day 7 Skopje to Kumanovo, Kriva Palanka and back to Skopje.

St. Joachim Osogovski - Kriva Palanka

 

The monastery of St. Joachim Osogovski, set amongst verdant green woods near the northeastern town of Kriva Palanka, was founded in the 12th century and rebuilt many times during the ensuing centuries. Its frescoes are especially characteristic of the 19th century. The monastery complex had always been an important cultural, religious, and educational center.

 

It consists of the church of St. Joachim Osogovski, a smaller church 14th century church dedicated to the Holy Mother of God, a three-story dormitory, a bell tower with a charnel house at the bottom, a passage building, guardhouse, new dormitories and a residency of the Head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Art colonies, scientific gatherings, and seminars are regularly organized in this complex.

 

Kumanovo - Introduction 

 

Located in the middle of a long valley 35 km (21 m) to the northeast of Skopje, Kumanovo is one of Macedonia's larger cities and a place well known for its unique blend of Serbian and Macedonian culture, something which is evidenced by the feisty, fun-loving Kumanovci (as the residents are called). The city and its outlying villages exemplify Macedonia's unique multi-ethnic blend, containing as they do Albanian, Roma, Serbian and Turkish minorities.An example of Kumanovo joviality is the traditional appearance of the dzamalari, masked revelers from the village of Orashec, every 14th of January in the Kumanovo city square. This raucous winter celebration is believed to be more than ten centuries old.

 

Kumanovo today is a modernizing town, where new offices, houses and restaurants are constantly being built. It is well-outfitted with sports grounds, theatres, internet cafes and eateries, and is especially famous throughout the country for its nightlife.

 Aside from these modern touches, however, Kumanovo also contains many features from earlier times. Some 19th century stone houses remain, and even the very center of the town is filled with labyrinthine alleyways connecting little homes covered by the trademark terra cotta tiled Macedonian roofs. The city square, as well as some restaurants and other buildings, also bear the stamp of the old Yugoslavia.

Another unique aspect of the Kumanovo experience is the city's mineral water springs, located on the southern edge of the town. People come here regularly to fill up bottles of the mineral-rich water, which is good not only for drinking but also for cleaning the eyes and skin. In its carbonated form, this water is sold throughout Macedonia under the name ˜Kumanovka".

 

Megalithic Observatory Kokino

 

The Megalithic Observatory Kokino is located some thirty kilometers on the northeast of Kumanovo. This site has a diameter of 100 meters; it is scaled on two levels, underneath of the mountain peak Tatikev Kamen, at an altitude of 1013 m. At the moment of its discovery in 2001, it was believed to be a special mountain sanctuary from the Bronze Age.

The more detailed archaeo-astronomical research carried out in the following two years showed that the locality has all the characteristics of a holy place, but also of an older observatory for observation of celestial objects. The most important characteristic of the observatory includes positions for observation.

 

Special markers of stone have been found, used for marking all characteristics points of the movement of the Sun and Moon on the east horizon. The observatory used a method of stationary observation, marking positions of the Sun at the winter and summer solstice, as well as the equinox.

 

Archaeological excavations are carried out on the upper platform on which valuable movable material has been found (ceramic fragments mostly), animal bones, pyramidal weights, fragments of two hones (grind stones) made of filitic slate and a kelt mould.

 

Ancient Observatory Sites 1) Abu Simbel, Egypt 2) Stonehenge, Great Britain 3) Angkor Wat, Cambodia 4) Kokino Observatory, Macedonia 5) Goeck, Germany 6) Big Horn Medicine Wheel, Mont. 7) Chaco Canyon, New Mexico 8) Chichen Itza, Mexico 9) Machu Picchu, Peru 10) Hovenweep Castle, Utah 11) New Grange, Ireland 12) Templo Major, Mexico 13) Armenian Stonehenge, Aremenia 14) Luoyang Observatory, China 15) Masuda Iwafune, China

 

Beljakovo monastery

 

Village of Beljakovce On the location of today's monastery, dedicated to St. Gjorgjija, an old church and a spring of water with healing power were located. Today the church is very well preserved, while the monastic quarters are almost destroyed. The locals claim that the church was built in Roman times, and was restored more than 100 years ago. The elderly remember that the monastic life was renewed by a Russian monk Anatolij, who retreated in Macedonia after the October Revolution. The rites related to Christian holidays Mala Bogorodica, Gjurgjovden, Holy Trinity and Duhovden are performed even today in the yard of the monastery. A large congregation was held here where people from all surrounding villages would join up to 30 years ago. The village people tell the story of the church restoration: It was a Roman church, and later restored. The Turks wouldn't let us build a church. ˜What are you building'? A pen, for livestock". And later, it was renovated. In the past century, there was an old man, Stamen, who moved from village Rudare and he healed the people who would come for remedy with the healing water. The people from the village also donated money for restoration of the church. It was finished in 1894.

 

Church of St. George - Staro Nagoricane

 

This ethereal 14th century church is richly decorated with frescoes, and was built on the site of a much older shrine. Serbian King Milutin refurbished it in 1313, and its haunting, otherworldly frescoes were painted from 1317-18 by Mihajlo and Eftihie, two of the greatest painters in the Byzantine Balkans. The Church of St. George serves as a vital link to Macedonia's Byzantine past.