Balkans - Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia - 2016

After yesterday’s big day of walking (29,707 steps according to the Health app on my mobile phone), I was looking forward to using different muscles during a day of driving today, as we needed to travel from Skopje to Bitola.  As things turned out, we did our day’s driving, but then did such a long walk at the end of the day that my steps totalled 26,053.  I have no words to describe how tired my feet and legs feel.

Rather than taking the direct route from Skopje to Bitola, we took a circuitous route, or more accurately, an “S” route through Tetovo, Gostivar, Kichevo, Makedonski Brod, and Prilep.  With several stops, the trip took most of the day (8:45am to 4:00pm), and we saw remote some parts of Macedonia that were well and truly off the beaten track.

Our first stop was in Tetovo, where we visited three fascinating places.  We managed to find a parking space quite easily in the city centre without resorting to angle parking with the front half of the car up on the footpath as many local drivers had to do.  In the city centre were two beautiful buildings.  First was the old Turkish Baths building, beautifully restored and located beside the bridge over the Pena River.

Much more spectacular, and I suspect unique, was the nearby Šarena Džamija (which means Painted Mosque, or Ornamented Mosque).  Built in 1459 and paid for two women whose graves are now in the mosque’s grounds, the exterior of the mosque is decorated in a way that makes it look like it is clad in a deck of giant playing cards.  Apparently, over 30,000 eggs were used to make the paint and glaze, which is still in remarkably good condition today.

Our other visit in Tetovo was a ‘teke’, located a couple of kilometres to the south-west of the town centre.  A ‘teke’ is a Sufi monastery used by one of 12 orders of dervishes (Muslim mystics).  The teke in Tetovo is called the Arabati Baba Bektaši Teke, and was built at the end of the 18th century.  It has a chequered history with various changes of regime over the centuries, but it is now once again owned and operated by the Bektai order, and is being slowly renovated after decades of neglect. 

The grounds of the teke were unexpectedly large, containing some beautifully manicured gardens as well as some fascinating cemetery areas and mausolea.  The further in we ventured, the more interesting the place became as we discovered hidden prayer halls, the library and tiny garden enclaves.

From Tetovo, we made our way south and east, through picturesque (and sometimes spectacular) mountain scenery, farming valleys and small towns and villages until we reached a small town named Ropotovo, located about half-way between Makedonski Brod, and Prilep.  We took a side road towards the north, driving along a single lane roadway through farmland and several small villages (Peshtalevo, Sekirči and Kostinči) before taking another side-road to the west.  Climbing a steep mountain, we passed through a tiny village named Zrze, comprising adobe and stone houses, before we reached our destination, the Monastery of Zrze.

If the monks who established the monastery were hoping to find a remote location, they certainly succeeded.  The monastery clings to the mountainside on a rocky precipice with a cliff face that houses the monks’ quarters.

Returning to the main road, we were hoping to see the remains of the Treskaveç Monastery.  We saw the sign, we entered the grounds, we saw the new chapel and cemetery that are located there, but we never saw the ruins.  Whether there is anything still there to see remains a mystery to us.

After entering Prilip, we took a drive into the mountains to the north to see another monastery, St George’s Monastery.  We have not been able to find out much about this monastery (especially with unworkably slow internet at our hotel), but we did meet the abbot of the monastery and had a limited conversation with him — limited because he speaks only Macedonian, and we don’t.

Returning to Prilip, we continued our drive south to Bitola, Macedonia’s second largest city and our destination for the day.  We checked in to our hotel, the Hotel Theatre (a.k.a. Hotel Teatar), to be greeted by exceptionally friendly and competent staff, even by the high standards of those we have met on this trip.

It was time to explore Bitola on foot.  Map in hand, we walked to the north to visit the city’s landmarks; St Dimitrius Church, the Yeni Mosque (closed and covered for renovations), the Ottoman-era clock tower, and the old Turkish markets on the northern bank of the Dragor River.

Then our long foot-journey began as we walked southwards through Shirok Sokak (Bitola’s popular pedestrian plaza), through the beautifully green and shady City Park and on to Heraclea Lyncastis.  Heraclea Lyncastis is the site of an archaeological excavation of an ancient city that dates back to the 4th century BC.  Most of the ruins being excavated date to Roman times, which

means from the 2nd century BC to the 4th century AD.  The city was largely abandoned after an earthquake hit it in 518AD.

The site of Heraclea Lyncastis was quite extensive, and we were able to walk through the amphitheatre, several basilicas, the bath house, and see many examples of impressive mosaics.

Making our way back into town, we had an excellent and very affordable meal at a small, new Turkish restaurant that was recently opened on Ivo Lola Ribar by an extremely enthusiastic young woman and her brother.  The food was excellent, and just what we needed after the unintentionally long walk, the perfect end to a great day’s travelling.

Day 9 - Skopje to Bitola, Macedonia

Tuesday 7 June 2016