Ohrid, the eternal capital of the mythical Balkan, the magical hill with its pulsation, linking the old to the new times, forever, because: It is a vibrant city two thousand and four hundred years old, a city with archaeological evidence from the Neolithic, legitimate heir of Lychnidos city with woven accomplishments of the strong ancient civilization, the city is indeed the cultural history of Ancient Macedonia in retail. As an Episcopal center in ancient times, and later through the widely renowned Ohrid Archbishopric over the centuries, the city has also overall an ecclesiastical history of byzantine era and is called the "Balkan Jerusalem".
Ohrid lake beside its rise, the water that means life, the places where civilizations were build and grew, that coexist for centuries.
• Ohrid the City of Light
This is not a story, but a reality, an eternal one, and one which so far no one has managed to retell. Probably no one has even tried. There are several places in this world which simply cannot be retold. When standing in front of their monuments, the remains of the old civilization, and the temples where you forget your identity, the only thing your intellect allows you is respect and contemplation, thinking of the things that are yet to be discovered and explored. Here in Ohrid the smartest and the wisest and the most powerful people throughout the centuries had only one goal – to leave at least their mark. Ohrid simply couldn’t be conquered, but it would immediately become the seat of the most powerful men and it would continue to live its life where the conqueror entering the city wouldn’t charge in, but bow to the city.
Today it is the same, as in Byzantine era, every path leads to Ohrid. The person coming to Ohrid is at first amazed, and afterwards, deep within his soul, bows to its marks, which simply encourage you to understand or maybe to wonder – why certain places have been chosen to be different, praised and unique in the whole world.
That’s what Ohrid is like.
The ancient Lihnidos, whose fortress is mentioned for the first time by the historian Livius, way back in the first century B.C. According to explorers, this is where Apostle Paul has resided on his journey dedicated to teaching and spreading the faith in Christ.
Ohrid is the center of Christianity for all Slavs, an Archbishopric Seat, a seat of schools and universities, the first ones in this region, and even further.
Today Ohrid remains a center of archaeological sites and discoveries. Ohrid is the city of 365 churches. One church for each day of the year. This fact has been evidenced in the 14th century by Evliya Çelebi in his travel books, and in the Middle Ages Ohrid has been called the Slavic Jerusalem.
The city of the first cave-churches in this region, where one forgets time and space and receives unique answers. The city where monasticism laid its wisdom and God His divine wisdom.
Ohrid is the jewel for Byzantine civilization – this can be said or thought of only by those who have seen and felt it. Feel Ohrid for once in your life and you already know why you will return and why it simply cannot be retold.
Ohrid is a cultural, spiritual and tourist center of the country, and finally, as a corollary of values, Ohrid and Lake Ohrid as world cultural and natural heritage are under UNESCO protection since 1980. "
"When one sunny day you will be bathing in the lake, when suddenly you will be diving out of its depth, in a single moment you will be playing with the water, you will bring it around you, it will be coming in circles. On the smooth surface, you will be seeing silver, small and big bubbles. In each of them, the Sun reflects two times, like two sparks of unequal size. When you get closer to one of the larger bubbles, and you hold your breath so you won't pop it, you can see yourself as in a distorting mirror, wet and smiling. And, above you will always remain the bright Sun as a huge star. It will be short-lived, as every beauty, and repeated countless times... "
