Skopje is not a city nestled at some seven mystical hills with a bunch of stories around it, like Rome, Istanbul, Jerusalem or Moscow. Far from being the perfect and ideal city to live in, but it’s definitely an interesting one.
It’s a city where beauty can be found in unexpected places: the graffiti on the wall, people feeding pigeons and selling newspapers in the early morning hours, cars dramatically honking and creating a traffic jam as everybody goes or returns from work.
By far, one of the most exciting places, and my favorite places to be in Skopje is the Old Bazaar or locally known as Stara Carsija. Now, this place, which is also commonly the single most enjoyable district for travelers as well, comes with a dozen of myths acquired by popular belief. These are mostly rumors, opinions, remarks and sometimes nasty comments one could hear about the place.
No. 1: A Forgery Might Happen to You
Not everyone likes the Old Bazaar in Skopje anyway, and I am just not sure why, but there is this recurring blabber that a forgery can specifically happen to you if you go there. It is just nonsense – if you are not cautious a forgery might happen to you anywhere you go around the city.
The Old Bazaar is the most authentic district that remained in Skopje. It is the borderline zone, where all cultures that coexist in Macedonia mingle together here. If you play cool, everybody will play cool. No forgery. No fraud. And you can actually pay for drinks much cheaper than if you hit some other fancy bar or nightclub in the city center.
Be bold when exploring the Old Bazaar in Skopje. Don’t worry about a forgery – it could happen to you anywhere you go in the world, especially if you are not conscious about your experience of the place here and now.
No.2: The Old Bazaar is an Underground Zone. You will not like it.
Have heard this one couple of times as well. That the Old Bazaar is some notorious underground zone, and honestly I get confused at what people mean when they refer to the area as “underground”. First and foremost I do not agree that Skopje can be counted among those cities that have flourishing underground zones, at least not for night life.
This is not Berlin, London, Bucharest or whatsoever. The parties here do not get that dirty; nothing is really super freaky or out of mind. Not in Skopje. Not at the Old Bazaar.
Photography work by: Julija Miova
Read more: http://www.thiscityknows.com/debunking-7-myths-about-the-old-bazaar-district-in-skopje/
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An old street of silversmiths & goldsmiths
A street light at twilight. The sign reads the name of one of the best clubs in the area, Kapan-An
The Old Bazaar is where different cultures meet, breathe and coexist together in Skopje
Another astounding shot of the famous street of goldsmiths in Carsija
