Rediscovering Istanbul: November 27, 2012

Timeless Istanbul

We didn't need to tunnel out of Macedonia after all.  We breezed through Macedonian Immigration and exited Macedonia without a hitch.  I admit I was anxious until our Turkish Air flight left the ground, but we had no problems at all--even the Turkish Air flight was on time.

We visited Istanbul and much of Turkey almost 15 years ago; it will forever be a place we fell in love with.  Fifteen years ago we stayed in a friend's parents' home near the Ortakoy Mosque under the first bridge on the Bosphorus.  The early morning call to prayer woke us each day, but the muezzin had a beautiful voice.  This time, we stayed in the mostly renovated Sultanahmet neighborhood in the welcoming Neorion Hotel very near the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.

 Blue Mosque by Night

 Interior of the Blue Mosque

 Hagia Sophia Museum

 Interior of the Hagia Sophia

 Hagia Sophia on a Full-Moon Night

During our four days in Istanbul, we reacquainted ourselves with landmarks we had visited before.  We went to the Grand Bazaar and found a couple of the merchants from whom we purchased carpets (Adnan and Hassan) or brass items (Murat Bilir) from 15 years ago.  Murat Bilir has now worked in the bazaar for over 50 years--he was just a young boy when he began.

His shop is packed with metal items from Persia, Armenia, and the former Ottoman Empire.  Murat took us to a fish restaurant, Balikçi Aşçinin Konaği, just outside of the Grand Bazaar. I don't know if many tourists eat in this small, immaculate restaurant, but the fish soup, the grilled blue fish, the baked halvah dessert were great.  Then, we returned to Murat's shop and bought the antique Persian tray he is polishing in the above photo.

Inside the Grand Bazaar

The Grand Bazaar, while still a maze-like, over-whelming collection of shops, seems more organized now with signs indicating the names of the covered avenues within the bazaar.  It has become less intimidating and more tourist friendly--like a shopping mall with a long, exotic history.  There is even a newly renovated, clean, well stocked public toilet that costs 1TL (about .56 US cents) to use.  

The bustling Egyptian Spice Bazaar (Misir Çarşisi) established in 1664 is another fun place to shop for spices like Iranian saffron threads (I hope they are real), salep, dried fruits, and every other spice you can think of.  The fruits, nuts, and spices are beautifully presented like colorful fine jewels.  The Egyptian Spice Bazaar is much more than just spices.  A new shop with beautiful textiles and jewelry from Syria has recently opened in the Spice Bazaar.

The spice bazaar is much smaller than the Grand Bazaar making it feel more manageable despite the crowds of shoppers.  Free samples were being distributed the day we went so people were packed like a jar of pickles around the free stuff.

One of the many spice shops outside of the Spice Market building

A Macedonian friend introduced me to an Oriental drink called Salep; it is a Turkish drink that not only tastes good but is said to be good to drink when you have a cold.  After unsuccessfully trying to have a cup of salep in Istanbul at our hotel and at a restaurant, I bought a cup from a Salep seller near the Hagia Sophia one cool evening.  He had a sign on his cart that listed the ingredients: salep (powdered orchid root), milk, honey, cinnamon.  It was delicious.  When I went to the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, I bought some "first-quality, authentic" salep.  The salesman said to use 1 teaspoon per liter of milk.  I found this recipe online:

Salep for six people:

Combine 2 teaspoons of salep flour with 2-1/2 teaspoons of sugar

Slowly add 3-1/2 glasses of cold milk and stir to mix

Over low heat, bring the mixture to a boil while stirring (10 to 15 minutes)

Serve hot in a cup dusted with ground cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger

Gray Areas: November 25, 2012

Gray is what November has become as winter rushes toward us.  Fog, fog, and more fog.  It's gray when it rains and it's gray when it doesn't.

Night temperatures now hover around freezing so the fountain under Alexander the Great and his horse  is silent and gray.  There will be no more colored lights, choreographed water, or music from it until spring.

All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray..... California dreaming on such a winter's day (California Dreaming by The Mamas and The Papas).

Our pursuit to stay in Macedonia legally is now in a gray, limbo status.  In early November the US Embassy sent a letter to Macedonia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) to announce our arrival and state that we were under the Rule of Law agreement cloak.  About a week later we heard in an email from the US Embassy that MFA did not currently have the ability to make the ID cards.  Due to their recent change of office buildings, the machine wasn't operating.  We were informed that MFA will not furnish us with a temporary "Get-Out-of-Macedonia-Free" note while we wait for the production of our ID cards.

