Prespa Lake

The two Prespa Lakes – Golema (Great) and Mala (Small) are the only ones on the Balkan Peninsula to have islands. The five- Golum Grad, Mala Grad, Pirg, Agios Achillaeos and Vidrinec- are located in the three countries that share the lakes today, Macedonia, Albania and Greece. With its irregular coastline, plethora of bays, extraordinary cleanliness of water, pristine nature, and setting between three national parks, Prespa is truly a place one must visit.

With a surface area of 273 sq. km, Great Prespa Lake is the second largest in Macedonia after Ohrid. Between the two lies the Galicica Mountain, through which flows an underground stream named Zavir.

Through it, Lake Prespa supplies Lake Ohrid with water that comes out on the other side near the monastery of St. Naum and in the Biljana spring near Ohrid town.

The Prespa region is ecologically speaking the cleanest part of Macedonia, its nature seemingly untouched by human hands. The white pelican, black raven, heron and gull all congregate near the lake so abundant with fish, which include varieties such as trout, carp, red finned carp, chub, barbell, and others.

While the unpopulated island of Golem Grad is a protected nature reserve, it is also accessible to tourists. The island is characterized by its century-old juniper trees, as well as the abundance of endemic animal life. When the level of the water falls, old settlements from the 11th and 12th centuries become visible.

Dojran Lake

The area of the Dojran Lake is 43km2 and its average depth is 3-5 metres. This lake has the biggest rate of fish production in Europe. Fishing is done in the old tradional way in this lake, by using birds-Cormorants. From the wooden houses built on the lake, the fishermen use trained birds to drive the fish into their nets. Now, however, the houses are on the land and that incapacitates this unique way of fishing. From the total quantity of water flowing into the lake 67% comes from the territory of the Republic of Greece, while 33% from our country. Every re-directing of the waters has grave consequences on the water level of the lake. Thus, by re-directing the waters and by overusing it for agricultural needs, this lake has become seriously endangered and it has lost about 5 million m3 water since 1978.

As a result of the improper exploatation of waters, the level of the water decreased significantly and the consequences were grave for the flora and fauna of the lake. The level of the water in the lake at the moment is 2.5 metres less than the minimal level. Dojran Lake is in deadly agony. If the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Greece do not do something about this as soon as possible, this lake might vanish from the world maps. The international public can help by providing solutions for this environmental problem.

Ohrid Lake

The lake is one of the largest biological reserves in Europe, possessing unique flora and fauna which are extinct elswere. Only Lake Ohrid, Lake Tanganyka, Lake Caspi, and Lake Baikal are believed to have been formed during the Tertiary Period some 2-4 million years ago, and hence these lakes are characterized by unique flora and fauna distinct to that period. Due to its age, many of Lake Ohrid’s aquatic species are endemic including ten of the seventeen fish species. In addition, there are five particular endemic species which are restricted to small areas of the Lake such as special various birds, as well as four fish spawning grounds. Because of its rich history and unique flora and fauna, Lake Ohrid was declared a UNESCO World Cultural and Natural heritage Site in 1980. A clear danger exists to maintaining the long-term ecological stability of Lake Ohrid, unless action is taken to improve environmental management of the catchment area and the shoreline to prevent the accumulation of pollutants in the lake. Despite a number of remedial measures, less than 25% of wastewater in the catchment is treated. These conditions have led to an increase in the total phosphorus concentration of about 0.25mg/m3 over the past decade with a mean contrentacion estimated at between 7-8 mg/m3. The current loading of dissolved phosphorus is approximately 150 tons per year, and this would need to be reduced to 100 tons per year to keep the main concentration of phosphorus below 7 mg/m3.

National Parks in Macedonia

National Parks in Macedonia offer unique experience amidst their majestic natural surrounding. In Macedonia there are mainly four national parks, each of which is strictly protected by law. They are Mount Galicica national park, Jasen national park, Mavrovo national park and Pelister national park.

Among the above mentioned National Parks in Macedonia, the Pelister national park is considered to be the first national park of Macedonia. It is situated close to the town of Bitola. It occupuies an approximate area of 1,600 hectares. It comprises 2 glacial lakes, which is known as Pelisterski Oci.

