Easter Weekend in Ohrid--Good Friday

Orthodox Easter is observed over a 4-day period in Macedonia.  Friday, April 13, is Good Friday and Monday, April 16, is a holiday for Easter Sunday.  With a 4-day holiday it was the perfect time to see more of Macedonia.  We hired a cat sitter, rented a car, and on Friday we drove to Ohrid.  Ohrid is about 3-1/2 hours southwest of Skopje.   Unfortunately, the weather forecast was for rain the entire weekend.  About halfway, we stopped at "Мекиците од Стража" roadside cafe that serves all manner of fried or baked breads, called pies, stuffed with cheese, meat, or spinach made from a recipe developed in 1942.  The pies are many layers of pastry shaped into a rope and coiled into a circle. 

The town of Ohrid is described as the "Jerusalem of the Balkans" and pilgrims and vacationers from everywhere visit Ohrid during Easter.  Both the town and the lake are under UNESCO protection.  The lake is one of the oldest in the world and the deepest lake in the Balkans.  The town has roots back to Neolithic times and claims that it is the oldest continuous settlement of humans going back 7,000 years.  The lake sits on the Macedonia-Albania border.  

When we arrived in Ohrid, we quickly realized that we weren't going to be able to locate our hotel easily.  We were staying at the Grebnos Stone House Apartments within the walls of the old city.  We called our host and he took a taxi to our location in the new town and directed us back to the apartment.  

View of Ohrid's Old City on the Distant Hills

Once we were settled in our weekend apartment, we bundled up and walked around the old city.  At one time there were 365 churches, monasteries, and holy sites around the lake.  Now there are about 70.  We concentrated our visiting on the major attractions.  We saw Sveti Bogorodica Perivleptos (Church of the Holy Mother of God Most Glorious) a late 13th C church and its gallery of icons dating to the 13-14th C.  The exterior of the building is undergoing extensive renovation.  The interior is covered with the original frescos that were covered with the soot of centuries until uncovered in the late 1970s.  The diocese has a strangle hold on photos with no photos of any kind allowed.

Bell tower of Sveti Bogorodica Perivleptos in the distance

Just down the hill and past the upper gate we visited the 2000-year old Roman amphitheater.  It was buried for centuries until it was discovered in the early 20th century.  Now it is used for summer concerts.

We dined at Damar Restaurant across from the church of St. Sophia.  We were lured inside by the signs for lamb in a stove pot and pork cooked in honey.  Both were delicious.  After dinner we strolled down to the port and new town area.  Ohrid Lake, the jewel of Macedonia, looked more like an Alaskan lake rather than a Balkan lake.  It was so cloudy that the distant shore was not visible making the lake look more like an unbounded ocean.

Ohrid's Port

In the Ohrid's new town we could hear a church service beginning up the hill at the church of Sveti Bogorodica Kamenska.  The church is not old by Ohrid standards dating to 1832.  The exterior is not noteworthy, but the inside is fabulous.  This Good Friday evening, the church filled with worshipers holding lighted candles.  Many people lined up to pay their respect to a table of icons in the center of the church.  The top of the table (similar to a gazebo structure) was decorated with a variety of fresh ivy vines and spring flowers.  The table top was covered with a cloth that stretched to the floor.  Some of the worshippers went under the table crouching there for a few seconds and then exited the other side.  We've been told that this custom is peculiar to Macedonian Orthodoxy and the action symbolizes entering the tomb.  One person told us that it is believed that this action can bring about healing.   The priest and his young attendants sang passages and the congregation sang the response.  It was beautiful.

Dan with his stealth camera did take some photos, unobserved, during the service.

Good Friday Evening inside Sv Bogorodica Kamenska

We returned to the church on Saturday to take photos of the now empty church.  The flowers decorating the table and the church column were beginning to wilt, but the interior was still beautiful and obviously well loved.  The carpets and flooring were still covered with plastic sheeting to protect them from the extra foot traffic and wet shoes.

