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    MACEDONIAARCHEOLOGICAL TREASURE THAT TAKES YOU BREATH AWAY

    MONASTERY LODGINGS OASIS OF SILENCE

    Ministry o Economy

    Tourism Department

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    Publisher: Ministry o EconomyAutor o the text: Danijela Trpcevska

    Autor o the photographs: www.dzingo.com

    Production: Skenpoint

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    The capital Skopje and its surroundings

    are especially interesting or research.

    Near the settlement Zlokukani are

    the remains o the Roman city Skupi. In an-cient times, this territory was inhabited by the

    Dardani, until 4th

    century B.C., when Philip theSecond o Macedonia took over the authority

    here. Ater his death, Skupi remains within thekingdom o Alexander the Great, and in year

    164 B.C. it was conquered by the Romans. Using

    the position o an important crossroad, the citydeveloped very soon. Ater the Milan Edict o

    313, Skupi was made a Head Seat o Episcopacy

    and later on o the Archiepiscopacy. However,

    this glory ended ater the city was destroyedby the earthquake in 518, ater which it died

    out. At the location, the archeologists ound abasilica rom the 4th century, whose central arc

    is covered with mosaic, theater built accordingto Roman scheme and palace decorated with

    rescoes.

    Near the road Skopje-Kacanik is the

    Aqueduct. It was built o stone and tiles with55 arches resting on massive pillars, 450 meters

    long. It is believed to be built in the 6th century,

    and later was reconstructed and built becauseo its importance-to provide the city with wa-

    ter rom the mountain springs o Skopska CrnaGora.

    In 535 the new city-successor o Stobi,was promoted. It was built by the Byzantine

    emperor Justinian, as a debt to his birth place.

    Justiniana Prima was surrounded by numer-

    ous ortresses, o which the biggest-Crnce on

    mountain Vodno, helped ghting back the at-tacks o the Slavic tribes. But, this was only until

    694 when the Slavs took over the city and gave

    its todays name-Skopje.Blocks o the ruins rom the city o Skupi

    were used to build the Skopje ortress, located

    at a highland on the right side o the Vardar

    River. This area, according to the ndings othe excavation, was inhabited even in Neolithic

    times and the early Bonze Age. The oldest archi-

    tecture on the Fortress dates back in 535, in the

    period o ruling o Justinian I. There are remainso this ortress in length o 120 meters.

    Under the ortress is the Old Skopje

    Bazaar, the most picturesque part o thecity. The Bazaar has still kept some o the oldcrats and stores, due to which thousands o

    years ago, its streets were lled with visitors.

    The Turkish itinerant Evliya Celebi, during his

    stay in Skopje (1660/61) in his books wrote

    that the Bazaar had 2.150 stores, squares and

    markets, and compared it with the Baghdad

    Bazaar. Kurshumli Inn is in the Old Bazaar, an

    impressive building, built during the period oJustinian I. It is thought that on the basis o an

    older building, the Ottoman Turks have built

    and adjusted it into a caravan-palace.As such, itworked until 1787, and later it was transormedinto prison. Today, the rooms are used as rock-

    ery o the Archeological museum. The object

    Kurshumli Inn or Led Inn is considered to bethe most beautiul monument o culture in the

    city. Daut Pasha Turkish bath is located near

    the Stone Bridge, at the entry o the Bazaar. It is

    listed among the most important monumentso the Islamic proane architecture, and its his-

    tory began in the second hal o the 15th cen-

    tury, when Daut-pasha lived in Skopje. The Bathwas damaged during the amous re caused bythe Austrian army-leader Piccolomini in 1689

    and long ater that it was let untouched and

    was slowly decaying. Its space was reconstruct-

    ed or the rst time in 1948 and later on the Art

    Skopje

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    Gallery was located there.

    The Stone Bridge in Skopje is one o themost monumental buildings in the country

    that connects the two banks o the Vardar

    River. According to some, it was built in the

    6th century in the period o Justinian, and ac-cording to others, it was built by the Ottoman

    Turks in the 15

    th

    century. According to Ottomansources, the bridge was constructed with wellprocessed stone blocks in the second hal o

    the 15th century. In the past it was also called

    Dushans Bridge.

    The massive construction lies on solid pil-lars connected with 13 semicircular arches. It

    is 214 meters long, and 6,33 meters wide. In

    1992 the reconstruction o the bridge started,

    ater which its original look was changed. TheStone Bridge was built with stone blocks, while

    its massive construction lies on pillars, mutuallyconnected by semicircular arches. Today, onlypedestrians are allowed to cross it.

