Struga
Struga is situated on the northern shore of Ohrid Lake on the banks of Black Drim River, at the foothill of the Jablanica Mountain, 12 km from Kafasan border crossing that leads to the neighboring Albania. The Jablanica Mountain is known as a place where the famous Roman caravan road Via Egnatia once was passing. The Black Drim River divides the city of Struga into two banks that are interconnected with 7 bridges. The river represents the end of the lake and the beginning of the river Drim basin, shaping the two artificial lakes of Globocica and Debar lake whose water is used to produce electricity in two hydroelectric plants.
Struga is an ancient Balkan settlement with traces of living since the Neolithic times. In the antique period it was called Enchalon – an eel. Struga is founded on the spot where the greenish Black Drim River flows out of Ohrid Lake which is the starting point of eel’s long journey that leads to the Sargasso Sea where eel fulfills its biological needs for continuation of the species. Town of Struga features a picturesque beauty, wonderful sighs and many of old monuments, like the clay chamberpots at the House of the Miladinov Brothers, the famous old Struga bazaar, the century old churches and mosques. The architecture of Struga is characterized by the wonderful richly decorated houses of the wealthy citizens. Struga is also a place of important cultural significance in the Republic of Macedonia, as it is the birthplace of the poets Konstantin and Dimitar Miladinov. Struga’s location on the Lake of Ohrid makes it a slightly quieter and more peaceful experience than the more bustling tourist center of Ohrid. The Sveta Bogorodica Church – The Holy Virgin church in the village of Vraništa is believed to be the one where Tsar Samuel was crowned.
Since the year of 1961, Struga is a host of the internationally famous festival of poetry known as “Struga Poetry Evenings” – Struskite veceri poezije. The Struga Poetry festival is held every year towards the end of August and is the world’s largest event of this kind. Struga Festival laureates include several Nobel Prize for Literature winners such as Joseph Brodsky, Eugenio Montale, Pablo Neruda, Seamus Heaney, Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca and many others. The Struga Poetry Evenings and “the traveling of the eel” are the two main world attractions that Struga’s inhabitants are proud of.
Places to see : Black Drim River, Early-Christian Basilica in Oktisi village, Archangel Michael Cave Church in Radozda village, Nativity of the Holy Virgin Cave Church in Kalista village. There is a possibility of buying the famous monastery cheese and locally-produced grapes brandy (rakija).
