Skopje Holiday Accommodation

Skopje, the capital city of Macedonia, lies on the upper course of the Vardar River, and holiday accommodation can be found throughout the city. It has been inhabited since at least 3,500 BC but at first glance it looks like a modern city constructed largely from concrete. This is because a huge earthquake destroyed 80 per cent of the city in 1963, killing over a thousand inhabitants. Numerous cultural monuments were seriously damaged, but happily the Old Bazaar and the ancient churches and mosques of the Old Town were spared. In 148 BC, Skopje came under Roman rule, then subsequently passed into the hands of the Byzantine Empire. In 1392 it was conquered by the Turks and remained part of the Ottoman Empire until 1912. The city's character changed markedly during this period.

The Ottomans imported Islam and built many mosques, hamans and caravanserai. The Turkish writer Dulgar Dede visited the city at this time and wrote: 'I travelled for many years across that country of Rumelia and I saw many beautiful cities and I was amazed at Allah's blessings, but not one impressed and delighted as much as the heavenly city of Skopje across which passes the Vardar River.'

Among the city's sights are the fifteenth century stone bridge, with II arches, which leads over the Vardar River to the Old City. Here you will find the Daut Pasha hamam, an extensive public bath complex that now houses the National Art Gallery's special collection. Here too is Mustapha Pasha's Mosque, undoubtedly one of the most beautiful buildings in Skopje. It is an endowment of Mustapha Pasha, an eminent figure in the Turkish state during the rule of Sultan Baiazid II and Sultan Sellin I. The year of Mustapha Pasha's death (1519) is engraved on the entrance of his mausoleum,

On a high cliff overlooking the River Vardar are the ruins of the 5thcentury Kale fortress, offering wonderful views over the city. The present fortress was built by the Byzantines in the 6th century, but the earliest traces of life here date back to the Neolithic period and early Bronze Age.

The little church of Sveti Spas (the Holy Saviour), was built in the 17th century, and boasts a wonderful iconostasis carved from walnut wood. In the courtyard stands the sarcophagus of Goce Delcev, a leader of the national liberation movement who was killed in 1903. Skopje is a welcoming city with a great deal of interesting historical monuments. It also boasts a fascinating Old Bazaar, one of the largest and most colourful of its kind in Europe.

Gostivar spreads itself wide in the clear, clean air of the flatlands at the immediate foot of the Sar Planina, Macedonia's most important mountain region. It sits astride the rushing headwaters of the Vardar River, Macedonia's biggest, which rises close to the city but reveals nothing of the mighty stream it becomes 388 km (243 mi) later at Thessaloniki. The river has contributed a lot to Gostivar's importance as the trade centre of the upper Polog region: the Roman historian Livy records the settlement (then called DrauDak) being attacked by a force of 10,000 during the third Macedonian War, so it was obviously worth the effort. Today you can still see why.