June 00 - 'The Ascension of Christ' (11th cent.), on the ceiling in the church of St. Sophia, Ohrid, North Macedonia

This church is important, built on the base of an early basilica and reconstructed and decorated sometime /b/ 1037 and 1056. "The frescoes, which date from the 11th, 12th, and 13th cent.s belong to the best achievements of medieval art and Byzantine painting of that era", and a gallery of frescoes discovered in the 40s is "the most complete iconographic entity in a single cathedral church dating from the 11th cent." These frescoes were covered and effectively preserved when the Turks converted the church into a mosque in the 14th cent.

- "The current church was built on the foundations of a metropolitan cathedral demolished in the 1st decade of the 6th cent. at the time of the barbarian invasions that brought the early Slavs into the region. The succeeding church was built during the 1st Bulgarian Empire, following the official conversion to Christianity. Some sources date the building of that church to the period of the reign of Knyaz Boris I (852 – 889). It was rebuilt in the last decade of the 10th cent., most of it in the 11th, as a patriarchal cathedral in the form of a domed basilica, and became the seat of the autocephalous Bulgarian Patriarchate following the relocation of the capital of Bulgaria to Ohrid during the reign of Tsar Samuil. Later it would become and would remain the seat of the Archbishopric of Ohrid under the Patriarchate of Constantinople until the 18th century."

- A number of 11th cent. Roman popes are depicted in the earlier frescoes, painted before the occasion of the schism /b/ the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. These are the only depictions of Roman or Western popes or priests that I've seen, or know of, in any Orthodox church. "50-odd portraits of the leading patriarchs, bishops and theologians are distributed along the lower surfaces throughout the sanctuary. Emphasis in both number and prominence is given to the Patriarchy of Constantinople which, at that time, fought for primacy in the Christian world and for supremacy over the Roman church. The leading figures of the Eastern church, St. Basil the Great, St. John Chrysostom, and St. Gregory of Naziansus [are depicted]. Six Roman Popes are represented in the lateral diaconicon. Representatives of the patriarchies of Alexandria, Jerusalem and Antioch, the archbishopric of Cyprus, and old, renowned bishoprics in Asia Minor, are also shown, although in smaller number. These figures include the two Slav saints Cyril the Philosopher and his disciple Kliment of Ohrid whose cult had grown substantially in Ohrid, the See of the Archbishopric, by the 11th cent. This enriched the ecumenical repertoire of St. Sophia, which includes representatives of all ecclesiastical-administrative sees of the Christian world, with portraits of personalities who pursued their activities in Slavic languages." (From 'Sveta Sofija - Saint Sophia - Ohrid', the 'Pocket Guides for Tourists' series, Zagreb, 1991.)

- I'll scan a shot of an 11th cent. Madonna and child in the apse.

 

- In the middle of the Balkan peninsula as it is, Ohrid has to have a confusing history. From a locally-produced booklet: "The earliest known inhabitants of the ... region were Brigians and Phrygians and Enhelians. ... They, according to Herodotus and Apollodorus, were not Illyirans", considered locally to be ancestors of the Albanians. (The 'Albanoi' were living in the Roman prov. of Macedonia according to Ptolemy, and were considered by later historians to be an Illyrian tribe. No evidence has been found as yet of any great migration into Albanian territory since the days of the Greeks and Romans when Albania was Illyrian territory, and Illyrian descent has been taken for granted by local Albanians for many decades at least. But while Albanian has been shown to be an Indo-European language with ancient roots in the Balkans [roots which predate the arrival of the Slavs or of Slavic languages], some modern linguists dispute the accepted lineage from the Illyrians. Georgiev, in particular, makes a case that Albanians descend from Dacians [ancestors of the Romanians] who were in what is today eastern Serbia, possibly in the region of the Morava valley, and who were less Romanized than their Dacian neighbours to the east [in light of the degree and quality of shared vocabulary in Albanian with Romanian]. This link lists arguments for and against Illyrian origin. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_the_Albanians www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/austrian-scholars-leave-... ) It seems the author of that locally-produced booklet was asserting that this wasn't proto-Albanian territory in its first 2 sentences, wasting no time. Again, I was there in 2000, a time of great tension between the Slavic and Albanian populations in the country, and war would break out only months later in early 2001.

