Destination:Skopje
Airline:Turkish Airlines
First time going to Macedonia and I am impressed by the airport. It was even better than the airport in Belgrade and this is a smaller country. I met some interesting people in Skopje and the city is culturally diversified due to the ethnic mixture. But I was positively surprised. It is a small city with nice cafes and big statues. They are definitely proud of their Macedonian hero Alexander the Great because there is a huge statue in the middle of the plaza....wasn't he Greek? I thought he was Greek..hmm.. OK, let us not delve into sensible and deep waters here..since this is a very touchy subject for both countries. So as you will understand I was also in Belgrade but due to the laziness factor I didn't blog from there. Kerouac would definitely be proud of me.
I am staying at the Hotel Arka, which is situated next to the old Ottoman Bazaar. The bazaar consists mostly of Albanian and Turkish minorities. First day I was there the receptionist advised me not to stroll around at night in this area, which of course sounds very inviting for a hotel claiming to be 5 stars. Naturally, I didn't listen to her and it turned out that walking alone in such alleys at night was no problem, however it is not recommendable indeed. It didn't look safe because it was dark and 2-3 youngsters were staring at me meanly and saying something, that I didn't understand. Everybody was really friendly here but there is always one jackass who spoils the whole bunch. But the old bazaar itself was quite interesting since it still looks ancient. I believe, if I had encountered this place some 2-3 centuries ago it would looked the exact same way. The bazaar leads straight to the old Ottoman castle which is impressively overlooking the city. But it was not open for a visit. Although a sign says it was closed due to repairs a friend told me that this was not true. There were some ethnical clashes because the government wanted to build a church inside this old Ottoman relic and the Albanian opposed to it strongly so it resulted in some dispute between Christian and Muslim minorities. They clearly considered it as a provocation. I don't know if that was true but hey..just chill everybody. Religion is a one big fat lie! There you have it.
Anyways, the city itself bears these old Ottoman marks practically everywhere. There is a Hamam or a Medrese or some other building. When I listened to street talk I could clearly hear people speaking in Turkish. Different accent but still Turkish. So I guess the Ottoman is still present here one way or another.
I am staying at the Hotel Arka, which is situated next to the old Ottoman Bazaar. The bazaar consists mostly of Albanian and Turkish minorities. First day I was there the receptionist advised me not to stroll around at night in this area, which of course sounds very inviting for a hotel claiming to be 5 stars. Naturally, I didn't listen to her and it turned out that walking alone in such alleys at night was no problem, however it is not recommendable indeed. It didn't look safe because it was dark and 2-3 youngsters were staring at me meanly and saying something, that I didn't understand. Everybody was really friendly here but there is always one jackass who spoils the whole bunch. But the old bazaar itself was quite interesting since it still looks ancient. I believe, if I had encountered this place some 2-3 centuries ago it would looked the exact same way. The bazaar leads straight to the old Ottoman castle which is impressively overlooking the city. But it was not open for a visit. Although a sign says it was closed due to repairs a friend told me that this was not true. There were some ethnical clashes because the government wanted to build a church inside this old Ottoman relic and the Albanian opposed to it strongly so it resulted in some dispute between Christian and Muslim minorities. They clearly considered it as a provocation. I don't know if that was true but hey..just chill everybody. Religion is a one big fat lie! There you have it.
Anyways, the city itself bears these old Ottoman marks practically everywhere. There is a Hamam or a Medrese or some other building. When I listened to street talk I could clearly hear people speaking in Turkish. Different accent but still Turkish. So I guess the Ottoman is still present here one way or another.
The food is typical Balkan food. It is quite delicious and I didn't think it was very expensive. I mean I ate a lot and they charged me 10 Euros only. Taxis are also very cheap. Skopje is a small city so anyway you go they charge you something between 4-5 Euros maximum.
So what else can I write..hotel was good, food was good, people are friendly. Almost everyone speaks English. I enjoyed it and will definitely come back.
