North Macedonia
WHERE THE GOLDEN SUN SHINES
As their flag illustrates, North Macedonia is truly a country of sun. Surrounded by mountains, it measures countless sunny hours due to its special position and climate conditions. This almost Mediterranean climate (but without the sea) directly influenced the agriculture significantly and of course the gastronomy. People say that due to mild climate conditions, Macedonians are also mild, pleasant, positive and peace-loving people. Diplomacy is threaded deeply into their history and modern society. Bitola, a small city in the southwest was a melting pot of diplomacy for centuries. It was a neutral field where many negotiations happened that influenced the entire world history. During its glory days, most empires have had their representative offices there, including the Ottoman Empire, the English crown, the Venetians etc. You must know that this is the only country that came out of Ex-Yugoslavia without any conflict, through diplomacy.
Macedonia is a great well rounded destination that has decent infrastructure for most programs, and will not disappoint any type of travelers, including cultural groups, family trips, special interest tours (wine, gastronomy, archaeology, history), adventures, events etc. It is an archaeologist’s dream come true, as the birth place of Philip II of Macedon (Alexander The Great’s father), with rich archaeological heritage from Hellenistic period such as Bitola, Heraclea and Stobi. Although it doesn’t offer a great variety of luxury hotels, it does have decent superior level hotels and the perfect luxury souvenir – the handmade Ohrid pearls which even Queen Elisabeth loves wearing.