Wood-carved Iconostasis and Easter Gifts from Worshipers

The Table Symbolizing the Tomb of Christ

19th C Frescos in Sveti Bogorodica Kamenska

Miracle in Skopje

Today I visited the Church of St. Dimitrija in the old town part of Skopje.  While this is the site of a 14th century church, St. Dimitrija dates from the 19th century.  Some of the icon frescos are about 100 years old but some were repainted just after the destruction of the 1963 earthquake.  I came because I had heard about the miracle of the "phenomenon of fresco self-cleansing."  Local clergymen announced the miracle earlier this week and since that time, thousands of people have flocked into St. Dimitrija to witness the event.  Here are some photos from today:

I've been in this church before and I've never seen more than one or two people inside.  This is the same story for all the churches I've visited in Macedonia--so this crowd is unusual.  The frescos do seem lighter than the last time I was inside.  In fact, it seems almost like someone has polished the golden halos and other accents. Or maybe the frescos are lighter now because all the lights are on.

"Church priests say this is a miracle, meaning people should turn towards God more often." Dimitrija was doing a brisk business today selling candles, collecting money left on icons, and blessing believers.  There were lines to buy candles, lines to have the priests inside the church bless the candles, and lines to leave the church in order to light the candles.  To preserve the frescos, all churches allow candles only outside the church.  There are two trays for candles.  The bottom tray is for candles lit for the deceased, and the top tray is for the living.

Inside the church there were boiled eggs dyed red (red symbolizing the blood of Christ) and a table.  Both are involved in some kind of Easter ceremony, but we haven't yet verified or witnessed the reason.

Tomorrow we are going to Ohrid for the Easter weekend.  The Easter "weekend" is actually four days here because, if you are of the Orthodox faith, Good Friday and Monday (because Easter is on Sunday) are also holidays.  If you are not an Orthodox believer, you don't get Good Friday as a holiday.  We return to Skopje on Sunday.

Ohrid is described as the Jerusalem of the Balkans.  It is said that at one time there were 365 churches in Ohrid--one church for every saint which is the same as one church for every day.  Presently, only a few of the 365 survive.  

Sick

Dan returned to Skopje on Tuesday.  Before he left Washington DC, he had begun to be sick. By Tuesday night he had a 39.7 C temperature (103.4 F).   He later found out that most of the people staying at the Georgetown University Hotel also became sick with a similar respiratory illness.

My body valiantly tried to avoid all contamination, but by Friday night I was also sick.  On Saturday my temperature rose to 38.7C (101.6F), and I was in bed most of the day.  Kali Cat did a reasonable job as nurse Nightingcat, but she really needs thumbs to be truly effective.

Today, Sunday, I hope I am well.  Dan is still hacking, coughing, and spreading his germs all around.

On Friday before I got sick, I went with some friends (Cassidy, Erin, Anjeanette and her husband Dan, and their two kids) to the town of Tetovo to visit a tailor shop.  Cassidy, our one-time cat sitter, agreed to introduce us to a Tetovo tailor she has used and was pleased with.  Tetevo is a 40-minute drive west of Skopje.  We traveled by a small van called "Kombi". The one-way fare was 100MKD or about $2USD.

On the way to Tetovo, the Kombi driver had his window open and soon Dan (Anjeanette's husband) also opened his window.  I welcomed the breeze as it was a little warm in the rear of the van.  This cross breeze is referred to as "promaja" in Macedonian.  The promaja is an insidious intangible that brings, cough, cold, aching bones to those that feel its breath.  I often have two windows open in our apartment because of the uncontrollable central heat.  The two windows create a lovely, soft breeze through the apartment.  One day during my Macedonian lesson, my teacher who is well educated and traveled, told me I should shut one of the windows because the breeze on my back would make me sick.  I complied.  Recently, I've heard many other stories from expats about their experiences with promaja warnings.  It's an interesting belief, but I am still a skeptic.   I put my money on Dan's germs and not the promaja for making me sick.

The Kombi dropped us in the town center and we walked to the tailor's shop.  Once there, we looked through fashion magazines and were measured by the tailor.  Next the tailor walked us to a nearby fabric store where we all picked out the fabrics for our selected fashions.

