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City by city

Republic of Macedonia

 

MAIN CITIES/TOWNS:


 

DESTINATION MACEDONIA: SKOPJE

 

The most dynamic city in Macedonia

The biggest city in the country

Business, administrative and education center

Capital of Macedonia with population of 578.144

SKOPJE HIGHLIGHTS

* The Old Bazaar – one of the largest ones after that in Damascus. Full of old buildings, hammams and mosques, shops and restaurants

* The Memorial Home to Mother Teresa

* The main square "Makedonija" with the great fountain and statue of Alexander The Great

* The central area full of statues, renewed buildings (theaters, museums, etc.) and bridges across Vardar River

* Museums and galleries: Museum of Contemporary Art, The Old Railway Station - Skopje City Museum, Museum of the Macedonian Struggle, Natural Science Museum, Macedonian National Museum & Icon Gallery, Archaeological Museum of Macedonia

* Vodno Mountain and Matka Canyon

* The great night life in Skopje.

 


 

 

DESTINATION MACEDONIA: OHRID

 

The Macedonian city of culture and history

The seventh largest city in the country (population 55.000) 

The oldest city in the world with continuous civilization advancement since its beginnings 6 millennia ago

Once a city with a 365 churches, one for each day of the year

The city where the first University in Europe was established by St. Clement (893 A.D.) 

 

OHRID HIGHLIGHTS:

* Because it`s very old and settled on a divine location, it has witnessed many stages of the human history and that`s why it has many different faces or layers visible around town

* The ancient layer:  "Lychnidos" – The City of Light

(The Antique Theater, parts of the city walls, the golden burial   mask, etc.)

* Ohrid as the city of religion: Christianity was accepted here since its beginnings – you can see different types of churches from the early Christian Basilicas across the Middle Ages churches to the modern ones.

* Ohrid School of icon painting (XI – XIX c.) – has created one of the most distinguished icon paintings exhibited in the Gallery of Icons of Ohrid

* The Old Bazaar and the Ohrid crafts (pearl making, filigree, wood carving, hand-made paper etc.)

* The Ohrid Lake – one of the oldest and deepest lakes in the world, full of endemic species of life.

* Ohrid Summer Festival (12 July – 20 August) each summer it offers great cultural program for every day, with a world famous artists: classical music concerts, theater plays, exhibits, events etc

* The delicious traditional food and wine served in the beautiful national restaurants, along with Macedonian folklore music

 

 


 

 

DESTINATION MACEDONIA: BITOLA

 

The Macedonian city of culture

The second largest city in the country (population 77.646) 

The city of consuls during the XIX century, with 12 consulates

Mustafa Kemal - Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey obtained his education in Bitola

Bitola was the first town on the Balkans where film was recorded (1905), by the brothers Milton and Jovan Manaki  

 

BITOLA HIGHLIGHTS:

* The archaeological site Heraclea Lyncestis and its mosaics. Built in the IV century B.C. by Philip II of Macedon

Shirok Sokak Street (The Broad Streed) Pedestrian area lined with nice colorful romantic and neo-classical buildings. It is divided into three sections and even though the first part has the best preserved buildings it is worth walking all the way till the end.

The street is very lively and lined with cafes which are excellent for relaxing and people-watching, especially because of the girls from Bitola who are known as the most beautiful in Macedonia and they love to parade up and down the street dressed up in their best. 

* Old Bazaar – even though it is smaller than the one in Skopje, the bazaar in Bitola is cleaner and much more taken care of, so it is the most beautiful old bazaar in Macedonia. It has pleasant small squares with water fountains and many Ottoman monuments in and around it. A large portion of the old bazaar was demolished in the 1950s for the city square to be built. Fortunately the main monuments were left standing

* St. Demetrius Church - is the cathedral church of the city and the most beautiful example of the so-called “revival period” churches in Macedonia. Turks didn’t allow building of new churches during their occupation, but as the empire was weakening in the 18th century they started giving permissions for building of churches to keep the population happy. There were many rules to be followed, like the exterior had to be without decorations and the floor of the church had to be at least one meter below the ground so the church wouldn’t dominate the skyline of the city. It was built in 1830, as a three-nave basilica with galleries and five chapels. While they had to keep the exterior modest the interior is lavishly decorated with woodwork. The huge icon screen was made in 1845