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    Stobi

    Macedonia has abundance o archeo-logical sites rom Ancient time. The

    most amous is the Ancient city Stobi,

    which is located south o Veles, at the estuary othe Crna River in the Vardar River. The assump-

    tions are that the city was built in the Hellenic

    period, in the 3rd or the 2nd century B.C., but it

    is possible that the area was inhabited sincethe Neolith. Ater two big earthquakes in the

    6th century, the inhabitants let the city com-

    pletely. In Stobi, among the other, there was

    a money orge where coins called denariuswere orged, ater which the todays national

    currency got the name. The most impressive

    object that was discovered is the theatre, dat-

    ing orm the 2nd century B.C. and is similar tothe Greek theatres. It had 7.000 seats, and in

    a certain period was readjusted in a gladia-tors arena. Also discovered in Stobi were: anEpiscopal residency, prison, as well as Episcopal

    basilica with wonderul mosaics.

    Heraclea Lynkestis

    Near Bitola is the site Heraclea Lynkestis.

    These are remains o the once ancient

    city that was main centre o Lynkestis,

    area o the Illyrian-Macedonian tribe Lynki. Heraclea was ounded by Philip 2 o Macedonia

    around the middle o the 4th century B.C. Two

    centuries later, the city was conquered by theRomans, ater which it ourished. In the early

    Christian period, Heraclea became Episcopal

    seat and centre o the new Christian aith.

    During the archeological researches at thesite, early Byzantine church was ound. East o

    it, Roman spas were ound, and the mosaics

    on the oor o the narthex o the Big Basilica

    distinguished with their painting values andiconographic eatures. It is assumed that the

    mosaic was made at the end o the 5 th century

    B.C. This ancient city also had a theatre in a ormo horse shoe, where theatre shows were held,

    but also gladiators ghts.

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    Isar

    The amous archeological site Isar, nearthe village Marvinci is interesting be-

    cause o the numerous objects that

    archeologist ound. Those are ceramics proc-essed on pottery roundel, amphorae, vessels,

    terra cottas, jewelry, weapons, statues and

    coins rom the settlement. The settlement was

    part o Paionia and was established in the 6 thcentury B.C.

    Vardarski Hill

    Near Gevgelija is the ormer settlementVardar Hill. So ar 6 settlements have

    been discovered, one over the other,

    where there was lie rom the 13th to the 2nd

    century B.C. These old Macedonian settlementsoriginate rom the period beore and ater the

    rule o Alexander the Great.

    Especially rare is the cup with wine mould ,ound at this site. Numerous silver and bronzecoins orged during the period o Alexander

    the Great and his ather Philip were also ound

    at this site.

    Vinicko kale

    The site Vinicko kale set on the hill

    above Vinica is widely known or

    the Vinica icons ound in this place.

    These are the most authentic and originaldiscoveries rom the soil o Macedonia,

    which are in many aspects exceptional.

    The story began in 1985, when at the site a

    depot was discovered with early Christianterra cottas icons, dating rom the 6th and 7th

    century. These are unique icons in Europe

    made with a moulding technique, in twodierent dimensions. During the research,

    as a whole or in ragments, 49 samples

    o terra cotta relies were ound. These

    are clay plate with quadric or rectangularshape, with dimensions o about 30cm.

    They contain texts written in Latin, and 15

    scenes were ound on the icons. They were

    ound on the walls o an object, which wasprobably sacral.

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    Ohrid

    The lake city o Ohrid is a real archeological

    and historical treasure. At the locationo the todays city, the city o Lichnidos

    existed, which in the 4

    th

    century B.C. wasconquered by Philip the Second o Macedonia.

    In its ocal point there was an ancient theatre,believed to date back in the 3 rd century B.C.,

    and in Roman times animal ghts were held

    there. The Samuil Fortress is considered to be

    one o the biggest preserved ortications inthe country. For the rst time it was mentioned

    by the historian Livy in the 3rd century B.C.,

    when it was ortress to the city o Lichnidos. It is

    considered that the todays orm o the ortress

    dates back in the 10th

    century, when Ohrid, asa capital o the Macedonian Tsar Samuil, had

    reconstructed and strong ortresses. With its bigwalls and towers, the ortress surrounded the

    whole city, and the entry was enabled by three

    gates, o which one is preserved today and is

    amous as the Upper Gate. In the archeologicalresearches o the gate, 145 tombs and

    necropolis were ound with rich objects rom

    the Archaic, Macedonian-Hellenic and Roman

    period. In one o the tombs a golden mask,

    golden glove and about seventy other golden,silver, bronze, iron, ceramics and amber objects

    rom the 5th century B.C. were ound.

