Here is the mobility report of Macedonia
Following the Footprints of the Emperors
Report for the Learning Training Teaching Activity in Macedonia
SOU Taki Daskalo, Bitola, Macedonia
Mon 6th – Fri 10th of November 2017
5th of November (Sunday)
Teachers and students from partner countries arrived in Bitola at different hours. Groups were received at the airports (except Bulgaria and Romania, they cаme with their own transport) and taken to the hotels where students were received by Macedonian families and taken home.
18 teachers and 25 students from eight partners countries cаme in Macedonia.
6th of November (Monday)
Teachers and students from partner countries met by Macedonian teachers at the school.
The host school organized welcome activities for the first day of our meeting.
Guests attended the performance of the Youth Folkdance group that performed several traditional Macedonian dances and songs.
Host school made a presentation about the cites of Bitola, Skopje and Ohrid from the past to the present.
After that all participants visited the historical and cultural places in Bitola: The Old Bazaar, Sirok sokak,The Church of St. Dimitrij, Jeni Mosque and the City Museum.
Shirok Sokak (meaning "Wide Alley") is a long pedestrian street in Bitola. The street is the main and busiest street in Bitola, with numerous shops and bars. Located in the city center, as locals say, this is the place where you go if you want to see someone or to be seen. It roughly starts at Magnolia Square and ends in the City Park. It is graced with neo-classical buildings that contain stores, cafés and restaurants. Along Shirok Sokak there are the theatre, the city museum, galleries and several consulates.
Throughout its long history, Bitola was known as an important trade center in this part of the Balkans. Traders from Bitola were well known to the East and West.
The Old Bazaar in Bitola, as one of the most vital parts of the city, played important role in its prosperity through the ages. It was not only an integral part of everyday life of the local residents,
but also a much wider region and larger structure of people such as merchants, craftsmen, farmers, hann (inn) owners, tradesman survived through it etc.
The Church St. Dimitrij in Bitola was built in 1830, replacing the former old burnt chapel from 1726. Built with special permission of the Turkish authorities, the church supposed to be the modest and nondescript building, lower than the surrounding mosques. Therefore, it was dug into the ground and it was built in just four months with donations from Bitola Christians. The interior of the church is richly played with fascinating galleries on the second floor, carved throne, carved iconostasis and pulpit.
After lunch a knowledge contest on a theme „The beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire“ was held in school. The students were divided into 5 mixed groups, they were given an appropriate text according to the topic and after a brief reading and studing they answered the multiple choice questions from the text.
7th of November (Tuesday)
All day is a working day at school with a break for walking to the ancient city of Heraclea Lyncestis and lunch.
For students – there was a workshop for designing a toga, Roman Empire clothing. The students were given an appropriate material for the preparation of models of men and women's Roman clothes. A professor from the textile direction in the school led the workshop. All manufactured products were exposed afterwards.
For teachers – there was a seminar on the topic „Introduction of the Yes Network", a project that aims to develop employability of young people.The seminar was held by a certified career advisor, a teacher at SOU “Taki Daskalo” Bitola.
Unfortunately, the bad weather conditions canceled the walking to the ancient city of Heraclea Lyncestis.
In the afternoon there was a workshop at school both for the students and teachers –
A competition for the most innovative idea for wearable technology. Each partner school presented its idea for a product of wearable technology. In the end, the winner was chosen by voting.The team from Turkey was announced a winner for the most innovative idea for wearable technology.
8th of November (Wednesday)
All day trip started with the visit of the ancient city of Stobi.
Ancient city Stobi is located on the main road that leads from the Danube to the Aegean Sea and is considered by many to be the most famous archaeological site in the Republic of Macedonia. “…Stobis, vetus urbs…”, as the Roman historian Livy named it, at the confluence of rivers Crna and Vardar, was the largest city in the northern part of the Roman province Macedonia, later capital city of the Roman province Macedonia Secunda, an important urban, military, administrative, trade and religious center of two large empires: Roman and Early Byzantine. Located in the heart of Macedonia, on the crossroads between the Aegean World and the Central Balkan, during the whole period of its existence it was a place where cultural achievements of the ancient world gathered in a unique way.
The trip continued with visit to Skopje. Firstly we visited the ancient site of Tauresium, the birthplace of the Emperor Justinian I.
Tauresium is an ancient city (Roman and Byzantine) whose ruins and remnants of walls are located at the site of Gradiste, above the village of Taor, 20 km southeast of Skopje. This ancient city is presumed a birthplace of the famous Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (483-565). According to Justinian's biographer Procopius, the Emperor was born in Tauresius in 483, more precisely in the castle of Baderiana, which is the modern village of Bader. Tauresium and the castle Baderiana were destroyed in an earthquake in 518. As a gesture of gratitude to his birthplace, Justinian I rebuilt the city. According to the excavations that have been done so far, it is estimated that the oldest parts of Tauresium date from the 4th century and this oldest part is a castle with four towers known as Tetrapirgia.
Then we visited the Museum of Archeology situated in the center of Skopje.
Unfortunatelly, the bad weather conditions canceled the visit of the Roman Aquaduct.
The Skopje Aqueduct is an aqueduct and archeological site located in the village of Vizbegovo,
2 km north-west of central Skopje, Macedonia. The Skopje Aqueduct is the only aqueduct in Macedonia, and one of three largest and well preserved in the former Yugoslavia. It was in use until the XIX century. Only about 386 m with 55 arches of this structure of stone and brick remain. It is assumed that the aqueduct took water from the spring Lavovec, 9 km northwest from Skopje and brought water to the city center.
After lunch in a national restaurant in Skopje, we had a free afternoon there and then the returning to Bitola.