Tailor Shop in Tetovo

Fabric Store "Alba" in Tetovo

At first glance, the majority of the available fabrics were 100% Polyester.  After a discussion with the fabric shop owner, wools, wool-cashmere blends, and cottons were pointed out.  We paid for our fabrics and returned to the tailor shop for additional measurements.  I selected designs for two blouses and a pair of pants.  I can't wait to see the results.

Erin, Cassidy, and the fabric shop owner

The trip to Tetovo via Kombi seemed so easy that Dan and I will try to manage a day trip to Tetovo some weekend.  Tetovo, with a mostly ethnically Albanian population, feels quite different than Skopje.  Most of the restaurants are along the main thoroughfare as is other commercial business, so even though it is a small town it bustles with activity.  An old fortress lies about a 2-1/2 hour walk above the city.  Tetovo is also much closer to the surrounding mountains.  

Monday Hike: April 2, 2012

This is my second Monday hike with some of the women from IWA.  The hike went up Vodno, along the crest toward Matka, and looped back down through Gorno Nerezi Village to return to the trailhead.  At the crest, the light on the mountains was lovely.  I wish I had more than my little pocket camera on me to capture the view.

We began this hike at the Pantelejmon Monastery located about 8 kilometers southwest of Skopje part way up Mount Vodno. 

The church of St. Pantelejmon is now a museum, but it is closed on Mondays.  

It was a beautiful morning for a hike.  The air was crisp and while we began our hike in the sun, when we entered the forested portion, the ground and vegetation were covered with a dusting of snow and puddles of water were frozen.  

By the end of our 3-hour hike we had all our clothing layers on and were wearing gloves.  

There is an atmospheric Macedonian restaurant (Klet) located within the monastery complex.  I look forward to returning on a weekend day to visit the museum, have lunch, and walk the 5 kilometers to middle Vodno and home with Dan.

Dan will return from DC tomorrow morning.  Kali and I can't wait to have him back.

Hiking above Prilep: March 30, 2012

This week was a whirlwind of activities.  Azita and I visited museums, shopped, went to a performance by the Macedonian Philharmonic, and we arranged a visit to the city of Prilep to hike and see monasteries.

On Friday, March 30, we met Angel (our Skopje guide) at his travel agency at 6:00 a.m.  It was Azita's birthday, and Angel surprised her with a small, luscious cake complete with a lighted candle and a bottle of wine.  Two hours later we were in Prilep, met Milan (our Prilep guide), and ate birthday cake for breakfast.

Prilep, sitting on the Pelagonian plain, is a tobacco town of about 70,000 residents.  Almost every house we passed had structures for drying tobacco leaves awaiting the next harvest.


Our first monastery visit was to St. Archangel Michael in Varosh. It is located part way up a hill that is topped with the ruins of the 14th century Fortress of Serbian-Montenegran King Marko (Markovi Kuli).  The monastery is presently occupied by nuns who were up and gardening when we arrived at 8:30 a.m.  The church is spotlessly clean as are the grounds. Two small white cats have made this nunnery their home.

The dome of the church was rebuilt after a large boulder rolled down the mountain and destroyed the original structure. The bottom portion of the church dates to the middle ages.  The white building is the nuns' quarters. The structure was built in the 19th century with a"city-style" architectural design. The structure is incorporated into the rock face behind it.

The "judgment" fresco is above the entrance gate leading to the enclosed monastery.  The scene depicts Archangel Michael as judge.  In his left hand he holds scales and the soul of the deceased.  On one side of the scale is the person's heart; the other side holds a pile of rocks.  To enter heaven, the altruism and good deeds of the deceased must outweigh the pile of rocks.  This fresco includes two small devil-like creatures that are using a stick to weigh down the the side with the rocks, so that they may be given the soul of the deceased.

