Aug 7th, Skopje Turkish Quarter

8/7       Wednesday

            We take a walk through our neighborhood to the river, passing through a large park with a busy tennis center, and a huge sports stadium. Skopje is a very easy walking city. It’s not too big or sprawling, and most of it is on flat ground. The main avenues are pretty busy, but the traffic is much less hectic than in Belgrade. The neighborhoods are quiet and pleasant and shaded. The historic stone bridge is at the center, and leads to what is called the Turkish Quarter on the other side of the river, full of cafes, markets and a number of big museums.

We stop on the way to ask a local guy where we can mail our postcards, and get into a little conversation with him about the city. He thinks there are too many monuments! He is a student of art history, and he thinks the statues have no sense of style or organization, and says most of them are awful looking as well. We appreciate his sensibilities, but as visitors, we see the statues as giving Skopje a very distinctive character, not like any other city, except maybe Las Vegas. It’s fun to talk with him about it.

It looks like there’s a Museum of Flight just across the bridge, so we head over. There’s a ton of construction going on, most of the buildings along the riverbank are undergoing some serious renovation, lots of banging and digging happening. Macedonia is under consideration for joining the EU, and seems to be actively fixing up the place.

Our museum turns out to be not of Flight, but a new Museum of the Struggle for Independence. “It’s the museum of the FIGHT”, says Bob. Oh.

Inside, we are greeted with a brief instruction. “You must spend fifteen minutes on this floor for the exhibits here, and then there will be a tour of the museum.” Well, if we must, we must. There are large paintings along the walls illustrating key moments in the recent history of Macedonia. Not great art, but very sincere.

We finish the introductory section, and are met by an earnest young woman who is our guide through the museum. One other tourist joins us, but he bails early on as the intensity and duration of the tour be comes clear. Our guide calls for another guide to take him through at an expedited pace.

The museum consists mostly of wax figures in dioramas, with some maps and artifacts that illustrate key figures and events as Macedonia sought recognition as an independent republic. The guide describes the exhibits and explains the importance of each depiction. She’s very thorough and knowledgeable, probably has a PhD In history or political science. The story is complicated, but interesting, so we enjoy our special private tour, which goes on for almost two hours.

When we exit the museum, we are somewhat dazed and exhausted. Our heads are too full of history. We walk over to find a café in the Turkish quarter for a little lunch. We find a nice spot in a shady garden, where we share an omelet and some yogurt, extraordinarily delicious. A couple of children come buy hustling souvenirs for the tourists, and our waiter tells them to get lost, they are obviously regulars here. But they’re selling fans, which I have been searching for, so we’re actually glad to buy one from them. Then they can get lost.

 1 Video Included

Skopje Turkish Bazaar