Monuments to visit Northern Macedonia

The origins of this aqueduct (Скопски Аквадукт/Skopski Akvadukt, Ujësjellësi i Shkupit) are poorly known. Of the original two hundred or so arches, fifty-five remain, most of which are well preserved, stretching in one piece for 386 m on either side of the Serava River, a small tributary of the Vardar. Used until the ^18th century, the brick and stone structure was used to bring water from the small Skopska Crna Gora (the "Black Mountain of Skopje"), 32 km northeast of the city as the crow flies. There are three theories as to when it was built. In the ^first century AD for the water needs of the Roman colony of Scupi, located 2,200 m to the southwest? This is unlikely, as the aqueduct does not go in that direction at all. In the ^6th century, by the Byzantines for the site of the present fortress of Skopje, 2,600 m to the southeast? It is already more plausible, since the work points more or less in this direction. In the ^16th century by the Ottomans for the numerous baths and fountains in the neighborhood of Stara Čaršija, right next to the fortress? This theory seems to be the right one. It is the one favored by most scientists. But to decide, it would be necessary that the authorities finally decide to finance a real excavation campaign. In the meantime, the development and the protection of the site leave much to be desired, to the point that some inhabitants continue to come to plunder the stones and the bricks of the arches.

This mosque (Султан-Муратова Џамија/Sultan-Muratova Džamija, Xhamia e Sulltan Muratit) is the oldest in Skopje. It was erected in 1436 on the site of an Orthodox monastery dedicated to St. George thanks to a donation from Ottoman Sultan Murat II (1421-1451). However, not much remains of the original building as many changes were made, including the restoration completed in 2020. The rectangular building (34.60 x 27.60 m) is preceded by a porch with five arches. The large, classical, tiled roof conceals a decorated dome. The interior space is divided into three naves delimited by two supporting walls and three rows of columns. Dominated by a minaret of 35 m high, the mosque is part of a complex of which two mausoleums and the old buildings of a former medersa (Koranic school) and an imaret (hospice) remain. Next to the latter, to the north, stands the clock tower (Саат-Кула/Saat-Kula, Kulla e Sahatit) which was used to indicate the (variable) prayer times to all the mosques in the city. With a height of 37 m, it was built between 1566 and 1573. For the lower part, a square defensive tower of the old monastery was used. An octagonal stone section was added, topped by a wooden floor. The latter was rebuilt in brick in 1902. Like the mosque, the tower has undergone a recent restoration funded by Turkey.

This stone bridge (Камен Мост/Kamen Most, or Ura e Gurit in Albanian) is the symbol of Skopje: it connects the western and eastern banks of the Vardar River and appears on the city's coat of arms. It attracts an often dense crowd. Sometimes you have to make your way through the improvised stalls of street vendors. Supported by thirteen arches, its deck extends over 214 m in length and 6.33 m in width. The date of its construction is not known. Some evoke Roman or Serbian origins. The bridge is sometimes called "Dušan's bridge" (Dušanov Most) in reference to the Serbian king who would have built it in 1346. But the most likely hypothesis is that it was built by the Ottomans between 1421 and 1481, shortly after the conquest of the city in 1392. In any case, the bridge is associated with the uprising led by Petar Karpoš in October-December 1689, who was captured by Ottoman troops and ended up impaled in the center of the bridge (the supposed location is marked by a memorial plaque). Several times damaged by the Vardar floods, the bridge was consolidated and widened in 1909. Spared by the earthquake of 1963 and closed to traffic in 1967, it was damaged during the civil war of 2001. Important restoration works were then carried out until 2009. On this occasion, its coating and its parapet were redone. The central arch has also recovered its former watchtower with a mihrab, a niche indicating the direction of Mecca.

