Skopje: sculptures, graffiti and stray dogs running the marathon

Skopje Half Marathon. Skopje, North Macedonia. October 2024.

In Skopje, North Macedonia’s capital, a city with more sculptures than residents, ornated bridges and too many graffitis, we ran a well organised half marathon with stray dogs following at a decent pace!

TLDR; “too long, didn’t read”

• I just want to run! Take me to RACE.
• I have 1 minute. Take me to USEFUL INFORMATION.
• Running is my excuse for travelling. Take me to TRIP.
• Running is my excuse for eating. Take me to CARBOLOADING.
• I want to know what to read in the plane. Take me to ONE BOOK.

🌍 The trip 📷: What to see in Skopje in a couple of days

We arrived in Skopje at night after a stop in Zagreb; as our taxi driver explained to us, there were no direct flights from Spain, Portugal or the Czech Republic. Curious piece of information that he gave to us, while happily driving and texting at the same time!

Arriving at night

We rented an apartment in front of the Mother Teresa Museum, where we took a cute picture of a stray cat at the feet of the statue of the Saint:

As I read in their website, the museum was built thanks to the city’s “desire to pay respect to Skopje’s most famous person and the only Nobel Peace Prize winner from Macedonia”. The building – quoting the website again – “dedicated to the most humane woman in the world”, was completed in just nine months. 

The museum is located in the exact place the old Catholic Church “Sacred Heart of Jesus” used to stand. It is where Mother Teresa, then Gonxha Bojaxhiu, was baptized just one day after her birth.

It is also close to the city center and the Macedonia Square, where the Marathon (and our half marathon) were going to start and finish.

At night, the city looked quite safe but a little dirty, and there were youngsters going back and forth, enjoying the nightlife. 

The city centre during the day

The first day, we explored the city center. It was raining and the city appeared somber and sad. 

It reminded me a little bit of the Zagreb we saw twenty years ago: a city center with monuments and some buildings ornate in classical style, but not very well preserved. Everything grey and functional.

Ads, cables and air conditioning sets in all facades added to this ‘pragmatic’ view.

There was a ‘decadent’ touch everywhere: it seemed to me like a city not confident in its beauty. Because it can be beautiful (and we saw there the day after when it was sunny!).

One thing that really surprised me was the number of sculptures! 

Funnily enough, when I was writing this I thought… “I bet there are jokes about it” and voilà, I found the following article that explains that “these abundant, over-the-top monuments are so widely scattered that they define the entire compact capital cityscape, often leading to jokes about whether there are more statues than residents” 😅

Macedonian Square

The most prominent is, of course, dedicated to the most famous Macedonian of all: Alexander the Great (Warrior on a Horse):

Btw, the horse is well depicted, including… genitalia 😬

The Stone Bridge and Porta Macedonia

I loved the Stone Bridge, Kamen Most, a historic Ottoman bridge which connects the old part of Skopje to the newer side. We crossed it and we had amazing views of the Vardar River. UInfortunately it is covered with graffitti and “tags”, like pretty much all the city.

There I saw a strange lady dressed like she was going to the opera … in the 60s:

And of course, we took pictures of the  “Porta Macedonia”, the Macedonia Gate, which was surrounded by very chaotic traffic!

It is a triumphal arch that celebrates Macedonian independence and history, but the Macedonians seemed to have a penchant to celebrate it by honking very loudly all around it.

The Old Bazaar

On Saturday, we walked through the “old bazaar”, a neighborhood of narrow cobblestone streets lined with traditional Ottoman-style buildings. Many of these buildings are mosques, hammams (bathhouses), and caravanserais (inns for travelers).

The streets wound between all these old houses, with tiled roofs, many of them in ruins, offering the sight of a typical Balkan village, with minarets behind and souvenir shops. I was surprised that there were a lot of jewelry and gold stores. Also coffees, souvenirs, leather bags… I loved it.

The Old Bazaar is one of the largest and most well-preserved marketplaces in the Balkans. Its origins date back to the 12th century, and it thrived under Ottoman rule, becoming a hub for commerce and trade.

Kale Fortress

Then we went up to the Kale Fortress. 

The Kale Fortress dates back to the 6th century, built during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justin I. The name “Kale” comes from the Turkish word for fortress, highlighting its significance during the Ottoman period.

The fortress was built using limestone and travertine from a nearby Roman city. Over the centuries, it has been rebuilt and expanded many times, most notably during the Ottoman Empire.

While we were visiting it, the muezzin’s voice of the nearby Mustafa Pasha Mosque.sounded. It was a sunny, wonderful day. 

In the fortress we met a man from Madrid who worked at the university here, and who “made himself known” when he heard me complaining “It is all so dirty!”. All around the towers, with the striking Macedonian flag waving, there was unfortunately a pile of plastic bottles. 