This illegal status is uncomfortable for me.  Recently, I was taking a photograph for an online class where the assignment was "Justice" and the color red.  The word "justice" is hard to come by here.  In Macedonian, justice is (правда) pravda.  But, I found a line of graffiti that included "Justice" written in Latin letters.  While I was taking the photograph, which took some time to work out as it included me as a self portrait, the woman who lives in the apartment came out and began asking me questions that I couldn't understand.  Eventually, she said, "politcia," a word I could understand.  While I wasn't doing anything illegal, it seemed like with my precarious status, it would be a good time to leave.  

 Too Many Cops Too Little Justice

While confined to Macedonia, we continue to explore.  One Saturday, which was not gray, our plan was to visit the archaeological site of Skupi.  Skupi is located near the village of Bardovci which has become more like a suburb of Skopje.  Once there, we found the archaeological site closed on weekends.  But, perhaps more interesting, was the very busy cabbage market next door.  These cabbages are from Bardovci village.  Full wagons of cabbages are pulled in by tractor and empty wagons pulled out to be returned full.  One of the merchants told us that Bardovci cabbages are the best for eating and especially for pickling to store for the winter.  The season is October and November, and these cabbages are huge and heavy.  One of the sellers gave us a cabbage which we carried all the way back to the city center; it was very heavy.  There were also sturdy, waist-high leeks which stand in picket-fence-like rows.  These are also purchased in bulk and replanted by the buyer to preserve them through the winter.

 Bardovci cabbages in red Yugo

November has also been a month of social activities: Marine Ball, Macedonia Philharmonic concerts, Cinedays European Film Festival, art openings, IWA, a Roma Festival.  I'm not sure what that says about us that we can be so busy but still chafe under this "house arrest" of being unable to leave Macedonia without fear of expulsion.  

Friday night I had a dream that two men grabbed me and shoved me into a car.  I hope that's not a sign of what's to come.  

Despite that bad omen, we've made a decision to travel and take our chances.  Tonight after Dan's class finishes, we are flying to Istanbul for 4 nights.  We will take a copy of our one-sided letter from the US Embassy to MFA in hopes that if we are questioned, the letter will be accepted as our "Get-Out-of-Macedonia-Free" note. 

We've laid in extra cat food provisions--just in case.

Thanksgiving in Macedonia: November 22, 2012

Our Thanksgiving Day Hike

We started the day with a 3-hour hike on Mt. Vodno.  The fog was thick and constant even on the mountain.  After the hike, we visited a friend, Angel, because it was his birthday.  He gave us tickets to a festival of new Macedonian singers so we ended our Macedonian Thanksgiving Day with music from Macedonia.

In between we had dinner.  On Monday, I found a small frozen turkey that was raised in Sarajevo, Bosnia.   It was truly small weighing in at 7.2 lbs (3.3 kg), and it didn't take long to thaw.  Our ex-pat Thanksgiving dinner included the turkey, gravy, sweet potatoes,  mashed potatoes, and California wine.  I even managed to create a cranberry sauce using dried cranberries and jarred sour cherries.  

It was a very good day--a good Thanksgiving.

Zrze and Tetovo: November 4, 2012

We finally made it to Zrze Monastery located northwest of Prilep.  From a distance, the monastery seems to hang from a mid-mountain cliff.  Caves formerly used as monk cells are located in the cliff face below the monastery. The last few meters of road are quite rutted and rough so we walked the last few hundred meters.

Zrze monastery houses the icon called Virgin of Pelagonia.  The original icon is now in the Icon Museum in Skopje, but there is a reproduction of this famous icon in Zrze's Church of Peter and Paul.  The icon was painted in 1422.  In Macedonian Orthodox tradition, the icon of Jesus is placed on the viewer's right and the Virgin is on the viewer's left.  In this church, the placement is reversed. The story goes that the monks placed Mary on the left side of Jesus but each morning, the icons were reversed.  Mary spoke to the monks and said that she must be on Jesus' right side because she would never turn her back to her son.

The composition is almost abstract in the body position of Baby Jesus; and the image has so much life in it. The virgin's eyes show such sorrow while the eyes of baby Jesus contain all the wisdom of the world.