Brightly lit at night, this fortress (Скопско Кале/Skopsko Kale, Kalaja e Shkupit) is worth it mostly for the views it offers: it overlooks the Vardar River on the highest point in the city center, 268 meters above sea level. Unfortunately, it is poorly maintained. It is, however, the oldest inhabited site in the city, with discoveries made here dating back to the ^4th millennium BC. The fortifications were created by the Byzantines in the ^6th century from materials of the Roman colony of Scupi, destroyed by an earthquake. But its present structure dates from the Ottomans. There remains a gate and a portion of Byzantine wall to the east and, above all, a 121 m long rampart and restored defensive towers facing the city center. It is possible to walk the walkway during the day. Inside, traces of a Byzantine building, an Ottoman mosque and a medieval Serbian church are visible. It was in the latter that the Serbian king Dušan was crowned emperor "of the Serbs and Greeks" on April 16, 1346, briefly becoming the most powerful ruler in Europe. The fortress also has a museum installed under a glass structure. But it has been closed for several years. Finally, along the southern rampart stands the monument Strength, Glory and Victory created in 1953 by the sculptor Jordan Grabulovski, to whom we owe the Makedonium in Kruševo. It represents a woman holding a laurel wreath at a height of 5 m with a soldier and a small child at her feet.

Located in Stara Čaršija, this caravanserai (Капан Ан/Kapan An, Hani i Kapanit) is Skopje's oldest. Erected around 1460 on the initiative of Ottoman governor Isa-Bey Ishaković, it takes its name from the large scales (kapan) that were used to weigh and tax goods transiting through here. Surrounding a square courtyard, the first floor was used for livestock and merchandise, while the upper floor housed 44 rooms for merchants passing through the city. Today, there are several restaurants and cafés, including the Pivnica An.

Located in Stara Čaršija, opposite the Čifte hammam, this white-walled building (Безистен/Bezisten, Bezisten) was used to store merchants' most valuable goods for the night: silks, gold, jewelry, etc. It was built in 1900 on the site of an earlier ^15th-century bezistan destroyed in the great Skopje fire of 1689. With its four entrances, the current complex takes the form of open-air cobbled lanes running around two former warehouses. This rather charming complex now houses a number of stores.

Perched on Mount Vodno, 1,050 meters above sea level, this futuristic tower of the National Communications Agency (Кула на АЕК) is the tallest building in the country: it is 155 meters high. Adopting a twisted shape, it serves as a communications relay and includes three circular structures housing technical rooms, offices, and a panoramic restaurant that is advertised as rotating. We have not yet been able to test this. After ten years of work, the site was still not finished by mid-2023. But the opening was finally in sight. And what a view!

Built around 200 BC, this theater (Антички Театар/Antički Teatar) is the only one in the country of Greek origin. The architects of Lychnidos took advantage of the relief to place the stands on the sides of two hills. This configuration offered good acoustics and protection against the wind. What to allow the spectators to benefit from the melodies of the chorus and the whispers of the actors during the representations of comedies or tragedies. The building was modified by the Romans between 140 and 70 B.C. to accommodate up to 5,000 spectators (which suggests that the city then had between 20,000 and 25,000 inhabitants) and gladiatorial and wild animal fights. After the Edict of Thessalonica in 380, which made Christianity the only legal religion in the Empire, the theater was destroyed. Many of its materials were used for the construction of houses, basilicas and, later, the cathedral of Saint Sophia. Rediscovered in 1960, the theater retains only part of the arena walls and its first twelve rows. Among the lowest stands, on the left when you are facing the bleachers, notice the names written in Greek: they are those of families of the local elite who had assigned seats. But the best view of the lake today is from the twelfth row. Since 2001, the theater has been renovated with a capacity of 1,700 seats. It hosts performances, especially during the Ohrid Summer Festival, from mid-July to mid-August.

