Gari is a Mijak village just a few minutes drive from Lazaropole, on the other side of the main road. It is almost a ghost town. I met nobody all morning, although I did spot some chimneys at work in the upper part of the village.

Here, a lot of houses are decaying, charmingly. All around the village you can hear the river murmuring by. The day was pretty foggy, enhancing the feeling of a place forgotten by modern society.

It was time to set off again, heading towards the little village of Lazaropole, where I had booked a night in a traditional Ottoman guesthouse. It would be the first place in almost one week where I would have hot water and a private bathroom, so I was really looking forward to it. (I guess hot water was the motivation that pushed me -despite all my reasonable hesitations- forward along the tortuous and arduous mountain road leading to the village of Lazaropole). 

Lazaropole is a picturesque, fairy-talish mountain village well-known for the freshness of its air, which locals claim to be the heathiest in the Balkans.

It is a popular mountain destination but, when I was there, there was just me and the hotel owner and, later that evening, a friend of the owner who stopped by the hotel to celebrate his birthday and who was so kind as to invite me to join their table for a glass of red Macedonian wine.

Free from the tourist hordes, ex-footballer Pece Cvetkovski’s Villa Dihovo offers a sweet retreat where you pay ‘what you like’ for his home-grown organic cuisine.

Macedonia? Why not? There’s something glorious about being a tourist in a place that attracts so few. The country’s abundant viti­culture and vast national parks have some­how been overlooked by tourists in favour of more glamorous Balkan countries such as Croatia, but slowly the nation is edging away from the shadow of Yugoslav rule. One of Macedonia’s main propo­nents of tourism is ex-footballer Pece Cvetkovski. Having played for the local team – as well as FK Skopje, in the capital, and in Denmark – Cvetkovski is something of a celebrity in these parts, and he invites guests to stay where he grew up, at Villa Dihovo, near the city of Bitola, in the southwest­ern reaches of the landlocked country.

Sounds remote. Yep. Don’t bother with trains, either; Balkan buses are more comfortable, and they run frequently from Skopje. Care hire is also a doddle (about €120/HK$1,000 for three days) and petrol is dirt cheap. About 7km from the unremar­k­able city of Bitola, you’re likely to be bowl­ed over as soon as you reach Villa Dihovo – literally – as Cvetkovski’s snow-white sled dog will no doubt jump up in excitement as you step out of the car, perhaps causing you to stumble into the meti­culously planted organic vegetable garden. Eek.

Organic vegetable garden? Cvetkovski is a certified producer for the Slow Food organisa­tion, which promotes clean eating, using only organic vegetables and very little meat. Macedonia, by the way, is still one of the biggest producers of organic food, so it’s common for residents to have kitchen gardens. Home-cooked food served in Villa Dihovo’s comfy dining room makes for a wonderful return after a long day’s hiking in the nearby Pelister National Park. Favourites include stuffed, dried and spiced rezha peppers, foraged mushrooms and the tavce gravce, a Macedonian dish of high quality beans baked in tomato sauce. Burrow underground, into Cvetkovski’s natural wine cave, to choose a bottle for dinner, at the suggested price – or “donation” – of US$10.

Can we take a bottle up to our room? Absolutely. Cvetkovski also brews his own (surprisingly, very good) beer and he’ll no doubt give you a few of those to see off upstairs, too. There are only a couple of rooms at present, and they’re decorated like a folklorean dream: wooden ornaments and rickety bedsteads forged from tree trunks stand opposite a window framing views of the national park. There’s blissfully little else to do other than eat, sleep and wander the grounds, performing a vege­table roll-call from one plant bed to another.

Wait, what’s that about a national park? Well, other than the Slow Food and the general feeling of abandon that comes with being in a Macedonian country house in the middle of nowhere, Pelister National Park is the main reason people stay with Cvetkovski. After a short but dramatic drive up the foothills of the Baba Mountain, the host (who offers lifts every­where) will leave hiking guests by the unashamedly 1970s Hotel Molica. Be sure to stop in for a drink and a gawp at the fabulous throwback block-green interiors and mini indoor lake. Park hikes last anything from an hour or so to a long, full day, and take in lofty panoramic views of Christmas tree firs on mountain sides that fold like layers of icing off into the distance. The ultimate hike leads you to natural lakes atop the mountain.

What are we looking at, price wise? One night at Villa Dihovo is €40, and for dinner and drinks, Cvetkovski asks that you “pay what you like”. A cookery school is scheduled to open at Villa Dihovo in time for the summer, as will additional rooms. Guests are encouraged to stay for two or three nights, and take part in foraging and fishing trips.