 

- "The earliest inhabitants of the Lake Ohrid region were the Illyrian tribes of Enchele and Dassaretii [according to Wikipedia]. Ohrid is on the site of the ancient capital city of the Illyrian Dassareti, and was a town as early as the era of King Philip II of Macedon. Known then as Lychnidos, it lies on the Roman via Egnatia, built in 148 to link Dures (Dyrrachion) with Salonica and later Constantinople. The 'South Slavs' began to arrive in the area in the 6th cent. AD. By the early 7th cent., it was colonized by a Slavic tribe known as the Berziti. By 879 AD, the town was referred to as Ohrid. According to Doikov, the name may have originated from the Slavic expression "во рид" (vo rid) meaning "on hill". Conquered by Bulgarians in @ 840, it became capital of the first Bulgarian empire from 990 to 1015, and seat of the patriarchate from 990 to 1018 when Bulgaria was defeated by Basil II and Constantinople. (My locally-produced booklet refers to it as the 'Macedonian empire'). The Ottoman Turks under Bayezid I took the city in 1395, and by the early 1500s it was the dominant Orthodox diocese in the Ottoman-Turkish empire. The archbishopric reached its peak in the early 16th cent., subordinating the Sofia, Vidin, Vlach and Moldavian eparchies, part of the former medieval Serbian Patriarchate of Peć, (including the Patriarchal Monastery of Peć itself), and even the Orthodox districts of Italy (Apulia, Calabria and Sicily), Venice and Dalmatia. There were so many churches here in the middle ages (365, one for every day of the yr. according to a 15th cent. account) that Ohrid was referred to as 'Slavic Jerusalem'. (Wikipedia)

- One big claim to fame is that Ohrid is likely where the Cyrillic alphabet was developed and codified by St. Clement of Ohrid and St. Naum and their pupils in reforming the Glagolitic alphabet created by Cyril and Methodius. Clement and Naum, disciples of Cyril and Methodius, came to Ohrid in 886 and 890 respectively and "with their arrival, Ohrid developed into a leading centre of Slavonic cultural and literary activity." Clement established a literary school here in 886, claimed to be the first Slavic university anywhere, and one of the earliest (although not THE earliest) in the Western world, and which became one of the 2 major cultural centres of the 1st Bulgarian empire (with Veliki Preslav). Clement's 3,500 students of the Glagolitic alphabet translated the Bible into Old Church Slavonic, and "then spread the Slavonic script, art, church music, and culture across several Slav lands as far as Kiev."

 

- I spent a few relaxing but edifying days in Ohrid and tried to see the city and its sites (primarily churches) as well as I could. It was touristy, as it should be. I recall beach-front restaurants and eating lots of shopska salad.

- The 'h' in Ohrid is a bit gutteral, and the name's pronounced Oh-rid or O-hrid. It sounds closer to Oak-rid than Orid.

- Lake Ohrid itself is "one of the world's oldest and most important lakes to science", 4 million yrs old, with some primitive species existing elsewhere only as fossils.

 

- I toured some low-lying ruins overlooking the lake (incl. the remains of ancient Roman basilicas according to the net) on the grounds of the medieval church rebuilt by St. Clement at Plaošnik, the former home and site of the school or university he founded, claimed to have been the first Slavic university anywhere (see above). Floor mosaics at the site (which might have been that of the baptistry where Clement baptized his disciples) had been excavated and were covered in sand for their preservation in situ. I cleared away the sand in one spot to take a photo of a mosaic of a large urn with 2 birds (which I'll scan). That church had been converted into or was replaced by the 'Imaret mosque' in the late 16th or early 17th cent. which was torn down in 2000 on the express (and I should think exceptional) basis that it stood on the site of the remains of St. Clement's famous church and school. (I don't recall a mosque or church at the site.) A grand church has since been built or 'reconstructed' there in medieval style and by hand with the materials used to build the original, the 'Church of St.s Clement and Panteleimon' (Dec. 2000 - Aug. 2002). "The original church is believed to have been built or restored at the time of Clement's arrival in Ohrid at the request of Boris I. Sources say that Clement had a new one built to replace it, which he designed and dedicated to St. Panteleimon. He was buried inside it upon his death in 916." Most of his relics have been returned to the new church. In Oct., 2007, a horde of @ 2,383 Venetian coins was discovered by archaeologists in the church.