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    Macedonia may be proud o its rich architecture and objectsthat until today have kept the authentic look. The house o

    Robevci amily in Ohrid, where the Archeological Museumand the Ethnology exhibition are placed, is considered to be

    one o the most representative objects o urban architecture inMacedonia, which reaches its zenith in the course o XIX century.

    The construction o the house o the two brothers Robevci was

    done by the builder Todor Petkov rom the village o Gari, near

    Debar. The object was built in 1825 ater which it was burnt andthen built again next year. The house is protected monument

    o culture and contains three oors, plus the up most oor, the

    so called shirvan. The lower part has exhibited epigraphicmonuments rom Ohrid and the surrounding, as well the valuable

    exhibits: Miljokaz (ound on the Via Egnatia Road), the twotorsos o the Goddess Isida etc. Archeological exhibits dating

    rom the Pre-Historic period to the Middle-Ages are exhibited onthe second and third oor.

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    Almost all Macedonian monasteries have been

    built in the mountains bosoms at places dif-

    cult to access, in areas with wonderul naturalbeauties, surrounded by thick orests and wide

    meadows. Although monks have always want-

    ed to be alone in their spiritual lie, they have

    still opened the gates or the population romthe surrounding villages, who have therein

    celebrated their religious holidays, their village

    religious holidays and sought comort and sal-

    vation in difcult times.Because o the extraordinary touristic po-

    tential and the possibility to enjoy the peace, si-

    lence and tranquility, many o the Macedonian

    monasteries are called oasis o peace. The esti-mations are that there are 155 preserved mon-

    asteries, while about hundred are hal-ruined or

    dont exist. Although the church tourism in thecountry is still in its germ,each year, more and

    more tourists rom around the world decide to

    step on the monastery paths and get to know

    the Macedonian history and tradition, trans-used in rare rescos, iconostasis and engrav-

    ings, made by eminent Macedonian groups.

    The womb o the Macedonian sanctuary-

    the ancient city Ohrid has 365 monasteriesand churches. Because o its huge spirituality,

    it is not accidentally called the City o Light.

    The road o all travelers that come to visit this

    spiritual treasury always ends in the St. Naummonastery on the bank o Ohrid Lake, where

    the eternal home o the saint is located. There

    is something magnicent and unexplainablypowerul in the ritual o kneeling by the tomb

    o the saint Naum, while you careully place

    the ear on the tombstone and excited wait

    to hear the beat o the big heart with heal-ing power. Although it is only a legend, rarely

    anyone doubts it, as probably there is no man

    that hasnt thrown a coin in the wish well, in

    the middle o the church yard. The holly placewhere the monastery was built gives peace and

    tranquility. It was not accendently that Naum

    has chosen the rock overnaging Ohrid Lake orhis spiritual peace. Here are mixed the waters

    o the springs rom the Crn Drim River and the

    clear waters o Ohrid lake. Over the monastery

    rises mountain Galicica with meadows lled

    with thick herbs. This place is as it was createdor healing the ill. St. Naum has done that-used

    the power to help the mentally ill, but also to

    develop monkhood, and together with St.

    Clement orm Ohrid, continued the mission othe rst Slavic Enlighters, the brothers Sts. Cyril

    and Methodius. He died in 910, ater whichhis body ound its eternal peace in the tombplaced on the southern side o the church.

    St. Naum in the 9th century has built the

    church St. Archangels, which was ruined in

    the Ottoman period. On the basis o the origi-nal church, between the 16th and the 17th cen-

    tury, the todays church was built. It rescoes

    were painted in XV and XVI century and the

    todays rescoes in the period between 1800to 1806 were painted by theicon-painterTrpo

    rom Korca. The splendoro the painted cyclesand scenes lists the church among the biggestmonuments rom the 18th and 19th century in

    MONASTERY

    LODGINGS

    OASIS OF SILENCE

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    Macedonia. Naums monastery and the church

    Sts. Archangels, as well as the monastery o

    Cement and church St. Pantelejmon in Ohrid

    are the rst monuments o the Slavic churcharchitecture and art in the region o Ohrid. The

    legend says that when St. Clement came to

    Ohrid, he has introduced the Glagolitic alpha-bet o the holly brothers Cyril and Methodiusto the local people and he revealed to them

    the secret o building stone houses instead o

    the straw cottages where they used to live. Forthat purpose he rst built a church. That was St.

