continued from part 1: here.
KOSOVO (pristina, 1 night)
what a funtastically fascinating country! they declared independence in 2008, after obtaining united nations protected autonomy after the big nato intervention in 1999. but the serbs still consider kosovo to be part of serbia. so talk about political intricacies and complicated animosities, eh? although independent, one gets the impression that the place is still basically run by the unmik (united nations mission in kosovo). they have a huge complex in downtown pristina. i saw the "newborn" monument, which was unveiled at the announcement of independence and has become something of a symbol of nationalism. its a series of huge yellow letters that spell "newborn", and it is covered in the signatures of kosovo's youth. also, the library at the university of pristina, whose unique design has been aptly described as "simultaneously outrageous and beautiful": google image it! kosovo is definitely on the developing end of the spectrum. the smells and the sights are evocative of a place struggling to survive. i stayed in the only hostel in town, which is run by a hunchbacked former university electronics professor who speaks impeccable english (pretty rare in kosovo). there are lots of mosques (albanian/muslim majority), and a recently begun serbian orthodox church that has come to be known as a symbol of serbian arrogance and spite: it was a target of vandalism and anti-serbian hate graffiti, the u.n. had to move in with force to protect it, and apparently the serbian orthodox church isn't going to rest until its finished. oh and kosovo absolutely loves bill clinton. they named a street after him, and put up a statue as well as a 3 story tall mural of his perfect face. can't blame them - he saved them from the genocidal slobodan milosabitch. not to tell just one side of the story though, there were innocent serbians who lived in kosovo who now can't go back for fear of their lives. just a sad situation all around. actually, there are still serbian enclaves in kosovo, and they basically don't answer to any national government. anyways, ...
MACEDONIA (skopje, 2 nights)
what a funtastically fascinating country! all of skopje (pronounced skow-pee-ah) is seemingly under construction. they are building all kinds of huge museums, and statues in the central square of famous macedonians throughout history, like the byzantine emperor justinian. the centerpiece is a massive bronze alexander the great on a horse, which apparently was only erected a couple of weeks ago! there is a splendid old town, a huge bazaar, a beautifully ornate ottoman era church (that had to be built 3 feet under ground because churches couldn't be taller than mosques in the ottoman empire), and a really nice chapel built in commemoration of mother theresa, who grew up in skopje. also, a clock tower. did you know that every town in the ottoman empire needed a clock tower so that "no shop keepers could work longer than anyone else and earn more money"? good thing that era's over, eh!? if you want to climb the skopje clock tower you can find your way through the construction zone and into the big mosque on the hill. find the old guy with no teeth and give him some non-verbal pleasantries about his mosque. then motion to the clock tower and he will open the lock with a huge, archaic key from the middle ages that he finds under a carpet in the mosque. climb up the stairs, but watch out for the randomly placed wooden beams which could almost knock you out if you walk into one, and be careful not to step on the rotting corpses of dead pigeons or, further up, the nest with recently hatched baby birds. when you get to the top, crawl out the small window unto the ledge and its a beautiful view of skopje! here's something interesting: the greeks don't like the name macedonia. the ancient macedonia included part of greece (or as the greeks would say, it was greek to its core), and indeed there is a region in greece today called macedonia. thus, when the republic of macedonia emerged out of the ashes of the former yugoslavia as an independent state, greece saw their choice of name carrying with it the possibility of territorial expansionism, and demanded that the country be referred to in the united nations as the former yugoslav republic of macedonia (fyrom). as a byproduct of this angst, buses between macedonia and greece are extremely scant, despite the fact that they are right beside each other and its not very far. also, skopje has one of the largest roma settlements/slums in the world. the roma are a transient ethnic group in the balkans who struggle with unemployment. there was actually a roma museum in belgrade that i wanted to go to but i didn't have time. and because i have a thing for superlatives, i simply had to see the largest cross in the world up close. it is called the millenium cross (because it was built in 2002 to commemorate 2000 years of christianity in macedonia and the world), and it sits atop vodno mountain overlooking skopje. one gets to it first by hiking for 2 hours up the mountain (or by taking a city bus, i later discovered was an option), and then taking a brand new ropeway (that just opened last week!)
BULGARIA (sofia, 2 nights)
what a funtastically fascinating country! there are countless ancient churches, the largest sephardic synagogue in europe, and the nicest shopping mall that i saw in the balkans (because yes, that does matter!). bulgaria is now part of the european union, believe it or not, and they are pouring the money in for things like new freeways. i say "or not" because the smell of corruption still seemed pretty thick in the air (to my relatively uninformed nose, although i would never say something like that unless i actually saw it happening) and there are still way too many elderly people who have to scrounge through the dumpsters looking for food. (by the way, if you're ever trying to get me to give you coins, you're going to have a lot more luck if you're digging through dumpsters than if you're sitting on the sidewalk with your hand out). saw some cool stuff in sofia, got caught in a refreshing rainstorm, shared a room in the "4th best hostel in the world" with some emaciated (and when i say emaciated i mean it was medically scary) party animals from the u.k....
