THE SMALL RUBY IN THE BALKANS (PART II)
The next place i would recommend you to visit is the magnificent city by the lake.
As i wrote in the last article about Skopje, the discovery of Macedonia continues. Now I would like to go a little bit to the southwestern part of Macedonia, to the magnificent city of Ohrid. Ohrid is the most well known city of Macedonia (even more famous that our capital Skopje) it is well known for the beautiful lake and that is a Cultural and Natural World Heritage Site of UNESCO. Ohrid is one of 28 sites in the World that are both Cultural and Natural sites. It is known as the “city of light” which was a literal translation of the old name of the city Lychnidos. Also it is known as Jerusalem of the Balkans, because there is a myth that was mentioned by Evliya Celebi that there are 365 churches for every day of the year. Although few has remained there are magnificent churches and monasteries in Ohrid. One of the most famous is The Church of Saint John at Kaneo, and The Church of Saint Clement and Saint Panteleimon. I recommend you to go in Ohrid in the summer, since there are many activities like the Ohrid Summer Festival (theater and music festival from July to August) or the Ohrid Fest (music festival that gathers many musicians from the Balkan states) or if you are a person who would like to go on parties, there are many Dj’s and many concerts at the end of July thru the beginning of August.
In history Ohird was a important point, it was an early settlement of ancient Greek tribes even before Philip the Second of Macedon. Also it’s worth mentioning that it was a city in the Roman times.
Also it was a highly respectful place in the Ottoman Era. In Roman Times it was important because it was one of the cities that linked Constantinople with modern day Durres (in Albania) thru the Via Egnatia road.
Ohrid is the city with magnificent architecture (the traditional Ohrid architecture is famous in Macedonia), with little narrow streets and many restaurants. Ohrid is like a big museum worth visiting and it that is free. It is a city with tradition, culture and natural beauty. When you go to one of the beaches that are outside of Ohrid (I recommend the Gradishte Beach to every young person or the newly opened Golden Beach which also hosts an annual festival) you can see the magic of Ohrid at night. There are many fish restaurants and also almost every restaurant has an English menu. Almost every citizen of Ohrid knows English and are very hospitable. I am recommending Ohrid to everyone who loves to see the magic of this wonderful city, and hopefully you will visit it.
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