The building below is the monastery which contains both the Church of Peter and Paul and the Shepherd's Church (closed for renovations).  No photographs are allowed, but the English-speaking monk is quite friendly and knowledgeable about the 14th-century frescos.  Even the walls of the porch area are covered with frescos.

A view of the Pelagonia Plain from Zrze Monastery

Horses grazing on the Pelagonia Plain below Zrze Monastery

The next day, with the rental car still in our possession, we drove west to Tetovo to do some sightseeing.  Tetovo is a town occupied mostly by persons of Albanian descent, and it has several interesting Ottoman-era structures.

Our first stop was the Painted Mosque.  Parts of the exterior of the Painted Mosque (Šarena Džamija) are under renovation, but the inside is finished.  We found the mosque locked, but we were handed the key to unlock the door and told to lock up when our visit was finished.

A mosque was first built on this site in 1459.  In the 19th-century (1833), the mosque was reconstructed and expanded by Abdurahman Pasha.  Abdurahman Pasha's creation, both inside and outside, is in Ottoman-Turkish baroque style.  Over 30,000 eggs were used to make the paint used out/inside this unusual mosque.

With all the decorative designs and colors, this mosque looks like a jewel box inside and outside.  To the right of the minbar, is a rare (for Macedonia) painting of Mecca.

The next photo is of the Turkish Amam (Ottoman-era bath house) that is located just across the small Pena river from the Painted Mosque.  It was also built in the 15th century.  Presently, it is an art gallery, but on the day we visited, it was closed.  A teenager saw us taking photos and wanted to know why--why we found these buildings interesting?

We also visited the small village of Lešok (northeast of Tetovo) to see the 14th-century church called Sveti Bogorodica.  The church was locked, but at the new church we were given a very large key to open the 14th-century church. Once again, we were allowed to visit without a chaperone.  When we were finished, we locked the door and returned the huge key.

14th- century Church of Sveti Bogorodica (Holy Mother of God)

The interior is completely covered, walls and ceilings, with frescos from the time of construction as well as from both the 17th and 19th centuries.  The 19th-century renovations were sponsored by Abdurahman Pasha--the same Pasha that renovated the mosque and many other structures in Tetovo.  Why? Because he was hoping the Orthodox Christians would support him in a revolt against the Ottomans.  This didn't work out quite the way he planned.  The Ottoman Sultan "volunteered"  Abdurahman Pasha to fight the in war in the Crimea from where he did not return. 

Zrze is not the same as Žurče: October 25, 2012

Leaving Kruševo behind, we went to the nearby village of Žurče to see a Monastery.  I thought this was the village of Zrze the former home of the unusual icon called the Virgin of Pelagonia, but Zrze is not the same as Žurče.  In Žurče we visited the monastery dedicated to Sveti Atanas Aleksandriski.  A young sister-in-training named Christina was our greeter.  She opened the door to the church and explained both the interior and exterior frescos.  Then, she gave us a tour of the grounds.

Monastery dedicated to Sveti Atanas Aleksandriski in Žurče

This monastery has been around since at least the 12th century, but the current construction of the church and the frescos date to the early 17th century.  The frescos are lovely and unusual.  The frescos on the open porch area include naturalistic paintings of life during the months of the year.  They illustrate hunting, harvest, sunbathing (while being cooled by a peasant), etc.  Unfortunately photographs are only allowed if taken from a distance.

The sisters and sisters-in-training of this monastery raise chickens, goats, sheep, and they also had some black deer (one buck, two does, and a fawn) in pens.  The buck was very friendly, but the females and fawn were skittish.

In an attempt to be self sufficient, the sisters make and sell their own cheese and a rich, dark honey.  They have fruit-tree orchards and a greenhouse for vegetables.

Christina invited us to have lunch with her.  The table was set with pears, their cheese from goat's milk, a spinach-buttery bread.  While we were eating, we were surrounded by hungry cats who Christina said must work for a living.  She said they only feed the kittens, but they sure acted like cats who were used to being fed by humans.

Christina showed us on a map where Zrze is located (north-west of Prilep), but that will be another trip.

The village of Žurče is as neat as a pin with many stone structures.  Tobacco was drying everywhere as were peppers.  We chatted with a Macedonian who had worked for many years in Australia.  Now retired, he had returned to live and enjoy his life in Žurče.

On the way back to Skopje, we stopped once again at the tobacco drying structures in Prilep.  While I was taking photographs, Dan napped and I chatted with a tobacco grower named Branko.