    Pantelejmon monastery, built on the hill above

    Ohrid. Ater his death, Clement was buried in

    the tomb that he himsel prepared in his church

    on Plaoshnik.This, one-time centre o the Ohrid School,

    rom where the Slavic literacy, spirituality and

    culture were spread, is considered by archeolo-gists to be one o the most important cites inthe country. The monumental early Christian

    church was built and decorated in the 5 th cen-

    tury, in the period when Lychnidos (todaysOhrid), was an important centre o bishops. It

    was built in a shape o a treoillea, on the ba-

    sis o an older ancient building. The arches o

    this temple were decorated with mosaics that

    had golden basis. Near Plaoshnik, in 2002, theSt. Clement temple was renewed and ater 530

    years the relics o the rst Slavic Bishop and

    ounder o the Macedonian Orthodox Church,St. Clement, were brought here. In the excava-tions in 1999, baptistery o a ve-arc basilica,

    with swastikas on the mosaic oors dating rom

    the period between the 4th and 6th century, wasound. It is believed that this Early Christian

    basilica on which the monastery o Clement

    was built in the 9th century was dedicated to

    Apostle Paul.St. Sofa church is one o the biggest

    middle age churches, which or a long pe-

    riod o time was a synod church o the OhridArchiepiscopacy. It was built on the oundationso an old sacral building in the period ater the

    big mission o Sts. Cyril and Methodius, when

    Macedonian Slavs have accepted Christianity in

    Slavic language. It probably served as cathedralin the period o Tsar Samuil, who by the end o

    the 10th century, transerred his throne center

    rom Prespa in Ohrid. However, there are thesesthat in that period, on the same place, there was

    a church that or unknown reasons was ruined.

    There is no inscription or the period o con-struction o this church, but it is said that it wasreconstructed during the period o Archbishop

    Lav, who rom 1035 to 1056 headed the church

    throne. Lav was also a trustee o the painting

    decoration in the church and had big inu-ence on the way it looked. Later the Ottoman

    Turks have turned St. Soa in a mosque and

    have drastically changed its look. The rescoes

    were painted with lime, the dome was ruinedand a minaret was built. The paintings o this

    church are considered to be the zenith o theMiddle Ages painting in Macedonia and wider.Here are the best preserved pieces o Byzantine

    monumental painting. The outside shape o St.

    Soa, which has or a long period o time been

    a synodchurch o Ohrid Archiepiscopacy, is inthe shape o the letter T. It was built o tiles ,

    scale and stone. Because o the acoustic ea-

    tures o the space, today important concerts

    are being held in the church.Sv. Bogorodica Perivlepta (Preslavna)

    church was built in 1295 by the Byzantine armyleader Progon Zgur, relative o Andronic II

    Paleolog. Ater St. Soa was transormed into

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    mosque, St. Bogorodica Perivlepta became a

    synod church o Ohrid Archiepiscopacy. Due

    to its exceptional architecture and rescoes,

    St. Bogorodica Perivlepta (Holly Mother oGood Perivlepta) is among the most impor-

    tant Middle-Ages monuments in the country.

    The rescoes in the church were made by theeminent Middle-Ages icon-painters- Mihailoand Evtihij. This wall painting provided the ba-

    sis or a new style o Byzantine art-Renaissance

    o Paleoliths. The church was built in a shapeo an embedded cross. The construction mate-

    rial that was used consisted mainly o tiles and

    scale, whose skillul laying provided a rare im-

    pression o harmony and polychrom, separat-ing it rom the other Byzantine and Macedonian

    monuments o the 13th century.

    Built on a rock in the old part o Ohrid,above a ormer shermen settlement, St.John Theologian-Kaneo captures you with

    its beauty, peace and tranquility. This is the a-

    vorite place or the people that are in love, or

    the believers, but also or all the tourists in theCity o Light, who come to rest in a place where

    the blue colors o the sky and the lake are

    joined. The church was built and painted at theend o the 13th century. This Middle-Ages mon-

    ument is a successul combination o Byzantine

    and Armenian elements.Hidden in the Southeast side o Ohrid Lake,

    near the village Trpejca, the church St. Zaum

    is a real challenge or the visitors since it may be

    accessed only by boat. It was built in 1361, in a

    orm o an embedded cross, with central dome.The legend says that the Tsars daughter was

    visiting St. Naums monastery and by the time

    she should have gone back to Ohrid, big waves

    appeared in the lake. Even ater the advicesthat she should wait or the waves to calm, she

    started her way back, but she hardly managedto save hersel. At the place she was rescued, asa sign o gratitude and or being reasonable

    in uture (Za um litteraly translation), the

    Tsars daughter has built this church.

