Gambier Islands - Mangareva

Over one thousand miles southeast of Tahiti are the Gambier Islands.


The cradle of Catholicism during the nineteeth century following
the arrival of the first missionaries to the region, hundreds of stone
buildings from that era survive including churches, convents, schools,
and watch towers. Mangareva, the largest island of the region,
is home to most of the population and the center of the region's pearl industry.
The island's only small family pensions are located here in the town of Rikitea.

Raiatea & Taha'a

Raiatea - The Sacred Island



Raiatea, meaning "faraway heaven" and "sky with soft light", was first named Havai'i after the homeland of the ancient Polynesians and is the most sacred island in the South Pacific.

This, the second largest Tahitian isle, was the center of religion and culture over 1000 years ago and still lends enchantment to ancient legends told to this day. The green-carpeted mountains covering the interior include the celebrated Mt. Temehani, a sort of Polynesian Mt. Olympus.

Where legends began and dreams are fulfilled.

Taha'a - The Vanilla Island

Taha'a, with the rich aroma of vanilla lingering heavily in the air, offers a glimpse of the traditional, tranquil life of the Tahitians. The flower-shaped island's simple beauty is charmed by soft mountain shapes and surrounded by tiny motu with bright sand beaches. In the fertile valleys cutting within the island, local farmers grow watermelon, vanilla, and copra.

With a heart-beat rhythm of life unique in the world.

Tiare Apetahi Flower
Upon Mt. Temehani on Raiatea lives a flower so rare it can be grown no place else on earth. Ancient legends spin a tragic romantic tale where the five petals of this white flower represent the hand of a common Tahitian girl who was in love with the son of a Tahitian king. Because she was not allowed to marry him, she died of a broken heart; the sound of which is re-created each dawn as the delicate petals open with a slight crackling sound.

Huahine

Garden of Eden

Huahine, with its lush forests, untamed landscape, and quaint villages, is one of Polynesia's best-kept secrets.




A deep, crystal-clear lagoon surrounds the two islands while magnificent bays and white-sand beaches add drama and solitude to their virtues. Relatively unchanged by the modern world, Huahine's few residents welcome visitors with great kindness. The island's soil is rich and fertile, providing the farmers a bountiful harvest of vanilla, melons, and bananas.

The spell cast by Huahine will last a lifetime.

Huahine Coastline

Hermosa
This name bestowed by Captain Cook in 1769 means "beautiful" in Spanish. The name Huahine may come from the profile of a mountain which reveals the shape of a pregnant woman.

Mythology provides two legends for the creation of the two islands of Huahine: either the god Hiro cut the island in half with his canoe or a spear thrown in a contest among gods pierced Moorea's Mt. Mouaputa and then sailed 100 miles where it split Huahine in two!

Te Tiare Beach Resort Overwater Bungalows

Huahine Lagoon View

Tahitian Cultured Pearls

The Purest Gem on Earth is Born Here

Perfection bestows perfection. The warm lagoon waters of the islands and atolls is Mother Nature's choice for the cultivation of the world's purest and most sought-after gem: the Tahitian Cultured Pearl.



The warm lagoons of many of the islands are among the most perfect
on earth because of the temperature, density, salinity, light,
and pure climate.
Commonly known as black pearls, Tahitian Cultured Pearls range widely
in pricing, size, shape and colors. From the darkest black to shimmering
shades of green, blue, bronze, aubergine, or even pink - these are truly
the jewels of the ocean.

Shopping for Pearls

This is the best place in the world to shop for pearls. With first-hand
expertise and an infinite selection from pearl shops, visitors quickly
discover that part of any vacation to Tahiti should include the purchase
of pearl keepsakes.

Every island has pearl experts who can show all price ranges, sizes,
and shapes as well as ideas for custom jewelry. Pearls can also be
bought individually for mounting by your home jeweler.
The warm lagoons of many of the islands are among the most perfect on earth because of the temperature, density, salinity, light, and pure climate. Commonly known as black pearls, Tahitian Cultured Pearls range widely in pricing, size, shape and colors. From the darkest black to shimmering shades of green, blue, bronze, aubergine, or even pink - these are truly the jewels of the ocean.

