The weird and wonderful Skopje

We left Ohrid behind and caught the bus towards one of the larger cities in Macedonia, Bitola. Macedonia continued to charm us as we travelled through barely touched valleys dotted with small homesteads and large white washed houses. We entered Bitola for the afternoon staying in the nicest hotel of our journey so far, a beautifully converted Ottoman theatre. I was even happier when we arrived as the receptionist greeted us with ‘Hello Mr Agass, as you are a genius you have our special rate for your room’. It is always nice to be acknowledged as a genius but it dawned on me that this was probably to do with my status as a frequent user on bookings.com rather than my intellectual reputation as an academic. We strolled the main streets of Bitola, discovering that the coffee culture of Eastern Europe is very much alive in Macedonia and that there was also an International Film Festival. The city itself provided no major sites to see but the following morning we visited the ancient Roman ruins just south of the city called Heraclea Lyncestis. Although only a small site that is still being excavated it offers remains of bath houses, churches and a large amphitheatre. The most impressive discovery was the incredibly preserved mosaics littered around the site that equalled anything we had seen in Italy for colour and preservation. 

From Bitola we caught our first train in Eastern Europe north towards Skopje. Unsure of what to expect we rolled up at what appeared to be an abandoned building declaring itself to be a train station. We walked through the empty building and were confronted by tracks that were overrun with weeds and rubble... we had arrived. The train itself followed the same theme and unfortunately the conductor proceeded to torment us by standing in the open door way, allowing the overpowering aroma of urine to be gently wafted up the carriage. The countryside continued in the same fashion as we stopped at small, traditional hamlets (every 10 minutes) and the train became increasingly full. With a thunder storm due the humidity in the small, overcrowded and poorly ventilated carriage began to sap our energy and when the heavens broke and huge forks of lightening lit up the sky there was palpable relief throughout the carriage. The grey skies did not help the city of Skopje to look at its best as we arrived although at this point we were just relieved to be off of the train. We checked into Hostel 42 in the centre of the city (after the customary argument with taxi drivers trying to con foreign visitors) and receive a comprehensive guide to the city from the welcoming receptionist. Unfortunately we were to receive the same information by the new starter on reception in the morning as well as the owner of the Hostel who, as a passionate football fan spent every opportunity he saw me discussing the Premiership whilst I tried to escape to explore the city.

The city of Skopje is without doubt the most bizarre city I have ever visited. We had been warned by Macedonians on route to the capital to prepare ourselves for ‘Skopje 2014’ (in reference to the year that it was meant to be completed - it still has not been finished), a titanic construction project that had transformed the centre of the city. Our journey to the hostel, only one kilometre from the centre, revealed only a similar set of Soviet style architecture as the other capitals in the Balkans we had visited. As we headed off into the night and heavy rain we turned a corner and were greeted with an assortment of neo – classical buildings, huge fountains and columns complete with lightshows and music as well as an uncountable number of statues. It was safe to say we were in shock, it was as if Disney Land and London City centre had collided head on. The project has been very decisive (not surprisingly for a fairly poor nation) but speaking to the hostel owner most tourists are very impressed and it is at least trying to help produce a Macedonian identity. The statues and columns all represent Macedonian heroes, politicians and members of the arts community and they stand upon every gleaming building, bridge and column that you can see. The fountains are captivating and despite being loud and a little gaudy look spectacular, particularly at night when the whole area is lit up highlighting the incredible development that has taken place since 2010. Despite both of us being left undecided about the final outcome we were both left gazing at the undoubted uniqueness of the city centre and feeling that if it helps to bring in tourist and investment the long term benefits to the city and country are indisputable.

Across the other side of the Vardar River (strangely left untouched amongst the glittering squares either side) is the Ottoman legacy to Skopje, the largest bazaar in the Balkans. It is an alluring collection of mosques, small shops and caravansarais (inns). As we wandered the old quarter the array of items being sold from fox pelts to old Yugoslavian military uniforms was quite staggering and we settled down to eat kebabs at the highly recommended Turist Inn. There was something very enchanting about eating local food outside of an old, wooden fronted inn whilst listening to the call for prayer from the imposing mosque as the smells of all of the chargrills drifted along the narrow streets. The old town was very atmospheric and rather than being geared to tourism it was refreshing to see that it was still at the centre of the community for a lot of locals. It all just added to the unquestionably strange yet intriguing capital of Macedonia and left us wanting to come back in 10 years to see the project completed.