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On the slopes of the Mount Klepa the history and present intertwine, mixed with natural beauty, water and the smell of spring flowers. All this makes Oraovec village a desirable place to visit due to health, vacation and brief introduction to history.

In spring the village is wonderful, the colors and scents of the lilacs mix, but also the scents of the olive trees there are in large numbers, although the village is located at a high altitude. Villagers proudly show the three fountains where clean mountain water gushes out. They say there is plenty of drinking water and that they do not have trouble in the hot days. It cannot be extremely hot in the village, especially because of the numerous walnut trees that cast thick shadows.

The village is at an altitude of 500 meters, offers peace and quiet, but also an opportunity to treat as an air bath. Due to the number of walnut trees, the village derives its name Oraovec. It's one of the reasons that air in the village has healing attributes.

- For three decades children from the municipality came in the village to get a treatment because we have good water and air. The numerous walnuts enrich the air with iodine so children get treated here quickly. “Oraovec once was an air bath, as Jasenovo is now”, says Olga Petkova, a resident of the village.

The natural lake is also a great boon and serves for bathing over the summer, when the village is more alive with the return of numerous residents. While walking the visit the church "St. Spas" located in the village is unavoidable. It was built in 1839 by the architect Andrej Damjanov. Inside is a valuable iconostasis and numerous ancient icons. The village has a specific architecture with stone roofs.

"All the houses are covered with stone slabs, as natural air conditioning; cool in summer, warm in winter. We do not need another cooling, the isolation is all natural. The stone slabs originate from a nearby quarry", says Olga. She also underlines that the vegetable products of the residents of Oraovec are particularly popular on the Veles market. The reason for that is the environmentally pristine land, making the local products healthier than others.

The small village was home to important people of the Macedonian history. The few people that live in the village are especially proud of the glorious past of Oraovec. At the end of April, many of the guests come to lay flowers on the graves of the Gemici Milan Arsov and the Ilinden Duke Jovan Naumov - Alabak.

Oraovec village, with its natural beauty and significant historical past is desirable to visit. Its inhabitants look forward to every guest and friendly welcome them. Thus, if there is nowhere to go, visit Oraovec and enjoy the freshness of walnut trees and the healthy air.

Every place has its own image and soul, colours and scents, people and events it is known for and making it special, even in its inevitable transience.

One such place is Malesia (near Struga), which, deep down in its heart, in Selce, is preserving the memory of Macedonian greats Vojdan Chernodrinski and Arseni Jovkov. The former was founder of Macedonian drama, a man who dared to call his Macedonian theatres “an engaged national political theatre”, and author of the “Macedonian bloody wedding”, and the latter was a prominent revolutionary, people’s favourite leader, a poet and creator of the first Macedonian documentary film.

The road to Selci and the story about those two and Malesia, told from generation to generation, leads beside the beautiful Lake Globochica, all the way to the Globochica hydro power plant. From this point, the village can be reached through a narrow and steep path passing through colourful mountain landscape. The infrastructure and the ruined old road is an unpleasant image mirroring the current negligence of the region that is full of people from early spring until late autumn.

There are two villages located in this part of the wooded slopes of Stogovo Mountain – Selce and Burinec, interconnected throughout history, both economically and ethnically, but each of them with its own history and development. They are separated by Stajilska, or Selechka River. Selce, the birthplace of Chernodrinski and Jovkov, is on the right side of the river.

A suitable name for its people

The current village of Selce hasn’t always been located at an altitude of 1.050 metres nor has it always been called that way. The first residence of the locals was called Stajlo or Slailo was located much lower.

“There are traces of former settlements in the area of Selce and Burinec. It is believed that there was a town once at the current site called Graishta and there are still remains of the Kaja fortress, built around the same time as the fortress in Ohrid. There is a record of it in the old church of “Saint Nicholas”, with only its altar preserved to this day. The fortress served to secure the local road that connected Debar with Debarca and the Struga field, and was positioned so that the Kodjadjik tower and the Ohrid Lake were visible. There are remains of several other settlements still visible in the area. The villages of Selce and Burinec used to be part of the municipality of Debar, because of their proximity to the town. That influence can be seen through the folk costumes” – author Ljupcho Paunkoski, in his documentary called “Malesia”, says. The legend says that people from the entire region sought refuge higher up the mountain during times of occupation and the village of Selce was formed – a village with a suitable name for people in trouble.

“It is a very old village and the first record of it dates back to 1863 as Selce Dolno. According to some of locals, the village got its name because it used to be small” – Paunkoski says.

The population of the village soon reached 1.050, consisting of 150 to 180 houses, and Selce soon became an important Macedonian Orthodox settlement.