On the other hand, in the western part of Macedonia, there is the Mavrovo national park. In the year 1949 this park approval of a national park. It covers an approximate area of 11,750 hectares. While taking a trip across this national park one can come across 1,000 types of plant species, 100 of which are quite rare.

Moreover, the Galicica national park is there to enrapture you. It is located between Ohrid and Prespa lake and is covering an area of 22,750 hectares. Other than this, a traveler can visit Jasen national park that also have a unique charm and unspoilt beauty to offer you.

Macedonia attractions

Tourists planning a holiday in Macedonia this year, should not miss the Macedonia attractions. Tourists will love to explore the land of Macedonia and enjoy the sights of nature and the different tourist spots. Macedonia is located in the south eastern part of Europe. The capital of the country is Skopje.

In Macedonia, there are a number of churches and monasteries. They can visit monastery of Saint Panteleimon, monastery of St. Jovan Bigorski, monastery of St Naum and Markov monastery. The churches like Macedonian Orthodox Church, St George's Church and St John Caneo Church attract a number of visitors. The museums in Macedonia have good collection of exhibits for their visitors.

Macedonia has some beautiful lakes. These lake regions are a pleasure to visit during the summer months. Lake Ohrid is one of the beautiful tourist spot in Macedonia. The lake regions of Dojran, Prespa, Mavrovo and Popova Sapka can be visited.

In Macedonia, tourists can also visit the small villages like Village Vevcni, Struga. The tourist spots in Macedonia offer fascinating natural sights. There are mountains and several springs, the sight of which can be savored while on short trips.

Other tourist attractions in Macedonia are the fortress like Marko's Fortress, Skopje Fortress "Kale" and Samuel's Fortress. These monuments have historical significances and reflects the architectural grandeur of the contemporary periods.

While on a travel to Macedonia, tourists can take time out to visit some of the other Macedonia attractions. They can visit the botanical gardens or in the national parks of Macedonia.

Macedonia education system

Macedonia education system can be classified into two broad divisions i.e., pre-higher and higher education system. The pre-higher education at Macedonia can be further classified into primary, secondary and high education system.

The first 8 year education in Macedonia is considered as the primary level education. At present there are 344 schools in Macedonia that caters to the primary educational need of around 253,997 students. Till the year 2000, there were 92 high schools that offered secondary education. Out of these 92, 3 were run by private bodies while 4 were run specifically for the disabled students.

Secondary education in Republic of Macedonia comprises of the following :

• vocational education
• high school education for disabled students
• classical high school education
• art high school education

Other educational institutes in Macedonia include colleges and pedagogical academies that offer two year programs in various subjects. Apart from these, there are numerous universities at Macedonia that offer 4 to 6 year programs. After the successful completion of these programs, the students are awarded a Diploma with professional title such as Engineer, Lawyer, Teacher, etc. at lower level and Graduate Lawyer, graduate Teacher, Graduate Engineer, etc. at higher level.

Presently, the Macedonia education system is undergoing reformation. The system is getting much more simpler so that it can match itself with the educational systems of other European nations.

Macedonia literature

The Macedonia literature in its proper form date back to the times, when the Cyrilic code of letters were being introduced in The Nineteenth century. The founders of the Cyrilic way of writing Macedonian, St, Cyril and St. Methodus were the propounders of the first literary works of Macedonia. Thus the texts of Thessaloniki is the first official literature of Macedonia. All initial literary writings were focused on religious texts and other church related topics. This genre of writing was represented by Kiril Pejcinovic-Tetoec, Joakim Krcovski and Teodosij Sinaitski. At a later period, the church literature was abandoned. The new school of writers included Dimitar,Constantine Miladinov, Rajko Zinzifov,ConstantineGrigor Prlicev, Andrea Petkovic, Constantine and Jordan Hadzi Konstantinov-Dzinot to name the most important of them all. There were also a train of some lesser known authors who contributed to the development of the literature of Macedonia. This was the foundation of the modern literature in Macedonia. During the long period of Ottoman domination over Macedonia, the indigenous literature had suffered stagnation. It was after the first world war, that contemporary Macedonia literature revived once again. It started with news paper journals. The Macedonian literature has since then contributed largely to post war literature.