Michael Powell's Blog, page 73
October 18, 2014
Meet the Macedonians
After the first month in a new location, we always take stock of our opinions with a self-interview. And after the second month, we like to find out a little bit more about the locals. So, we set out into the streets of Skopje, determined to interview a few random Macedonians. This was harder than we expected, but it was still a fun process and gave us the chance to meet some interesting people.
We met Blerina near the fountain of the Murat Pasha Mosque. She was walking briskly, apparen...
October 17, 2014
Lake Dojran’s Story of Recovery
A few years ago, things were looking grim for Dojran (pronounced “doy-ran”), a lake in the southeastern corner of Macedonia. It was losing water rapidly, and facing total disappearance. But a strict conservation program has brought this little lake back from the brink.
They’re not wearing black wetsuits: that is mud spread across their bodies.
We had only heard Dojran described as “troubled”, “endangered”, and “diminished”, so weren’t expecting much during our visit. Certainly, we weren’t expec...
The Ruins of Isar and Vardarski Rid
Just outside the village of Marvinci, we found the ruins of Isar, a settlement dating from the seventh century BC. Later on the same day, we would visit the Vardarski Rid: a set of ruins on a hill overlooking Gevgelija. A museum in Gevgelija displays archaeological finds from both sites, providing information it would have been nice to have before visiting them.
For better or worse, Macedonia is the kind of country in which it’s totally possible to encounter archaeological sites in the middle...
October 16, 2014
The Smolari and Kolešino Waterfalls
Visiting the wetlands of Monospitovo had eaten up the entire morning, but our day in southeastern Macedonia was far from over. After refueling with a gigantic plate of meat in Novo Selo’s Restaurant Lebed, we made our way south, to visit two of the country’s most popular waterfalls.
The Smolari Waterfall required a hike of about twenty minutes to reach, mostly uphill, past a few tables where families were enjoying picnics. The walk was strenuous, especially after the heavy lunch, and once we’d...
October 13, 2014
The Monospitovo Wetlands
We showed up early in Monospitovo, with plans to visit Macedonia’s only swamp. Although unclear about the exact location, we were confident about finding it. Monospitovo, after all is a one-street village. There’s not much space for a swamp to hide! But it turns out that we were dealing with a very sneaky swamp.
Hello there, Monospitovo! What have you got? A general store, a few houses. Is that a church I see? Yes, it is, good for you. Now, is that all? You’re sure you don’t have anything else...
October 11, 2014
Scenes from Veles
Just off the “Alexander of Macedon” highway, not 30 minutes from Skopje, Veles is a city which we had frequently driven straight past, noting it only as a marker along the way: “Already at Veles? We’re making good progress!” But one day curiosity got the better of us, and we decided to stop off and see what this town, built across a hill along the Vardar, had to offer.
The first thing in Veles which caught our eye was the Kosturnica Memorial, just outside town. This enormous broken sphere on a...
October 8, 2014
Making Pita at the Oreov Lad
We visited the Restaurant Oreov Lad in order to learn how to make pita: a traditional Macedonian pastry. Filled with savory ingredients like cheese and spinach, twisted into a spiral shape, and baked to flaky perfection, pita is almost as much fun to watch being prepared as it is to eat. Almost.
An institution in the Skopje suburb of Saraj, the Oreov Lad has been around since the days of the Ottoman Empire. It was once an inn for wandering traders, and exists today as a raucous Macedonian rest...
October 6, 2014
The Krklino Auto and Ethno Museum
The tiny town of Krklino is on the tourist map of Macedonia for exactly one reason: the private automotive and ethnographic museum run by Boris Tanevski and his family. Their eccentric collection of antique costumes, radios and cars is worth a short taxi ride from Bitola.
After arriving at the step of the Tanevski residence, we called out to announce our presence and, almost instantaneously, Boris’s wife appeared in the doorway brandishing a huge smile. Neither she nor Boris speak a lick of En...
Heraclea Lyncestis
Founded by Philip II of Macedon, the ancient city of Heraclea Lyncestis is located just south of modern Bitola. With its location along the Via Egnatia, the Roman highway which once ran from the Adriatic Sea to Istanbul, the city was an important and prosperous center of commerce until a devastating earthquake in the sixth century AD.
Lyncestis had been an administrative region within the Kingdom of Macedonia, and the name Heraclea comes, as might be supposed, from the mythological Heracles. A...
The Not-Quite-Abandoned Village of Bukovo
“New York. Australia. Toronto. Ohio. Australia. Australia. New York.” We were taking an impromptu tour of Bukovo, guided by a local who had himself recently returned after fifteen years abroad. As we walked past home after abandoned home, he was listing off the faraway places to which their former occupants had emigrated.
Found in the hills just a few kilometers south of Bitola, the village known as Bukovo has clearly seen better days. This was a once-strong community of thousands, but thanks...
