Skopje

After our beer on the balcony, we went out exploring.  We used the map we were given and walked into town, passing typical housing near the area we lived...

A couple of streets over we started seeing buildings of amazing architecture...

Transport options...

Architecture gone mad...

Beautiful wide streets and gardens...

Majestic Statues...

The Kale Fortress, which was the first fortress built in 6th century AD on a land that was inhabited during the Neolithic and Bronze ages (roughly 4000 BC onwards). It was constructed with yellow limestone and travertine and along with fragments of Latin inscriptions, assert the idea that the material for the fortress originated from the Roman city of Skupi which was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 518.

The fortress is thought to have been built during the rule of Emperor Justinian I and constructed further during the 10th and 11th centuries over the remains of emperor Justinian's Byzantine fortress which may have been destroyed due to a number of wars and battles in the region, such as that of the uprising of the Bulgarian Empire against the Byzantine Empier under the rule of Peter Delvan. Not much is known about the Medieval fortress apart from a few documents which outline minor characteristics in the fortress' appearance.

The Vardar River...

Looking towards of Museum of Archaeology..  It began construction in 2009 and is expected to be formally opened in September, 2014. Although the building will primarily serve as a museum, it will also house the Constitutional Court and the National Archive of the Republic of Macedonia. It is situated on the eastern bank of the Vardar, across the river from Macedonia Square. The exterior of the museum is almost complete, as of June 2012, and is among the more monumental buildings of the project, with its  Greek Revival architecture. The ruling party, states the budget for the construction as 436,000,000 denars. 

 It wasn't finished when we were there in April, but the lights around it meant it was very beautiful...

The Museum of the Macedonian Struggle for Statehood and Independence − Museum of VMRO and Museum of the Victims of the Communist Regime exhibits the strive for an independent Macedonian nation from the Ottoman Empire and later Yugoslavia. It is divided into 16 departments and includes over 100 wax figures of historical individuals. The museum lies on the eastern bank of the Vardar River just northwest of the Museum of Archaeology, opposite Macedonia Square. Construction began in June 2008 and it formally opened on September 10, 2011. The total cost of the museum, which covers 2,500 m2 (26,909.8 ft2), was roughly 10 million euros.  

There was a function the night we were there, and we passed many wealthy cars and lots of security.

Macedonia Square is the main square of Skopje and the biggest in Macedonia. It is located in the central part of the city and it commonly serves as the site of cultural, political and other events. The most remarkable building is the Risticheva Palata. The square is currently under re-development and there are many new buildings around the square being constructed.

A View of the Archaeology Museum from the Macedonian Square...

Perhaps the main symbol of the Skopje 2014 project is the Warrior on a Horse statue and fountain in the centre of Macedonia Square. It is typically thought to depict Alexander the Great, though it is not officially named for him.  "Alexander" was officially completed on September 8, 2011 to commemorate 20 years of the independence of the Republic of Macedonia.

The bronze sculpture is 14.5 m (47.6 ft) tall and it sits on a cylindrical column, which itself is 10 m (32.8 ft) in height. The column consists of three large ivory sections, each separated by a thinner bronze ring. Each section contains reliefs. The column stands in a fountain. At the base of the column are 8 bronze soldiers, each 3 m (9.8 ft) tall. There are also 8 bronze lions, each 2.5 m (8.3 ft) tall, around the edges of the fountain pool, four of which act as part of the fountain, releasing water from their mouths. The fountain also plays music.

The total cost of the Warrior on a Horse monument is roughly 7.5 million euros!

It was an amazing fountain with music and colour, and we watched it for ages..

One of the main symbols of Skopje is Porta Macedonia, a triumphal arch  near Macedonia Square. The arch is meant to commemorate the long struggle for Macedonian independence. It is 21 m (68.9 ft) tall and contains 32 reliefs carved on the outside, depicting events from pre-history to the independence of the Republic of Macedonia. The inside of the arch consists of two levels, in which a souvenir shop and a gallery are located, and a rooftop observation deck. It formally opened to the public on Christmas Eve, January 6, 2012. The construction of Porta Macedonia is estimated at 4.5 million euros.

After walking around for a number of hours we found a supermarket and bought things for our dinner and breakfast/lunch the next day.  We tried to get the washing machine going, but no power was going through, so I ended up doing all the washing by hand and putting it to dry on the clothes horse.  It was all dry by morning.  My last shot of the day I took to show just how fast the Varda River flowed through the town...