 

- I toured the recently well-restored 'St. Clement's Church of the Holy Mother of God Most Glorious (Perivleptos)' (1295) built by the Byzantine military commander Progon Zgur, a relative of the Byzantine Emperor Adronicus II Palalogus. Following the conversion of St. Sophia into a mosque, St. Clement's became the cathedral church of the Archbishopric of Ohrid, and the remains of St. Clement were transferred to it from the monastery church of St. Panteleimon. Its bright, colourful, interior frescoes "mark a new chapter in medieval painting. They ushered in a trend in Byzantine art which came to be known as the Palaeologus Renaissance." As at Boyana, one large fresco depicts the last supper at which Jesus and co. sit all @ a table covered with onions or turnips and garlic and what might be slices of cheese. (I'll scan a photo).

- That church was home to an icon museum (which I don't recall but I think I toured). @ 30 medieval icons are on display, most local in origin, some from Salonica and Constantinople, incl. 2 double-sided 14th-cent. processional icons, one with the 'Christ Psychososter' on one side, and the other with the 'Virgin Psychosostria' ('Virgin Psycho' for short? [I joke]).

 

- I took in the iconic 'Church of St. John the Theologian at Kaneo' (likely 13th cent., no later than 1447) in its beautiful setting on a promontory above the lake. Architecturally, it's said to be "a highly successful combination of Byzantine and Armenian elements." (The style of its dome and drum are Armenian, but it's Byzantine in the materials used and in its brickwork.) The church is dedicated to John of Patmos, author of the Book of Revelations. It's famous and so photogenic with the view of the lake from its site that it could be THE most iconic thing in North Macedonia.

- I'm sure I toured other churches in town which I don't recall and of which there's no shortage.

 

- I toured the museum in the huge 4-storey-high, Ottoman-style Robevi house (1863-'64). There's an archaeology exhibit on the ground floor (which I don't recall), and more woodwork, impressive carved ceilings, etc.

 

- I saw the city's medieval defensive walls and gates, and I don't recall it but I'm sure I toured the fortress of Tsar Samuil, which occupies the summit of the hill of Ohrid and which was described by a medieval chronicler as so mighty that Theodoric, king of the Ostrogoths, was unable to take it. Entrance to the town was gained by 3 gates in the walls of which only the Upper Gate has been preserved.

- I don't recall and probably missed an ancient, well-preserved amphitheatre (@ 200 BC), the oldest and only Hellenistic-era amphitheatre in the country, a big miss. Only the lower tiers have survived. The names of members of the audience are engraved on their seats, a clue that they might have had subscriptions or 'season tickets'.

 

- I might've taken in 'the Permanent Exhibition of Slavonic Literacy' (which I don't recall but would've been a miss if I hadn't in light of Ohrid's greatest claim to fame). Documents on display '"illustrate the overall development of Slavonic literacy" and are written in 'Old' or 'Church Slavonic', in both the Glagolitic and Cyrillic alphabets.

 

- With plans to visit and tour Albania for a further week or so, I took a bus south to the border at the SW end of the lake but stopped en route @ 30 clicks south of Ohrid to tour the famous 'St. Naum's Monastery of the Holy Archangels Michael and Gabriel' (905), which sprawls over another elevated site with a lovely view over the lake. St. Naum is buried there. The original, ancient church was destroyed in the period of Ottoman rule. The current church was built over the original in phases /b/ the 16th and 17th cent.s. (it looks at least as old as that inside), and the dome of the narthex in the late 18th. The valuable iconostasis dates from 1711. Apart from a few older fragments, the frescoes were painted /b/ 1800 and 1806 by Master Trpo from Korcha, Albania. ('Ohrid and its treasures', 1994, booklet)

- I ran into Ewan and Lotje again at this monastery, the couple who I'd first met at Rila monastery several days earlier.

