Northern Greece, Albania & Macedonia: Ancient Lands of Alexander the Great Day 17

Day 17 - Thursday, October 26, 2017 - Explore Macedonian Capital; Mother Teresa Memorial House; Archaeological Museum; Turkish Bazaar; Afternoon On Our Own; Farewell Dinner

The further north we went, the colder it got. When we got up at 7:00 am the temperature was 39 degrees but the sun was bright and the sky was clear for our final day in Macedonia.

Bobi and Anna took us on a walking tour of the city of Skopje to see the important sites in the city center. We walked across the Stone Bridge that was built upon an ancient Roman foundation. Around 1451 the Ottoman Turks built the present structure over the Vardar River.

As we strolled the streets of the capital, Bobi pointed out historic and cultural landmarks. We walked to the original location of the home of Mother Teresa. A monument commemorates the spot, but the house itself was destroyed in the earthquake of 1963.

We continued to the Mother Teresa Memorial House, built on the site of her local church. Born in 1910, Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, worked all of her life spreading love and kindness around the world.

She was given many honors in her time; the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 and in 2016, she was canonized by the Roman Catholic Church as Saint Teresa. Most of her life was spent in Calcutta, India where she died in 1997.

Our next learning and discovery was at the Archaeological Museum where our museum guide walked us through the displays and artifacts. Although the finds from the region of Macedonia were very interesting, we could tell that most of the group was suffering from museum saturation at this point in our trip.

Leaving the museum at noon, we walked to the Turkish bazaar and wandered through the streets with shops of gold, fabric, household goods, shoes, and electronics. Bobi said goodbye to us and we were on our own to have lunch and continue our afternoon.

Our lunch was at a small doner or kebab shop where we spent our last denars, the Macedonian currency. We ate our traditional Turkish wraps out in the sun and relaxed watching people.

We came back to the room at 2:00 to sort pictures and begin the journal. Our evening Farewell Dinner will be early tonight at 6:30 as many of us have flights leaving for Vienna at 4:30am.

We came back to the room at 2:00 to sort pictures and begin the journal. Our evening Farewell Dinner was at 6:30 as many of us had flights leaving for Vienna at 4:30am.

A fifteen-passenger van came for the 18 of us, a very tight squeeze. We drove out of town and spent a delightful evening together for one last time at the Restaurant Lyra.

After our main course a group of five local musicians serenaded us with lively Macedonian folk tunes and popular music of the day. They were very entertaining as was our own Tasoss who sang along with them and then played several selections on the accordion.

We got back to our hotel at 8:30 and made sure we had a back-up alarm set for 1:30am. A van would be picking us up at 2:00 for our trip to the airport.

Friday will be our flight day from Skopje to Vienna, then Frankfurt, then a direct flight to Denver. Day 17 will be posted early and then we will conclude this adventure when we arrive home to Colorado.

Everything you wanted to know about Skopje, Macedonia:

Skopje is the capital of the Republic of Macedonia, the City that lies in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula, at the crossroad of important communications, a city with a 2000 years old tradition. Skopje is a modern city with population of almost one million and presents Macedonia’s major political, economical, educational and cultural center.

http://www.exploringmacedonia.com/skopje.nspx

Accommodations: HOTEL STONEBRIDGE - - - Meal: B & D