Nature at its best

Amazing, beautiful, dangerous

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Beautiful and untouched
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The highest mountain in two countries reachable from both sides. Come visit and find your peace

Points of interest
Trail No.8 Fortress Trail - NMK

TETOVO

Location: Northwestern part of Macedonia 

Altitude: 450-500 m.a.s.l.

Access: Motorway Skopje – Tetovo.

Description: The city of Tetovo is situated at the foothill of Shar Mountain, in the Polog Valley. Most of the city lies on a flat part, and the old town extends to the Baltepe Hill (806m). The oldest inhabited part was the area of the monastery St. Bogorodica, near the Pena River under Shara Mountain. Modern tourism in Tetovo has been present since the 1930s when the potentials for skiing, hiking and recreation on the slopes of Shar Mountain were percieved.

GPS: N 42° 00’ 36.96’’ /  20° 58’ 16.65’’

 

TETOVO FORTRESS

Location: Shar Mountain, Tetovo Fortress, above the city Tetovo 

Altitude: 810 m.a.s.l.

Access: Asphal road from Tetovo. 

Description: The fortress was built in 1820 by Abdurahman-Pasha and represents a monument of culture with a large influence by Ottoman architecture. The archeological complex consists of five sheds, large kitchens, a bathroom and a well in the middle. Of the old remains there is a medieval church from the 14th century dedicated to St. Atanasij. There are partial remnants of a prison made under the ground, and also three tunnels: one led to Tetovo, the other to the village of Lavce and the third to the Pena River.

GPS: N 42° 01’ 08.60’’ / E 20° 57’ 38.00’’

 

BANJICHE

Location: Shar Mountain, river Pena, above the city Tetovo 

Altitude: 600 m.a.s.l. 

Access: Asphalt road from Tetovo.

Description: Banjice is an archaeological site in Tetovo and represents a settlement from the late antiquity period. It is located at the foothill of the Isar - Kale (Tetovo Kale) at the place named Banjice. On this site foundations of several objects have been discovered, and on the surface there are fragments of ceramic vessels and construction material. Some of the discovered objects are exhibited in the smallest ethnological museum in the world in the village of Dzhepchiste, Tetovo. On this site the springs of naturally carbonated water which is rich with many minerals are located. The people from Tetovo use this water to treat stomach ailments.

GPS: N 42° 01’ 32.67’’ / E 20° 36’ 36.48’’

 

ARABATI BABA TEKJE

Location: On the exit of Tetovo, on the way the Village of Rechica, at the foothill of Shar Mountain 

Altitude: 450 m.a.s.l. 

Access: Asphalt road.

Description:  The Tekje, in this form, was built in the 18th century by Rexhep-Pasha and his son Abdurahman-Pasha. The Tekje is a complex of religious buildings, grouped around the grave of Sersem Ali Baba. The sprawling complex features flowered lawns, prayer rooms, dining halls, lodgings and a great marble fountain inside a wooden pavilion. The active Bektashi life remained until 1912, in 1941 it was revived but in 1945 it was completely abandoned. The Dervish in the nineties started returning to the current Tekje and today it is the center of the Bekteshi community in Macedonia.

GPS: N 42° 00’ 10.80’’ / E 20° 57’ 26.48’’

 

SHARENA DZHAMIJA

Location: Tetovo

Altitude: 450 m.a.s.l.

Access: Asphalt road

Description: In the old part of Tetovo, on the right side of the river Pena, the magnificent Sharena Dzhamija mosque is located or as it is internationally known-the Pasha Mosque. The construction of the original mosque dates back to 1495 and her legators are the two sisters Hurshida and Mensure, who are buried in the courtyard of the mosque. In 1933, the mosque was restored and expanded by Abdurahman Pasha. Architecturally, the mosque is a square building that reflects the Baroque and Neoclassical Ottoman style.

GPS: N 42° 00’ 20.17’’ / E 20° 58’ 00.51’’

 

TURKISH HAMMAM 

Location: Central part of Tetovo

Altitude: 450 m.a.s.l.

