Towers to visit Northern Macedonia

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.

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!

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.

Erected in 1726, this Ottoman tower (Саат-Кула/Saat-Kula) stands 12 m high. Square and built of stone, its upper part and roof are made of wood. It was originally used to indicate the prayer times of Muslims. Its alla turca mechanism (placing the beginning of the day at sunset) was replaced by a classical alla franca system (which counts down the hours from midnight) after the Balkan wars (1912-1913). This one is still in use.

Recently restored, this 10-meter-high tower (Саат Kула) was erected in the ^14th century, in the early Ottoman era, to indicate prayer times to Muslim inhabitants. It was part of a large Turkish neighborhood that rose on the heights of Dojran, around a sharia (commercial and religious complex). Almost all this complex was destroyed in 1913, during the fighting between Greeks and Bulgarians in the Second Balkan War. Nearby are the old Turkish baths.

Located in a park, this 32 m-high tower (Саат-Кула/Saat-Kula) was erected around 1830 to replace a ^16th-century tower. Originally used to indicate prayer times to Muslim inhabitants, it was fitted with a classical clock in 1912, then a Christian cross at its top in 1991. Next to it is a plaque in honor of Swiss Gustave Moynier (1826-1910), president of the International Red Cross and founder of the Bitola Red Cross Committee.

This tower (Саат-Кула/Saat-Kula, Sahat Kulla) stands some 25 m high with a square base, octagonal shaft and wooden top. Built in 1728/1729, it is one of the country's best-preserved towers, used to indicate prayer times to Muslim inhabitants. Next door is the large Ebu-Bekir-Pacha Mosque, also known as the "Clock Mosque", founded in 1676 and rebuilt in 1944, with a minaret 35 m high dating from 1994.