Shopping for Pearls

This is the best place in the world to shop for pearls. With first-hand expertise and an infinite selection from pearl shops, visitors quickly discover that part of any vacation to Tahiti should include the purchase of pearl keepsakes.

Every island has pearl experts who can show all price ranges, sizes, and shapes as well as ideas for custom jewelry. Pearls can also be bought individually for mounting by your home jeweler.

Alexander the Macedonian

Alexander the Macedonian (356-323 BC), the king of Macedonia that conquered the Persian empire and annexed it to Macedonia, is considered one of the greatest military geniuses of all times. He is the first king to be called "the Great." Alexander is supposed to have been fair skinned, with a ruddy tinge to his face and chest. Plutarch stated that he had a pleasing scent. Like all Macedonians, Alexander liked his liquor, but his fondness for wine also caused some of his outbursts of rage. Alexander liked drama, the flute and the lyre, poetry and hunting, but what he truly wanted in his life, was a glory and valor, rather than easy living and riches. He was not fond of athletic contests, according to Plutarch. Alexander, born in Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia, was the son of Philip II, king of Macedonia, and of Olympia, a princess of Epirus. Philip and Olympia wanted nothing less than the best for their son, so when he was 13, his parents hired Aristotle to be his personal tutor. Alexander was trained together with other children of the nobility at Aristotles Nyphaeon. It is here that Alexander met Hephastion, his future best friend and alter ego. Aristotle gave Alexander a thorough training in rhetoric and literature and stimulated his interest in science, medicine, and philosophy, all of which became of the utmost importance for Alexander in his later life. The two later became estranged, due to their difference of opinion on the status of foreigners; Aristotle saw them as barbarians, while Alexander sought to unite Macedonians and foreigners. In 340 BC, when Philip went to Byzantium to fight rebels, Alexander, a mere 16 years old, was left in charge of Macedonia as regent, with the power to rule in Philip's name in his absence. That Alexander was given such a position at such a young age indicates that he was already accomplished in battle. But Alexander never got along well with his father, although Philip was proud of Alexander for the Bucephalus incident. Alexander had always been closer to Olympia than toPhilip.Philip and Olympia also did not get along all that well, owing primarily to Olympia's non-Macedonian heritage. The family essentially was split apart irreparably when Philip married a woman named Cleopatra, a Macedonian. At the wedding banquet, Cleopatra's father made a remark about Philip fathering a "legitimate" heir, i.e., one that was pure Macedonian. Alexander took exception and threw his cup at the man, and some sources say Alexander killed him. Enraged, Philip stood up and charged at Alexander, only to trip and fall on his face in his drunken stupor. Alexander, rather upset at the scene, is to have shouted: "Here is the man who was making ready to cross from Europe to Asia, and who cannot even cross from one table to another without losing his balance." When Philip divorced Olympia Alexander fled. Although allowed to return, he remained isolated until Philip was assassinated (some think that Olympia may have even had a role in Philip's murder), in the summer of 336 BC. Olympia and Philip II ALEXANDER ON THE MACEDONIAN THRONE THE CRASH OF THE GREEK RESISTANCE Alexander the Great ascended to the Macedonian throne when his father died. Once in power, he disposed quickly of all conspirators and domestic enemies by ordering their execution. Then he descended on Thessaly, where partisans of independence had gained ascendancy, and restored Macedonian rule. Before the end of the summer of 336 BC he had reestablished his position in Greece and was elected by a congress of states at Corinth. But, Greek cities, like Athens and Thebes, which had pledged allegiance to Philip, were unsure if they wished to do the same for a twenty-year-old boy. Moreover, theHellenes considered Macedonian domination in the Greek states as an alien rule, imported from outside by the members of other tribes, the, as Plutarch says, allophyloi (Plutarchus, Vita Arati, 16). Likewise, northern barbarians that Philip had subdued were threatening to break away from Macedonia and wreak havoc in the north. Alexander's