SAINT-JEAN-BIGORSKI MONASTERY
Read moreThis Orthodox monastery (Бигорски Манастир/Bigorski Manastir, or Aziz Jovan Bigorski Manastırı in Turkish) is one of the most famous in the country, for its iconostasis and ossuary. Dedicated to St. John the Baptist, it owes its epithet to the tuff stone(bigor in Slavonic) used to construct its buildings. Designed as a fortress, it backs onto Mount Bistra and enjoys fine views over the Radika valley. Legend has it that in 1020, the Bulgarian bishop Jovan (John) of Debar discovered an icon of St. John the Baptist floating in the river below and decided to build the complex here. The monastery was rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries and, after a fire in 2009, almost entirely rebuilt, with the exception of the ossuary and the main church. The latter houses the superb carved wooden iconostasis created in 1835 by the great master Petar Filipovski (1780-1854). From the Mijak community of Debar, renowned for its craftsmen, Filipovski worked on the Church of St. Saviour in Skopje and the Lesnovo monastery.
Mijak dancer and precious relics. The wall is composed of six horizontal bands. The first, at the bottom, is made up of panels decorated with animal and plant motifs. The second features large icons dominated by a sculpted eagle. The third is decorated with angels and bunches of grapes. The last three levels house smaller icons. The central section features a large cross surrounded by two dragons bearing in their jaws the icons of the Virgin Mary and St. John the Baptist. Among the details, note the representation of the dancer Salome (who asked for the head of St. John the Baptist), dressed here in a mijak costume, or the faces of Filipovski and his assistants. Below the church, the ossuary houses some of the most precious Christian relics in the Balkans, including those of St. John the Baptist, St. Lazarus of Bethany, St. Stephen, St. Nicholas and St. Clement of Ohrid. Pilgrims come here all year round. But the monastery comes alive especially on July 7 for the celebration of the birth of St. John the Baptist, and on September 10 and 11 for the beheading of St. John the Baptist. The monastery is home to around 25 monks, who run a drug treatment center and a store selling gourmet food and handicrafts.
CHUTE D'EAU DE DUF
Read moreThis beautiful waterfall (Дуфски Водопад/Dufski Vodopad or Duf Şelalesi in Turkish) is formed by the Rostuška river, which here makes a 23.5 m high jump through a narrow gorge, before filling a small basin and then joining the Radika. The water here flows powerfully, averaging 90 litres/second in winter. But the site is most beautiful in autumn or spring. The waterfall is located below Rostuša, about 30 minutes' walk from the village or 15 minutes from the road along a well-marked path.
MONT KRČIN
Read moreThis mountain range (Крчин Планина/Krčin Planina, or Mali i Kërçinit in Albanian and Kırçin Dağı in Turkish) stretches for around 90 km2 between Albania and Northern Macedonia, partly within the Mavrovo National Park. Framed by the Dešat massif to the north and Lake Debar to the south, it culminates at Golem Krčin, 2,341 m above sea level, on the border between the two countries, just above Rostuša. A little further south are the peaks of Deli Senica (2,174 m), Rudina (2,238 m) and Crvena Ploča (2,107 m). The Krčin is the only habitat for a rare endemic flower, the Macedonian carnation(Dianthus macedonicus). The massif is best known for its hot, sulfurous springs, which are exploited at the Banište and Kosovrasti thermal baths near Debar. It is also an important gypsum reserve, with a quarry at Dono Kosovrasti, north of Lake Debar. Mount Krčin is also ideal for hiking. An easy 3.5 km trail leads from Rostuša to the important village of Skudrinje/Скудриње (Skudrinye in Turkish). Located just south of the Mavrovo National Park, it is home to around a thousand Turks (76%) and Macedonian Muslims (the Torbeš). Still departing from Rostuša, another more demanding route in the form of a loop (22 km) passes south of Velebrdo/Велебрдо, then through Bituše/Битуше, at 986 m altitude, before climbing to the Golem Krčin and skirting the border to the Deli Senica and Rudina peaks. The descent to Rostuša then passes by the pretty Duf waterfall.