MACEDONIA & KOSOVO UNESCO HERITAGE

Welcome lunch Macedonia Travel guide in Old town of Skopje. Afternoon  guided tour of Skopje: the medieval fortress, church of Holy Savior, and down through the maze of cobblestoned streets of the old bazaar with visit of the Ottoman heritage sites – the mosques, Turkish Inns, the Turkish Bath turned into art gallery and over the Stone Bridge to the Memorial house of Mother Theresa. Dinner and overnight in hotel in Skopje. (L, D)

Guided tour of Tetovo with visit of painted Alaya mosque and Arabati Baba Teke and the colorful open market. On the way to Ohrid visit of the monastery St Jovan Bigorski with the priceless iconostasis carved in wood by the Myak masters. Optional: lunch in traditional restaurant on the balcony overlooking river Radika valley. Free afternoon to explore Ohrid, the UNESCO protected town and lake. Dinner and overnight in hotel in Ohrid. (B, D)

Morning drive by Ohrid Lake to Bay of Bones – a prehistoric settlement on the water, and to St Naum monastery– the mute witness of the beginning  of the Slavic literacy where we’ll take a boat ride in the lagoon of River Crni Drim springs. Optional, lunch in a fishermen village by the lake. Afternoon guided tour of Ohrid old town,(St. Sofija church, Ancient Theatre, St. Virgin Mary Perivleptos church, Ohrid’s Icons gallery, Tsar Samuel’s fortress, Plaosnik and the Church of St. Panteleimon, St. John of Kaneo church). Dinner and overnight in a hotel in Ohrid. (B, D)

Drive to Pelagonia, the heart of the Macedonian Kings’ empire. Guided tour of Bitola, the city with 1600 years urban tradition and beautiful examples of architecture from different periods. Optional: lunch in a restaurant in the pedestrian area “Shiroksokak” (Wide alley). Afternoon visit of Philip II (father of Alexander the Great) ancient city Heraclea. Continue to Prilep just in time to join the evening promenade in the old town. Dinner and overnight in hotel in Prilep. (B, D)

Visit of King Marko medieval towers, and down to the jewel of Byzantine art, the St Archangel Michael monastery complex. Continue the walk through the narrow alleys of old Prilep, the leaning Clock Tower, Charshi mosque, hammam, and to museum of tobacco. Optional: lunch in a traditional restaurant in Prilep. Finnish the day in a winery hotel with guided tour of its cellars. Dinner with wine-tasting, and overnight in the winery hotel in the wine area. (B,D, wine-tasting)

A day to enjoy the fantastic nature by the waterfalls Koleshino with short walk through the dense forest of Belasica forests. Afternoon to visit 2 of the most spiritual places in Macedonia: monasteries of Vodocha and Veljusa near Strumica. Optional: lunch in a traditional restaurant at the foothills of Belasica mountain. Dinner and overnight in hotel in Strumica. (B,D)

Drive to Stobi, the eternal city founded at the sunset of the ancient Macedonian kingdom. Hear the story of ancient winemaking traditions in the cellars of Stobi winery. Visit Veles, the city of poetry, culture, history and tradition. The birthplace of pastrmajlija pie in Macedonia. Optional: lunch in a restaurant in Veles. Watch the sunset in Kokino, the 4th oldest megalithic observatory in the world by NASA, after Stonehenge (UK), Abu Simbel (Egypt) and Angkor (Cambodia). Finish the day in ethno hotel complex with traditional meze and dinner. Overnight in the ethno hotel complex. (B,D)

Early in the morning we’ll cross Macedonian – Kosovo border and drive along Kachanik Gorge to our first stop, Grachanica monastery: a UNESCO world heritage site of extraordinary beauty, famous for its church devoted to Annunciation of the Holly Mother of God. Continue to the Kosovo greatest battlefield in its history, where Sultan Murad and Emperor Lazar fought with their armies back in 1389. Only few kilometers away is the tomb/turbe of the Ottoman Sultan Murad the First, who was killed in that battle. From here we head to the Kosovo Capital Pristina, for lunch and afternoon guided panoramic city tour followed by a walk along Pristina’s  main street and the pedestrian zone by the monuments of Mother Teresa, Skanderbeg, and the monument of the first president of Kosovo, Ibrahim Rugova. Transfer to Pec. Dinner and overnight in hotel in Pec.(B,D)

The Patriarchate of Pec is the next UNESCO World Heritage site on our tour, which had continuous life for over seven centuries. We’ll visit here a complex of four churches built and fresco-painted back in XIII-XIV century, and head back to Pec and Decani to visit one more UNESCO World Heritage site: the Serbian Orthodox Christian monastery Visoki Decani, famous for its frescoes declared as "one of the most valued examples of the so-called Palaeologan renaissance in Byzantine painting". Continue to Prizren driving by Djakovica, and by Terzi Most, an interesting bridge from XVIII century. After a traditional lunch in Prizren restaurant we’ll take a walking tour of this wonderful historic city of Kosovo with preserved old buildings, bazaar, mosques and orthodox churches, a catholic cathedral, bridges and a fortress. See why this ancient city is named “the Open Air Museum”!!! Departure to Skopje in late afternoon and finish the day with a grand farewell dinner in Skopje. Overnight in hotel in Skopje. (B,D)

Free time to explore the capital center completely rebuilt for the project Skopje 2014 with numerous monuments, baroque buildings and fountains until departure home. (B)