The "girls" left their comfortable villa on the Black Sea, and headed West. We spent one night in Sofia, and then drove 6 hours across the entire country of Macedonia. Our destination was Ohrid. Ohrid is located in the Southwest part of Macedonia near the Albanian border. Actually, part of Lake Ohrid is located in Albania. Lake Ohrid ( 940 feet deep, and 138 square miles) is the jewel in the Macedonian crown. Both the lake and the town are named a UNESCO site of rare environmental, scientific, and cultural significance. Katherine and I found a wonderful boutique hotel on the lake. We were able to stay in a large two room apartment with a small kitchen, and wonderful terrace for six nights. It was a perfect place to explore Macedonia.
Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest in the world. Lake Baikal in Russia and Lake Titicaca in Peru/Bolivia are the other two. The lake is 3-4 million years old; and the town dates back to Neolithic times and claims the longest continuous settlement of humans in the world dating back 7,000 years. The Lake is in Galicica National Park. The lake is beautiful. You are able to see the bottom of the lake at every depth. It is fed from the mountains, and Lake Prespa. Lake Prespa is at a higher altitude, and feeds Lake Ohrid.
Ohrid, contains many cathedrals and basilicas that date back to the 5th century AD. The largest is the Monastary of Sv Kliment at Plaosnik. Sv Sophia and Sv Mary the Mother of God are a few that still contain frescos, and have actually been reconstructed. The Germans have put a lot of money into this town. Most of the Macedonians speak German; and there are many "package deals" from Germany. All of the bars, restaurants and hotels are filled with German tourists. Americans have not found Macedonia - actually Katherine and I haven't seen an American since we left Switzerland at the beginning of August. Communication in English is typically with anyone under 25. Macedonia was part of Yugoslavia and was under Communist domination, as the other Eastern European countries. Because of the German tourist element here, it was never necessary to learn English.
The country is not a member of the EU, and will probably never be admitted. The economy is based on the service sector, representing 54% of the GDP. There is a 32% unemployment rate in the country. Sadly, this was quite evident in Ohrid. 35-45 year old men sat in sidewalk cafes drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes all day with their friends who were working at the restaurant. The women were working in the hotels, cleaning rooms and doing laundry for the German tourists. The communist period is looked upon, as in a lot of the Eastern European countries as a "better time" for the people. Many wish that period which ended with their independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 would return - full employment, benefits for all, safe streets, etc. ; the same litany of reasons that we have heard from other former USSR states.
Lake Ohrid is the big "tourist draw" for Macedonia. As I mentioned, the Lake is exquisitely beautiful. However,industrial pollution has been and sitll is a problem. The Macedonians have a disregard for litter, especially the biogegradeable kind. There is a lack of litter bins, and no one to take the litter away, but the 32% that sit in cafes drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes should organize and save their country's most beautiful resource!! Also, sadly, UNESCO has put Ohrid on "watch". They have torn up the 2,000 year old cobble streets in the center of town, and replaced it with pavement bricks. They are building structures along the lake that do not comply with the old standards. 20% of Macedonia's GDP is in the "Gray Market". Therefore, when someone won the contracts to rebuild the town square, there was a lot of money "pocketed".
The churches in OHRID
Sveti Kliment-dedicated to St Clement 12th century.
Sveta Sofia Church - built in the 11th century as a cathedral church for the archbishop of of Ohrid. This is one of only two churches in the world to display such high degree of 11th century frescos. The other is St Sofia in Kiev - (see back in the USSR blog).
Church of Sveti Jovan Kaneo - one of the most fequently visited churches in Ohrid. This is the beautiful church that is in all of the videos and background photos of Ohrid.
Sveta Borgorodica Privleptos - The Holy Mother of God Most Glorious. Incredible frescos from the late 13th century. We met the lady who is the docent in the church and has written the book on the church to earn her PH.D.
Tsar's Somoil's fortress - dates from the end of the 10th century.
Roman amphitheatre - over 2,000 years old.
Sveti Naum Monastery. Located at the other end of the lake near the Albanian border. The 10th century Church of the Holy Archangels build by Sv Naum , who is buried beneath the present 16th century church, which stands in the middle of the monastary courtyards.
From this point we took a short boat ride to the place where the springs from Lake Prespa fed in to Lake Ohrid.
A short trip .........
We climbed to the the Monastery of St Archangel Michael in the rocks that make up Marko's Towers near the village of Varosh. Carefully carved in the rocky landscape, the monastery virtuously and quietly shares the deep knowledge which it has acquired by watching over the region for centuries.
The Bay of the Bones - Prehistoric Pile Dwelling Settlement in the Bay of the bones at Gradishte at Lake Ohrid. The pile dwellings as a type of human habitus in a specific micro-environment are characteristic for prehistory and namely for the Neolithic - the New Stone Age, the Eneolithic - Copper,Bronze and Iron Age.
The first underwater archaeological research in Macedonia was performed in 1997. Attached on the lake bed at a depth of 3-5 meters an abundance of wooden piles and numerous movable archaeological materials between 1200 BC and 700BC.
We found a restaurant on the lake where we taught the staff how to cook American breakfasts..pancakes,omelettes,french toast, ham and bacon!! This is our waiter.
The Macedonians have a custom that when someone dies, their picture is posted on their home, where they worked, or where they attended Church.
The different people at play and at work in Macedonia
Typical Macedonian home interiors carved from walnut
Riding around the lake on a two seated bicycle
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