Thats my sister!

Saint Pantelejmon monastery

The 12th century church of St. Panteleimon contemplates Macedonia’s capital city in untroubled serenity from the tiny village of Gorno Nerezi, high on the forested slopes of Mt. Vodno. Only a 15 minute drive  from downtown Skopje, the church, which is one of the oldest and most important in Macedonia, was built and painted in 1164 under patronage of Byzantine prince Alexios Komnenos, whose name is immortalized in marble above the entrance to the church. It was dedicated to St. Panteleimon, the protector of health.

The monastery is most famous for its exceptional fresco paintings, which convey dramatic facial expression and emotions not commonly found in Byzantine art. In 1555 the main dome collapsed, but within a short time the monastery was renewed and repainted. Fragments of old frescoes were incorporated into the new ones. An example of a combination of a new and old painting is the fresco portrayal of The Communion of the Apostles. Among other well-known fresco themes are the Transfiguration, the Raising of Lazarus, the Birth of the Mother of God, the Presentation of the Mother of God to the Temple, The Entry into Jerusalem, and The Descent from the Cross.

The most impressive fresco in St Panteleimon, created under the influence of apocryphal religious literature, is The Lamentation of Christ. Art historians consider it a masterpiece, as it displays traits associated with renaissance art at a much earlier date than the blossoming of the Italian Renaissance.

View from the monastery...

And back to home...

2010 FIFA World Cup

Football & beer! :D

Markov Grad, Matka

Another gorgeous green Sunday in nature. The Treska canyon was the choice, which is vertically cut into the massive of Suva Mountain. The geological features of the park reflect in the hard carst ground in the area. The different carst formations in the canyon, such as the karrens, flutes, valleys, cracks, crevices and caves, have been formed by long term impact of the mountan rivers, as well as great temperature oscillations. Great place for rookie climbing, mountaineering and walk.

The canyon area is home to several historic churches and monasteries. 

The monastery offers great views of the canyon and Treska lake.

The Treska Canyon is the most important alpine-climbing center near Skopje. The major climbing season in Matka begins in spring, somewhere around the Easter holidays when visitors come from the countries all over Europe. The season continues over summer and fall until the end of November.

St. Andrew's Monastery is situated in the gorge of the Treska River. Built in 1389 by King Vukašin's son Andrijaš, it contains frescoes painted by Jovan the Metropolitan.

Sunday ramble

A lot of footwork last sunday. There is nothing like hiking through pleasantly green forest in spring. With an organized crew we started our ramble to the Šar Mountains to visit the waterfalls of "Beloviska" river.

The largest waterfall there it's on 1.300m above sea level. On the way there across unmarked route we spend three hours through the forest in shade (for luck) to get there.

The first resting place with pleasant essence of spring herbs...

A great view from the second resting place...

And finally the biggest waterfall there :)

Really nice place, great event and organization with 15km on foot! :)

Green salad

It is spring, green salad with scallion on the menu! :)

Vanilla afternoon

Vanilla milkshake and cinnamon flavoured cookies :)