STOBI

The ancient town of particular importance even before the Roman conquest) was constructed at an extraordinarily strategic place. It was destroyed by a massive earthquake in 518 A.D, but had still succeeded in preserving itself until the fourteenth century. The great part of Stobi has been excavated and has yielded very important archaeological findings. The most attractive and important for tourists include: the Bishop's church the Partenius palace, the Peristerij palace, Poliharmos and Amphitheatre. Evaluating the remains, it can be said that the Bishop's church had a monumental view and was richly decorated in mosaics. Today, besides the mosaics discovered in nartex, some fresco fragments have been found there on the northern and western walls of the church, thought to have originated from the fifth and sixth century A.D. One of the most representative buildings in Stobi is the Pertenius palace, built in the fifth century. Its rich decoration arrangement of rooms and great space, give evidence of the wealth and comfortable life led by some citizens of this town. What contributed to the value of this building distinguishing it from the others, are the decorations of mosaic and white marble and ornamental tiles. The Peristerij palace is also famous as a palace with double doors and two aspes placed one besides the other. Some mosaics made in the fifth century with different figures and ornaments from animal and plant life were preserved there. The remains of the town drinking fountain and town bath are close to that place. There are different opinions on the period of construction of the amphitheatre in Stobi. Some say that it was constructed in the second century A.D, others thought it was built in the third century. However, this theatre was renovated and enlarged several times and part of that construction material was used in a later period of construction in Stobi and its surroundings. The archaeological site of Stobi also has a restaurant.

HERAKLEA

Heraklea, the capital of the Linkestisa was built in ancient times, and is two kilometres from today's Bitola. It was an important military and strategic centre, located on the well known route of the Via Ignatia. It is thought that Heraklea was founded by Philip II. The archaeological excavations of that town started in 1938 when significant objects were found, giving important historical information. Like all other towns Heraklea was protected by big town walls. Numerous basilicas with preserved mosaics were found there. One of the archaeological finds is preserved today in the British Museum in London.

MARKO'S FORTRESS

Marko's fortress is near Prilep, but no one knows exactly when it was built. In terms of walled area, the fortress is one of the largest in the Balkans. Built of mortar-bound undressed stone, the citadel had several towers and four circuits of walls. Archaeological diggings suggest a possible fifth circle of walls. This is one of the best preserved medieval castle's in Macedonia.

SAMUEL'S FORTRESS

Samuel's fortress stands on a hill above the town of Ohrid. It is divided into two sections, each with a separate entrance. The main gateway facing the town, is flanked by two high round towers. The fortress on this site is known to have withstood the attacks of Theodoric's Goths in 479. The Byzantines repaired and extended the fortifications, the walls of which are up to 16m thick. Its present appearance dates from the time of Emperor Samuel, though it was repaired on several occasions after its downfall by the Byzantines and then the Turks, right down to the 19th century, when Dzeladin Bey made use of cruel forced labour for work on the fortifications. From the hilltop fortress two walls run down to the lake shore, enclosing the urban settlement below the citadel. One descends in a westerly direction towards the settlement of Labino, while the other runs eastward. All the walls are rough stone, with the exception of the upper gateway (Gorna porta), for which stone blocks from Greco-Roman buildings were used, as can be seen from the inscriptions on them.
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MECKIN KAMEN

Not faraway from the city of the first Republic on the Balkan - Krusevo, exits a popular hill known as "Meckin Kamen". There is a legend behind the name of the hill: A long time ago in a small suburb besides the pear orchids lived a number of brothers. They occupied their time with agriculture and life stock. One day the brothers were returning from the hill when they were confronted by a big bear. The brave Krusevcani did not get afraid, instead they attached the bear. The bear rolled a rock down the hill towards the brothers, but then they killed the bear with a couple of hits from their axes. The rock which was rolled by the bear was known as Meckin Kamen (Bear's Rock) by the people. On the same spot, the duke Pitu Guli heroically battled and protected the nest of the Krusevo Republic. This was in 1903 when the Turkish army destroyed Krusevo and choked the peoples Uprising. A monument was placed on Meckin Kamen where the legendary duke Pitu Guli was killed. This is a real legend of our time.