Branko said he will get between 2 to 4 Euros per kilo for his tobacco.  The price is based upon the quality of the leaves.  He told me that depending upon the amount of sun, the green leaves take between 7 to 10 days to become golden and dry.

So, now I know even more about growing and selling tobacco.  The end.

Kruševo: October 23-25, 2012

Autumn at Kruševo Lake

Tuesday was The Day of the Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle; it was also a holiday and a good time to see more of Macedonia.  On this day in 1893 the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) was established with the purpose of liberating Macedonia from the Ottoman Empire.  Today, this revolutionary movement has devolved into a right-wing political party (the party in power) known as VMRO.  

Kruševo was the scene of an early 20th-century struggle against the Ottomans. The Ilinden Uprising began on August 2, 1903 (St. Ilija's Day and "Den" means "day" in Macedonian).  On August 3, 1903, rebels took the town of Kruševo and established a revolutionary government. The Krusevo Republic lasted just 10 days, but left a huge legacy in the struggle for Macedonian independence.  

There are several monuments to commemorate the struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire.  A guide at the monument explained some of the parts and their metaphorical meaning.  First, there are three links that symbolize the links in the chain that represent three centuries (15th-17th) under Ottoman rule.  Then, there are two broken chains laying nearby that symbolize the attempt to break free in the 18th & 19th-centuries. 

Moving up the hill beyond the trees is the monument for the 20th-century Ilinden Uprising and the 10 days Kruševo was a republic with a president.  The tomb of this president, Nikola Karaev, is within this monument.  The eternal flame, however, is out.

The Ilinden Monument, installed in the 70s, looks very much like an artist's conception of a space ship.  It is supposed to be in the shape of the heavy club weapon called a mace.

Kruševo the place to be on the August 2 holiday and that is date when this "ethno" village really comes alive.  Kruševo was very quiet during our two days in October, but it has my vote for the friendliest town in Macedonia.  Everyone was extraordinarily friendly toward us, and they seemed pleased that we wanted to photograph them and their beautiful town.  

Kruševo, with an elevation of 1260 meters, is the highest town in the Balkans.  The autumn weather was crisp and cool in the mornings and evenings, and the smell of wood smoke and grilling peppers filled the air.

We stayed at the Casa La Kola B&B because back in February we purchased a weekend stay in Kruševo at a charity auction.  Casa La Kola was very pleasant and comfortable and in the center of town; we parked in front and walked everywhere.  The hotel recommended Roma Pizza Restaurant on the main street as the best place in town to eat.  We ate both dinners there, and it was really good with local specialties like the "Roma" bake.

View of Kruševo from a southern hill

Traditional architecture in Kruševo

The guide at the Ilinden Uprising monument told us the Gallery Nikola Martinoski was open.  This interesting gallery is in one of the houses of traditional architecture similar to the ones shown above.  Martinoski was a painter, trained in Paris, who donated many of his fine works to Kruševo. The gallery also has several ethnographic rooms dedicated to early life in Kruševo.

View of Sveti Jovan from our balcony at Casa La Kola

A Cooper at the Barrel-making Shop in the Old Bazaar 

Near the monument to the Ilinden Uprising is the Todor Proeski Memorial House.  Todor known popularly as Toše was from Kruševo.  In 2007 at 26 years old, he was killed in a car accident in Croatia.  He was a singer who was very popular in the Balkans.  I've heard him described as the Macedonian Elvis Presley in his popularity.  The guide at the memorial house told us he was the best singer in all the world.  The memorial house preserves everything from Toše' life.  His toys, his sports equipment, his guitars, his clothing, his furnishings.  Words to his songs are etched in glass throughout the memorial house.  Also nearby is his grave covered by a tent that is filled with gifts left by fans that miss him and remember him.

Kruševo Lake is just beyond the Toše memorial house.  The lake is small with a walking/bike trail around the perimeter.  Many small fields of tobacco lay just across the bridge over the small dam that created the lake.  One of the tobacco farmers invited us onto his land to see the process of picking, stringing, and drying tobacco leaves.  He has two deci-hectars of land on which he grows tobacco.  He said he grows a first class tobacco that will net him 4 Euro per kilo, and he will harvest and dry more than 400 kilos of tobacco this season.  

 

A Field of Tobacco

Our last morning we returned to the lake because it was so lovely and photogenic.