The Byzantine frescoes at the Church of St Panteleimon in Gorno Nerezi

On our way to Matka Canyon, we stopped at the Church of St Panteleimon in Gorno Nerezi.

The views from there are amazing, especially as we were very lucky to visit on a clear day.

But I even liked the monastery interior more, with colorful Byznatine frescos from the XII century. We had to pay 120 mk/2 EUR to enter, but we got an explanation from the local guide.

Millenium Cross

We really enjoyed our visit to the Millennium Cross. The cross stands on the peak of Mount Vodno, which overlooks Skopje. The cross is visible from almost anywhere in the city due to its height and prominent placement.

The Millennium Cross is 66 meters (217 feet) tall, making it one of the largest crosses in the world. It was designed to commemorate 2,000 years of Christianity.

Matka Canyon

Matka Canyon is a wonderful place, with stunning views of mountains covered with lush vegetation.

First we saw a dam, which was built in the 30s! It’s a pity that the place is quite dirty, and there is graffiti even on the rocks!

There are also many locals smoking or going around in bikes or motorbikes too fast. On the bright side, there are nice small stalls which sell corn. 

We took a boat tour which headed to Vrelo cave. We were “sold” the upgraded version, which was a catamaran. It was indeed more comfortable than the other options; but the driver, a young guy, had the brilliant idea of playing very loud dance music. Maybe tourists like this, but for me, it spoiled the grandeur of the landscape and what could have been a relaxing stroll on turquoise waters. 

The cave was illuminated with bright colors, and it was small. But the effect was nice 😍 and it even had a lake.

Quite musical, the end of the tour. The boat guy (cigarette hanging from his lips) played a turkish song that repeated “habibi”, and a turkish couple started dancing… to his teenage son’s embarrassment 😉.

Later, in the bus, our guide sang a song about [Makedonia] (this is how it sounded) and the river Varda. 

All in all, we enjoyed the tour as it allowed us to see beautiful nature and landmarks around Skopje. I recommend doing it.

🎽 Marathon Expo and Web information 🌐

The information on the expo and how to pick up our BIBs was made available in the website quite early on.

It was located in the Sports Center “Jane Sandanski”, and the working hours where quite flexible, for the two days before the event, from 10.00 a.m. till 08.00 p.m.

We were informed that on the day of the race (October 1, 2023) we would not be able to pick up your start package.

In the Web there was also information about the Start area for the race, which was very convenient:

Going there

We decided to walk to the Sports Centre so we could do some tourism; and we did.

On the way there we saw the Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Mother of God. 

In the picture, one of the curious buses of Skopje: “like the London ones, but made in China”, as our taxi driver explained:

And on our way back we followed the river Varda. There is an asphalt path for runners and bicycles, and because the day had cleared, there were plenty going back and forth. Including some texting by going at a considerable speed…!.

The surroundings, though, were not idyllic in many areas, with industries and barracks. And a lot of graffiti: many dedicated to the football team, the FK Vardar. It is the most successful and well-known football club in North Macedonia, with a long history and multiple domestic titles, including league championships and national cups.

It all reminded me of where I grew up, the Valles Province, during the 80s, with poverty around the river and hooligans included.

Luckily, back in the city center the sights improved, with many bridges decorated with statues and monumental buildings. Funnily enough, many of the sculptures and the bridges were pretty new. We stopped at the “Bridge of the Art” which was built in 2012. It was beautiful, with sculptures of artists and baroque street lamps.

The Marathon Expo

The “marathon expo” was not crowded and we didn’t have to wait much. It was located in a Sports Centre where young basketball players were training.

In the entrance of the Sports Centre we were greeted by a wall of names.

We found ours; I was surprised to see many Martas who were going to run 🥰.

There were also a few stands selling sports goods, like gels, protein bars and shakes, etc. 

There were differentiated queues for the marathon, the marathon relay and the half. All of us got a small sports bag, which was a pleasant surprise, and the official t shirt. When Roger tried it on, he proclaimed that he looked like “Spiderman” 🤣🤣. Quite true!

There were also many desks for the 5k, which seemed more popular. But they didn’t get the fancy bag 😉.

Apart from the bag, we were also handed over two bottles of Powerade. Normally we do not drink them, but because the day was hot and humid and we were walking a lot, we ended up drinking them eagerly. Roger remarked on it: “I never thought I would enjoy this shit”!

Finally, at the end of the Expo there was the necessary “Course map”. Here, we had to wait to take our pictures as many runners seemed to examine the map with a lot of rigor 🤣.

When we left, the sun was shining and it made us ponder whether to run in short or long sleeves the day after.