- The biggest miss in Ohrid might have been a boat ride to 'the springs of Crni Drim' which bubble through a riverbed of white sand beneath a clear, aquamarine river that runs through a wooded area only @ 500 m.s from the Monastery of St. Naum. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1P6Ka42fmL8

 

- I'd inquired in advance as to Visa payment requirements and understood that visas weren't required for Canadians, but nonetheless there was an 'entry fee' of $50.00 to be paid at the Albanian border. (Semantics?) Again I had plans to travel in the Middle East, I'd been in Eastern Europe much longer than I'd planned to be (which is one reason why I knew so little in advance about some of the countries I found myself traveling in), and so the expense couldn't be justified, just as crossing into Poland from Slovakia or leaving Romania to tour Moldova or parts of Ukraine couldn't be either. (The one exception visa-wise was Austria, just across the Danube from Bratislava, but I might've anticipated that it was pricier there and so it was another place that could wait.) The men at the border were very nice and a bit apologetic for the fee. Sadly I turned back, caught a lift back to Ohrid, and then headed north that same evening with plans to head up to the lovely and impressive San Jovan Bigorski monastery. I only made it to Struga @ 10 km.s on, with no buses onward to the monastery that night and so turned back to Ohrid for a 2nd time in 1 day.

 

- I befriended a man in Berlin who had worked in Albania with the 'Council of Europe' for a spell and who had some entertaining stories to tell about the place. (I can't say if he was being unfair, but I was encouraged to visit as he made Albania out to be a bit wild [he said as much], or at least that it had been some years earlier in the 90s.)

1. He and his team made inquiries once as to a particular Albanian law or regulation and were advised in an official response that 'that law is confidential.' :D

2. He and his team once received a phone bill with a huge, mysterious amount owing. They asked for a break-down from the utility to substantiate the bill, and then received a revised bill for a much smaller amount.

3. An old woman approached him one day with a bundle wrapped up in a large cloth, and then threw the contents at him. They were the bones of a German soldier who had died in WWII, and which she'd dug up and flung at him to make some point.

- Albania does or did have a reputation with its unparalleled 'blood feuds' (which can trap family members as captives in their homes for years), and for relative poverty. But there's so much beauty in the country and sites of great interest (Butrint, Apollonia, etc.), and there are plenty of travel videos on-line of youtubers raving about their time there (although I suspect the more successful travelling youtubers are spooks anyway). I can add that the Albanians I've met, as of writing this, have only ever impressed me as kind and friendly.

 

- It was just as well that I was in Ohrid again that night as, for the 1st and only time in my life to date (fingers crossed), I made an acquaintance in the bathroom, 1/2 an inch long, white and squirmy in a little wad of my poop on some toilet paper. Such was the risk I'd been running in picking up stray puppies and kittens at points across Romania and Bulgaria and as recently as in Sofia. This was why no-one else would pick them up. Some puppies (but never kittens - ?) had 'kwashiorkor', fluid retention resulting with severe protein deficiency, and are the more likely to have had worms. One I picked up at Boyana in Sofia (while waiting for the time appointed for my guided tour) had a particularly bloated little belly. I put the worm and a piece of stool in an empty halva jar which I took to the hospital the next morning, met with a doctor there, drew him a picture, he nodded and wrote me a script. I took 12 pills over 2 weeks and in 2 courses. I'd been having evil farts which cleared up with the pills. (So fyi I learned that worms can cause evil farts).

 

- Later that day I made it by bus (I think) up the R1201 from Struga 1.5 hr.s, 86 clicks, to San Jovan Bigorski monastery. See the next photo in this stream.

Done