9th of November (Thursday)
All day trip started with visit of Monastery "St. Naum".
Monastery "St. Naum" is situated 29 km from the town of Ohrid and only 1 km from the Albanian border. It was established in 905 by the medieval Saint Naum of Ohrid himself. St Naum is also buried in the church and it is believed that you can still hear the saint’s heartbeat by pressing an ear to his stone coffin inside the church. The icons of St. Naum are some of the best religious painting achievements in the Balkans. They date from the first half of the 18th century. The wood-carved iconostasis itself was made in 1711 by an unknown artisan. Surrounded with a garden looped by fountains, with roses and peacocks, and set amidst lush verdure where the River Crn Drim tumbles into the lake, the monastery of St. Naum is a refuge of tranquility.
After that we visited Museum on Water ”Bay of the Bones”.
Museum on Water is an exceptional archeological complex, which is one of a kind in the region. On the southern coast of Gradishte Peninsula in the Bay of Bones, is a pile-dwelling settlement which in the past was spreading at a total surface of 8.500 m2. In prehistoric times Lake Ohrid was home to a settlement of pile dwellers who lived literally on top of the water, on a platform supported by up to 10,000 wooden piles anchored to the lake bed. The remains of the settlement were discovered at this spot and between 1997 and 2005 were gradually excavated by an underwater team. Bay of the Bones is an authentic reconstruction of a part of the pile-dwelling settlement, dating back between 1200 and 700 BC.
A Roman military fortification has been reconstructed on the hill above the Bay of Bones. The walls of the fortification that once had protected the Roman Empire from its enemies are once again lifted up on the hill near Gradishte.
After Museum on Water we headed in the town of Ohrid.
Ohrid is in UNESCO world heritage list and it’s one of the most famous and mostly visited touristic and cultural cities in Macedonia with its natural and historical beauties. Ohrid is notable for once having had 365 churches, one for each day of the year, and has been referred to as a "Jerusalem (of the Balkans)". The city is rich in picturesque houses, monuments, and castles, and tourism is predominant.
In Ohrid we visited the ancient sites such as the Ancient Theatre, Tsar Samoil’s Castle, Plaoshnik and the Old Bazaar.
The Samoil's Fortress in the old town of Ohrid is considered as one of the largest preserved fortifications in Macedonia. It was the capital of the Empire during the rule of Tsar Samoil at the
turn of the Xth century. According to recent excavations, it was contended that this fortress was built on the place of an earlier fortification, dated to the 4th century BC, which was probably built by King Philip II Macedonian. Until the late XIV and early XV century population lived in Samoil's Fortress. Today, this historical monument is a major tourist attraction and was renovated in 2003.
The Ancient Theatre of Ohrid was built in 200 BC and is the only Hellenistic-type theatre in the country as the other three in Scupi, Heraklea Lynkestis and Stobi are from Roman times. It is unclear how many people the original theater used to seat, as only the lower section still exists. The open theater has a perfect location: the two hills that surround it keep it protected from winds that could interfere with acoustics during performances. During Roman times, the theater was used for gladiator fights. Since 1980s, it is again a site of public performances, such as plays, concerts, operas.
Plaoshnik in Ohrid is an archeological site and holy place, 250 meters below Samoil's Fortress. There is St.Clement’s church built by him in 893 year on the foundation of an early Christian basilica, and dedicated to St.Panteleimon. St. Clement was buried in this monastery, in the tomb which was built by his own hands. There is a baptistery of the five aisle basilica with hooked crosses (swastikas) on the mosaic floors which dates from the period between 4th and 6th century.
After lunch in a restaurant in Ohrid, we had a free afternoon there. Then we went to Pretor, which is located on the Prespa Lake. In Pretor there was an excellent party and dinner for teachers and students in the local restaurant.
10th of November (Friday)
The last day was engaged with final activities such as the preparation of the exhibition of the works produced by the students in the workshop for design a toga.Then the official giving of the Certificates of Attendance followed. Also, we awarded the certificate to Turkey, the winner in the competition for the most innovative idea for wearable technology. We awarded a symbolic and funny award to the winner in the knowledge contest on a theme „The beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire“. The tеаchers‘ meeting was held as well, and we talked about the so far and future activities related to this project. We discussed about the following mobilities in Croatia and Romania.
A walking to the ancient city of Heraclea Lyncestis was organized at noon after canceling it on Tuesday due to bad weather conditions. Heraclea Lyncestis is located nearby Bitola.
Ancient city Heraclea Lyncestis was founded by Philip II of Macedon in the middle of the 4th century BC after he had conquered the surrounding region of Lyncestis and incorporated it into his kingdom of Macedon. The city was named in honor of Heracles, mythological Greek hero. Lyncestis means "the Land of the Lynx" in Greek. Famous for its dazzling mosaics, ancient theater and Roman baths, Heraclea is the most vividly preserved city from the surviving Ancient Macedonian Empire in the country. The main Roman road in the area, Via Egnatia went through Heraclea, and Heraclea was an important stop. The prosperity of the city was maintained mainly due to this road. Objects discovered from the time of Roman rule in Heraclea are: Votive monuments, a portico, thermae (baths), a theatre and town walls. In the early Christian period, Heraclea was an important Episcopal seat. From this period are the ensembles of the Small and Great (Large, Big) basilica. The Grave (Funeral) basilica with a necropolis is located east of the theatre.
After these final activities we had a free afternoon for all of the project participants.
In the evening the hosts organized a farewell dinner for teachers in a restaurant in Bitola.
11th of November (Saturday)
All participants departed Bitola, except for the Portuguese team who left on Friday morning and German team who left on Sunday.