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Why is Macedonia’s most photographed building so hard to find?

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Why is Macedonia’s most photographed building so hard to find?

On Macedonia’s Lake Ohrid is the most photographed building in the country.  It is the Church of St John at Kaneo.  Nearby, is supposedly where the Cyrillic alphabet was created.  Monks developed the alphabet, using bits of the Greek and Roman alphabets, to help the Baltic people read The Bible.

ohrid3

 

Macedonia is technically called the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).  As the name implies, it was a part of the former Yugoslavia.  There is some tension about its name though.  Greece claims that Macedonia is a Greek region, and resents the country having the word “Macedonia” in its name, and wants them to change the country’s name.

ohrid1
Even though it was pouring rain, we decided to go see a few of the sights in town.  Somehow this wasn’t very easy.  Following directions, we went down a path, which took us to the castle instead of the monastery.  We then found a sign for the monastery, and walked down that path until it petered out.  Why do we keep having hard times staying on paths???

Granted, there was a lot of construction going on, so I believe the usual path was blocked.  But still, this is the most famous building in Macedonia; there should at least be proper signage.
ohrid2

We finally found it.  We took some pictures, and avoided paying an entrance fee (the rain prevented the ticket collector from showing up to work on time).  Then, we found a cafe and had some hot coffee.

This is what it looks like when you wear your pocketbook under your raincoat to protect it from the downpour.
This is what it looks like when you wear your pocketbook under your raincoat to protect it from the downpour.

Ohrid is considered one of the prettiest towns in the country, which unfortunately we weren’t able to appreciate in the cold rain.  Still, we could imagine how impressive it would look on a bright sunny day, with the large lake, big mountains, and quaint cobblestoned old town.

Beer of choice: Sopsko