    In the Northeast part o Macedonia, nearthe city o Kriva Palanka, is located the mon-

    astery St. Joachim o Osogovo. It is located at

    the slopes o Osogovo mountain, surrounded

    by deep oak orest and separated rom the city,oering peace and tranquility or the visitors.

    The monastery was ounded in the 17th century.The big monastery church was made o hacked

    stone and was built by the amous constructor

    Andreja Damjanov with his group. The church

    was painted between the end o the 19th cen-

    tury and the middle o the 20th century and

    dominant there is the composition Baptizingo Christ. Most o the rescoes were made by

    the amous rescos painter Dimitar Andnov

    Papradishki, assisted by icon-painter PetarNikolov. Northeast o the big monastery church,there is a smaller church dedicated to the birth

    o the Virgin Mary, built in 14th century. Within

    the church there is a spring o holly water withhealing eatures. Beside the churches, the most

    important object is the three-storey lodgings

    and or the guests here traditional ood is pre-

    pared.Surrounded by the babbling canyon o the

    Radika River, sunny mountain Bistra, Mavrovo

    lake and the magnicent mountain Korab,in the most picturesque part o Macedonia,monastery St. John the Baptist is located.

    It is called Bigorski (made o scale, literaly

    translation), since it is made o stone scale.It is

    believed that the icons o the monastery havehealing eatures or several illnesses, including

    inertility. The monastery was ounded in 1020,

    and then with the coming o the Ottoman Turks

    it was ruined and rom all the objects only one

    small church was let. It was reconstructed in1743 by monk Ilarion. It has one o the most a-

    mous iconostasisi, work o xylographers Petre

    Filipovski-Garakata, rom the village Gari andMakarija Frckovski rom the village Galicnik.According to the belies o the monks o the

    previous century, the monastery was built

    by the monk John, the last head o the Ohrid

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    church in Samuils state, at the place where a

    miraculous icon o St. John Preteca ( the

    Forerunner) appeared. The magnicent icon

    o John the Baptizer, 980 years old, has the cen-tral place in the monastery. According to the

    legend, the icon came itsel to the place where

    the monastery was built and was oating abovethe springs o the Radika River. It is told thatthe monastery was destroyed three times by

    the Ottoman Turks, and the icon always disap-

    peared and was returned again. This monastery

    is composed o monastery church and complex

    o monastery and guest lodgings.

    The monastery Middle-Ages church Holly

    Mother Eleusa, located in the village Veljusa,near Strumica, has an important place in the

    church and cultural history o the Southeast

    part o Macedonia. It is a womens convent,dedicated to the holiday o Presentation othe Mother o God to the Temple, celebrated

    in December. The preserved inscriptions point

    out that the church was built in 1080 by themonk Mauel. Holly Mother Merciul is im-

    portant because o the originally preserved ar-

    chitecture, paintings, mosaic oor and marble

    iconostasis.The ascinating church St. Pantelejmon

    in Veles was built in 1840. The history o Balkan

    architecture denes it as the most splendid arto Renaissance, and with the area o 810 squaremeters it is considered to be one o the biggest

    churches built in that period.

    In the city o Skopje and its surroundings

    there are plenty o religious objects worth to bevisited, such as the church St. Pantelejmon,

    located in the village Gorno Nerezi. It was built

    in 1164 during the rule o the Byzantine dy-

    nasty o Comnens.The paintingsin the church

    is considered to be one o the most importantmonuments o the Byzantine art. Here are the

    amous compositions o rescoes:The Birth o

    the Mother o God, Lamentation o Christ andThe Entry into Jerusalem.There is wonderulview o the capital rom the churchs yard.

