This beautiful fountain dominates a large park in "downtown" Prilep.
It is a beautiful day in Skopje; Saturday, April 13, 2013; the sun has finally come out in Macedonia! Is a perfect day for a "road trip" in search of the ancient city of Heraklea; founded in the 4th century BC by Philip II (Alexander III's dad). The route will take us south from Skopje on the M1 and then west on the P106; this time I am prepared, I have a navigator on board with previous experience in police intelligence operations; his name is Laurence and we had the pleasure of meeting in Albania while working on similar and sometimes cooperative EU and US projects.
This statue of Alexander III is on the right side of the park.
The exit from the M1 west bound for Prilep leads us through rolling hills covered in fruit trees and vineyards; past tractors slowly (read exceptionally slow) puttering along with their loads from shed to field to prepare for the upcoming growing season. It is such a dramatic difference; the use of tractors and machinery is widespread in Macedonia, while in Albania it was the exception. The road is solid; a few rough patches with passing lanes in the hills/mountain areas; the countryside is a continuous patchwork of farm after farm. Quickly we come to our first decision point; do we digress from our planned route and visit the Tikves Winery in Kavadarci or continue on to Prilep; realizing our ability to "taste" the wine might impair our adventure, we agree to hit Tikves on another day with reinforcements!
This a wall from a former Turkish bath house; go ahead and "peek" in the windows.
The road winds on through one very narrow gorge into and over the mountain pass and drops us into a valley with Prilep in front of us; and the road totally blocked by construction. We drive past Prilep and enter from the western edge of the city onto a country road the evolves into a large separated boulevard and finally a roundabout in the center of town. Prilep is known for a medieval fortress; monasteries; and for a small traditional Turkish Market.
The pubic square across the wide street from the large park; the plaza narrows as it meets the Turkish Market.
The plaza is teeming with people; people on the move; talking and laughing; children everywhere; the place is alive; very vibrant; you get a good feeling walking into the crowd; the cafes and restaurants full; maybe a "typical" Saturday in a farming community any where in the world.
These guys were holding court; also some serious "girl" watching going on here.
The city of Prilep is very clean; however, the buildings/statues suffer the same indignations as their cousins in other parts of Macedonia; rampant graffiti desecrates many areas of the city.
The city Clock Tower of Prilep is in a small park.
The city Clock Tower (remnant of the Ottoman influence) stands watch over the bustling Turkish Market; where the vegetables are laid out row after row (good deal today on onions/scallions); and surrounding the "farmer's market" are streets filled with shops specializing in everything from bicycles to items made of plastic.
The sheer number of bicycles for sale in such a small community surprised me.
It does not take very long to walk through the market and the adjoining park; we adjourn to a café for coffee for Laurence and an orange soda for me; we engage in people watching for a few minutes, plotting our course for Bitola (not as successful as hoped).
Adjacent to the Turkish Market; ruins of a Mosque with the clock tower in the background.
We are back in the car; driving through the neighborhoods of Prilep until we connect with the "main" road leading to Bitola. It becomes apparent after a few kilometers that maybe we aren't driving on the "correct" main road to Bitola; Laurence mentions in the droll-matter-of-fact British way; "perhaps, the road to the left would serve us better", pointing to cars zipping by at about 100 kph (60 mph); this leads to accusations and counter accusations and finally a bit of cross-country (read, small field) driving until we intersect the real main road to Bitola.
The countryside "opens" as we head south towards Bitola; with a wide valley filled with large(?) farms; a beautiful patchwork quilt affect achieved by the layout of the different crops; surrounded by rolling hills that are overpowered by majestic snow covered mountains, outlined by a very blue sky...not quite priceless, but definitely a Kodak moment.
The Dragor River in Bitola; on the left, the Old Town of Bitola.
The city of Bitola is located just a couple of kilometers north of Heraklea and 14 kilometers north of the Greek-Macedonian border; the birth of Obitel/Monastir and finally Bitola came about as a consequence of the destruction of Heraklea by a massive earthquake in 512 AD.
A sign located in a small piece of "pie" shaped plaza in Old Town.
A Slavic tribe arrived in the 7th century naming the "city" Obitel; the arrival of the Ottomans resulted in a new name of Monastir (reflection of number of monasteries in the area); and finally the name of Bitola (which is noted in 10th century writings; a derivative of the original Obitel).
Very typical street in Old Town Bitola.
Bitola is the second largest city in Macedonia; a former seat of foreign consulates; an important trading center and home to a major university. Due in part to the importance of Bitola; beginning in the 18th century, a large number of European governments located consulates in Bitola. Today, many classic European styled buildings remain; a number of which are featured on Marshall Tito (the main promenade/walking street in Bitola). We observed the honorary consulates of France, Great Britain and Turkey in the same building facing Marshall Tito.
This is not Impressionist Art; rather the large Magnolia tree in Magnolia Square
Magnolia Square is located across the street from the clock tower of Bitola and is the starting point for Marshall Tito originating at Boulevard 1st Major and heads south.
Bitola Clock Tower
We decide to walk south on Marshall Tito in search of a restaurant for lunch. The north end of the promenade located by Magnolia Square is fairly empty; the further we journey down Marshall Tito the more congested the promenade becomes, with outdoor cafes on both sides of the road completely full of people young and old taking in this beautiful day behind their sunglasses; sipping coffee, talking, texting and phoning; the scene is chaotic and feels great. People passing are polite, careful not to bump into you, and even giving way to us older dudes!
The "choke" point on Marshall Tito.
We are not having any success in finding a restaurant for lunch so we walk the length of Marshall Tito; the end of which is the walkway/trail to the Bitola Zoo and beyond the ancient city of Heraklea. The walk along Marshall Tito has revealed a promenade quite similar to most larger European cities I have visited in the last few years; shops line the walk; cafes; no cars; bicycles allowed and mainly people out for a "stroll" on a beautiful day.
Marshall Tito is busy today; notice the facades of the buildings along Marshall Tito.
Panic has not set in; not yet anyway; however, we agree to take our time walking back in order to find some food. The scenery becomes secondary to our "survival"; our priorities have shifted to a basic need; eat, drink or be miserable; okay, we are direction challenged but food, whole different topic; we can do this. And then of course we meet the "clowns" and discuss how many people we know aren't too fond of painted comics.
Marshall Tito and the clowns.
At the very north end of Marshall Tito sits a very large statue to Philip II, founder of Heraklea; behind the statue is a very large seemingly abandoned Mosque which is located on Magnolia Square, across from the clock tower.
Philip II of Macedonia.
We have walked back into view of the statue of Philip before we find a restaurant for lunch; however,we do make a major "discovery"; the restaurant is amazing, set back just far enough from Marshall Tito to have a sense of quiet; friendly waiters; clean restrooms; cold beer; and excellent food. The only question I believe we are both struggling with is why did we not see the restaurant on the first pass; Karma or just serendipitous that at the moment we needed food it appeared; a bit confusing to say the least.
These guys reminded both of us of photos of Lenin!
Bitola has a lot to offer; we barely touched the "main" the attractions; there are museums to visit; surrounding archaeological sites; war memorials; Pelister National Park and Lake Prespa. I plan on coming back when my wife journies to Macedonia; for now on to Heraklea. (TO BE CONTINUED)
Wonderful as always my love
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