Prilep

Prilep is situated in the northern part of Pelagonia Plain. It is often called "the city under Marko's Towers" since the town is located on the skirts of the Towers of the legendary hero King Marko, who is common in Macedonian folk songs and tales as a powerful, wise ruler, and fighter against the Turks.
There are several ancient sites in the immediate vicinity including one at Markovi Kuli. A large Roman necropolis is known there and parts of numerous walls have been found; the settlement was probably the ancient Ceramiae mentioned in the Peutinger Table. Roman remains are also known in the vicinity of the Varosh monastery, built on the steep slopes of the hill, which was later inhabited by a mediaeval community. A large number of early Roman funeral monuments, some with sculpted reliefs of the deceased or of the Thracian Rider and other inscribed monuments of an official nature, are in the courtyard of the church below the southern slope of Varosh. Some of the larger of those monuments were built into the walls of the church.
A statue of boy Dyonisius from StyberraThe most important ancient monument is the old city of Styberra. It is situated on Bedem hill near Cepigovo, in the central region of Pelagonia. As early as the time of the Roman - Macedonian wars, this city was known as a base from which the Macedonian king Perseus set out to conquer the Penestian cities. Its location on a relatively small hill where the Diagonal Way from Heraclea to Stobi met the road that led along the River Erigon from the mining district of Demir Hisar, was conducive to its transformation into a significant conurbation during the Roman era. The activity of the city gymnasium particularly increased. The temple which has been excavated and which was dedicated to Tyche, the patron deity of the city, was partly "privatized" by sponsors who refurbished it in 127.
Styberra did not manage to survive the assaults of the Goths in 268. The city was never rebuilt, which is confirmed by the undamaged state of the objects found during archaeological excavations. Numerous marble statues, left behind by the Goths after they had ravaged the city, were found at this site. Because of its state of preservation, the city of Styberra became known as the Macedonian Pompeii. Analysis of the marble sculpture supports the theory that there was a local workshop which was active in the 2nd century and the first half of the 3rd. The products were of such quality that it challenged the dominance of the Stobi artists and craftsmen.
An important site in the vicinity is Bela Crkva, some 6 km west of Styberra, where the town of Alkomenai was probably located. Rebuilt in the Early Roman period, it was a stronghold of the Macedonian kings, perhaps from the time of Alexander the Great, and was at the Pelagonian entrance to a pass leading to Illyria. Part of the city wall, a gate, and a few buildings of the Roman period were uncovered here in excavations. All recent finds from these sites are in the Museum of the City of Prilep.

The Citadel of King Marko - Marko's Towers (Markovi Kuli) in Prilep
The monastery of Treskavec, in the mountains about 10 km north of Prilep, is probably the site of the early Roman town of Kolobaise. The site, at the edge of a small upland plain, is at a height of over 1100 m above sea level and is a natural citadel. The name of the early town is recorded on a long inscription on stone which deals with a local cult of Ephesian Artemis. The inscription was reused as a base for a cross on top of one of the church domes. Other inscriptions at Treskavec include several 1st century Roman dedications to Apollo.
The old fortress was used by the Romans, and later the Byzantines. During the Middle Ages, King Marko rebuilt the citadel extensively, making it an important military stronghold. After all, even Tsar Samoil came here after the defeat on Belasica in 1014. Samoil died in Prilep from a heart attack after encountering his blind soldiers.

PELLA

Transferring the capital of the kingdom from Aegae to Pella in around 400 B. C., King Archelaus made it the greatest of all Macedonian cities. Grandiosity characterized the whole structure of the city. The palace complex alone, situated on the hill dominating the city, occupied 60.000 sq. meters.
For 250 years Pella was the cultural center of the Greek world and a pole of attraction for famous artists of the age (Zeuxis. Apelles, Lysippos, Leocharis), It experienced its greatest prosperity during the reign of Alexander the Great, when it came to be called "Metropolis of the Macedonians - Homeland of Philip and Alexander". Thanks to archaeological excavations, luxurious private houses with the famous mosaic floors were uncovered. as well as sanctuaries. an agora covering an area of 70.000 sq. m., cemeteries and finds which visitors may now view in the local museum.