The following years, especially after the end of the Ilinden uprising, many of the people went to work in America. Most of the families were patriarchal, consisting of at least 7 descendants, which is why even the Ottoman soldiers and bandits were wise to stay clear of trouble. The people of Selce were always armed, even when going to church and whereas they were carrying guns and rifles at the time, to this day, their words and deeds have still remained their biggest weapon.

The origins of unyieldingness

The trademark and pride of Selce and Macedonian history, as the story goes are the two village leaders, Priest Jon, or Jovan Slavkoski and Atanasij Tanasko Jovkov and their sons – Vojdan (Slavkoski) Chernodrinski and Arseni Jovkov – brilliant but tragic personas, just like the era in which they lived.

Jon was the village mayor for thirteen years before becoming a priest in 1889.

“Priest Jon Slavkoski was sentenced to 101 years in prison during the Ottoman reign and was sent to Anatolia. He was sent back to Macedonia after the Hurriyet. He was killed by rebels in his own house in 1943 and was buried in the yard of the “Saint Nicholas” church” – Ljupcho Paunkoski documentary reveals.

Priest Jon was a man revered by generations after his death. People even tell stories about his endeavours. One of them is about the encounter between Jon and Raim the robber.

“They aimed at each other, but instead of shooting, knowing that he would die, Raim took his axe in anger and butchered his own mule!”

However, faith caught up with Priest Jon and he and his family were killed in their own birthplace.

Faith was even crueller to Jovkov’s family. He was responsible for the opening of the first school in Selce, which was “unseen and unheard of at the time”. It was a “miracle” that brought light into the dark Malesia in the form of education. The first teacher in Selci was Marija Slavkoska, who graduated from teaching school in Wien.

Because of his teaching work and initiative to get more young people to educate themselves, Tanasko Jovkov often clashed with the regional leaders, even with the Greek bishop in Bitola, which is why he was sentenced to prison and later caught in ambush and executed.

Unable to cope with his father’s death, Tanasko’s oldest son, Niko Jovkov became leader of the first revolutionary cells in the region as soon as VMRO was formed. When Niko died, his younger brother, Arseni, got involved, becoming the leader of his brother’s group and was an authentic chronicler of the situation in Macedonia at the time and the Ilinden uprising.

The people of Selci preserved the memory of the village’s greats by building a memorial monument in the centre of the village. The marble plate says: “Vojdan Chernodrinski (1875 – 1951) and Arseni Jovkov (1884 – 1924). This country will remember them for being its part and a shining mark of its rise. Grateful Macedonia, Selci, 1979.”

Word as a blade

You must have heard the saying “Like father, like son”. Arseni Jovkov and Vojdan Chernodrinski and their fathers are certainly a good example of it. Those young people continued to walk on the path set by their fathers, with their own way and their own weapon, until their final hours.

Historical facts are irrefutable: the birthplace of these greats and visionaries, who were, at least one step ahead of their time, is not the only thing they had in common. They also shared the same immense love and loyalty to their enslaved country and limitless faith in its prosperity and future, including their extraordinary creative gift and ability to lay down and build the foundations of the Macedonian drama and theatre, journalism, literature, film art, as well as their highest ideal – independent Macedonia.

It is truly remarkable how the “ignorant” peasants from Selce became part of Macedonian history, culture and art. How did it even occur to Chernodrinski to establish his own Macedonian theatre in Sofia and secure a repertoire of his own Macedonian dramas in Macedonian language during such difficult times? How did Jovkov “sharpen” his striking journalistic word, more powerful than a lightning? Where did his courage, persistence, strength and uncompromising attitude come from?

Jovkov’s idea to eternalize the 20th anniversary of the Ilinden uprising, when Goce Delchev’s remains would be placed in the premises of the Ilinden organization in Sofia and later transferred to Skopje, in the early days of film when it was still just an attraction, was brilliant. He was also very serious about his idea to write a script and shoot “a monumental historic spectacle about Macedonian life and struggles, which seem to be our inevitable destiny”.

That is why there is an article about Arseni Jovkov in the World Movie Encyclopaedia, published in 1980. According to film experts, the script titled “Ilinden”, based on his poem of the same name, written in 1905, was graphically illustrated in a period when such way of expression was unknown. Experts also noted that the documentary film “Macedonia through images” had “a tight dramaturgical structure consisting of numerous film elements which only showed that the author had a sense about the film media and that he was familiar with the laws of the film form”. All of this sums up to the conclusion that these are precious pieces which represent the testament of the cultural history (particularly the film history) of Macedonia.

The answer to all these questions probably lies somewhere deep in Malesia and Stogovo. Their extraordinary beauty will give you a clear mind, strength, motivation, verve, etc. and that is why this place will never be forgotten. People keep returning to their birthplace to stay as long as they can, and leave again, until the next time.