🏃‍♀️ The race 🏃‍♂️

The Race: at the starting line

All races (marathon, marathon relay, half marathon and 5K) started at the same time: 8am. 

We walked there, as our apartment was close, and saw many runners streching on our way to the Macedonia Gate. 

When we got there, we were surprised by how loud the music was! It seemed like we were in a rave party, but with the extra thrill of something cool about to start. Indeed, many cool races were about to begin 🤟

The speakers played “We are never coming home” by Kungs and “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” by Abba. Funnily enough, these were exactly the same songs we heard when we crossed the finish line 2 hours later! I guess the spotify list was set on repeat 😆

There were quite a few people and it wasn’t raining… and, what was more surprising, there were stray dogs in the middle of all of it! 🐶

Temperature was cool, perfect actually, and, as we had put on long sleeves (the ones from Almaty the week before), we got it right.

Different starts for different races

There were two lanes with opposite directions, something I had never seen before and I found to be super efficient.

The runners with pink 5k BIBs were on one side and the half and marathon ones in the other, going in the opposite direction. And then there were the green relay bibs, let’s not forget them 😅. We all had a flag in our BIB (Macedonian flag 🇲🇰 in most cases) which led to two anecdotes. First, I used it as an “aid” when I pointed it out to a Macedonian guy, to show him that I didn’t understand what the hell he was asking me. It worked. 

Then I saw a certain Xabier, I identified myself with it 🇪🇦 and I wished him luck. 

We went to our box, number 3 (expected time a little above 2h if I remember correctly). 

I kept looking at the flags in the BIBs. 

Mostly Macedonian flags and only a few foreigners, with the exception of Slovenia 🇸🇮. There were a lot!! Also there were some Serbians and some from Kosovo and Montenegro.

At 8 o’clock the drums were beating, and everybody was excited (the Speaker most of all), but the start was delayed by 10 minutes and there were even whistles to protest.

The first kilometers

Finally, 3,2,1… in Macedonian and off we went! 

Or actually off they went, I am reffering to the runners of the 5k at the other side. 

We made a video of them, who were leaving quickly… like they were heading towards a little dog in the middle of the street 🐶🤣, passing in front of an equestrian statue and the Macedonian flag.

The race started soon afterwards; we ran at a slow pace due to the congestion of runners; we were almost walking. We passed by the arch, not under it, yet. The people were civilized, without sudden overtaking.

Soon, the streets widened and we entered a long avenue called Mitropolit Teodosij Gologanov. 

Organisation

There were lots of photographers 🥰, something I always like; Roger laughed because the background was some industrial estate, and I mentally compared it to Tokyo, or Berlin, where the pictures are taken by purpose in front of the Tokyo Tower or the Brandenburg Gate.

We saw more and more Slovenians and guys with T-shirts that looked like drapes from the kitchen 🤣

Alicia Keys’ “New York state of mind” was playing, and we were having fun.

Fellow runner friends had told me this race was very well organized. And indeed it was! 

Kudos to the organization: they gave out bottles of water very frequently. And further on, glasses of energy drinks, fruit…

We moved forward and saw a dog running; further on we saw him again, with his tongue hanging out. The landscape was not pretty at all, industrial and dirty, but it was wide and flat and good for running.

Middle kilometers

We turned around at 5.5, take a gel and I filled up myself on water.

Around kilometer 10, we saw the runners of the second relay eagerly waiting. 

And a few meters later I experienced one of those “magical” moments that I will cherish forever, because they are weird, rare, so defining of a place and time. 

“Girls just wanna hsve fun” by Cindy Lauper was playing in front of “brutalistic” gigantic statue of a man on a horse (with a raised butt), pistol in his hand: it was the monument to „Vasil Čakalarov“, whoever he was (I later researched it: he was a Bulgarian revolutionary and one of the leaders of Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation in Macedonia).

And, next, in a gloomy apartment block, two old peole waved at tbe runners from their balcony. And I was running and dancing.

After that, we passed by the Porta Macedonian and the finish line to our left. The music was blaring, there were lots of people, with the runners of the 5k walking around or the slow ones still arriving. It was a party! 😍 

Then we went through a “hooligan” section… 😆, a place where some local youngsters with their own music were waving FK Vardar flags and throwing confetti: I highfived them and it seemed we were in a football stadium!

The last 10 kilometers

The last 10 kilometres were run in a T-shape course. It was still sunny and some locals were offering raisins, which we didn’t take (to be on the safe side), and some children gave us water and cheered us on loudly while we passed by apartment blocks, running always on wide streets. 

We went at a slow pace but without stopping, feeling better than the previous week in Almaty. We saw the “running dog” again, still following the crowd 😉.