advisors suggested that he let Athens and Thebes go and to be gentle with the barbarians to prevent a revolt. However, in 335 BC, Alexander campaigned toward the Danube, to secure Macedonia's northern frontier. He carried out a successful campaign against the defecting Thracians, penetrating to the Danube River. Alexander marched quickly north and drove the rebelling barbarians beyond the Danube River and out of the way. On his return he crushed in a single week the threatening Illyrians. On rumors of his death, a revolt broke out in Greece with the support of leading Athenians. Alexander marched south covering 240 miles in two weeks. Arrian related the story of how Alexander dealt with Thebes and Athens. There were rumors in these cities that Alexander had been killed, and that the time was right for them to separate themselves from Macedonia. Instead, in the fall of 335 BC, Alexander marched up to the gates of Thebes, and let them know that it was not too late for them to change their minds. The Thebans responded with a small contingent of soldiers, which Alexander repelled with archers and light infantrymen. The next day, Alexander's general, Perdiccas, attacked the gates. Perdiccas broke through and into the city, and Alexander moved the rest of his force in behind to prevent the Thebans from cutting Perdiccas off from the rest. The Macedonians then stormed the city, killing almost everyone in sight, women and children included. They plundered, sacked, burned and razed Thebes, as an example to the rest of Greece. Only the temples and the house of the poet Pindar were spared from distraction. Athens then quickly rethought its decision to abandon Alexander. Greece remained under Macedonian control. THE BATTLES OF GRANICUS AND ISSUS click here for full size map Alexander began his war against Persia in the spring of 334 BC by crossing the Hellespont (modern Dardanelles) with an army of 35,000 Macedonians and 7,600 Greeks. He threw his spear from his ship to the coast and it stuck in the ground. He stepped onto the shore, pulled his weapon from the soil, and declared that the whole of Asia would be won by the spear. His chief officers, all Macedonians, included Antigonus, Ptolemy, and Seleucus. The Macedonian army soon encountered the Persian army under King Darius III at the crossing of the river Granicus, near the ancient city of Troy. Alexander attacked an army of Persians and Greek hoplites (a heavily armed foot soldiers of ancient Greece) who distinguished themselves on the side of the Persians against the Macedonians. Alexander's forces defeated the enemy (totaling 40,000 men) and, according to tradition, lost only 110 men. Then he turned northward to Gordion, home of the famous Gordian Knot. The legend behind the ancient knot was that the man who could untie it was destined to rule the entire world. Alexander simply slashed the knot with his sword and unraveled it. Continuing to advance southward, in November of 333 BC, Alexander met Darius in battle for the second time at a mountain pass at Issus, in northeastern Syria. The size of Darius's army is unknown but although the Persian army greatly outnumbered the Macedonians, the narrow field of battle allowed Alexander to defeat the Persians. The Battle of Issus ended in a great victory for Alexander. Cut off from his base, Darius fled northward, abandoning his mother, wife, and children to Alexander, who treated them with the respect due to royalty. In the next year, he marched down the Phoenician coast and received the surrenders of all of the major cities there except for Tyre. A seven-month siege of the city followed, and the Tyrians eventually surrendered to Alexander. Then he continued south into Egypt after he had secured the entire Aegean coast.

Macedonian Stonehenge in the village Kokino

Macedonian Stonehenge in the village Kokino

by Kumanovo, in the region of Taticev Kamen the only megalithic observatory in the Balkans was discovered. The observatory is one of a kind. The locality is called Macedonian Stonehenge. This structure served to researches of the Sun and the Moon; it was built on Vulcan rocks, on a hill 1.013 meters above the sea level. It was confirmed that this location is from 1.815 B.C. The Kokino observatory was approximately built about 4.000 years ago.
read more about observatory in Kokino

The Monastery St. Triphun -Govrlevo

Has several smaller churches within its premises. It is located on a beautiful hill and has a central position. The monastery overviews the wonderful area on the south slopes of Vodno.