From Sofia to Skopje

We left the apartment around 9am, had breakfast at the hostel as it was included, then set the GPS to find Lalo Jewellery – an Israeli artist who specialises in Resin, who puts them all together in Bulgaria and has several shops in Sofia. Beth, my sister in law works for a company that imports them into NZ so I was interested  in seeing the range in Sofia.

We ended up in a the Mall of Sofia, found Lalo, and ended up  buying quite a few of these as presents for people back hone as they were different and reasonably priced.  After shopping for a while, we headed back to the car and started our drive to Skopje, Macedonia.

On our way to Skopje, we found a sign on the road pointing us to a monastery called Zemen, so we sidetracked and popped in there to have a look.  It was a beautiful day, sun was shining, and it was very warm. the entrance to Zemen Monastery...

Just inside were little knitted dolls hanging on the trees.  I'm not sure of their significance and would love to know.

Instead of typing everything out about the Monastery, I went for the easy way and photographed the sign...

Very peaceful around the monk's quarters...

The church was quite simple and he grounds were lovely..

Inside was very old - no photographers were allowed to be taken, but I took some sneakily with the flash off to have a memory of what I was seeing.

The floor was beautiful despite being broken, but it was also very smooth from years of wear..

Above the door at the entrance...

After spending about an hour at the monastery poking around, we headed back to the car and got on our way again.  We noticed this huge church with gold domes from the road, so detoured to find it. Along the detour we found an abandoned building...

Flat farmlands..

Little country roads...

And finally the church - which looked new, and still not quite finished.  No one was around, and there were no signs, so we didn't go in.  The gold domes certainly got our attention from the road though - glinting in the sun.

Our next stop was Kyustendil - a town in the far west of Bulgaria, and the capital of the Kyuestendil Provnice. The town is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, near the borders of Servia and the Republic of Macedonia 90 km southwest of Sofia, and 130 km northeast of Skopje. The total population counts 44,532 people, with a Bulgarian majority and Roma minority. During the Iron Age, a Thracian settlement was located within the town, later known as Roman Pautalia in the 1st century AD. In the Middle Ages, the town switched hands between the Byzantine Empire, Bulgaria and Serbia, prior to Ottoman annexation in 1395. The town was liberated in 1878 from the Ottoman empire. It is named after Konsgtantin Dragas, a 14th-century regional lord.

Kyustendil is a national balneological resort at an altitude of 600 metres. There are more than 40 mineral springs in the town. The waters have a high content of sulfite compounds. These are used for the treatment of the locomotory system, gynecological and other kinds of diseases. The resort region includes several baths, balneological complexes and others.

Kyustendil is located at the foot of the Osogovo mountain and a well-known centre of blaneology and fruit growing. The fortress was built by the Romans. Thermae, basilicas, floor mosaics have been uncovered, and it is home of the oldest working thermal spas today.

We parked next to the Pirkova Tower, a medieval defense tower built in the 14th Century.  It looked veyr much like the one we visted in Trencin, in Eastern Europe, and I also saw a similar one in Zagreb. This one is four stories high and is a cultural monument of national significance.

This is a mosque next to the thermal baths complex...

Part of excavations of the roman spa...

The baths are still going, but have been modernised here.  It was way to hot to swim today so we didn't go in, but they looked a little slimy, and still very old fashioned.  All hte gardens/parks were totally overgrown and there were a few people about but not many.

Anne enjoying the sun as we walked around...

The back of the baths...

From Kyustendil it was only 20 minutes to the border of Macedonia and I still had some Bulgarian money to use up., so we stopped at a small shop just inside Macedonia who took Bulgarian money, and we used it up buying icecreams, beer, chocolate, and anything else we could.  We only had six euro worth, but it bought HEAPS.  The beer is cheaper than water in Macedonia!!

From here these are shots I took out of the window as we drove to Skopje.  It was a beautiful drive. Macedonia is lovely...  We stopped a couple of times to get the photos of the Red Poppies growing wild everywhere.

Nearing Skopja now, and the first time I've seen an overloaded motorbike myself. I've only seen other people's photographs of this kind of thing so I snapped this from the car as we were driving.

We got to our apartment at about 8pm, still light and sunny and beautiful. The apartment was on the top floor and was superb. Not bad for 40 euros a night for the three of us.

We then sat out on the deck, poured ourselves a beer and rested a bit...  This is the view from the balcony.

Beer was superb... and cheaper than water!!

After the beer was gone - we headed into Skopje to explore while the light was still good!