Monday, April 24, 2017

Ohrid: Exploring Ohrid

We had a wonderful weekend visiting Ohrid.  We saved this very special trip for when my husband would be visiting us from Florida - and it was worth the wait.

As my Bradt Macedonia tracel guide declares "Lake Ohrid is the jewel of the Macedonian crown. Both the lake and Ohrid town are under the protection of UNESCO as a site of rare environmental, scientific, and cultural significance. And not without due reason: the lake itself is an ancient one ....It is the oldest contiuously existing lake in Europe, some three to five million years old....The town has roots going back to Neolithic times. Many of these historical remains are still being excavated and some can be seen in the museum or in the form of churches, castles and other architecture."

There is so much to see and to learn here - not to mention the beauty of the scenic vistas of the lake and the mountains.

We were so forunate to have had a guide who was able to shepard us around to several sites and to teach us along the way. (THANKS again, Tina!!)

I have 9 other posts on this blog about selected sites we visited in Ohrid:

--Plaosnik (Sv. Kliment and Sv. Panteljmon)
--Sv. Jovan Kaneo
--Sveta Sofija
--Sveta Bogodorica Perivlepta
--the ancient theater
--King Samuel's fortress
--Sv Naum monastery and the boat ride through the springs
--Ohrid pearls
--the hotel Vila Mal Sv. Kliment


I also want to say a special THANK YOU to our driver, Goran, who drove us from Skopje to Ohrid and back - and who stopped at interesting spots along the way.  See also the additional blog posts from the excursion about

--Mavrovo
--Bigorsky Monastery of Saint John the Baptist
--Debar Lake
--Vevchani
--Tetovo

If you are in need of a driver in Macedonia, I would be happy to connect you with Goran. And if you are in need of a guide, I would be happy to connect you with Dimitar.

Below are some "miscellaneous" photos from our walk around Ohrid:
the architecture of Ohrid - you can see that the houses are narrower on the bottom and wider at the top - the only way to get more space in the tight area



stopped in this wordworking shop to learn more about the craft



 We were disappointed that the Museum of Ohrid was closed on the day of our visit. Among many other treasures, it contains the ancient golden mask (that is on the 500 MKD note)



we learned old technique of making paper

replica of Gutenberg printing press


and we got a nice piece of paper to bring home with us - thank you for teaching us about early paper-making and printing! and for the lovely souvenir

this part of the city wall was just steps from our hotel

We enjoyed lunch on the water at Dalga restaurant.  (See their facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dalga/203404683026627



the weather was simply perfect - we enjoyed a delicious lunch by the lake - I could have stayed here forever
my husband sampled the famous Ohrid trout
with our guide

photobombed by a dog rowing by in a boat

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