After several days of traveling in Albania, we headed to Ohrid, North Macedonia. Ohrid is famous for Lake Ohrid, which straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern part of North Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Europe's deepest and oldest lakes, with a unique aquatic ecosystem of worldwide importance.
On the way, we passed through snow-capped mountains. The views were breathtaking.
We arrived at Lake Ohrid, and the sun was setting with a beautiful sunset view.
The following morning, we went to Samuel's Fortress. It is an impressive, restored medieval fortification dominating the city skyline. Ohrid was once the capital of Tsar Samuel's Bulgarian Empire (11th century), hence the name. It offers panoramic views of Lake Ohrid and the Old Town. The ruins date back to the 4th century B.C. On the way up, we visited an ancient theater, a Roman ruin.
As we were walking down from the Samuel's Fortress, we visited the restored Church of Saints Clement and Panteleimon. It was closed due to ongoing construction, but it is a Byzantine church, attributed to Saint Clement of Ohrid, a disciple of Cyril and Saint Methodius, who invented the Cyrillic alphabet that is used widely for Slavic languages, such as Russian, Macedonian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Bulgarian, and non-Slavic languages, such as Mongolian, Tajik, Kyrgyz, Kazakh.
As we continued walking, we came to a small town by the lake called Kaneo, and we found the Church of St. John in Kaneo. It is a small Macedonian Orthodox church situated on a cliff above Kaneo Beach, overlooking Lake Ohrid. We were told that this church building with the Lake Ohrid is the most popular picture of Lake Ohrid. We strolled through the quiet town because it was off-season. It was tranquil and beautiful.
At the tail end of the hiking trail we walked, we visited St. Sofia Church. This church is one of the most important monuments of North Macedonia, housing architecture and art from the Middle Ages. The frescoes inside the church were impressive.
The following day, we drove to St. Nahum Monastery on the other side of Lake Ohrid, 29 km south of the City of Ohrid. This Macedonian Orthodox monastery is named after the medieval Bulgarian writer and enlightener Saint Naum, who founded it. There is a Macedonian Orthodox church. We saw a flow of cold water from the mountain into the lake without mixing with the lake water due to the temperature difference.
We also walked around the Lake Ohrid Shore, marveling at the beautiful scenery, gazing at the statues, and enjoying the cool air blowing from the mountains.
Inside the town, I found a sign that showed the names of all the places we visited.
Lake Ohrid was a beautiful place that made us feel like returning, particularly for Kristin, who missed the walking tour to Samuel's Fortress and Kaneo. - Jeffrey
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