GREECE (again!) (athens, 3 nights)
what a funtastically fascinating country! but now i'm repeating myself. i went to the archeological sights (like the parthenon at the acropolis!), it was really nice. national archeological museum, olympic stadium, greek salads, can't go wrong!
CYPRUS
what a funtastically fascinating country! i know its not in the balkans, but i had a noon - 6 am layover there! the island of cyprus is dominated by the e.u. member state of the same name, but the northern third is a de facto independent state called the turkish republic of northern cyprus (turkey is the only country in the world that recognizes its independence). because cyprus and greece are pretty tight, the "turkish occupation" of the north throws a monkey wrench into the already strained relationship between greece and turkey (indeed, greece's animosity is one big reason that turkey can't seem to get into the european union). we learned all about this stuff when i was on the middle east studies program. anyways, as i was looking at the map as we were landing in larnaca, i realized that it wasn't even too far to north cyprus. i thought "wouldn't it be cool to go there if i could!". found some free internet and discovered that indeed, starting in 2008 it had become possible to cross the u.n. patrolled buffer zone in the divided capital of cyprus, nicosia! found myself a shuttle to nicosia (also known as lefkosia), and a couple of hours after landing i was in north cyprus! and wow, talk about a city divided. from south to north you go from christian to muslim; white people to brown; greek language to turkish; crowds of tourists to abandoned streets; mcdonalds and starbucks to falafel places. i didn't really know what i was looking for, if anything, but i chanced upon this most amazing mosque. they had taken a huge ancient stone cathedral (it had very distinctive western style arches and stained glass windows), and converted it into a mosque by removing all the christian references and building two huge stone minarets on either side. usually mosques are built oriented toward mecca, but of course this one didn't have that orientation initially, so the mihrab (the depression in the wall at the front of the mosque) was carved into a huge chunk of rock that they had to orient diagonally inside the building. clearly i'm pretty nerdy about this stuff, but it was one of the most interesting things i've seen in a long time. and by the way, if you're thinking "what gives those muslims the right," christians have been known to convert mosques into churches as well. so that was my favorite sighting of the day. caught a bus back to larnaca, where there was a beautiful swimming beach and church with the grave of lazarus of biblical fame (who moved to cyprus after he was raised from the dead by Christ), and a 6 am flight to....
ISRAEL, TO START MEDICAL SCHOOL!!!!
KOSOVO (pristina, 1 night)
what a funtastically fascinating country! they declared independence in 2008, after obtaining united nations protected autonomy after the big nato intervention in 1999. but the serbs still consider kosovo to be part of serbia. so talk about political intricacies and complicated animosities, eh? although independent, one gets the impression that the place is still basically run by the unmik (united nations mission in kosovo). they have a huge complex in downtown pristina. i saw the "newborn" monument, which was unveiled at the announcement of independence and has become something of a symbol of nationalism. its a series of huge yellow letters that spell "newborn", and it is covered in the signatures of kosovo's youth. also, the library at the university of pristina, whose unique design has been aptly described as "simultaneously outrageous and beautiful": google image it! kosovo is definitely on the developing end of the spectrum. the smells and the sights are evocative of a place struggling to survive. i stayed in the only hostel in town, which is run by a hunchbacked former university electronics professor who speaks impeccable english (pretty rare in kosovo). there are lots of mosques (albanian/muslim majority), and a recently begun serbian orthodox church that has come to be known as a symbol of serbian arrogance and spite: it was a target of vandalism and anti-serbian hate graffiti, the u.n. had to move in with force to protect it, and apparently the serbian orthodox church isn't going to rest until its finished. oh and kosovo absolutely loves bill clinton. they named a street after him, and put up a statue as well as a 3 story tall mural of his perfect face. can't blame them - he saved them from the genocidal slobodan milosabitch. not to tell just one side of the story though, there were innocent serbians who lived in kosovo who now can't go back for fear of their lives. just a sad situation all around. actually, there are still serbian enclaves in kosovo, and they basically don't answer to any national government. anyways, ...