ANCIENT CAPITALS OF MACEDONIA

Vergina, identified as Aegae - the first capital of the Macedonians - with its numerous archaeological finds of exquisite art, the royal tombs, the grave steles, the majestic palace, the theater, the houses and the city walls, gives a complete picture of the high standard of civilization typical of a Macedonian city. Only in Vergina does the art of the 4th century B. C. unfold in all its splendid manifestations: architecture, sculpture, painting, metalwork and jewelry. This is due to the fact that , as the ancient capital of Macedonia, Vergina possessed numerous workshops where able and experienced craftsmen created works of art that vied in quality with those of Attica. The majority of these finds are now on display in the Thessaloniki museum.
The sensations experienced by the visitor to Vergina are unique. Here history is no longer a dull science, but it comes to life right in front of one's eyes. The unplundered tomb of Philip II King of the Macedonians, dating from 335 B. C., gave us the golden larnax with the star symbol of the Macedonian kings, known from Macedonian shields and coins, decorating its cover: sixteen rays of different length around a central rosette. Inside the larnax were found the bones of the dead king covered with a golden wreath of oak leaves. The other finds in the chamber, such as the iron breastplate, the ceremonial shield, the iron Macedonian helmet, the royal diadem, the graves and the weapons fully bring back to life the portrait of Philip II, the great general who succeeded in distinguishing Macedonia as the greatest power in Europe and who was assassinated at the age of 47 in the theater nearby. In this same theater his son, Alexander the Great, was proclaimed king and launched his campaign to the East. which was to change the course of history.
Besides the finds mentioned above, the royal tombs at Vergina also preserve the most important examples of large-scale classical painting, as well as many carved and painted steles of ordinary citizens, whose mere names prove the Greek identity of the Macedonians.

History of the city of Struga

Struga is an ancient settlement where traces of an old civilization dating from the Neolithic period can be found. The archaelogical records demonstrate that there was a community in this area in prehistoris times, when on the shores of the lake were built the first Neolithic settlements dated from the year 3000 BC. The first Neolithic settlement, which is assumed to have been a fishing area, was built on the place where the river Crn Drim flows out of the Lake Ohrid. It is a pile dweller, an ancient fisherman community. Many archaelogical objects were found there that date from the early stone age, such as different tools made of stone and bones as well as weapons.It is considered, according to some relevant sources, that the first inhabitants of this area were the Briges and the Enheleians, and later came the Desarets. With the passing of the centuries this fishing settlement grew into a town-like village which was called Enhalon (eel). The name is accidental. Namely, here on the outflow of the river Crn Drim from the Lake Ohrid, the longest journey of the eel starts, which leads to the Sargasso Sea in the Caribean region of the Atlantic ocean where the fish satisfies its biological needs for continuing its kind. The ancient historian Polibius says that in the year 334 BC, king Philip II of Macedon, conquered Enhalon in addition to Lihnidos and the other towns on the shores of Lake Ohrid. There is an important monument from that period with inscription in classical Greek, discovered by the monastery of St. Bogoroditsa (the Virgin Mary). Enhalon was part of the Macedonian state until the year 148 BC when it was conquered by the Romans. The connection of this area and Rome grew closer with the construction of the strategic road Via Ignatia, which connected Rome, through the town known today as Drach and through Thessalonica, to Istanbul and Asia Minor. The road was passing close to Enhalon.

Ohrid

Ohrid (native: Охрид) is located on the northeastern shore of Lake Ohrid. Agriculture, fishing, and tourism provide a livelihood for the population. Among the churches in the town are St. Sophia's, with 11th-14th-century frescoes, and St. Clement's (1295), also with medieval frescoes uncovered in the 1950s. On a nearby hilltop is a quadrangular building, the Imaret, a Turkish mosque and inn, built on the foundations of the Monastery of St. Panteleimon (9th century), associated with St. Clement, the first Macedonian bishop of Ohrid. St. Clement opened the first Macedonian school of higher learning, wrote the earliest works of Macedonian literature, and, with St. Naum, translated the Scriptures from Greek into Macedonian. The 10th-century monastery of St. Naum, about 19 miles (31 km) south, crowns a prominent crag on the Macedonia-Albania frontier and overlooks Lake Ohrid.