The Monastery of Sv Joakim Osogovski

Found in the hills near the border with Bulgaria, outside the town of Kriva Palanka, Sv Joakim Osogovski is one of Macedonia’s most popular monasteries. But we were visiting on a quiet Monday afternoon, when the only other people present were the priest and a few workers cleaning the church’s carpets.

From Kriva Palanka, the three-kilometer road to Sv Joakim progresses high into the forests of the Osogovo Mountains. Along the way, there’s a break in the trees where, across a steep ravine, the...