The monastery is visited by a large number of visitors and believers. At about 300 meters in the valley there is a Paleolithic settlement extending over 4 hectares of fertile soil. The locality is reminiscent of a large natural amphitheatre. It’s bordered with springs on both sides. The legends have it that they have remedial powers. One of the great tsars, Justinian the First, the great antic emperor, was cured in the springs. He was born in the antic Taorisum, modern Taor.

Golden Mask Alike the Trebenista One Excavated

30 September 2002 Sensational Finding at Samoil Fortress. This is an epochal discovery for the Macedonian, Balkan and European archaeology since it sheds additional scientific light to the widely famous Trebenista necropolis near Ohrid.

The tomb and all the items found in there date back to 5th B.C. pointing to the oldest burial within the Lichnidos necropolis...

Art & Culture / Churches and monasteries

St. Panteleimon, Nerezi - near Skopje

The 12th century church of St. Panteleimon contemplates Macedonia’s capital city in untroubled serenity from the tiny village of Gorno Nerezi, high on the forested slopes of Mt. Vodno. Only a 15 minute drive from downtown Skopje, the church, which is one of the oldest and most important in Macedonia, was built and painted in 1164 under patronage of Byzantine prince Alexios Komnenos, whose name is immortalized in marble above the entrance to the church. It was dedicated to St. Panteleimon, the protector of health.

The monastery is most famous for its exceptional fresco paintings, which convey dramatic facial expression and emotions not commonly found in Byzantine art. In 1555 the main dome collapsed, but within a short time the monastery was renewed and repainted. Fragments of old frescoes were incorporated into the new ones. An example of a combination of a new and old painting is the fresco portrayal of The Communion of the Apostles. Among other well-known fresco themes are the Transfiguration, the Raising of Lazarus, the Birth of the Mother of God, the Presentation of the Mother of God to the Temple, The Entry into Jerusalem, and The Descent from the Cross.

The most impressive fresco in St Panteleimon, created under the influence of apocryphal religious literature, is The Lamentation of Christ. Art historians consider it a masterpiece, as it displays traits associated with renaissance art at a much earlier date than the blossoming of the Italian Renaissance.

The Church of St Spas - Skopje

The Church of St. Spas, situated in Skopje’s Old Town, is characterized by an unusual design: half of it was constructed underground, due to the 17th century edict of the Turkish Sultan that prohibited Christian structures from being higher than mosques. The church contains one of the most beautiful carved wooden iconostases in Macedonia, an early 19th century creation of the famous Mijak school of Macedonian wood carvers.


The founder of the Macedonian liberation movement of 1903 and its most prominent member, Goce Delcev, is buried in the courtyard of the church.

St Naum- Ohrid

The monastery of St Naum, set amidst lush verdure where the River Crn Drim tumbles into the lake, is a refuge of tranquility at the very corner of the Macedonian Republic. Situated 29 km (18 m) from the town of Ohrid, and only 1 kilometer (0.6 m) from the Albanian border, the monastery brings the Macedonian experience to a dramatic culmination.


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.

St Sophia - Ohrid

A large church with compound foundations and a complex history, St Sophia is one of the most impressive medieval buildings in Ohrid. The church was the center of the Ohrid archiepiscopacy, which once had jurisdiction over the regions of the Danube, Thessalonica, and Albania.

Believed to have been built or rebuilt on the grounds of an early Christian basilica between the years 1035-1056, the church is one of the best representatives of Macedonian religious architecture.


During the time when Macedonia was part of the Ottoman Empire, the church was turned into a mosque and the frescoes were covered with plaster – thus luckily preserving them for future generations.


After World War II, the church was restored and the frescoes that date from the Byzantine period (11th -14th centuries) were revealed and cleaned.

