The Hidden Gem of Europe – North Macedonia

Posted on: August 24, 2024 Posted by: Nabeel Rashid Comments: 1

Republic of North Macedonia commonly known as North Macedonia or Macedonia is the beautiful country in South Eastern Europe having its borders with Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Kosovo and Albania. The country is home to beautiful historical lakes, UNESCO World heritage sites and birth place of many world celebrities including the great legend Mother Taresa. Apart from that, North Macedonia is comparatively a cheaper country to visit in Europe as a tourist. Everyone who is below the age of 40 speaks English fluently, so there will be no issues of language barrier too for the international tourists. Locals are welcoming and friendly.

North Macedonia is one of the historical countries of the world. We find the foot-points of life here even in 6^th century B.C and much earlier. This beautiful country remained part of different dynasties, kingdoms and Rulers; beginning from the Kingdom of Paeonia followed by the Persian Achaemenid Empire, Romans, Byzantine Empire, Serbians and Ottomans. In the modern world, North Macedonia is an independent country created by getting independence from the former country of Yugoslavia.

As the great history and multicultural roots of the country has provided it a beautiful culture that represents the variety of human beings living here. This country is just like a flower vase having the flowers of different colors and flavors. Each flower has its own fragrance, attraction and culture. Today’s Macedonia is the combination of modern and historical amalgamation and we can sense the scents of both at the same time. In the earlier part, I will cover the historical attractions in North Macedonia while the modern life attractions and local festivals of North Macedonia will be covered by Jovana in the later part of the article. Let’s have a look at a few of them.

SKOPJE FORTRESS KALE:

The Skopje Fortress is one of the mesmerizing historical sites, located in the Old Town of Skopje, the capital of North Macedonia. This beautiful Fortress was built for the first time in 6^th century by one of the Emperors. This Fortress played an influential role for every Ruler throughout the centuries in the history of North Macedonia.

Today, this Fortress is one of the major tourist attractions for national and international tourists. You can view many mesmerizing views of the city from the Fortress.

OLD BAZAAR IN SKOPJE:

Old Bazaar in Skopje is one of the attractive shopping places where you can find a diverse variety of shopping stuff from modern day stuff to the traditional handmade crafts.

This is one of the oldest and traditional markets serving its customers continuously since 12^th century.

In the capital city of Skopje, there are many sites which remains alive even during nights offering countless opportunities for the tourists to explore including cinemas, theaters, opera and ballet, classical music, modern music and a lot more.

THE LAND OF RUBIES:

North Macedonia is famous worldwide for its exclusive, expensive and high quality Ruby. Macedonian rubies have a variety of shades from light pink to dark red, mostly found in the city of Prilep. North Macedonia is considered as the only country in entire Europe to produce such high quality rubies naturally.

LAKE OHRID:

Lake Ohrid is considered as one of the oldest and deepest lakes in the Balkan World. The Town of Ohrid is located on the shore of Lake Ohrid, around 170km from the capital city of Skopje. The glorious past of this place is a beautiful cultural heritage and attracts countless visitors even in today’s modern day world.

For example, In Ohrid where the lake is, we have crystal clear water, great night life but also, 365 Churches to visit. Most of them are from 11-13 century. Yes, they were built in the past, but you can see them today, and with that age still standing, and Macedonians considered it as their pride, fortune and cultural heritage.

In Lake Ohrid we find around 300 endemic underwater species. It is rare to find them anywhere else in the world. The lake is considered as one of the oldest and clearest lakes in entire Europe.

You can explore the extraordinary natural beauty in the Vrelo Cave with underwater tunnels. Vrelo has a depth of 240 metres and It is not fully explored yet, but it is considered to be the deepest underwater caves not only in Europe but worldwide.

We can explore a number of historical buildings and glimpses of old settlements here. If you are a researcher, historian or a photographer, this is an ideal place for you.

In 1979, Lake Ohrid was listed as the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

STOBI:

Stobi was an ancient city located in today’s North Macedonia. This city once belonged to the Paeonian Kingdom followed by the Kingdom of Macedonia, later on ruled by the Roman Empire. After witnessing the peak of many Kingdoms and Empires till 6^th century, finally this historical city was destroyed by a series of earthquakes. The remaining ruins of the past give us glimpses of their glorious past and progress such as courts, baths, buildings, workshops, palaces, fountains and amphitheater.

