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On the left, high rise apartment buildings emerge from a modern (and expensive), shopping centre in the heart of Skopje next to the historic Turkish bridge linking the new Skopje, rebuilt after the 1963 earthquake and what is left of Old Skopje on the other side of the Vardar River.
This great St-Clement Cathedral was built as recently as 1990, indicating how important religion can be in the lives of some people even today.
The less grandiose Concert Hall dates from the Communist Era when man was God in a materialistic world and when that "god" was exploited by crafty politicians to establish and maintain their power. What else is new, gods, religions and ideologies have always been tools of the power of the unscrupulous over the credulous.
The long standing master of religious manipulation, the Catholic Church, is not very important in Macedonia but it is nevertheless present here as you can see. I wonder who paid for this impressive modern church, the Vatican (that is now seeking a seat in the United Nations), one of the international religious Mafias like Opus Dei or the local Catholics that represent less than 2 % of the population.
The beautiful 15th century Turkish bridge over the Vardar is now reserved for pedestrian traffic.
The first thing you see on the other side of the Vardar river (eastern side), is the City Art Gallery that occupies this domed Ottoman building.
Whatever you do, you can't miss the "Kale" built in the 11th century at a time when Macedonia passed back and forth between Byzantium, Bulgaria and Serbia.
View from the Skopje fortress on the modern sports arena on the other side of the Vardar
Up this hill just north of the fortress is the modern Museum of Contemporary Art
The Mustafa Pasha Mosque built in 1492 is one of the finest examples of Ottoman architecture in Macedonia.
A street scene in Carsija, the "Turkish" part of town.
A busy street in the Old City Bazaar.
The fruit and vegetable market in the Old City.
I was obviously not buying but this merchant did not mind posing for me in the Old City market.
I got drenched by a quick shower in Carsija but the sun soon dried the streets after the rain.
Shopping in Carsija.
Naturally, I found the old "Turkish" part of Skopje much more lively and interesting than the modern rebuilt part on the other side of the river.
I have the impression that Macedonians are going through an identity crisis, not only because of the controversy over the country's name but more importantly because of efforts of Macedonian scholars to link their ethnic lineage directly to Alexander's Macedonia while minimising, when not negating, the contributions made by the Slavs, the Greeks and the Bulgars to what they have become today. Here are three revealing websites in that respect: http://www.historyofmacedonia.org/, http://makedonia.cc.ece.ntua.gr/, and http://www.macedonia.com/english/history/index.html
