Skopje

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After spending the last couple of evenings in Skopje, we opted to spend the whole day here today rather than heading to Pristina, as had been our original plan. We walked around the old bazaar area, including the Bit Pazar, a large market where you could buy almost anything you wanted. Having avoided buying anything (although nobody was pushy), we walked up to the Mustafa Pasha mosque and had a look inside. From there, we went to the Kale fortress - it had looked permanently closed the other night, but part of it was open, and we walked along a section of the walls for good views over the city centre.



After eating spinach and cheese burek for lunch, we caught a bus (#19) to Suto Orizari, a predominantly Roma area of the city recommended by the guidebook. We strolled around the market and some of the residential streets - it was a strange mix of very grand and shabby houses in close proximity. On the way back, we walked to a Roman aqueduct which has been rather neglected and stands in a field seemingly being used as an impromptu landfill site, next to an army barracks. We couldn't help but think that they could make rather more of it, having marked it as an attraction on the shiny Skopje tourist map!



We got a bus back to the city centre, and after a stop for a nice cold drink, went back to the central area we'd explored during previous evenings. There's a massive construction project underway, with many new buildings, monuments, bridges and fountains. They are trying to recreate many of the sights you'd find in lots of other European capitals, in the style of things built elsewhere over the last few centuries. It's a strange sight, although the parts that are finished do look impressive. In particular, Macedonia square has some rather cool fountains and spectacular views to the other side of the river.

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Photos

Skopje centre seen from Kale fortress
Mt Vodno in the top right of the photo and Macedonia square in the centre