Tourism in Macedonia

Cities in Macedonia

Stip is significant cultural, educational and economical centre in Eastern Macedonia, that lies at an altitude of 300m above sea level. It is a town of the textile, and fashion industries. There are several churches (the nineteenth-century St Bogorodica has a lovely iconostasis) and the remains of a mosque, that was a church (St. Ilija).
There is a large Turkish konak (formerly a pasha's house), which has been turned into a little museum. On the ground floor you will find some Roman remains; upstairs a small ethnographic section which includes eight interesting costumes from nearby villages, a room mocked up as a Turkish apartment, and another room devoted to frescoes from the Vodoca monastery. There is one particularly interesting painting of a medieval saint. In the main street beside the River Bregalnica, there is a daily fruit and vegetable market; where on Friday's, (the weekly marked day), the town is filled with local Villagers - an occasion worth seeing. To the south-west, on the big hill which shadows the town, you can see the remains of a medieval castle (it's worth climbing up for the view), and half-way up, on what is little more than a ledge, the small fourteenth-century church of St Arangel.
In the church of the Holy Virgin in Novo Selo near Stip there is a permanent exhibition of icons. In the yard of this church there is a school where at the end of the 19th century Goce Delcev, ideologist of the Macedonian national liberation movement, was a teacher.
Apart from the fact that some of the best rice and tobacco in the Balkans is grown around Stip the town has another claim to fame. It was here, in the early thirties, that the last pair of working camels in Europe died.
Also in the surroundings of Stip it is to be found the Kezovica spa.

Macedonia’s second city, Bitola is a grand old town that still bears the marks of its turn-of-the-century importance as a center for diplomacy – while also exemplifying the country’s time-honored cafe culture.
The many cafes lining the city’s pedestrian main street (the Sirok Sokak) provide endless see-and-be-seen opportunities for Bitola’s fashionable youth. The stately old architecture of Bitola hearkens back to more than a century ago when the town was a center for international diplomats to the Ottoman administration, supplanting Skopje and becoming known far and wide as the “city of the consuls.”
Even today, some of the faded elegance of that bygone time can be seen in the neoclassical facades of downtown buildings and the old gentlemen conversing in Bitola’s flowering park, all decked out in their finest Sunday suits and hats.
A city of 125,000 inhabitants, Bitola has all of the characteristics of modern life: cultural events, professional athletics, hotels and nightlife.
At the same time, its proud and patriotic people are committed to passing on the Macedonian cultural heritage. In addition to the famous Bitola Theater, the city has over 500 traditional songs dedicated to it.

The capital of the southeast is a remarkably fun place. Strumica transforms itself into a carnival town near the end of each winter, and even throughout the year is renowned throughout Macedonia for its vibrant nightlife.The Strumica area is full of things to see. Aside from hiking the nearby Mt. Belasica and waterfalls of Smolare and Kolesino, visitors shouldn’t leave without experiencing the exquisite solitude of Vodoca and Veljusa, two nearby Byzantine monasteries still inhabited by monks and nuns and known for their fresco paintings, mosaics and general tranquility.
Strumica is most famous as a producer of high quality vegetables, including peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers, in addition to watermelons, cotton, sunflowers and other agricultural products. A leisurely drive through the many villages of this area is sure to be rewarded by sights of farmers on horse-drawn carts and women hanging peppers and tobacco leaves for drying from the sides of traditional homes.

Located in the middle of a long valley 35 km (21 m) to the northeast of Skopje, Kumanovo is one of Macedonia’s larger cities and a place well known for its unique blend of Serbian and Macedonian culture, something which is evidenced by the feisty, fun-loving Kumanovci (as the residents are called). The city and its outlying villages exemplify Macedonia’s unique multi-ethnic blend, containing as they do Albanian, Roma, Serbian and Turkish minorities.
An example of Kumanovo joviality is the traditional appearance of the dzamalari, masked revelers from the village of Orashec, every 14th of January in the Kumanovo city square. This raucous winter celebration is believed to be more than ten centuries old.
Kumanovo today is a modernizing town, where new offices, houses and restaurants are constantly being built. It is well-outfitted with sports grounds, theatres, internet cafes and eateries, and is especially famous throughout the country for its nightlife.
Aside from these modern touches, however, Kumanovo also contains many features from earlier times. Some 19th century stone houses remain, and even the very center of the town is filled with labyrinthine alleyways connecting little homes covered by the trademark terra cotta tiled Macedonian roofs. The city square, as well as some restaurants and other buildings, also bear the stamp of the old Yugoslavia.
Another unique aspect of the Kumanovo experience is the city’s mineral water springs, located on the southern edge of the town. People come here regularly to fill up bottles of the mineral-rich water, which is good not only for drinking but also for cleaning the eyes and skin. In its carbonated form, this water is sold throughout Macedonia under the name ‘Kumanovka.’