Ten Little Known Facts About The Republic Of Macedonia
When compared to many places around the world, the Republic of Macedonia is still a fairly new country. Though the country itself is new, the area has been occupied for centuries and has an incredible history. From the small rural villages to the many religious and historical sites, the country offers a number of different ways to experience its culture. The Republic of Macedonia is also a great place to travel to for those interested in outdoor scenery, natural resources, or outdoor recreation. There are beautiful mountainous areas, high mountain lakes, and acres of protected national park land to explore there. It really is a great place for a vacation, regardless of the interests or background of the prospective traveler.
Travel to Macedonia can be expensive, to lower costs use a search engine and look for any travel discount sites. Being as the country is fairly young and many people do not know much about, here are ten little known facts about the Republic of Macedonia.
A Famous Birthplace Though she became famous primarily for her work in other areas of the world, Mother Teresa was born in the city of Skopje in what is now the Republic of Macedonia. There are a number of landmarks in the city commemorating her birth there and the Memorial House of Mother Teresa that opened in recent years is a great place to learn more about this amazing woman.
Bitola Is Drawn And Quartered Today, Bitola is a fun and interesting city to travel to when visiting Macedonia. It offers a wide variety of things to experience, and has a very casual and laid back attitude. When the Allied Powers occupied the city of Bitola during World War I, the city was divided into four sections: French, Russian, Italian, and Serbian.
Eggs In The Mix Bitolas historic clock tower, built in the early 1800s, used a somewhat unique construction material. The Ottoman authorities responsible for its building collected more than 60,000 eggs from nearby farmers and even neighboring villages and mixed them in with the mortar with the hopes of making the walls even stronger.
Its Just A Name The neighboring nation of Greece once issued a trade embargo against the newly created Republic of Macedonia based solely on the name alone. Greece sees the name Macedonia as a geographic term that describes a region of its country. The two countries were able to put their differences aside though and currently have good relations between them.
The Walls Came Down Ohrid is a scenic city that sits right on the lake that it shares its name with. It is one of the more popular tourist destinations in Macedonia and is something of a resort town. The city of Ohrid was completely destroyed by an earthquake during the sixth century. It was rebuilt within a few decades and played an important role in the development of the area.
Macedonia, In The Movies Macedonia may seem a bit remote for the shooting of a movie, but there have been a few films at least partially made there. St. Dimitrijs Church in the city of Bitola appears in the films The Peacemaker and Welcome to Sarajevo.
That Is One Big Cross Macedonia has a long and strong history as being a very religious area of the world. The Millennium Cross is a local sight to see in the Skopje area. It sits on the peak of Mount Vodno and is actually the biggest cross in the entire world. It is nearly 220 feet tall and can be seen from an amazing nineteen miles away.
Two Historically Named Airports While the country is impossible to get to by boat and hard to get to by car, it is somewhat easy to get to by air as it is served by two modern airports. The main airport in Macedonias capital city of Skopje is named after Alexander the Great. The countrys other international airport is located in the city of Ohrid and is named after St. Paul the Apostle.
The Balkan Middle East The city of Ohrid has many ties to a number of religions and has been considered a sort of holy center for the region for centuries. At one time, the town was home to 365 churches or chapels, one for each day of the year. In fact, Ohrid is also known by the nicknames European Jerusalem and Macedonian Jerusalem. For the traveler interested in religion, history, and culture, there are still a great many of these and other historic churches available to be seen in and around Ohrid, as well as the rest of the country.
The Nations First National Park When traveling, both domestically and internationally, sometimes one of the more fun things to do is head out into the great outdoors. Visiting the national parks offered by a country is a great way to do this. The first national park ever created in Macedonia was Pelister National Park which was established in 1948. It sits just west of the town of Bitola, itself a great vacation destination, and is predominantly known as being the home of Mount Pelister, the Republic of Macedonias third highest peak and a popular destination for mountain climbers from around the world.
The Republic of Macedonia is an interesting land, and one that many people never envision themselves visiting. Though it is a bit out of the way and off the radar of most travelers looking for a vacation destination, for those that make the effort to travel there, it delivers an exceptional time. The city owes most of its remoteness to the fact that it is entirely landlocked and somewhat surrounded by high mountains. This has a great effect though for vacationers because it helps them to really feel like they have gone to a hard to find location that few people ever see. Macedonia is filled with interesting people, places, buildings, cities, landmarks, parks, villages, bodies of water, and natural scenery. The history of this area is also fascinating and usually of great interest to the travelers making the trip. A vacation to Macedonia might not be the first thing people think of, but it can be one of the best travel related decisions they ever make.