Krusevo (updated!)

Me at the "Makadonium" monument



Inside the monument


The Town of Krucevo (see the Makadonium monument on the hill?)


The Macedonian flag


The nearby hills & site of battle for independence


I went to Krusevo for a week long conference, an In Service Training (IST) from April 17th-20th. Krusevo is an interesting little town in the mountains, (32 km from Prilep). At 1,250 meters, it is the highest point in the Balkans. It also has a very important historical significance because it was the location of the famous Ilinden Uprising, on August 2nd, 1903. This is when the Macedonians and Vlachs (ethnic groups) fought for independence from the Ottoman Empire (The Turks, who ruled them for 500 years). It was a fierce battle which liberated Krusevo, created the Republic of Krusevo and were independent for 10 days. Then the Turks came back with reinforcements and the republic was no more. The rebel leaders are today regarded as heros, and their names are sung in the national anthem… August 2nd is a big holiday in Macedonia (called Ilinden) and it is like the equivalent to the 4th of July in the US.

The strange white monument "Makadonium" houses the tomb of Nikola Karaev, one of the rebel leaders and president to the Republic of Krusevo and is also an interesting museum. Krusevo also has very traditional architecture of old churches and houses and it was fun to just stroll around the town and do some hiking in the hills nearby (as well as see the ski lifts from the heart of the town heading up to the hills).

Chreken Veligden! Happy Easter!

Orthodox Easter is today, May 23rd, and the Holy Week is observed here, starting on Thursday the 20th. On Saturday, the 22nd I went to the church in town because I had heard that there is a bed at the altar that young and old people walk under. This bed symbolizes the bed of Jesus Christ when he was triumphant over death and by walking under the bed, people are under His protection. At the church I followed the other young people in front of me, two of which happened to be my students. I just copied what they did; put some small bills on the “bed”, which was more like a tall table covered in a intricately designed plush blanket with golden needlework. I leaned over to walk under the bed, and on the other side found a priest who was dispensing small handfuls of flowers. Another priest stood next to a wooden cross and insisted that I “cross” myself (which always feels a little awkward to me, seeing as how I’m Protestant and never grew up with this practice).

Saturday eve just before midnight I again returned to the church and bought a tall thin candle. It was incredibly crowded; people were pushing each other to get up to the church, past many other people who were standing around the church yard with their candles lit, listening to the lovely singing. It reminded me of a time in Ecuador where it is a custom for devout Catholics to visit seven churches in one night and I found many a persistent crowd pushing into each other. The singing was haunting, sung by male priests. It was too crowded to see the singing priests, due to the hundreds of people all around. I saw a number of my students and recognized a few people from the community. At midnight the head priest said “Hristos Voskrese!” (Christ is risen!) and everyone replied “Voistinu Voskrese!” (Indeed he is risen). Then my students presented Easter eggs dyed red (hard boiled). The color red is to symbolize the coming happiness in the resurrection. Each holding an egg, we hit the eggs together, whosever egg doesn’t crack has good luck all year. After that everyone proceeded home, trying to keep the candle lit the entire way. I have heard that the sight of hundreds of people walking with lit candles down the hill from the church is very beautiful. The candle is to remain lit all night (until it burns out) for happiness to abound all year.

The next day is Easter Monday and no businesses (or school) are open. Yay!

My Visitors and side trip to Greece!

Gold Death Mask from Thessaloniki Museum

March 24th I planned to take the evening train from Skopje to Thessoloniki (aka Solon) in Greece to meet up with my sister Heidi and friend Maki, who had flown in Athens a week before and were touring Greece before visiting me in Macedonia. It was a happy reunion at the train station when I saw Heidi and Maki, as we hadn’t seen each other in 6 months. March 25th was Greek Independence Day, so many shops and businesses were closed. My brief visit to Northern Greece was low key, although we did visit the Archeological Museum in Solon, as well as the beautiful waterfront and the White Tower. The next day we were planning to take the night train back to Macedonia, but were given the incorrect time (maybe due to the difference in military time and miscommunication between languages), so we missed that train and had to spend an extra night there. I wasn’t thrilled, as Greece is a lot more expensive, especially for one on the Peace Corps budget! (Greece I believe is more touristy and expensive than it was 9 years ago, largely, I believe, to converting to the Euro as well as having hosted the Olympics).

We took the train the next morning and benefited from seeing the beautiful views, including the Demir Kapija Canyon. First stop was visiting my host family in a village near Veles. We spent our entire time visiting with friends and family and it was a wonderful visit (although it got tiring after 8 straight hours of it!). People really aren’t used to seeing people from Asia (as Maki is from Japan), so they had lots of questions and at one house, Maki showed us how to make Origami Elephants!

From there, we went to Kochani. It was great to show Maki and Heidi my home town. They got to see where I live, meet my friends, fellow teachers and kitten and tour around town. I had a meeting to attend in Skopje on Friday, March 31st, so I brought Heidi and Maki along. While I was in my meeting they did some sightseeing and shopping. For the weekend, we went to Gostivar, a city in the West where I have PCV friends living. I wanted Heidi and Maki to see the west, as it is comparatively different to the East, where I live. We walked around town, visited a Turkish café, drank Turkish coffee, met some Albanian friends of my PCV’s and heard the call to prayer at the nearby mosques, which sounds like beautiful haunting chants.

Heidi and I said goodbye to Maki in Skopje on April 2nd and then headed down to Lake Ohrid in the south where we met up with a few other PCV friends of mine. I’d seen pictures, but was still very much impressed with the beauty of the Lake and now understand why many Macedonians flock there for their summer vacations! Heidi and I then returned to Kochani for a few more days, attended my school football tournament (we won!) and school concert. We returned to Skopje the next day and I said goodbye to my sister on the 9th. It was a wonderful visit and I was sorry to see her go.

Now I’m already getting excited about my parents who plan to visit me Spring 2007!


Maki, Me and Heidi in Solon

Heidi and Maki at the Waterfront in Solon, White Tower in distance

Demir Kapija Canyon from the train

Gostivar Mosque

Heidi and I in Kochani

Jesse, Baba Booba & Heidi

At Lake Ohrid; Jesse, Shauna and Heidi

Sveti Jovan's Church--Lake Ohrid