Bitola – The City of Consuls
Table of Contents
A Ride From Ohrid to Bitola:
I walked past a series of derelict Yugoslav apartment blocks on my way to the bus stop. The station is located 3km north of Ohrid’s old town where it connects with the A3 roadway. For such a small, compact city this half hour walk felt very long. This is due in part to the stop being located on the periphery of the city limits. As I’m walking, a taxi driver waves me down and asks me where I’m headed. I mention Bitola and he offers me a ride for a little more than the price of a bus ticket. I declined politely and continued on my way.
By the time I finally got to the station, I realized that I was plenty early and that the bus to Bitola was not scheduled for another half hour. I wandered across the street to find a bite to eat and while walking back the same taxi driver waves me down. This time he offers me a much cheaper rate than the bus with the condition that I give him time to collect a few additional passengers. I accept and sure enough ten minutes later he is back with a cohort of them. Against my better judgement I jump in the taxi with four strangers and a live chicken. Luckily, I am given the guest of honor seat in the front of the taxi, far away from the chicken. A few minutes later, we are outside the city limits on a narrow two-lane road looking out at the rolling Macedonian hills. The driver seemed to have taken a liking to me and spends his time telling me stories, the other passengers speak no English but my driver acts as a translator or us.
Every village we come across he drops off a passenger or two, drives around the town center, shouts out the location of his destination and picks up some more customers. One of the bigger towns I remember stopping in was that of Resen (pop. 9000), an agricultural center specializing in the production of fruits like apples, cherries, plums and pears. The driver, being a funny guy, tried to trick me into thinking that the fruit trees were potato trees. I’m glad I spent the morning in the cab with him, I learned a few things about Macedonian life (and the Macedonian sense of humor). I can think of worse ways to spend my time.
A Little History:
Bitola lies on the southern border with Greece and is to the east of Ohrid. It was named “City of Consuls” due to the diverse array of foreign consulates located in the town during the time of Ottoman rule. The 19th century was kind to the city and it was an important administrative center of the southern Balkans. In 1903 the first motion picture made in the Balkans was filmed here and in 1908 the Albanian diaspora crafted the modern Albanian alphabet. Although the city’s importance and wealth can be observed in its 1900’s neoclassic architecture the city far predates it’s pre-WW1 peak.
The city was founded by Philip of Macedon as Heraclea Lyncestis in the 4th century BC, later under roman rule the city would become an important stop on the Via Egnatia roadway. This important commercial route linked the adriatic port of Dyrrhachium (Durrës) in Albania to Byzantium in the East thereby connecting Italy to its roman colonies in the Balkans. During the medieval era the city was called Monastiri (Greek) and hotly contested between the Byzantines and Bulgarians empires, the later would record the city in its Slavic name of Bitol, before eventually falling to the Serbian Kingdom and eventually the Ottomans Empire. It is during this time that the city would peak in importance.
The City, Roman Ruins and the Bazaar:
My guide dropped me off in the main square and told me he would pick me up at exactly 3pm by the clocktower. I was doubtful, but I knew there were plenty of ways back to Ohrid if I was stuck. Today the city is 90% orthodox and proudly Macedonian but still displays all the signs of a city conquered and fought over by multiple people: A mosque located in the main square is located within a stone’s throw of a church and the architecture is a blend of styles. A more recent addition, the statue of Phillip of Macedon, reminds us that the city is much older than one may assume.
I started my walk along the main street, it’s a weekend and in a bustling market town like this it’s hard to get around the hordes of people walking by. The street is filled with Macedonian flags strung up from one building to the other, creating a canvas of the yellow and red sun patterns (see Macedonian flag). The new town is 3km north from the roman ruins, some of the best in the region, and the true object of my visit. I passed many important sights along the way including the Sacred Heart co-cathedral and the military academy where Mustafa Kemal, founder of the Turkish state, studied at. The academy established in 1848, has remained unchanged since its construction and now serves as a city museum. The city is quite small and by the time you hit the ruins there is very little city left to see. This part of town is quite the contrast to the beautiful city center, you cut across a large unkempt city park, until you hit a decrepit suburban area. The sidewalks, if they exist at all, will likely be empty but don’t worry you are on the right track. Eventually a road-sign will point you in the right direction to the ruins.
When I finally arrived, I realized that I was the only tourist in the whole place, a pretty cool feeling. The canteen was shut and I had to wait for the only employee working to come up to the counter and open the gate. Entry to the site was cheap by western standards and well maintained. Although the ruins were interesting I was disappointed because the early byzantine mosaics that the site is known for were not on display. The site made up for it in atmosphere, it is a calm place to walk around and very isolated from the noisy city.
On the way back into town, I realized the charge on my phone had been exhausted. I could not take any more pictures, darn! It’s really too bad as there was still much of the city to see, including the large bazaar (market) north of the Dragor river, the stream that divides the town in half. The bazaar has many shops and an old Turkish bathhouse. Unlike some of its more touristy counterparts the assortment of buildings still retains much of its authenticity.
Running out of time I made it back to the main square to wait for my taxi. Since my phone was dead I decided to make use of the clocktower to keep track of the time. Then, I sat in it’s shade, polished up a beer (a Macedonian brew of course!) and waited for my ride. It was rush hour and the traffic circle was packed to the brim with cars. Meanwhile, there were so many pedestrians that I couldn’t imagine the taxi finding me. I watched many cabs go by, none of them being driven by my driver. I hear a honk (among many) and I see a man in his car waving at me. Just as he promised and right to the minute at that! I have no clue how he picked me out in the crowd but I’m glad he did. In retrospect I was dressed as a tourist, so maybe I was easier to spot than I though! We picked up our conversation from where we left off and it was a very pleasant ride back. I ended up giving him a great tip at the end. It was an entertaining ride and I’m glad I didn’t take the bus.
Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart spire in the background
