Macedonia: Day Three

Lake Prespa

Lake Ohrid

we saw many little shrines along the way

Svete Naum, the Monastery of Saint Naum

peacocks were everywhere

I believe this is the tomb of Saint Naum

celebrating Kyle and Jackie's 22nd wedding anniversary

Kyle and Jackie dance a traditional wedding dance

a traditional Ohrid home

the old colisseum

Sveti Jovan Kaneo...Church of Saint John at Kaneo. It is attributed the John the Theologian

Palachinke....crepes with honey and nuts

Palachinke....I think this one has nutella and bananas

traditional Ohrid style home but this one is newer

Gutenberg Press

Today was a fun and festive day. We were scheduled to do another parenting seminar tonight in Ohrid so Kyle and Jackie took us to do some sightseeing during the day in the area. We left Prilep around 9 in the morning and took a beautiful drive over a mountain pass between Lake Prespa and Lake Ohrid. We stopped at an overlook to stretch our legs and look out over beautiful Lake Ohrid before heading down the mountain toward Svete Naum, the ancient Monastery of Saint Naum, established in 905. There were peacocks all around Svete Naum which was very entertaining for me. Kyle tells me they are considered to be a “holy bird” and is pictured on a 500 denar note. We went inside the Monastery and saw the frescoes and icons within. It has been interesting to see the different Iconostases in these churches. The Iconostasis separates the people from what they believe to be a holy place that only a priest can enter. It is reminiscent of the Holy of Holies in the Jewish Temple of the Old Testament. The Iconostasis always has an icon of Mary on one side of the door and Jesus on the other side. There are also other icons that include John the Baptist and a saint that the church is named after. After touring the Monastery, we took a short boat ride to see the natural springs that feed into Lake Ohrid. They bubble up out of the sand in water that is clear and deep! The boats are rowed by hand so the boat ride was quiet and peaceful. A perfect way to prepare for a yummy meal. We ate at Ostrovo, a restaurant located near Svete Naum that was really delicious. We ate the specials of the day which turned out to be more expensive than what we had planned but we were celebrating Kyle and Jackie’s 22nd wedding anniversary so it was okay! There were live musicians there and they played a traditional Macedonian song that is heard at a lot at weddings. Kyle encouraged Jackie to dance with him using the traditional dance that goes with the song. It was quite entertaining for us and for all of the other visitors to the restaurant. After lunch we drove over to Ohrid, passing through a resort town or two. We walked down to an ancient Roman amphitheater and then over to the ruins of an old Byzantine church that have been excavated and preserved. The intricate mosaics on the floor were lovely. We walked on wooden walkways above them which I thought was a great way to observe the pattern in the mosaics. We also saw the Baptistry for the church. We then briefly toured a newer church, The St Clement´s Monastery Church which was finished in 2002 and is dedicated to Saints Clement and Pantelejmon. The foundations of the 5th-century basilica have been preserved in front of the new church. The church was built on top of an old mosque. The Mosque had been built during the Turkish occupation. We also walked over to see Svete Jovan Kaneo, another Orthodox church. It is in a beautiful setting right on Lake Ohrid. We walked along the shorefront and stopped for coffee and a traditional Macedonian dessert, Palachinke, which are dessert crepes!  We wandered in town before meeting up with Bryan and Mandy. They are also IMB missionaries and are living and working in Ohrid. We gave our seminar tonight in a coffee shop to a group of about 16-18. The response was good and we had some lively discussion afterward back at Ima Vreme, which means “there’s time”, and is the building that Bryan and Mandy use for their local church meeting place. Bryan told us that the rent is now funded completely by the local church. We also said goodbye to an American team from Tennessee that had been serving as volunteers with Bryan and Mandy for the past eleven days. We arrived back in Prilep very very late and were thankful for a bed to fall into.