Day 10 Intrepid: Morning in Matka Canyon

We had a lovely morning in the Matka Canyon (about 15 kms from Skopje). Fortunately we were there reasonably early before the crowds descended. We had a 1-hour boat cruise which included a short walk into the Vrelo Cave, one of 10 in the canyon. Though the exact depth of the cave is unknown, some speculate that it could be the deepest underwater cave in the world.

It was very picturesque.

Afterwards we had a nice coffee by the river before heading off for a walk along the canyon.

We spent an hour walking along the Treska River before returning to Skopje.

We returned to Old City House for lunch (same place as yesterday). Can’t believe how busy the place is at 2:30 p.m. We have really noticed in the Balkans how late lunch is. Those wonderful zucchini chips again:

We were immediately hit by rain as we walked outside the restaurant - totally not predicted by any of the weather apps - go figure! And of course, after walking around for weeks with an umbrella just-in-case, guess what? We didn’t have an umbrella …

We sheltered under an overhang of one of those pseudo-Skopje 2014 project buildings and between downpours ‘raced’ (very much in inverted commas) across the square to the Macedonian Holocaust Museum located in the once-Jewish quarter.

Now, we’ve done plenty of this sort of thing over time and I really didn’t want ‘dark’ but this was an EXCELLENT memorial to the Holocaust of the 7,148 Jews from North Macedonia and the history of the Jews in the Balkans. Always sobering. Let’s face it: almost 8000 Jews in North Macedonia and only 350 survived. That IS sobering!

What I didn’t realise was Bulgaria’s involvement in this: Yugoslavia initially condemned anti-Jewish behaviour. But by the late 1930s, Yugoslavia aligned with Nazi Germany. In 1941, Bulgaria occupied Macedonia.

Also, going back in time, Macedonia became home to the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492. And Jews from Spain and Portugal made up a large portion of the population of Thessaloniki (Salonika) - hence it was known as the Jerusalem of the Balkans. This now makes more sense to me the actions of the policeman in the book I read before this trip: Alan Furst’s Spies of the Balkans set in 1940 in the port city of Salonika; he helps smuggle Jewish refugees from Berlin to Istanbul.

By way of side-track, there was a section devoted to the Sarajevo Haggadah which I had been cross with myself that we had missed seeing this at the museum there; but I felt better when I read that it is rarely available for public viewing as it is a precious document and kept under lock-and-key. The Haggadah is the illustrated telling of the Passover. This particular Haggadah was created in Barcelona in 1350 and taken out of Spain in 1492 when the Jews were expelled, resurfaced in Italy in the 1500s, found its way to Sarajevo where it was twice saved by Muslims, survived WWI, the Holocaust, and the 20th century ethnic wars - a potted history of the Balkans really …

We walk up to the fort and have a good look around - a much better day than yesterday as it has rained and is cooler.

A little church we found enroute:

We have in a drink in the Old Bazaar area (Stara Čaršija) and then head across the river and down the main pedestrian shopping area to what was the old railway station but is now a museum; the clock on the outside is stopped at 5:17, the exact time the 1963 earthquake struck, which killed more than 1,070 people, injured around 4,000 and left more than 200,000 people homeless, and destroying about 80 percent of the city.

From here it was a long walk to the restaurant I had chosen (Skopski Merak) for dinner. We ended up in a real Bohemian area absolutely choc-a-bloc full of bars and restaurants. I DO LOVE a ‘hood!

We had the Most Marvellous salad and pastry pot. Lovely house red. Superb meal. Complete with theatrical at-the-table serving of the pastry pot. Wonderful!

Another scenic walk - back to the hotel.

Walked 18.5 Kms.