MACEDONIA (skopje, 2 nights)
what a funtastically fascinating country! all of skopje (pronounced skow-pee-ah) is seemingly under construction. they are building all kinds of huge museums, and statues in the central square of famous macedonians throughout history, like the byzantine emperor justinian. the centerpiece is a massive bronze alexander the great on a horse, which apparently was only erected a couple of weeks ago! there is a splendid old town, a huge bazaar, a beautifully ornate ottoman era church (that had to be built 3 feet under ground because churches couldn't be taller than mosques in the ottoman empire), and a really nice chapel built in commemoration of mother theresa, who grew up in skopje. also, a clock tower. did you know that every town in the ottoman empire needed a clock tower so that "no shop keepers could work longer than anyone else and earn more money"? good thing that era's over, eh!? if you want to climb the skopje clock tower you can find your way through the construction zone and into the big mosque on the hill. find the old guy with no teeth and give him some non-verbal pleasantries about his mosque. then motion to the clock tower and he will open the lock with a huge, archaic key from the middle ages that he finds under a carpet in the mosque. climb up the stairs, but watch out for the randomly placed wooden beams which could almost knock you out if you walk into one, and be careful not to step on the rotting corpses of dead pigeons or, further up, the nest with recently hatched baby birds. when you get to the top, crawl out the small window unto the ledge and its a beautiful view of skopje! here's something interesting: the greeks don't like the name macedonia. the ancient macedonia included part of greece (or as the greeks would say, it was greek to its core), and indeed there is a region in greece today called macedonia. thus, when the republic of macedonia emerged out of the ashes of the former yugoslavia as an independent state, greece saw their choice of name carrying with it the possibility of territorial expansionism, and demanded that the country be referred to in the united nations as the former yugoslav republic of macedonia (fyrom). as a byproduct of this angst, buses between macedonia and greece are extremely scant, despite the fact that they are right beside each other and its not very far. also, skopje has one of the largest roma settlements/slums in the world. the roma are a transient ethnic group in the balkans who struggle with unemployment. there was actually a roma museum in belgrade that i wanted to go to but i didn't have time. and because i have a thing for superlatives, i simply had to see the largest cross in the world up close. it is called the millenium cross (because it was built in 2002 to commemorate 2000 years of christianity in macedonia and the world), and it sits atop vodno mountain overlooking skopje. one gets to it first by hiking for 2 hours up the mountain (or by taking a city bus, i later discovered was an option), and then taking a brand new ropeway (that just opened last week!)
BULGARIA (sofia, 2 nights)
what a funtastically fascinating country! there are countless ancient churches, the largest sephardic synagogue in europe, and the nicest shopping mall that i saw in the balkans (because yes, that does matter!). bulgaria is now part of the european union, believe it or not, and they are pouring the money in for things like new freeways. i say "or not" because the smell of corruption still seemed pretty thick in the air (to my relatively uninformed nose, although i would never say something like that unless i actually saw it happening) and there are still way too many elderly people who have to scrounge through the dumpsters looking for food. (by the way, if you're ever trying to get me to give you coins, you're going to have a lot more luck if you're digging through dumpsters than if you're sitting on the sidewalk with your hand out). saw some cool stuff in sofia, got caught in a refreshing rainstorm, shared a room in the "4th best hostel in the world" with some emaciated (and when i say emaciated i mean it was medically scary) party animals from the u.k....
GREECE (again!) (athens, 3 nights)
what a funtastically fascinating country! but now i'm repeating myself. i went to the archeological sights (like the parthenon at the acropolis!), it was really nice. national archeological museum, olympic stadium, greek salads, can't go wrong!
CYPRUS
what a funtastically fascinating country! i know its not in the balkans, but i had a noon - 6 am layover there! the island of cyprus is dominated by the e.u. member state of the same name, but the northern third is a de facto independent state called the turkish republic of northern cyprus (turkey is the only country in the world that recognizes its independence). because cyprus and greece are pretty tight, the "turkish occupation" of the north throws a monkey wrench into the already strained relationship between greece and turkey (indeed, greece's animosity is one big reason that turkey can't seem to get into the european union). we learned all about this stuff when i was on the middle east studies program. anyways, as i was looking at the map as we were landing in larnaca, i realized that it wasn't even too far to north cyprus. i thought "wouldn't it be cool to go there if i could!". found some free internet and discovered that indeed, starting in 2008 it had become possible to cross the u.n. patrolled buffer zone in the divided capital of cyprus, nicosia! found myself a shuttle to nicosia (also known as lefkosia), and a couple of hours after landing i was in north cyprus! and wow, talk about a city divided. from south to north you go from christian to muslim; white people to brown; greek language to turkish; crowds of tourists to abandoned streets; mcdonalds and starbucks to falafel places. i didn't really know what i was looking for, if anything, but i chanced upon this most amazing mosque. they had taken a huge ancient stone cathedral (it had very distinctive western style arches and stained glass windows), and converted it into a mosque by removing all the christian references and building two huge stone minarets on either side. usually mosques are built oriented toward mecca, but of course this one didn't have that orientation initially, so the mihrab (the depression in the wall at the front of the mosque) was carved into a huge chunk of rock that they had to orient diagonally inside the building. clearly i'm pretty nerdy about this stuff, but it was one of the most interesting things i've seen in a long time. and by the way, if you're thinking "what gives those muslims the right," christians have been known to convert mosques into churches as well. so that was my favorite sighting of the day. caught a bus back to larnaca, where there was a beautiful swimming beach and church with the grave of lazarus of biblical fame (who moved to cyprus after he was raised from the dead by Christ), and a 6 am flight to....
ISRAEL, TO START MEDICAL SCHOOL!!!!
