While we were still atop the Skopje Fortress, we saw a big white building with a seemingly American architecture. When we got down to street level, we walked over and took a closer look. We soon found out it was the Macedonian Government House built by Zarko Causevski and Filip Bogatinov. They placed a baroque facade over the 1970s modernist cubes as part of the Skopje 2014 program which sought to remake and renovate Skopje as a European capital with a glorious past. Many believe it now resembles the White House in Washington.

A hike up to the Skopje Fortress is a must in Skopje. We went and although we had to pass though a gate, there was no admission. On our first full day in the city we went very early in the morning to avoid the high temperatures that characterized the Balkan summer 2024. There were a few visitors some of whom were school children on a field trip with their teacher and a parent volunteer.

A view of Macedonia Square and the Roman Bridge from the side of the Old Bazaar

This was the view of the opposite end of the Roman bridge. The Macedonia Square on one side the Old Bazaar on the other.

The Arts Bridge

The Bridge of Civilizations

The Fountain of the Mothers of Macedonia located close to the entrance of the Old Bazaar

Sometimes, we found statues without any apparent significance except as an embellishment on the buildings like what these do. This was a clothing store right on Macedonia Square.

The Memorial Home of Mother Teresa in Skopje was a few steps away from Macedonia Square. We saw a continuous stream of visitors every time we passed by. Entrance was free and we too went and visited twice.

A life size statue of Mother Teresa. It looked so life like.

This was the chapel on the second floor of the house. We prayed here twice.

The Theater for the Performing Arts along the Vardar River. I remember seeing a lot of statues here. They were on the ground and up on the roof of the theater.

I wish I knew what this sign said. I must say, everywhere we went to in the Balkans, we saw a lot of graffiti. In Skopje, not only were walls tagged but monuments too. A bit sad, I thought.

The airport shuttle that we took from Skopje's international airport to the city center passed by the East Gate Mall. Our interest was defintiely picqued since we love going to malls. It seemed far but it turned out to be walking distance from the Old Bazaar. We spent a good time window shopping and having lunch here as we decided to get away from the outdoors in the oppressive summer heat of the Balkans on our second day in the city.

Here's the main entrance to Skopje's biggest and poshest mall, East Gate.

Another mall we went to one day was this mall, the Ramstore Mall. It had a supermarket in its basement. It was one place many locals went to downtown to go buy food and groceries. It was in fact also close to another mall, the Diamond Mall, if I remember right, where we had dinner for two consecutive nights.

A fancy restaurant in Macedonia Square

This monument of a mother saying goodbye to her children looked really sad. Add the child on his knees and hugging her added to the dramatic scene the statues evoked.

The statues of Saints Cyril and Methodius in downtown Skopje

The Modern Ballet and Opera House

A closer view of Alexander the Great on top of the column in the middle of Macedonia Square

These were some of the buildings in the square.

This monument named after Hristo Tatarchev was located right next to the Macedonia Gate.

This old style English telephone booth was the main entrance to a restaurant.

Here's the street on which the Memorial House of Mother Teresa was located. This street was lined with stores and restaurants. I remember passing by one souvenir store selling lots of Turkish goods. We were given very god tea when we entered.

A view of the Macedonian National Team Stadium from the Skopje Fortress

The Foreign Affairs Building at one end of the the Arts Bridge

The monument and fountain of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great located very close to the Old Bazaar entrance

These were the first souvenir stands I saw as we got closer to the Old Bazaar. They had a few rugs I liked but I didn't buy any. Like I previously mentioned they were a bit expensive for my taste.