FAMOUS INTERNATIONAL CELEBRITIES FROM NORTH MACEDONIA:

MOTHER TERESA:

Mother Teresa was a Roman Catholic sister and a founder of the order of the Missionaries Charity. She dedicated her entire life helping the poor humanity. Mother Teresa is considered as one of the greatest humanitarians of the 20th century for her commitment to help the needy ones. This honorable Legend was born in the honorable city of Skopje, Ottoman Empire (Today’s North Macedonia), on August 26, 1910. Even today, Macedonians still have her memorial house in the center of the Capital where tourists and fans of Mother Teresa can go in and see all her personal childhood belongings for just 2 euros.

KOSTA APOSTOLOV SOLEV:

Kosta Apostolov Solev was a Macedonian poet and writer who is considered a founder of modern Macedonian literature. He is also regarded as a founder of modern Macedonian poetry. His famous works include White Dawns,

ACCORDING TO THE NATIVE JOVANA FROM NORTH MACEDONIA:

For the foreigners, our country is extremely cheap to visit as a tourist comparatively visiting other European countries. With a small amount they can eat great food, have a lot of fun and can explore new age modern and ancient buildings. Locals are welcoming people. Every stranger or guest is welcomed by anyone here. The foreigners become friends with the locals very quickly, accepted in their company, welcomed in their houses to share food on their tables and invited out with them.

LOCAL FESTIVALS:

We have gatherings of all sorts that were once started and then became traditional part of our culture and continued decades after decades until now: Every region is special about something and has some specialty. Therefore, you can explore countless festivals in different regions of the country. For Example: I live near Kokino, the name of my town is Kumanovo. The people here are known for their sense of humor, so we have festivals in theaters that present only comedy for every working day in October, the entire month.The festival is held at the Cultural Center Trajko Prokopiev annually.

Theaters from Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Armenia, Albania, Kosovo and other countries also participate in the festival.. This Festival is the most visited Festival in the whole country by the audience and every year about 7000 thousand people watch the performances on the festival days.

In the south, in another town people are having a festival for making “Sarma.” Women in great numbers are making this dish and competing. Everyone is welcome to try it and participate in the festival.

SPORTS:

When we talk about sports, The Macedonians are passionate about them. Handball, basketball, volleyball and football competitions are visited from a lot of people and cheered passionately. Other sports attractions include cycling, kayaking, hiking, car and motorcycle racing and water sports are famous all over.

KOKINO:

Almost 70km from the Capital city of Skopje, there is an ancient archeological site at Kokino. This ancient site shows us glimpses of the Bronze Age. In 2001, the ruins of the Bronze Age settlements were discovered near Kokino.

According to archeologists, these ruins show the signs of life there from the period of 19th to the 7th centuries B.C.Further discovery shows that these giant stones were arranged in puzzling patterns. It looks like earlier civilizations used these giant stones as stone markers to track the patterns of the sun and the moon. Therefore, this beautiful site is known as an ancient megalithic observatory. Research in Kokino continues even today. If you are a tourist, researcher, archeologist or a historian, it is a must visit site.

FAMOUS CUISINE IN NORTH MACEDONIA:

SARMA/ сарма:

Sarma is a traditional Ottoman cuisine common in Macedonian culture too. Sarma is prepared by adding beef minced meat in vegetable leaves like a round filling. Sometimes it is filled with minced meat along with rice too inside the filling of vegetable leaves.

GJOMLEZE / Ѓомлезе:

Gjomleze is a delicious breakfast dish from the Ohrid region. It is a pie prepared by using simple ingredients including water, salt, flour and oil. It is the way of preparation that makes it delicious to eat. It is a must try dish while exploring the beauty of Ohrid region.

SIMIT POGACA / симит погача:

Simit-pogaca is an exclusive dish from Skopje which is not commonly found all over. Simit Pogaca is a bread-pie consisting of bun and a greasy pie without any kind of fillings inside whatsoever like cheese, meat or sweet but you can add the fillings yourself. If you are visiting Skopje then it is a must try dish.

MUSAKA/мусака:

Moussaka is a mouthwatering dish from North Macedonia. It consists of layers of pan-fried eggplant, lamb, tomato sauce and followed by the topping of Béchamel sauce.