Access: Asphalt road

Description: The Hammam is located on the right side of the river Pena, near the mosque Sharena Dzhamija, the Beg's lodge and the bridge. All objects together form a complex characteristic for the urban forming of the cities in the Ottoman period. The old hammam was built at the end of the 15th century and is presumed to have been built by Mehmet Celebiu, the son of Isaac Beg. The Hammam is a rectangular object, built with massive walls of processed stone and bricks. The roof constructions are cup-shaped cubes of different dimensions covered with Turkish shingles and short stone-shaped stone profiles.

GPS: N 42° 00’ 22.57’’ / E 20° 58’ 02.94’’

 

MUSEUM OF TETOVO

Location: Old town Tetovo

Altitude: 450 m.a.s.l. 

Access: Asphalt road

Description: The Museum of Tetovo was founded in 1950. At the beginning it existed in the premises of the complex Arabati Baba Tekje and later it was transferred to the area Dva Bresta within the Memorial House of Jovanovci (Central Committee of the Communist Party of Macedonia). Since 1990 until now, the Museum has been located within the Memorial House of Stojceski. The Museum is open every week day for historical exhibitions. The Museum covers activities related to the preservation of cultural and historical monuments of the Polog region and develops scientific-research projects in the field of archeology, ethnology, history and art history important for this region. Among the more important events organized by the Museum is the International Biennale with small graphics - Tetovo. Within the Museum also a Department of History, Department of Archeology, Department of Ethnology and Art History operate.

GPS:  N 42° 00’ 37.82’’ / E 20° 57’ 49.88’’

 

MUSEUM OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF MACEDONIA (HOUSE OF JOVANOVCI) 

Location: Old town Tetovo

Altitude: 450 m.a.s.l.

Access: Asphalt road 

Description:  A house where the Communist Party of Macedonia was founded - CPM. It was founded on March 19, 1943 in Tetovo. The first Central Committee was composed of: Lazar Kolishevski (political secretary), Mara Naceva (organizational secretary), Cvetko Uzunovski, Kuzman Josifovski - Pitu, Strahil Gigov and Bane Andreev. The first Congress of CPM was held in 1948. Today, the house in one part has preserved the area in which the CPM was formed and in the other half the rooms are decorated in the style corresponding to the period when the building was built. The name of the House of Jovanovci is given for the name of the family, the owners of the building, of which, one of its members, had  a role in the formation of the CPM and the meeting.

GPS: N 42° 00’ 50.54’’ / E 20° 57’ 57.06’’

 

GALLERY OF ICONS, ST. CYRIL AND METHODIUS

Location: Old town Tetovo

Altitude: 450 m.a.s.l.

Access: Asphalt road

Description: The Gallery of Icons in the church St. Cyril and Metodius in Tetovo is one of the earliest exhibitions of icons in church galleries in Macedonia. This collection deserves attention due to authentic iconographic and stylistic-art samples. The selection of the icons and the author of the concept of the exhibition in 1990 is the art historian Kosta Balabanov in cooperation with the Museum of the Tetovo Region - Tetovo and the Macedonian Orthodox Church, Polog-Kumanovo Diocese. There are authentic 111 icons and one picture on canvas. The collection also includes 5 cult objects made in metal and 26 liturgical books mainly from Russian province.

GPS: N 42° 00’ 47.89’’ / E 20° 56’ 02.33’’ 

 

SHIPKOVICA TEKJE

Location:  Village of Shipkovica, Tetovo

Altitude: 750 m.a.s.l. 

Access: Wide unpaved road from Tetovo. 

Description: The Shipkovica Tekje was located on the right side of the village of Shipkovica. The village is evicted and is considered historical. The village was founded around a Bekteshi Tekje which was part of the Tetovo Tekje. According to the beliefs, it was founded by Kuen-Baba, and he also died there. The Tekje was composed of a small house where the founder's grave is located.

GPS: N 42° 01’ 32.27’’ / E 20° 56’ 02.33’’

 

 

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