Elsewhere: Prilep, Republic of Macedonia, Prilep, Macedonia

Small city surrounded by the rugged mountains of Macedonia, home to the nation’s tobacco industry and a mix of city and village life.

The modest Republic of Macedonia is not known for many big name tourist destinations. This meant I had to be creative with my itinerary when visiting the country in July. Gladly, I decided on making my way to the city of Prilep in the centre of the country. Prilep turned out to be a fun place to explore the local way of life, within a very rugged and scarce landscape. During my time there, I only came across a single small German tour group and not another tourist.

The city of Prilep has a long and illustrious history, stretching back beyond the Romans to Ancient Macedonia. Many of the events that shaped the city happened between the 11th and 14th centuries, when the city bounced between the Bulgarian Empires, the Byzantines and the Kingdom of Serbia. It was under the Kingdom of Serbia where one of the city’s biggest local heroes emerged, King Marko. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).