City of Consuls

This past weekend, I made my first trip out of site and visited the second-biggest city in Macedonia- Bitola.  Bitola is located about an hour’s drive south of Prilep on the same plateau called Pelegonia, and according to the census in 2002, has a population of about 100,000 people.  It is only about a half hour drive from the border with Greece and surrounded by one of Macedonia’s national parks, National Park Pelister. 

I traveled to Bitola with the president of AIESEC Prilep to visit the radio station and attend her presentation to one of the youth NGOs in the city, Together Macedonia!, which has its own Peace Corps volunteer.  Unfortunately, we arrived too late in Bitola to visit the radio station on Friday, but that did not prevent us from exploring the major parts of the city.  My first impression of Bitola- it is large and spreads along the river, making it unreasonable to traverse from one side of town to the other.  Bitola also has the reputation as the most fashionable city in Macedonia.  There are a few sayings about this city: 1) If a girl needs to buy bread from the store around the corner, she needs to do her hair, put on makeup, and dress up, or else she will not risk being seen in public and 2) Bitola is the city where guys take longer to get ready than girls before going out. 

My second impression of Bitola- it is a very beautiful city and looks like nothing I have seen so far in Macedonia.  Bitola is called the City of Consuls because historically it has hosted many consulates and continues to host a large number of European consulates in its city center.  Throughout the Macedonian and Ottoman times, many consuls set up shop in the city, bringing an international influence to its lifestyle and architecture.  Bitola is also known as the most European-looking city in Macedonia, especially along its major tourist attraction, Shirok Sokak.  Shirok Sokak is a wide street that runs from north to south through the city center of Bitola.  It used to be open to traffic, including horse carriages and cars, but at one point the street was closed off to traffic so that the consuls could stroll through the street with their families.  The event attracted so much attention that the city immediately decided to close off the street to all traffic, thus creating the beautiful pedestrian walkway people enjoy today.  There are many bars and cafes on the street that are a popular attraction to locals and tourists alike.  Despite the mildly cold temperatures (about 5 degrees centigrade during my visit), many locals were seated outside the cafes on Shirok Sokak, drinking coffee and watching (most likely, judging) the pedestrians stroll through the street.  It is a rather daunting, snooty aspect of Bitola, yet I would not blame the locals for hanging out in this beautiful part of town.  

The Clock Tower at the start of Shirok Sokak

Shirok Sokak

At the American Corner in Bitola

 Bitola also has the biggest claim to the Macedonian empire since it is originally the site of Heraclea, the ancient town founded by Philip II of Macedon (the father of Alexander the Great).  Visitors are able to visit the ruins of the ancient city, which is not too far from the city center.  I hope to make a visit to the ruins sometime this spring.

Friday night I met Ted before walking through Shirok Sokak.  It was great to see a Lozer again, and honestly it felt like forever since I last saw another volunteer from PST. We decided to go to a bar later that night (Instinct) to see Ted’s host father perform.  Unfortunately, Ted fell sick and was unable to join us.  Luckily, my counterpart’s friend was able to join and another PCV, Darko, joined us as well.  Ted’s host-father’s band was definitely the best band I had heard so far in Macedonia.  They are called B-52 (not to be confused with the B-52s!) and, in my opinion, were the perfect Genesis cover band, although they sang other songs as well.

On Saturday, I ate one of Bitola’s classic dishes- Chkembe Chorba.  Chkembe Chorba is basically the Macedonain version of menudo, a clear-based soup with tripe (stomach lining).  Just like menudo, the people of Bitola say that eating chorba after a night of heavy drinking will cure a hangover.  My opinion- it was a bit unsettling at first, but it could have definitely used some lime and Cholula sauce.  Afterwards, we headed to the meeting for Together Macedonia!  Megi, my counterpart, presented to the high school students AIESEC and the opportunities it provided to the youth of Macedonia.  Finally, we met with a local organization that specialized in preparing students for law school.  After 2 hours of drinking coffee and discussing, we decided to return home.

Presenting AIESEC to Together Macedonia!

After a few days in the city, it is my opinion that Bitola is the prettiest city in Macedonia. In a way, I am lucky to be so close to such a tourist attraction.  On the other hand, I am happy to live in Prilep, since living in Prilep reminds me each day of the work that is needed here.  I think it would be tough for me to feel like a PCV while working in a city that looks like a posh American suburb.  Yet holiday season is about to begin in Macedonia, and I look forward to visiting some other cities when the workload is light.