    In the valley o the Marko River, near the

    village Sushica is located Marko Monastery,whose construction was started by the king

    Volkashin. The construction started in 1345 and

    was completed and painted by his son, king

    Marco in 1371. At the beginning o the 19th cen-tury, the amous literary Kiril Pejcinovic stayed

    there. The monastery o Marco is composed o

    several buildings located in circle around thechurch. There are logdings and an old diningroom, which is especially interesting or the

    visitors. The most picturesque monasteries are

    located in the gorgeo the Treska River. Hidden

    among the steep and high rocks, at the bank oLake Matka is the breath-taking monastery St.

    Andrew, built by the second son o the king

    Volkashin, Andrew, in the period 1388-89.In the Old Bazaar in Skopje is the church

    St. Spas, built ater the re in Skopje by the

    Austrian army leader Piccolomini in 1689. It isamous or its iconostasis, the deep engrav-ing, made between 1819 to 1824 by the Mijak

    masters. The decoration is graceul, in the spirit

    o baroque, with dierent ornaments and mo-

    tis. The church is the home o the relics o theMacedonian revolutionary Goce Delcev.

    Above the picturesque Prespa village

    Kurbinovo is the oldest church in the region

    o Prespa -St. George. Located on a highlandit oers a unique view o almost the whole

    Prespa Lake and the island Big City. This 12 thcentury monument is a real precious stone othe Byzantine wall painting o that period. The

    church was built in 1191 and its rescoes were

    painted by ve unknown masters rom Kostoria.

    This church was built in the same period whenthe churches St. Pantelejmon in Nerezi and

    St. Vracain Kostoria were built.

    On the slopes o the mountain Osogovo,

    monastery o Lesnovo was built. Its lodgingswere built in the 19th century, and the church

    was built in the 14th century. The despot Oliverbuilt the church St. Archangel Michael in 1341,

    on the oundations o an older basilica that

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    existed during the time o the eremite Gavril

    rom Lesnovo, who in XI century started living

    in Lesnovo wood and ounded the monastery.

    From the graceul painting, which even todayenchants you with its beauty, one may mention

    the presentations o Archangel Michael, com-

    positions o the lie o Christ and the Saints, il-lustrations o David psalms. The iconostasis,which in 1814 was made by Petre Filipovski-

    Garkata, is considered as the rst work o the

    Mijaks xylographicschool.Monastery Treskavec is located 10km

    rom Prilep, among the rocks o Zlatovrv, at

    a height o 1.280 meters. This place oers a

    unique view o Pelagonija, Kajmakcalan andPelister. The monastery complex is composed

    o the church Dormition o the Virgin Marry

    and impressive lodgings, oten visited by nu-merous guests rom the country and abroad.The church Dormition o the Virgin was built

    in the 13th century, and the oldest rescos date

    back rom a century later. The monastery was

    ruined during history, but was reconstructed inthe 16th century.

    O the numerous Islamic objects, interest-

    ing to mention is the Jaja Pasha mosque inSkopje, characteristic or the size o its mina-

    ret, 50 meter high. The mosque was built by

    Jaja Pasha in 1504. At the top o the minaret,there are crescent moon and star made o gold.East o the main entry o the Skopje ortress

    is the Mustaa Pasha mosque, which is rec-

    ognizable by its narrow and high minaret and

    the impressive dome. It was built in 1492 byMustaa Pasha, who was an eminent person in

    the Ottoman kingdom. The impressive Mustaa

    Pasha mosque in Skopje is considered to be one

    o the most beautiul mosques in the country.At the south part o the mosque there is a beau-

    tiully made sarcophagus, believed to mark thetomb o Umi, one o Mustaa Pashas daughters.One o the most interesting monuments o the

    Islamic sacral objects is the Colorul mosque

    in Tetovo. Its original name was Aladza (textile

    colorul cotton, literally translation), and in the19th century it was named Pasha-mosque, ater

    the renovator Abdurahman Pasha, Ottoman

    eudal master and Governor o the Tetovo re-

    gion at the time, who also built the Fortresson Baltepe. The original Colorul mosque was

    built in 1495 and had the unction o an Islamicsynod temple. It was reconstructed between

    the 16th and the end o the 17th century, when

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    it was completely burnt in a big re in the city. The numerous paintings, ornaments and

    painting techniques o the most amous masters are rarities that include this mosque in the

    anthologies o Islamic architecture.Jeni mosque in the centre o Bitola was built in 1558 by

    Sir Kadi Mahmud, over a Christian church devoted to St. George. The inside o the object islled with resco-decoration with rare landscapes o the 18th century, deep engravings on

    the wooden doors and decorative plastics in orm o stalactites. Today it is used as an art

    gallery.

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