Michael Powell's Blog, page 75

The Skopje City Museum

Skopje City Museum attempts to relate the story of Macedonia’s capital through anthropological and archaeological exhibits. But the museum’s single most compelling piece is actually the building in which it’s housed: Skopje’s former train station, which had been heavily damaged in the 1963 earthquake.

The museum is free and, while there aren’t an overwhelming number of exhibits, two warrant special mention. First is the Adam of Govrlevo. This Neolithic ceramic sculpture is over 6000 years in a...

A Day in Gostivar

On the way to Skopje’s bus station, our taxi driver started up a conversation. “You’re off to Ohrid, right? Beautiful weather for the lake!” We agreed about the weather, but told him that we would be spending this fine summer day in Gostivar. This baffled him. “Gostivar? Why would you want to go there? A job?” Nope, just sightseeing. “Heh, sightseeing in Gostivar! Haha!” He thought we were kidding, and didn’t stop chuckling all the way to the station.

With a population of 80,000, Gostivar is o...

The Healing Waters of the Katlanovska Spa

Although hot springs are a common natural occurrence in Macedonia, there aren’t many spas set up to capitalize on the mineral-rich waters. The most well-known is the Katlanovska Spa, just twenty kilometers outside Skopje.

Perhaps we had been placing too much faith in Katlanovo’s slick promotional materials, but our expectations for the spa were completely out-of-tune with reality. In fact, when we got off the bus in front of a half-decrepit building, I thought we had must have mixed up the loc...

The Painted Mosque and Arabati Baba Tekke in Tetovo

We weren’t entirely impressed with Tetovo during our short day trip there: too noisy, crowded and hectic. But the city does have a couple things to recommend it. The Šarena Džamija, more commonly known as the Painted Mosque, and the Arabati Baba Tekke are two historic sites worth seeking out.

Tea gardens and cafes line the banks of the Pena River, which flows through Tetovo, providing a much-needed area to relax in this stressful city. At the foot of an ancient stone bridge, we found the mosqu...

A Visit to Tetovo, in Western Macedonia

Found at foot of the Šar Mountains which separate the Republic of Macedonia from its western neighbor, Tetovo has long been a stronghold of Macedonia’s ethnic Albanians. We spent a day gaining an impression of life in this extremely crowded and hectic city.

Though it’s just an hour from the capital of Macedonia, Tetovo feels like a totally different country. The style of dress is different and people speak a different language; both English and German might actually be more common in Tetovo th...

The Holocaust Museum of Macedonia

In April of 1941, Macedonia was occupied by Nazi-affiliated Bulgaria, who would eventually ship the country’s Jewish population to the death camp of Treblinka. Almost overnight, the small and tightly-knit Jewish community who had called Macedonia home for hundreds of years was extinguished. An excellent museum in the heart of Skopje pays solemn tribute to one of the most horrific episodes in the country’s history.

Perhaps the most noteworthy cultural aspect of Macedonia is its diverse tapestry...

Skopje’s Art-Oriented Turkish Hamams

Especially considering the city’s current craze for stately new neo-classical structures, it’s fortunate that so much of the historic Turkish quarter north of the Vardar survived the 1963 earthquake, including two original hamams. Today, the Daut Pasha and Čifte Hamams serve as venues for the National Gallery, and we visited both on a sweltering afternoon in July.

The Daut Pasha Hamam is the first original Turkish building encountered by visitors passing into the Old Bazaar over the Stone Brid...

Pictures from Skopje’s Old Bazaar

The center of town might be south of the Vardar, but Skopje’s most picturesque neighborhood is just over the bridge. The Old Bazaar, also called the Čaršija, extends roughly from the Kale Fortress to the Bit Pazaar. With its baklava stores, mosques, antique shops, hamams, tea gardens and the rattling of backgammon dice providing a ceaseless soundtrack, the Čaršija could easily be a neighborhood in Istanbul. We love it here, and visit whenever we can.

-Short Term Rental in Skopje

The Memorial House of Mother Teresa

In 1910, a child named Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu was born in Skopje to an Albanian family. Raised a Roman Catholic, Anjezë received God’s calling at the tender age of 18. She gave her life to the church, dedicating herself to the care of the world’s least fortunate. Anjezë took the name Teresa and spent the rest of her days helping to make the world a more humane place.

I must have unconsciously expected the Mother Teresa Memorial House to austere and somber, because upon seeing the place, I was...

More Pictures from Ohrid

For such a small city, Ohrid has a lot to offer. We’ve already written about the lakeside promenade, the churches, the hiking, the traditional crafts, and the fortress, and here are some more of our favorite Ohrid sights.

At the top of the old town is an ancient theater, dating from 200 BC, meaning that it was built well before the arrival of the Romans. In days gone by, it was used for both gladiatorial battles and public executions, but today it’s a venue for musical and theater performances...