Since its builders blessed it with wonderful acoustics, the church of St Sophia and its front yard are a main site for the annual Ohrid Summer Festival.

Plaosnik - Ohrid

Located in Ohrid’s old town, Plaosnik is an utterly unique phenomenon: it was recently reconstructed, with loving attention to detail, precisely in the style of a Byzantine church, right down to the red bricks and mortar.



An early Christian sacral building dating from the 5th century was discovered here, built over the remains of an older antique building whose cistern was found in the atrium of the newly built temple.



Today, Plaosnik is one of the most exhilarating Byzantine-style churches in Macedonia. Its floor is covered with mosaics of twenty wave-shaped tassel interspersed with the figures of flowers, birds and animals. The very fact of its reconstruction is evidence of the strong affection Macedonians still feel for their Byzantine heritage.

St. Joachim Osogovski – Kriva Palanka

The monastery of St. Joachim Osogovski, set amongst verdant green woods near the northeastern town of Kriva Palanka, was founded in the 12th century and rebuilt many times during the ensuing centuries. Its frescoes are especially characteristic of the 19th century. The monastery complex had always been an important cultural, religious, and educational center.

It consists of the church of St. Joachim Osogovski, a smaller church 14th century church dedicated to the Holy Mother of God, a three-story dormitory, a bell tower with a charnel house at the bottom, a passage building, guardhouse, new dormitories and a residency of the Head of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Art colonies, scientific gatherings, and seminars are regularly organized in this complex.

St John Caneo - Ohrid

Just above a small fishing settlement, on a cliff rising up from Ohrid Lake, stands one of the most magnificent churches in all of Macedonia.

Built in the honor of St. John the Theologian, St. Kaneo with its sublime atmosphere and views of the placid lake below remains an inspiring place for spiritual contemplation.


The church, which was consecrated at the end of the 13th century, was built on a rectangular stone base. Its exterior is decorated with ceramic decorative sculptures and stone carvings.

Though the fresco painters are unknown, the fragments that have been preserved are of exceptional quality; The Communion of the Apostles and the portraits of St. Clement, St. Erasmus and Constantine Kavasilas especially stand out.

An extraordinarily unique construction, built as it is from a combination of Byzantine and Armenian architectural styles, St. Kaneo is indeed one of the most beautiful churches in Macedonia and in the whole Balkan region.

Markov Monastery - Skopje

Only 20 km (12 m) distant from the city, yet a world away in terms of atmosphere, Markov Monastery sits amidst flowering woods in the village of Markova Sushica. The construction of the church, dedicated to the martyr St Demetrius, began during the reign of King Volkashin (1346/47) but was painted and completed only some 30 years later. The church was built on a three-nave base with a vaulted dome on stone. Unlike many monasteries affected by Ottoman rule, Markov has retained its original structure and form.

The church has tremendous importance for Byzantine art, as it contains many examples of highly unique frescoes. Some seem to have arrived here out of the blue, as it were, while others of a known iconographic design underwent such dramatic stylistic changes that they came to form new iconographic entities in their own right.

During Byzantine times, the monastery had its own school and many manuscripts were written by the monks and priests. Among the most famous ones are the Prologue – a preface written by deacon Nikola (1370), and a letter (1362) by a monk known as Varlam.

The monastic complex today contains dormitories, dining room that are richly decorated with frescoes, a bell tower, an old mill, a wishing well full of cold spring water, and storerooms. The monastery still has an operating oven and a special stove for making rakija (a kind of brandy).

St Jovan Bigorski

St. Jovan Bigorski is a 19th century monastery standing on the slopes of Debar’s Mt. Bistra, above the banks of the River Radika. While relatively new, St. Jovan was constructed over the remains of an older church dating from 1021.



Built on a steep slope surrounded by dense woods and rocky hills, St Jovan is reminiscent of the cliff top monasteries of Mt. Athos in Greece.


Since the monastery is dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the faithful believe that icons with his image are blessed with a miraculous healing power.



