Abbeys monasteries and convents 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.

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.

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.