Saturday, May 7, 2011

Sveti Pantelejmon and Mount Vodno



All of the places described above can comfortably be visited in a day's walking around central Skopje, but you will need to leave the centre to see one of the city's most important sights. The Monastery of Sveti Pantelejmon, in the little village of Gorni Nerezi, 6km from the centre on the slops of Mount Vodno, is an essential visit for anyone interested in Byzantine art. The twelfth century frescoes inside the little church are amongst the finest in Macedonia. The Lamentation of Christ is particularly impressive for its emotional portrayal of the grief of the Mother of God over the body of her son, which represents a departure from earlier Byzantine painting. In the modern buildings of the monastery courtyard are a hotel and restaurant, with fine views of Skopje and the Vardar valley - it is easy to see how the growth of the city has been constrained by the terrain to follow an east-west axis.
There is no public transport to Gorni Nezeri, so you will need your own vehicle or a taxi - unless you hike down from Mount Vodno (which I managed to do by accident).

Skopje is dominated by the rounded summit of Mount Vodno (1066m). Although there are more exciting mountains in Macedonia, a hike on Vodno makes a nice break from the city traffic. It is possible to reach the highly visible Millenium Cross at the summit in less than three hours' walking from Macedonia Square. The only tricky bit is finding the start of the trail (red/yellow blazes) on Salvador Allende Street - from there it's a straightforward uphill slog to the Hotel Vodno halfway up (you could make things easier on yourself by taking a vehicle to the hotel car park). From the hotel a number of marked and unmarked trails go to the summit; I found that the best views were obtained by heading over the eastern shoulder of the mountain rather than straight up through the forest. There is a mountain hut beside the Meccano-like cross at the summit. As well as the expected views over the city, there is a panorama of a much more rural lansdcape to the south, leading the eye to Mount Kitka and the even higher peaks of Central Macedonia.

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