The monastery also has a small silver coffin containing alleged relics of St. John. The monastery complex includes a dining room and old monastic dormitory, a tower, a charnel house, and two fountains spilling over with fresh mountain water.

Church of St George - Staro Nagoricane

This ethereal 14th century church is richly decorated with frescoes, and was built on the site of a much older shrine. Serbian King Milutin refurbished it in 1313, and its haunting, otherworldly frescoes were painted from 1317-18 by Mihajlo and Eftihie, two of the greatest painters in the Byzantine Balkans. The Church of St. George serves as a vital link to Macedonia’s Byzantine past.

Art & Culture > Historical Sites

The Stone Bridge - Skopje

The Stone Bridge, dating back to the 15th century, is the most prominent landmark of Skopje; the bridge connects the old and the new parts of the city.

Although the guardhouse on the highest point of the bridge was damaged on several occasions, modern restoration is underway to bring the bridge closer to its original condition.

The Old Town - Skopje

Skopje’s Old Town (or Stara Charsija, as the locals call it) is located on the eastern bank of the River Vardar, opposite the modern city center. Today it is a vibrant quarter filled with winding streets of cobblestone and narrow archways, of centuries-old mosques and a Turkish bath.

Even before the arrival of the Ottomans, Stara Charsija had been the city’s commercial hub, with documented history dating it back to at least the 12th century. With its mix of Byzantine and Ottoman architecture, and hundreds of little shops, it remains one of the biggest and the most colorful centers of its kind in Europe.

Here, age-old traditions are kept alive by goldsmiths, shoemakers, coppersmiths and other skilled craftspeople.

At the far end of the Old Town is the covered market (Bit Pazar), which originates in the Turkish period. Here everything from vegetables to textiles to bric-a-brac are bought and sold. Numerous tea rooms, pastry shops and exchange offices line the adjacent alleys.

Among the Old Town’s finest attractions are several Islamic buildings from the 15th century. The Daut Pasha Hamam, one of the largest Turkish baths in the Balkans dating from 1466, today hosts the National Art Gallery’s special collection. The Chifte Hamam, which once operated as a bath with separate rooms for women and men, also today serves as a gallery for contemporary art. The unique Kursumli Han is a former caravansaray, or inn, used by traders during the Turkish period. Finally, the ornate Mustafa Pasha Mosque, with its high minaret and impressive marble interior, stands as Skopje’s most important monument to the Turkish Islamic tradition.

The Old Town also features Christian churches, such as that dedicated to St. Spas, famous for its finely carved wooden iconostasis dating from 1824, and also the 19th century church of St. Dimitrije.

Skopje Fortress "Kale"

On a high cliff overlooking the River Vardar, Skopje’s fortress (dubbed ‘Kale’ from the Turkish) has kept a watchful eye on things for centuries.

As the highest point in Skopje, Kale has always been prized by local inhabitants. Long before the Turks created the extensive castle walls that survive today, settlements had existed here. The earliest traces of life date back to the Neolithic period and early Bronze Age, or some 4,000 years before Christ.

The present fortress was originally built by the Byzantines in the 6th century C.E., with stone walls some 121 meters (400 feet) long. According to archaeologists, the stone blocks used in this construction were taken from the destroyed city of Skupi nearby.

Due to its strategic location, the fortress was built, destroyed and rebuilt many times by different conquerors. After the 1963 earthquake, Kale’s circular, rectangular and square towers were conserved and restored.

Kale today is one of Skopje’s best sightseeing spots, offering a fantastic view of the city and proximity to the sites of the city’s Ottoman old town. It also hosts outdoor theatrical performances in summer.

Stobi

The ancient city of Stobi, lying in a fertile valley just a few minutes off the central north-south highway that connects Macedonia with Greece, was a vital trade route in its day. This crossroad of ancient civilizations has left a rich legacy of antique theaters, palace ruins, brightly-colored mosaics and religious relics for visitors today to enjoy.