* The Consulates - were probably the most beautiful houses in Bitola, and they are all situated in a half circle around the first section of Shirok Sokak. Until the 1st Balkan War (1912), 12 countries have had their consulates here: Great Britain, Austria, Russia, Italy, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, France, USA…

* Bezisten (Bedesten) - built the 16th century, but later reconstructed in neo-baroque style as a city market

* Yeni Mosque (The New Mosque) - built in 1558 by Kadi Mahmud Efendi. The diameter of the dome is 19 meters and the minaret is 39 meters high. This mosque houses the city art gallery

* Isak Beg Mosque - built in 1508 by judge Isak Celebi Ibni Asa. The diameter of the dome is 26 meters and the minaret is 45 meters high

Clock Tower The clock tower is the pride of the people from Bitola. It was first built in 1664 but got its present appearance in the 19th century, and is 35 meters high

 


DESTINATION MACEDONIA: TIKVES WINE DISTRICT (TOWNS: KAVADARCI, NEGOTINO AND DEMIR KAPIJA)

CLIMATE: mediterranean and continental, hot summers and mild winter, lowest amount of rainfall

ALTITUDE: from 110 to 650 m

TERRAIN: mildly slopes , low hills

SOIL: Diluvial type of soil, mostly clay, volcanic and sandy plots, rich with cinnamon and resin

VARIETIES: Vranec, Kratoshija, Cabernet sauvignon, Cabernet franc, Merlot, Syrah, Chardonnay, Smederevka, Grenache blanc, Sauvignon, Temjanika, Zilavka, Rkaciteli

MICRO LOCATIONS: Vilarov, Lepovo, Disan, Vrsnik, Smolnik, Bela Voda, Barovo, Ridishte, Svrachka, Mechkovec, Ramniste, Cicevo, Aerodrom

TOTAL HECTARES PLANTED: 12,000 ha

NUMBER OF WINERIES: 37

ABOUT TIKVES

Macedonia’s vineyards heartland, Tikves, has produced wine since the 4th century BC. It features rolling vineyards, lakes, caves and mountains, plus archaeological sites and churches. It’s especially beautiful at dusk, when the fading sunlight suffuses soft hills laden with millions of grapes. Tikves’ local grapes generally retain an ideal sugar concentration (17% to 26%).

Tikves is the most well-known wine region in Macedonia. It is located in the very heart of the country and stretches along similar latitudes as the Bordeaux region in France, Tuscany region in Italy and the Napa Valley region in California. The wine district is situated on around 2,000 sqm of fertile land, surrounded by mountains on three sides. This district embraces the flat and undulating hills that stretch to the Veles canyon on the north, Demir Kapija canyon on the south, Drenovo and Mariovo Mountains on the southeast and Plaush and Konce mountains on the northeast. The specific part comes from the length where the rivers Vardar, Crna, Raec and Bregalnica pass in the lower flow. All these rivers and mountains have a special influence on district’s agro ecological, relief and pedologic characteristics.

 With nearly 13,000 hectares of vines, the Tikves wine region represents around one third of the all grapes grown in Macedonia, a place where the southern Mediterranean climate, full of long and warm summers and the northern continental climate, with mild and rainy winters, combine. The average air temperatures per year are 13.3°С and the vegetation temperatures are 18°С. The summers are long and hot with temperatures that go even beyond 43°С and the winters mild and rainy with an average annual rainfall insufficient and unevenly distributed of 293 mm during the vegetation period. The vineyards are located at an average of 300 metres above sea level, protected by mountains and highlands on three sides, channelling the gentle north winds and Mediterranean climates, creating ideal grape growing conditions.

Grapevines are mostly planted on chernozem, rendzina and vertisol soils, and only occasionally on cinnamonic and diluvial soils.

There are over 20 different grapes varieties grown in the Tikves district including many indigenous and international varieties such as red varieties including Vranec, Kratosija, Kadarka, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah in addition to Žilavka, Župljanka, Graševina, Plavec, Smederevka, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat Ottonel, R’kaciteli and Riesling for the whites.