The frescos inside of the church depict scenes from the life of Jesus as well images of sainted people.  Many of the people have had their eyes removed.  Milan offered several explanations for the missing eyes. First, the eyes were removed by the local people so that the figures would not see the destruction of the church at the hands of the Turks. Second, the Turks removed the eyes because as muslims they could not condone figural representations.  Or three and possibly the most reasonable explanation, the local people believed that they eyes could heal illness so they gouged out the eyes on the frescos and used the resultant plaster to cure sickness.

The second stop in the Varosh settlement was to the small church of St. Nikolas.  Nikolas was the model for Santa Claus and is the patron saint of sailors, merchants,  and prostitutes (according to Angel).

The church of St. Nicolas was built in 1298.   The church has lovely frescos but it is not well maintained with 20th century windows/doors, shabby carpeting, and a deteriorating roof.  The scene in the second photograph of the above frescos depicts the death of Mary (Dormition of Mary).  In Macedonian religious architecture, this scene is always on the west wall of the church while the altar faces Jerusalem in the east.

"The Elephant"

Our third monastery was seven kilometers (4.3 miles) away and 700 meters (almost 2300 feet) higher by foot.  Treskavec Monastery located behind a rocky outcropping and at an elevation of about 1300 meters or 4,300 feet is not visible from the trail that leads to it.

The barren landscape consists of sharp, craggy rocks scattered precariously above and next to the trail.  Hazelnut and Alder bushes survive in the more protected, wetter areas.

There are a couple of steep climbs including one that is over bare rock.  There is a rope, actually a flexible electrical cord threaded through some candy-cane striped posts, that provides a small sense of security as we climb up the smooth rock face to the next level knowing that there is a storm brewing in the dark clouds above us, and that we are the tallest thing on this part of the mountain.  At the top but before we arrive at the monastery there is a sign post pointing out the distance to cities around the world.  The arrow for Los Angles says it is more than 10,500 kilometers (more than 6,500 miles) away.

Almost at the top of the ridge and around the corner we are able, finally, to glimpse the Treskavec Monastery.  The 14th century church of Sveta Bogorodica (St. Mary) sits inside the monastery's protective wall.  Our one-way hike time was 2-1/2 hours.

The outer and inner entrances to the Church of Sveta Bogorodica are not very tall.  Milan told us that there are three possibilities for the short height of the entrances.  First, ducking or bowing your head to enter shows humility.  Second, people in earlier centuries were shorter. Third, the entrances were made this size so that Turks could not ride their horses into the church.

A dome in the Church of Sveta Bogorodica

This monastery complex is occupied by one monk.  While he does have one or two non-monk helpers, it is clear that he could use an army of assistants for the upkeep.  The kitchen was filthy with dirty dishes and tables.  There are several dogs and puppies that live within the complex, and no one cleans up after them.  Perhaps I'm being too harsh.  It has been an unusually cold winter and there were still patches of snow in the shadier parts of the monastery grounds.  Hikers can hike in and stay overnight in the many rooms that surround the church.

Inside of the church, the walls seemed to be crumbling before our eyes.  Restoration and stabilization of this jewel of a church are needed now if it is to be saved.  This church is built over a 6th-century basilica that was built over a pre-christian temple.

After lunch and a visit to the church, we headed back down the mountain.

Angel as Atlas

Udder Bra

As we walked the weather was getting colder, windier, and darker.  The below photographs are "split toned" and capture the mood of the threatening storm.

In the distance, a cross sits atop a mountain near Marko's Fortress

It took two hours to get down the mountain, and it began to sprinkle as we finished the hike.   The 6-1/2 hour round trip hike included 1-1/2 hours at the monastery for lunch, resting, and sightseeing.

Leaving Prilep and Milan (our guide), Angel, Azita, and I headed to Popova Kula Winery for dinner and a little wine tasting.  The perfect conclusion to a long adventure in Prilep and Azita's last day and birthday in Macedonia.

Guides:  Angel Ivanov of Adriatic Mavrovo Travel in Skopje +389 (0)2 3230-600
              Milan Veleski from Prilep +389  071 919 751 or milanveleski@gmail.com

More photos on my Flickr Page at:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/48213817@N04/sets/72157629350424266/