This fortress (Самуилова Тврдина/Samuilova Tvrdina) offers magnificent views of the old town and the lake. But you should not be impressed by the crenellated walls rising up to 16 m high, the three fortified gates and eighteen defensive towers: almost everything here is new. This ancient stronghold was completely rebuilt in 2002-2003 in a pseudo-millennium style in order to artificially recreate what was the capital of the Bulgarian Empire during the reign of Tsar (Emperor) Samuel ^I between 997 and 1014. In the context of the new national narrative, everything was done to accredit the official thesis that Samuel was "Macedonian"... even though a Slavic Macedonian identity only emerged at the end of the ^19th century. On site, signs explain that a first stronghold was established here in the ^4th century BC by Philip II of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great. But no international research came to support this thesis. It is however admitted that fortifications existed around 200 B.C. Reinforced by the Romans and the Byzantines, they made it possible to push back a raid of the ostrogoth king Theodoric the Great in 478 of our era. In the double enclosure, the Roman, Byzantine, Serbian, Albanian or Ottoman vestiges are not highlighted. Only is visible the old palace of the Albanian governor Xheladin Beu Ohri (beginning of the ^XIXth century). But the barracks and the mosque of the Ottoman soldiers remain in ruins.

This triumphal arch (Порта Македонија/Porta Macedonija) was built for the twentieth anniversary of independence (1991) and completed in 2012. In a dubious neoclassical style and 21 m high, it is decorated with 32 bas-reliefs representing so-called "national" heroes: Alexander the Great, the Byzantine emperor Justinian, Samuel ^I of Bulgaria, the Serbian king Marko Mrnjavčevic... It is one of the most expensive achievements of the project "Skopje 2014" (6.3 million euros). The panoramic terrace was no longer accessible during our last visit.

Located in Stara Čaršija, near the Museum of North Macedonia, this caravanserai (Куршумли Ан/Kuršumli An, Hani i Kurshumlisë) is the city's largest. Built in the early ^16th century, it had 60 rooms for merchants, including 32 upstairs all with fireplaces. Its name comes from the lead(kurşumlu in Turkish) that covers its domes. Transformed into a prison in the ^18th century, then into a museum in the 1920s, it now houses the lapidarium of the Museum of Northern Macedonia (Roman steles and statues). Concerts, exhibitions and theater in summer.

This fortress (Китино Кале/Kitino Kale) stands on an isolated hill some twenty meters above Kičevo. It was erected by Serbian prince Marko Mrnjavčević in the ^14th century and occupied by the Ottomans until 1860. Only the remains of a tower and a rampart remain. Since 1963, the fortress has housed a major memorial complex designed by Jordan Grabulovski, who also built the Makedonium in Kruševo. At the top, a semicircular ossuary contains the bodies of partisans who liberated the town twice, in 1943 and 1945.

This small peak is now locally called Голема Круна/Golema Kruna. This is the simple translation of "Grand Couronne". Because here, between Greece and North Macedonia, the hills of Karabalija overlooking Lake Dorjan, in the west, have names that are neither Greek nor Slavic: the Turtle, the Small Crowned, Pip Ridge, the Twins ... These are the nicknames given during the First World War by French and British soldiers to the positions held by the Bulgarians. So many places that the allied troops tried to conquer during three years. Three years of offensives, bombings and hand-to-hand combat. Between 1915 and 1918, Dorjan was the "Verdun of the Macedonian front". And its fort of Douaumont was the Grand Couronne, the main observation post of the Bulgarian artillery. Officially called Kale Tepe ("the hill of the castle" in Turkish), and also known as the Devil's Eye in English, the Grand Couronne is only 612 m high. But it is hard to reach, especially in the heat.

Bunkers and rusty casings. From Star Dojran, a path accessible by 4 x 4 and today used by the border guards allows to reach the half-slope. Then you have to walk through the rocky terrain, make your way through the brush to reach Dovdželii. During the conflict, this village located in the no man's land between the two sides was continuously bombed. Only ruins remain. Further on is the deadly Twin Ravine, then the Bulgarian first and second lines, whose trenches are still visible. Only a few isolated Allied units managed to reach the top of the ravine, sometimes with losses of more than 70 percent of their strength. The slopes up to the summit proved even more difficult to climb. The hill is littered with bunkers and dugouts, some of which are well preserved, while the ground is littered with shell casings and projectiles gnawed by rust. The place is surmounted by a blockhouse that offers a breathtaking view of the lake around which the troops climbing the hills were concentrated. The Bulgarians had no trouble anticipating the Allied attacks... until September 19, 1918. On that day, the Welsh of the South Wales Borderers finally managed to seize the Grand Couronne. Only 18 soldiers and one officer were left when the battalion took the position. Despite a fierce defense, the Bulgarians were overwhelmed. Ten days later, Skopje was conquered by surprise by the French and Bulgaria capitulated.

