Ohrid, Macedonia

Here is something for UNESCO collectors....homemade! :)))

This is the Samuel's Fortress in Ohrid...well, its not exactly in the centre of the town, but you would need to lose some calories till you climb there, but its worth it! (ehh, its soo nice when you can write an opinion about something due to personal experience and not based on what you've read or the impression you;ve received about it).

During King Samuel's reign (976-1014 A.D.) Ohrid was the capital of the first state of the Macedonian Slavs. Samuel’s Fortress in Ohrid dates back to the 3rd century and initially had three entrance gates, of which only one, the Upper Gate, has been preserved to this day. Before and after Samuel’s reign, the fortress had been demolished and rebuilt several times.
The highest part of Ohrid, which is 100 meters above the lake level, is surrounded by 10-16m high walls, built of stone, lime, and sand from the lake, and two defense towers.
After the arrival of colonizers from Asia, led by their commander Mino, the town started spreading outside the walls, on the surrounding plain.

There is a legend about tzar Samuel which ive known since i was little.
In the many battles fought back then, Samuel's army was defeated by the Byzantines and all the 14000 men in the army had been completely blinded...each 100th soldier had been left with one eye only in order to be able to guide the others back home. When Samuel saw his people blinded, they say he died of a shock and broken heart.

Ohrid, Macedonia

And in the end, something home made...

What i hate about this country is the overall disinterest in postcards production and the overall lack of stamps in the post offices since nobody uses them...once i was told that if it wasnt for me, the post offices wouldnt have what to do...and due to that issue i cant always get stamps or they are of the limited kind...but whats worse, i cant get the cards i want, and most of them get out of stock, permanently...and there is a number of cards from here i really love but i dont have a copy of since i had no idea i had to save a copy coz they would run out of stock...well, the card you see here, last time i checked was out of stock...actually i took the last one..and since (for now) its the last one, i decided to keep it for myself...mainly coz i love the view on this one, and it would be a real pity that i dont have it in my collection.
Well what you can see here is a view of the St. Naum Monastery in Ohrid...which is located in the immediate vicinity of the Albanian border. Ive been at this place, and i have to say its really lovely...if you ever get the chance to visit Ohrid, visiting St. Naum is a must...its a bit away from the town itself, around 30km...but its worth it.

As with most Byzantine churches, St. Naum was chosen primarily for its location – on a high, rocky outcropping over the lake, above deep forests and the life-giving springs of the Crn Drim. The monastic complex and church of St. Naum were built originally at the turn of the tenth century by the monk of the same name; Macedonians believe you can hear the saint’s heartbeat by pressing an ear to his stone coffin inside the church.

The monastery has been renewed and enlarged several times over the centuries. While most of its iconostases and frescoes date from the 16th and 17th centuries, earlier etchings in the Byzantine Greek vernacular also remain. But numerous orthographical mistakes indicate that they were written by Slavic-speaking local monks. Other inscriptions in the church make up some of the oldest epigraphic evidence of Slavic literacy.

The icons of St. Naum are among the best achievements of religious painting in the Balkans. They date from the first half of the 18th century. The wood-carved iconostasis itself was made in 1711 by an unknown artisan.

A final unusual element of St. Naum is located not on the inside of the church but on the outside: the preponderance of multi-colored peacocks strutting around and luxuriating in the grass.

Ohrid, Macedonia

And the final card for today comes from my own Macedonia :)


A friend of mine went there for holidays and of course, i bugged her to send me a card (as i always annoy people when they go somewhere :P)
Believe it or not, the card took 6 days to arrive from Ohrid to Skopje.....the efficiency of the postal service is really amazing me sometimes!
Well, what i like is that i dont have this card in my collection, netiher ive seen it in the stores around here, so its a Bingo! :)

Свети Пантелејмон (St. Panteleimon in English) is a monastery in Ohrid, situated on Plaošnik. (just for the record, there are several monasteries here, names as St. Panteleimon).
This one here is attributed to Clement of Ohrid a disciple of St. Cyril and St. Methodius and is believed to be the first University in Europe. Archaeologists believe that the monastery was a place where the first students of the Glagolithic alphabet were taught.

Ohrid, Macedonia

Ohrid, Macedonia

Ohrid, Macedonia

Ohrid, Macedonia

Ohrid, Macedonia

Ohrid, Macedonia

Ohrid, Macedonia

Ohrid, Macedonia

Ohrid, Macedonia