Things to see and do Strumic

Founded in 1080, this Orthodox monastery (Вељушки Mанастир/Veljuški Manastir) is located 400 m above the village of Veljusa (population 1,500). Dedicated to the Mother of God Eleousa ("of compassion"), it houses a community of nuns, a garden with boxwood lined paths and various buildings that have been rebuilt many times. The catholicon (main church) preserves elements of the ^eleventh century: fragments of mosaic, marble iconostasis and some frescoes, including that of Christ Emmanuel in the dome. Beautiful views over the plain of Strumica.

Here the small Baba River makes a series of jumps to form a wide waterfall 19 m high (Колешински Водопад/Kolešinski Vodopad). Fitted out with picnic tables, the site is located under Mount Beles, 610 m above sea level, near Kolešino. Often frozen in winter, the waterfall is impressive in spring, when the Baba River flows in a torrent. For your information, the village of Kolešino (600 inhabitants) is presented as a model of inter-religious tolerance with Orthodox, four communities of Protestants and another of Jehovah's Witnesses.

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 thermal area (Бања Банско/Banja Bansko) is formed around five hot springs, one of which comes out at 72 °C. They flow into the Salandza basin, where the water still reaches 56 °C. The place houses the remains of Roman baths of the ^third century with ten rooms and portions of walls from 2 to 6.70 m high. These were rediscovered in 1972. There are now two hotels and health centers where rheumatism is treated. The neighboring village of Bansko has about 2,400 inhabitants, 47% of whom are Turks and 32% Macedonians.

This massif is about 60 km long and starts south of Strumica and extends eastward into Greece and Bulgaria. It is called Belasica/Беласица in Macedonian and Bulgarian and Belles/Μπέλλες in Greek. At the junction of the three countries is Mount Tumba, at 1,881 m above sea level, about 26 km southeast of Strumica as the crow flies. But the highest point is Mount Kerkini/Radomir, at 2,031 m above sea level, a little further east, on the Greek-Bulgarian border. In Northern Macedonia, the massif separates the region of Strumica from the lake Dojran. A path allows to connect the two.

This 39.5 m high waterfall (Смоларски Водопад/Smolarski Vodopad) is located near the village of Smolari (300 inhabitants), 580 m above sea level, along Mount Beles. This is the Smolarska River, which then joins the Strumica. The place is equipped with a platform and a small market in summer. This is also where the 13.4 km long trail from Smolari to Mount Tumba (1,881 m above sea level), at the junction of Northern Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece, runs. The route takes two days with overnight stay at the Šarena Češma/Шарена Чешма hut.

Founded in 1952, this museum (Музеј Струмица/Muzej Strumica) is very well presented compared to what you see elsewhere in the country: good lighting, detailed English explanations... Housed in a former Jewish school, it houses Neolithic and ancient artifacts, church frescoes, glazed ceramics and jewelry from the Middle Ages, an ethnographic collection (beautiful men's costume), weapons from the ^twentieth century... Since it is a "national institution" in charge of local heritage, there is information here about almost all the sites to visit in the region.

Located in a small and poor Turkish neighborhood, this Orthodox monastery (Манастирот на Светите Петнаесет Тивериополски Свештеномаченици/Manastirot na Svetite Petnaeset Tiveriopolski Sveštenomačenici) is home to a modern church (1974) that isn't beautiful at all. But it is more than worth a visit. Already, it has a remarkable collection of 66 icons from the Middle Ages to the ^19th century. Above all, the complex contains the well-preserved remains of a triple nave basilica from the ^6th century. It was built as a burial place for fifteen or sixteen Christian martyrs executed around 361-362, when the city was called Tiberiopolis ("the city of [the emperor] Tiberius" in Greek). This group was led by bishops Timothy and Theodore who had come from Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) to flee persecution in Asia Minor and convert the local population. They and their followers were put to death by order of the Roman authorities in Thessaloniki. Excavations conducted on site between 1972 and 2008 have uncovered a central tomb and 22 other graves, fragments of mosaic and the oldest fresco of North Macedonia representing some of the fifteen martyrs. The basilica was destroyed during the invasions of Slavs and Avars in the ^seventh century, rebuilt in the ninth and ^tenth centuries, then destroyed again in the ^fifteenth century, at the beginning of the Ottoman period. In the monastery complex, one can also enjoy the pleasant garden where turtles and peacocks live.

Dating from 1925, this cathedral (Католичка Катедрална/Katolika Katedralna) is the seat of the Macedonian Greek Catholic Church, most of whose 11,000 faithful, of the Byzantine rite, reside in the Strumica area. Built of brick, it has a richly decorated ceiling and a large carved wooden iconostasis. Like the unfinished Orthodox cathedral in Strumica, it is dedicated to the Dormition of the Mother of God (Успение на Пресвета Богородица).

This beautiful Orthodox monastery (Водочки Mанастир/Vodočki Manastir) is located in the village of Vodoča (300 inhabitants). Dedicated to St. Leone of Tripoli, it was founded in 1018 by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II, just after the defeat of the Bulgarian Empire. Occupied by nuns renowned for their icons, the complex has four churches rebuilt over the centuries. The catholicon preserves the marble floor of a basilica of the ^5th-6th century, the apse of a church of the ^9th-10th century and some frescos of another of the ^14th century, destroyed by an earthquake in 1931.