In the next water station, young army men and women gave us water, dressed in uniform and beret. It was really cool!

At kilometre 17 or so, we “crossed paths” with the first runner in the marathon who was running in the opposite direction… hey, if we were not careful, he would catch us! (Spoiler, he didn’t, we arrived 10 minutes before him after having completed half the distance 😝)

We grabbed another energy drink, but this one was different from the first one (which tasted like cola), and it tasted like soap 🤣. I heard Roger complaining about it…

The last kilometer we didn’’t pick up the pace much, but we didn’t slow down either, and we went through the hooligan zone again: what a boost of energy! 

The finish!

The finish line was approaching, with the Macedonia gate first. Roger told me he was going to make a video of me going through the gate, and he did! 

Now we did speed up, we felt strong and we entered sprinting and holding hands.

We had though this as a “training” half, like Almaty, but we completed it in 2h 3m, which was not bad 💪

At the end, they gave us another bottle of water, a smoothie and a glass of energy drink, (luckily of the first kind, which tasted like cola). Good stuff. 

The medal was cute, not very big and, of course, with the colors of Wizzair.

The winner of the marathon was about to enter and was being shown on a giant screen in Macedonia Square, where we were taking pics, so we waited for him to enter and then took a selfie in front of the image in the screen. We took a few more photos with our medals: in front of the statue of Alexander the Great, on the Stone Bridge…

It was beautiful day 🌞 but, curiously, after 2 hours it started to rain… 🌧 so we felt bad for the poor those who were running the full and had not finished yet! 

🍜 Carboloading 🍝: What to eat in North Macedonia if you are a runner

North Macedonian cuisine has a variety of dishes rich in carbohydrates, influenced by Balkan, Mediterranean, and Turkish culinary traditions. Here are five carbohydrate-rich foods from North Macedonia that will fuel your runs!!

1. Tavče Gravče

• A traditional Macedonian dish made from baked beans. The beans are typically cooked with onions, peppers, and spices, then baked in a clay pot. It is often served as a main dish and is rich in complex carbohydrates from the beans.

2. Burek

• A popular pastry in the Balkans, burek is made from thin layers of dough (phyllo) filled with ingredients such as cheese, meat, or spinach. The dough is the primary source of carbohydrates in this savory pastry.

3. Mekici

• Fried dough similar to donuts, often served with powdered sugar, cheese, or jam. Mekici are a popular breakfast item or snack in North Macedonia, and the dough is rich in carbohydrates.

4. Kachamak

• A traditional dish similar to polenta, made from cornmeal boiled in water or milk. It is often served with cheese or yogurt. Cornmeal is a high-carb ingredient, making kachamak a substantial carbohydrate source.

5. Pogacha

• A type of bread commonly served with meals. Pogacha is a round, leavened bread that can be plain or filled with cheese. Bread is a staple in Macedonian cuisine and is rich in carbohydrates.

These foods reflect the rich culinary heritage of North Macedonia and provide a good source of energy for runners through their carbohydrate content.

However, if you are not feeling adventurous and want to stick to ‘classical’ international favorites, both for carboloading and protein recovery, we found La Terraza, an Italian restaurant perfectly situated, an excellent option.

They have many pasta dishes (in fact, so many, it is difficult to choose) and abundant meats. 

Carboloading in front of the finish line! 

On Saturday, we had dinner again in La Terraza, right in front of the finish line, while workers were putting the signs up, and Julio Iglesias was playing on the terrace. Now that was a good motivator 🙂

They had good pasta plates and this we were craving all day. The waitress asked if we were going to run tomorrow and wished us good luck.

🏆 Skopje Marathon (42K, Marathon Relay, 21K, 5K)

🌐 Website: http://www.skopjemarathon.com/

🏃 Number of runners: 15,000

🗓️ When in Skopje, North Macedonia.

👟 Urban: bring shoes for asphalt.

✅ Super well organized: many refreshment stations offering full bottles of water, energy drinks and fruit. At some points handed over by young Macedonian soldiers.

✅ Good course (not very scenic but perfect for running): Flat and wide. Only one lap for the Half, two for the Full. Plus you run under the Porta Macedonia at the end!

“A Spare Life”, Lidija Dimkovska 

“A Spare Life” by Lidija Dimkovska is an excellent novel to read when in Skopje because it offers a deep and evocative exploration of life in the city during the tumultuous period of the 1980s and 1990s. The novel follows the story of conjoined twins, Srebra and Zlata, who live in Skopje and experience the complexities of growing up in a divided society during the final years of Yugoslavia and the early days of Macedonian independence.

The novel vividly portrays the city of Skopje, capturing its unique atmosphere, cultural nuances, and historical context, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the environment while physically being there.