Thursday, June 15th, Skopje, Macedonia

Greetings!

At 172 kilometers, it's hard to call today a relatively easy traveling day, but it was.  Getting up this morning on Lake Ohrid (to an almost vacant hotel, and with no breakfast prepared), our bus took us to Bigorski Monastery, and lunch in Skopje, Macedonia's capital city.

Once again, we can't show you the inside of the Monastery, but the wooden carvings on the walls, and in the construction of chairs and podiums, were unbelievable.  Intricate designs of humans, animals, flowers, and birds are woven together into stories and religious scenes.  It really does amaze us by the dedication of local artists centuries ago.

After lunch, we traveled through the National Park of Mavrovo (largest in Macedonia), and on to the town of Tetovo.  A strongly moslem town, with Albanian ties, we walked the streets of the town bazaar and had lunch by the Pena River.  Nearby was the Painted Mosque, probably the most stunningly vibrant color scheme on the outside and inside of a mosque in the region.

Finally, we drove to Skopje, where we'll spend our last day in Macedonia.  On Saturday morning, we head home via Istanbul.

To see all of the photos taken today, click on Thursday, June 15th, Skopje, Macedonia.