Makedonska_Kafana

[Makedonska_Kafana]

Nikola Gruevski - 14 Congress of the VMRO-DPMNE

YouTube - Никола Груевски-14 Конгрес на ВМ�*О-ДПМНЕ (05.03.2011)

[Makedonska_Kafana]

YouTube - Reb Stevenson: Where the Heck is Macedonia?



Skopje, MACEDONIA–A thick fog has mistaken me for Saint John, New Brunswick, and rolled into my noggin.

But through the jet-lagged haze, I suspect I'm not in Eastern Canada, but Eastern Europe.

The first clue is I'm sitting with a man named Zoran Nikolovski.

The second is the bowl from which he slurps does not contain Cheerios.

"For breakfast, we eat strong soup full of meats," he declares.

Yep, definitely Eastern Europe.

Nikolovski, an employee of the Macedonian Ministry of Economy, describes himself as a "motorcycle rocker man." Given his long black ponytail and macho swagger that seems accurate.

Ensconced by seven mountains and three rivers, the capital city's setting is surprisingly picturesque.

I can't say the same for Skopje itself, which consists mainly of ugly, utilitarian flats that were thrown up after a disastrous earthquake in 1963.

There is at least one exception: a brand new museum that pays homage to one of Skopje's hometown celebs, Mother Teresa.

"We are proud because she is the only Nobel Prize winner from Macedonia," explains docent Marina Spirova.

Young Macedonians flock to the main pedestrian drag to kick back at outdoor bars with Nescaf�s (cold coffee drinks) or Skopskos (the national beer). The mood is lively and joyful, barely discernible from any other patio scene around the world.

But I quickly gather that Skopje has a split personality.

Over the Vardar River sits the Old Bazaar – a predominantly Albanian (Muslim) community and Skopje's most exotic neighbourhood.

Nikolovski whisks me through in about 10 minutes, but later I sneak back alone.

It is dusty and teeming with kebab shops, jewellers, tailors and roasted nut vendors.

In Karpan An, a 15th-century Ottoman trading inn, I am the only customer at Sofra, an Albanian restaurant. This seems odd, as the service is friendly and the food tasty.

"Macedonian people are scared to come here, to this side of the city," says shoemaker Aziz Murate, touching upon some of the racial tensions that plague Skopje.

By daylight, the area seems safe, even for a lone Canadian girl. But with dusk comes leering and catcalls. And when I notice that a creep in a track suit is following me, it's me that gets the urge to dash.

That stalker can't touch me up at St. Pantelemon, a 12th-century monastery that hovers above Skopje on Vodno Mountain.

It's lunch at the traditional on-site restaurant where they roast lamb and wild pig on an open fire in the winter.

The fumes smack me like Mike Tyson's fist, but I force down some grape Rakia, an aperitif, before tucking into a salad of tomatoes, cucumber and shredded sheep's cheese.

Banitsa – a Macedonian interpretation of spanakopita – is next. I am instructed to intermittently eat a spoonful of plain yogurt alongside the flavourful pastry.

Other dishes you might encounter include "village meat" (beef, pork and chicken in a tomato and cheese sauce) and "tavche gravche" (a baked bean dish). And carbs, lots of carbs.

"We are not eating food without bread," says Nikolovski.

Potholes so deep they likely reach China hog the road to Struga, a city south of Skopje.

When my eyes are stable enough to focus, I admire the snow-capped mountains, sparkling lakes and quaint, red-roofed villages that drift by.

Who knew Macedonia's relief was so dramatic, even without the potholes? The average altitude is 830 metres.

With only 2 million inhabitants scattered across 25,713 square kilometres, the country consists mainly of unbridled nature. Skopje (population 600,000) is the largest Macedonian community. The second is not even in Europe. It's Toronto – home to some 200,000 Macedonians.

If Nikolovski is a "motorcycle rocker man," my next guide, Dzengis Patel, is a "pedestrian '80s mystic."

Clad in head-to-toe denim, he ascribes magical powers to water and rocks.

His daily breakfast: "Two cigarettes and a cup of coffee."

We meet in Struga, where the claim to fame is an annual poetry festival in which bards spout verses from a bridge over the Black Drim (pronounced "Dream") River. Said river is chock full of eels in September and October.

"When I was a kid we tied a fork on a stick and caught them, then ate them. It's an aphrodisiac, especially the blood of the eel," says Patel.

Patel points up at a rusty-coloured rock face, where you can just make out some faded frescoes. "Let us have an Indiana Jones experience."

We are six kilometres from Struga, on the Albanian border.

