Sitting by the water at a lakeside café in the charming UNESCO heritage city of Ohrid, in southwestern Macedonia,
I was looking forward to ordering breakfast. The sun was sparkling on the lake’s surface, fishermen in wooden boats were bringing in the catch of the day, and the iconic dome of the Orthodox Church of St. John at Kaneo perched on a craggy outcrop of rock rose behind me.
Then the café owner suggested the local dish: fish stew. At 9am? I wasn’t convinced. But in the spirit of trying new things, I said yes and was presented with a light, lemony broth (a bargain at only £1.20!), featuring tasty flakes of freshly caught lake trout. It was utterly delicious and yet another surprising thing about a country I barely knew anything about.
Macedonia is a fascinating (and highly underrated) holiday destination. It’s roughly the size of Belgium and lends itself perfectly to being explored by car, as getting to and between the main cities and sights is speedy and straightforward.
Part of the former Yugoslavia, it’s bordered by Greece, Albania, Serbia, Kosovo and Bulgaria, and although it’s landlocked it boasts more than 50 lakes, many of which offer boating, sailing, kayaking or diving.
You’ll also find three vast national parks, perfect for hiking, rock-climbing and even caving; and several grape-producing regions, which result in some phenomenal – and phenomenally cheap – bottles of wine (look out for the robust red variety, Vranac).
Ohrid was probably the biggest tourist resort I’d never heard of. Visitors flock in their thousands from all over the world to experience its lake – one of the oldest, and deepest, in Europe – and historic sights. One of the most important is the reconstructed, terracotta-tiled, Byzantine monastery of St. Panteleimon. Dating from the 10th Century AD, it has been fought over, demolished and rebuilt many times since then, by the hordes of Romans, Slavs and Ottoman Turks that have invaded the region over the centuries.
I wandered around its echoing, high-roofed interior, then gazed at the perfectly preserved mosaic floors in the grounds outside, designed with beautiful details like deer and birds. Later that afternoon, I also visited the impressive Roman amphitheatre, dating from around 200BC, which used to play host to fierce gladiatorial battles.
Visitors to the country will fly in to the capital, Skopje (the birthplace of Mother Teresa) which, when
I wandered around it on arrival, reminded me, oddly, of Las Vegas. While it has some attractive old neighbourhoods – I particularly loved the Old Bazaar, a maze of polished stone streets – five years ago the government decided to give the city more appeal, in the wake of a huge earthquake that destroyed around 80 per cent of the city in 1963.
This resulted in a lot of money spent on building giant, towering statues of some of Macedonia’s historic figures, including Alexander the Great and former ruler King Philip II. There are also some shiny, white, Caesars Palace-style structures lining the city’s river Vardar, which house museums and civic buildings.
Just 20 minutes outside the capital, though, and you can be in the heart of rural Macedonia. Matka Canyon is a vast, towering gorge, cut through by the Treska river, and home to several medieval ruins and dozens of caves.
I took a short boat trip (£2.50 return) along to the 2,000-year-old Vrelo Cave, and climbed down a succession of slippery steps into the dank gloom. Its underground chambers are lined with dripping stalagmites and stalactites; the biggest one sticks right down in the middle, and is known as the Pine Cone.
A further 90-minute drive took me to the lushly forested Mavrovo National Park. In the winter, you can ski in its mountains, but in summertime you’re more likely to find hikers and campers, keen to spot endangered wildlife like lynx and wolves which are all protected here. Alas, I didn’t see any, but on a lovely wander round its lakefront,
I was drawn to the iconic, half-submerged Church of St Nicholas.
My last port of call before heading home was the cultural city of Bitola. I visited its central clock tower, said to have been built in the 16th Century with the help of more than 60,000 eggs (which, mixed into the cement, was meant to make the walls stronger).
I then parked myself at the outdoor table of one of the many cafés that line the main pedestrianised street, Širok Sokak. Thankfully the waiter didn’t offer me fish stew, but the molten chocolate cake I had with my coffee was a final, satisfying taste of this charming country.
Ten things you must do in Macedonia
1 Have a shot of rakija, the (strong!) local spirit. It’s a type of brandy, made with fruit, and comes in many flavours.
2 Tackle the steep, 30-minute walk up to the Duf waterfall at Rostushe, in Mavrovo National Park. The thundering falls are well worth the puffing and panting!
3 Take a tour of one of the many wineries in Tikves; taste samples at Popova Kula (popovakula.com.mk) or Stobi (stobiwinery.mk).
4 Check out the Museum of the City of Skopje, which is home to hundreds of cultural artefacts from the capital’s fascinating past.
5 Daredevils can try white water kayaking through Matka Canyon, or canoeing on the backwaters if that’s too terrifying!
6 Pay a visit to the Memorial House of Mother Teresa to see the church where she was first baptised and which shaped her life (memorialhouseofmotherteresa.com).
7 Bring home a jar of ajvar, the popular red pepper dip you’ll see on every restaurant and kitchen table.
8 Time your visit with the annual Beer Festival held in July in the picturesque town of Prilep, two hours from Skopje (pivofestival.mk).
9 Visit a reconstruction of what Ohrid would have looked like around 1200 BC at the Bay of the Bones museum, which floats on the lake.
10 Scoff a burek for breakfast like the locals do – it’s a savoury, flaky pastry stuffed with spinach, feta or minced meat.
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