Trips

We stood on the site of the house Mother Teresa lived in until she was 18 and became a nun. We then walked to the Mother Teresa Museum with a replica of her house on the second floor and a chapel on the third floor. A guide recited the history of her life. .In 1979 she won the Nobel Peace Prize. She was “blessed” in 2003 and was canonized as a Saint in 2014. On the ground floor were a dozen posters of Mother Teresa with Pope John Paul II, Reagan, Ted Kennedy, Princess Diana, etc.

Memorial Plaque	Memorial House of Mother Teresa
Chandelier in the stairwell	Home of Famous Architect Roger
St. Constantine and Elena Church	Bell Tower of St. Constantine and Elena Church
"Eye Bridge" leading to the Museum of Macedonian Archeology	We had an hour guided tour of the Museum of Macedonian Archeology. There are finds from all Ages within the borders of Macedonia. Many of the finds were in burials. Only one struck me as different to Macedonia - a figure of a pregnant mother sitting on a house. The implication is that she protects people and the home. There were also the ankle bones used for gaming that we have seen in Asia,exhibits from pre-Roman times, and a replica of Alexander the Great’s sarcophagus. Alexander never made it back to his Macedonian homeland but died in 323 BCE and was buried in Babylon. (Unfortunately, most of the photos below are unidentified.)
Interesting ceiling	Ankle bones
Figure of a pregnant mother sitting on a house
	After the museum tour, we walked to the 11th c. Ottoman Bazaar area. Different streets housed similar merchants - shoes, food, textiles. Since this is Sunday and a holiday, most of the shops were closed. Souvenirs, ice cream kiosks, and cafes were open. We walked to a caravansary but it was closed. I hope they will restore it as a tourist learning experience.
Hamam	Light post in the Bazaar area
Umbrellas decorating the main street	Street Vendor
At noon we were on our own so Marge and I walked up to the Skopje (or Kale) Fortress, thought to be built in the reign of Justinian I (6th c. CE) and with further construction at the site during the 10th and 11th centuries. We walked on the ramparts to overlook the city. It was so hot we headed back to our hotel and ate an assortment of crackers, cheese, PB, and fruit for lunch and then just relaxed.	One of the entrances to the Fortress
Fortress tower	View from the ramparts
View from the ramparts	Inside the fortress
Fortress tower from outside	Minaret and mosque
At 7 PM we met to go to our “Farewell Dinner.” Eight of our group fly home tomorrow and seven of us go on to the post-trip in Serbia. A band played for us - bass, guitar, accordion, and balalaika.

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