As a city, Stobi is first mentioned in documents from the 2nd century B.C.E. However, archaeologists believe that the town had been inhabited from at least 400 years earlier. Stobi became a rich and prosperous city due to its location on the crossroads of important trade routes. It experienced its biggest period of growth from the 3rd-4th centuries C.E.

The archaeological site (located just 3 km or 1.8 miles from the Gradsko exit on Highway E-75) offers sweeping views of the central Macedonian plain and contains buildings such as the 2nd century amphitheatre, the Theodosia palace, and early Christian ruins with extensive and ornate mosaic floors.

Antique Theater – Ohrid

The builders of Ohrid’s ancient theater calculated carefully when they put the building in the very center of the elevated old town. The open theater has a perfect location, as the two hills (Gorni Saraj and Deboj) keep it protected from winds that could interfere with acoustics during performances.

Discovered by accident and later completely excavated, this four-thousand square meter monument to Antique Greco-Roman culture is today used during the Ohrid Summer Festival for performances of ancient tragedies and comedies. It offers a wonderful view of the lake and Mt. Galicica to the southeast.

Heraclea -Bitola

Famous for its dazzling mosaics, ancient theater and Roman baths, Heraclea is the most vividly preserved city from the Ancient Macedonian empire surviving in the country.

Founded in the 4^th century B.C.E. and conquered by the Romans two centuries later, it was built on the Via Egnatia and became one of the key stations on this trading route.

From the 4^th-6^th centuries C.E. Heraclea also had an Episcopal seat. The first excavations were done before the First World War, but only since then have the full glories of the ancient city been revealed. Beautiful Roman baths, the Episcopal church and baptistery, a Jewish temple, portico and a Roman theater now used for summer concerts and theater shows all survive in excellent condition.

Skupi

The archaeological site of the Antique Roman city of Skupi is located 3 km (1.8 m) north of Skopje, near the villages of Bardovci and Zlokukani. First mentioned in the year 3 B.C.E. and founded by the Dardanians, it quickly developed into an important regional center when the Romans made it the capital of their Dardanian Province.

With the creation of a Christian episcopacy a few centuries later, the city's economical and cultural importance grew yet again. A disastrous earthquake in 518 C.E. destroyed the city, but later a new town was built on top of the rubble, named Justiniana Prima after its founder, the famous Byzantine emperor Justinian.

Skupi

The archaeological site of the Antique Roman city of Skupi is located 3 km (1.8 m) north of Skopje, near the villages of Bardovci and Zlokukani. First mentioned in the year 3 B.C.E. and founded by the Dardanians, it quickly developed into an important regional center when the Romans made it the capital of their Dardanian Province.

With the creation of a Christian episcopacy a few centuries later, the city's economical and cultural importance grew yet again. A disastrous earthquake in 518 C.E. destroyed the city, but later a new town was built on top of the rubble, named Justiniana Prima after its founder, the famous Byzantine emperor Justinian.

Cocev Kamen (Tsote’s Stone), the village of Sopsko Rudare, in the Municipality of Kratovo

Cocev Kamen (Tsote’s Stone) is a unique site, which joins the grounds for sacrificial rituals, a temple, painted rock art and a prehistoric observatory.

A few years ago the Rock Art Research team of the World Academy of Rock Art has discovered the most imposing and significant cultural monument from the prehistory, in the village of Sopsko Rudare, in the Municipality of Kratovo.

There were two rows of rock seats engraved under the cave, which joined by the platform formed a theater. This is the first theatre of that kind discovered in the World. Gea Mater, a bone, has been discovered near the cave which tells us that the cave was used by the people in the Paleolithic. There was a smaller natural cave, above this cave until the Bronze Age, when the spiritual leaders of the population who inhabited the surroundings of “Tsotsev Kamen”, organized cave’ s warming for spirituals needs.

The rock is a fascinating location, resembles a site as if from fantasy films, full of secret meanings that incite the imagination.