train, operating twice daily, connects Ljubljana, Slovenia and Thessaloniki, Greece by way of Macedonia. Stops include Tabanovce (the Macedonia-Serbia border crossing point), Kumanovo, Skopje, Veles, Gradsko, Negotino, Demir Kapija, and Gevgelija (Greek border crossing point), as well as a few small villages. An east-west railway to connect Bulgaria with Macedonia is at present under construction.
By car: The international highway E-75 runs north-south from Serbia to Greece, bisecting Macedonia. This is the most common route for overland tourists to take for entering Macedonia. There are also good roads connecting the country with Bulgaria to the east and Albania to the west.
By bus: A number of bus lines connect Macedonia with all neighboring countries and other European cities. Buses are frequent, and offer relatively inexpensive fares and professional service.
Cuisine & Wine
Macedonia has a long and praised tradition of culinary delights. Over the centuries, many civilizations have enjoyed the produce of its fertile soil. Having avoided negative influences of urbanization, Macedonia remains the agricultural heartland of the Balkans, filled with a wonderful variety of foodstuffs native to both Mediterranean and Central European climates. In fact, few countries as small as Macedonia can offer such variety of products including everything from citrus fruits, grapes and hazelnuts to tobacco, rice and mountain teas.
In addition, Macedonia is also rich in meat, producing beef, chicken, pork and lamb, and a whole range of game. Macedonia’s many lakes yield a variety of freshwater fish, most famous of all being Lake Ohrid Trout.
As a dairy producer, Macedonia is especially well known for its cheeses: soft white cheese (sirenje), similar to Greek feta; yellow cheese (kashkaval), similar to Italian Locatello Romano; and also its yoghurt and milk. Every Macedonian village offers unique and tasty local varieties.
Macedonia is also famous for its wines, produced by unusually high quality grapes, such as Vranec, classic Cabernet Sauvignon, and mellow Merlot. Today, several small boutique wineries in Macedonia produce delectable red and white wines comparable to any French, Italian or California vintages. Besides its wines, Macedonian vintners produce fiery brandy (rakija) and mastica. Products of Macedonia breweries are enthusiastically guzzled by tourists and locals alike.
Traditional Macedonian cuisine combines Balkan and Mediterranean characteristics, inherited largely from Turkish tastes that prevailed during long centuries of Ottoman rule. Some specialties, such as taratur (sour yogurt with bits of cucumber), pindzur (cream salad with peppers and eggplant) and the world-famous baklava are characteristic of Balkan cuisine in general.
Other Turkish-influenced dishes include grilled beef kabobs and the omnipresent burek, a flaky sort of pie filled with ham, cheese, spinach, ground beef and combinations thereof.
Macedonian dishes like tavce gravce (baked beans), shopska salata (a salad made of sliced tomato, cucumber and onion, topped with ground soft white cheese), selsko meso (pork chops and champignon mushrooms in a rich brown gravy), pastrmajlija (a sort of pizza topped with meat and sometimes egg) and, above all, ajvar (the national sauce, made from sweet red peppers).
Did you know that...
... traditional Macedonian cuisine combines Balkan and Mediterranean traits, borrowing heavily from the Turkish tastes that prevailed during the long centuries of Ottoman rule. Some specialties, such as taratur (yogurt with bits of cucumber), pindzur (cream salad with peppers and eggplant) and the world-famous baklava are therefore characteristic of Balkan cuisine in general.
Other Turkish-influenced dishes include kebapcinja (grilled beef kebaps) and the omnipresent burek (a flaky sort of pie filled with cheese, spinach or ground beef).
One of the most remarkable tales from Ohrid lore is about this slippery creature. Following its mystifying internal intuition, the Ohrid Eel travels thousands of kilometers from its birthplace in the Sargasso Sea, through the Mediterranean, and up through the Crn Drim River that empties into Lake Ohrid. After lurking about for years in the murky depths of the lake, the eel suddenly gets the desire to consummate its life’s mission- by returning to the distant Caribbean, where it mates and dies.
Lake Ohrid is the largest and most beautiful of Macedonia’s three tectonic lakes. Its astonishingly clean, clear waters together with the serene stillness of its mountain setting have captivated visitors since prehistoric times. The lake is enormous, at some 30 kilometers (18 miles) long and up to 288 meters (945 feet) deep.
While the lake is fed by water from three rivers, most of Ohrid’s water comes from another lake- Prespa, on the other side of the Galicica Mountain. Being at a higher elevation, Prespa spills its water down to Ohrid through mountain springs, the most important being Ostrovo near the monastery of St Naum, and Biljana near Ohrid town.
With its unique flora and fauna characteristic of the tertiary period (2-4 million years ago), Ohrid is one of Europe’s great biological reserves. Most of the lake’s plant and animal species are endemic and unique to Ohrid. The most famous among these are two types of Ohrid Trout (letnica and belvica, in Macedonian). Other unique Ohrid creatures include two types of eel as well as the bleak, whose scales are used for making the well-known Ohrid pearl. This treasured jewel is produced according to a secret method passed down from generation to generation. Sport fishing attracts many passionate fishermen from Macedonia, Europe and the world.