Known as the "Tsar's Towers" (Цареви Kули/Carevi Kuli), this fortress is located halfway up Mount Elenica (971 m) overlooking Strumica to the west. Most of the structure dates from the reign of the Bulgarian Tsar Samuel ^I (997-1014). Not much remains of this small castle, but the views are superb. The old keep, known as the "Pirg Tower", has been restored. Elsewhere, the remains of another tower, ramparts, a chapel, a well, a cistern and the powerful gateway to the east, near the signal tower, can be seen.

This large cultural center (Центар за Култура/Centar za Kultura) is home to the Manaki Brothers International Film Festival every year in late September or early October. The rest of the year, exhibitions, plays and film screenings take place here. The building was designed by two influential Yugoslav architects, the Slovenian Marko Mušič (b. 1941) and the Macedonian Aleksandar Smilevski (b. 1939), who are also responsible for important buildings in Skopje.

Slightly leaning, this 55 m-high tower (Саат-Кула/Saat-Kula) was erected in 1826 to replace an earlier ^17th-century wooden tower. Originally used to indicate prayer times to Prilep's Muslim inhabitants, it was given a Christian cross at its top in 1991. The ashlar structure is almost 39 m high. The bell tower above houses fifteen bells of various sizes and a clock donated by Germany in 1936.

Surrounded by stores, this caravanserai in Stara Čaršija (Сули Ан/Suli An, Hani i Sulit) is hardly visible from the outside. Located just north of the hammam Čifte (another entrance to the east via Bitpazarska Street), it was established around 1460 by Governor Isa-Bey Ishaković. Its name comes from the Turkish word sulu, meaning a damp place. The building stands above the Serava River, which was covered over during the Ottoman period. Restored after the 1963 earthquake, it looks like a classic caravanserai: a courtyard used to store goods and 57 rooms for merchants on two levels. Since 1982, the first floor has housed part of the Faculty of Fine Arts of Saints Cyril and Methodius University, with an exhibition. The first floor is occupied by the Stara Čaršija Museum (Музеј на Старата Скопска Чаршија/Muzej na Starata Skopska Čaršija, Muzeu i Çarshisë së Vjetër të Shkupit). Established in 1983, it is part of the Skopje City Museum. Covering 350^m2, it includes an archaeology section displaying objects dating from the ^10th to the ^20th century, found in the charchia and the fortress. The ethnology section focuses on the ancient crafts of the charchia: goldsmiths, tinsmiths, coppersmiths and leatherworkers. An opportunity to discover old tools and beautiful pieces of hammered copper. The museum also includes a history section (plans and documents) and an art gallery (paintings by ^20th-century local artists).

This 15 m high stone tower (Маркови Кули/Markovi Kuli) was erected around the ^12th-13th centuries. Recently restored with its battlements, it was part of the Kožle fortress, the remains of which remain. The origins of this stronghold date back to the early Middle Ages, when it guarded the passage between the Byzantine provinces of Macedonia (south) and Mesia (north). The site is unkempt, full of garbage, and access is through thorny trees and along a ravine. But the views over the Badar Gorge are delightful.

This public university (Универзитет Свети Кирил и Методиј/Univerzitet Sveti Kiril i Metodij, Universiteti Shën Kirili dhe Metodi) is the largest in the country with about 25,000 students. Founded in 1949, it is named after the two saints who evangelized the Slavs in the ^9th century. The visit is interesting for the brutalist architecture of the three main buildings (faculties of law, philosophy and economics) completed in 1978 and designed by the Slovenian Marko Mušič (born in 1941).