"This has been a sanctuary for 5,000 years," says Patel. "First by the pagans, then the Christians."

We ascend 300 metres. Below us gleams silvery Lake Ohrid. It's so big (358 square kilometres) and so deep (228.7 metres) that it's called a "fresh water sea."

At the top, Patel flips on a light switch and we step into St. Archangel Mikhail, a church within a cave that was inhabited by monks until the 17th century.

Its rough, curved walls and ceilings are covered in medieval religious paintings. The word "awesome" springs to mind.

According to Patel, there are 54 similar caves around Lake Ohrid.

There are also full-blown monasteries, like St. Naum. In addition to a hotel and spa complex, it houses the tomb of St. Naum himself.

Legend has it that if you put your ear to the grave, you can hear his heart beating. I only hear the shrieks of the resident peacocks who strut outside.

A pearl made from fish scales is Ohrid's less holy claim to fame.

Somebody (probably a bad cook) figured out that, when overheated, the scales of the endemic Plasica fish congeal into a pretty white stone.

Ohrid is not lacking in sparkle, as the Serbian, Bulgarian, Greeks and Albanian tourists who flock there every year can attest.

The streets are peppered with craftspeople – a man makes religious prints on a Gutenberg press here, another carves elaborate floral motifs out of walnut there.

Accommodation in Ohrid, like everywhere in Macedonia, is extremely affordable: $60 Canadian will score you a lakefront villa.

Patel says hello to every second person we pass as we stroll along the waterfront in Ohrid.

"We take care of each other. Friendship means a lot here," he says.

Except when it comes to lions.

They, along with bears, wild dogs and other aggressive animals were given a rather hostile welcome at the 3rd century BC Greek amphitheatre that sits intact in Ohrid.

Ancient markings – the season tickets of yore – are still visible on some of the 2,700 stone seats.

I could almost believe that I was in Greece, or Rome.

Then we visit the place called Plaoshnik, or "high ground, " where the largest excavation in Macedonia's history is happening on the site of a 9th-century university.

A lanky man in short green shorts and a woman's sweater picks his way through the rubble and approaches me. He sips a Red Bull.

"Hello, my name is Slavo, and I am a philosopher."

Nope, I am still in Eastern Europe.

Reb Stevenson is a Toronto-based writer. Her trip was subsidized by the Macedonian Ministry of Economy.

http://www.thestar.com/travel/europe/article/709470--moody-macedonia

[George S.]

By the way MK congrats on your senior at MTO.Great vids.

[Risto the Great]

Her trip was subsidized by the Macedonian Ministry of Economy.

If it was, how the hell would a "3rd century BC Greek amphitheatre" be authorised. We are talking about the time of Philip and Alexander here. I don't think we could be talking of a more singularly Macedonian period.

[lavce pelagonski]

MK why do you have an add for a burger where you can upgrade to Greek - is this a Maceodnian place?

[Makedonska_Kafana]

MK why do you have an add for a burger where you can upgrade to Greek - is this a Maceodnian place?

Wimpy's Diner is a Macedonian owned corporation, however, some of their 40 plus restaurants are owned by Greeks. Wimpy's is a MAJOR Macedonian events sponsor. Click on the image.

PS - Ad

[Makedonska_Kafana]

YouTube - Прес на Александар Бичиклиски (08.03.2011)

YouTube - 8-ми МА�*Т денот на жената-УМС на ВМ�*О-ДПМНЕ(08.03.2011)

[lavce pelagonski]

It doesnt give them the right to change the menue without the owner knowing even if it is a franchise. Do you think subway or McDonalds stores would be able to do this.
The Macedonain who owns this should be able to stop this and put upgrade to Macedonian not Greek or is the money too good.

[Makedonska_Kafana]

Aleksandar Nikolovski-guest at Milenko (02/18/2011)

YouTube - Александар Николоски-гостин кај Миленко (18.02.2011)

[Makedonska_Kafana]

YouTube - Zoran Vanev - Edna e Makedonija (Македонија на Македонците)

[lavce pelagonski]

MK is maknews down?

[Makedonska_Kafana]

MK is maknews down?

I'm not sure .. ?

[Makedonska_Kafana]

YouTube - Zoran Vanev - Ako bevme zaedno

[Makedonska_Kafana]

YouTube - Naum Petreski - Zal za Despina

[Staro_Selo]

Wimpy's Diner is a Macedonian owned corporation, however, some of their 40 plus restaurants are owned by Greeks. Wimpy's is a MAJOR Macedonian events sponsor. Click on the image.

PS - Ad

Only 2 are owned by Prosvige....greeks?