08:00 - 20:00
(PROGRAMME No.3)
DURATION: 4-5 hours
Suggested departure: 10:30
MACEDONIAN TYPICAL VILLAGES, NATURAL BEAUTIES AND RURAL ARCHITECTURE - VEVCANI & KALISTA
First we reach Struga. It is an important tourist destination in Macedonia and just 14 km away from Ohrid. This small town, situated on the north side of Lake Ohrid, is known as the city of poetry. Every August here is held the International Poetry Festival "Struga Poetry Evenings". This is the birthplace of the brothers Konstantin and Dimitar Miladinov, famous Macedonian poets and reformers from the XIX century.
In Struga is located the natural-scientific museum of "Dr. Nikola Nezlobinski", a place of particular interest to the visitors with exhibitions about the wildlife of Lake Ohrid and its surrounding. Struga has a mixed ethnic population: Christians and Muslims. We will take a short walk to the main city market, where the guests can feel and enjoy the scent of various herbs, colourful fresh fruits and vegetables and the atmosphere in the market.
Five kilometres from Struga is located a small village named Kalista, where the monastery dedicated to the Birth of Virgin Mary-Kalista is located, with several churches and the old cave monastic cells (13th century) in the rock. This monastery is the summer residence of the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. A real rarity is the miraculous icon of the Black Madonna in the church dedicated to the Nativity of Virgin Mary.
After the visit of the monastery we will be heading to the village of Vevcani, situated on the slopes of Mount Jablanica. This village can offers the guests some interesting things: a rare natural beauty, clean air, water (legally protected), still running old watermill. It will be a cultural trip into the past: an interesting combination of architecture of the old houses and the local people still living according to the traditions of the past. In one of the restaurants in Vevčani we will have lunch with homemade rakija (brandy), wine and traditional food prepared by the good old masters of the Macedonian cuisine.