O que ver em Bitola

ally associated with the ancient Macedonians, although most of the ruins that can be seen today date back to the Roman and the early Christian period. Only a small portion of the city has been unearthed, including a theatre, two water fountains, a courthouse, baths, the bishop's palace and two basilicas (but, save for the theatre, you'll need a lot of imagination to visualize how these buildings looked like in their heyday, as all that is left are their foundations). What actually worth seeing on the site are the mosaics of the big basilica, made in the 5th century. The floor mosaic in the narthex is the most complete presentation of the world as they understood it back then. In the centre of a rectangular field there is a fountain out of which a grapevine comes (as a symbol of Christ's teachings) and peacocks and deer are gathered around (as symbol of eternal life), meaning if you accept the teaching of Christ you’ll have eternal life. On the left and on the right there are 5 trees rich with fruits with birds flying around (representing the garden of Eden and the afterlife), and a huge red dog called Kerber (Cerberus) is guarding the entrance. Below the trees, animals like deer are presented attacked and eaten by wild animals (presenting the suffering of the Christian soul in the earth life). The field is surrounded by water with medallions in which 28 water animals are presented. The mosaic has been made with little stones in 27 different colours (the only “richer” mosaic is found in Pompeii - a wall mosaic made of stones in 32 colours). There is a small museum (no extra fee) on the grounds with very few artifacts (more or less limited to a couple of ancient stone masks) and a nice scale model of the city at its peak. If you are already in Bitola, Heraclea is probably worth a visit, but if you have already been to much better known sites of antiquity around the Mediterranean basin, keep in mind that this place leaves much to be desired—but, hey, where else has such a romantic name? - A leisurely stroll around the ruins will take 45–50 minutes at most. Most of the site is inaccessible for wheelchair users.

The street is very lively and lined with cafes which are excellent for relaxing and people-watching, especially since the girls from Bitola are known as the most beautiful in Macedonia and they love to parade up and down the street dressed in their Sunday best. In the first section check out the Catholic Cathedral. Shirok Sokak ends with the old barracks, where the military academy where Atatürk studied was situated, and which today serves as the city museum. Opposite it stands the ball hall. Across the street as a continuance of Shirok Sokak the City Park stands, where the old Sokolana (physical education building) for the students of the former military academy is situated. For more nice houses walk in the streets left of Shirok Sokak.

There were many rules to be followed, like the exterior had to be without decorations and the floor of the church had to be at least one metre below the ground so the church wouldn’t dominate the skyline of the city. It was built in 1830, as a three-naved basilica with galleries and five chapels. While they had to keep the exterior modest the interior is lavishly decorated with woodwork. The huge icon screen was made in 1845.

Most interesting is the British consulate, which was the first one to be built and is a combination of traditional architecture and neo-classical decorations.

It has pleasant small squares with water fountains and many Ottoman monuments in and around it. A large portion of the old bazaar was demolished in the 1950s for the city square to be built. Fortunately the main monuments were left standing.

The mosque was abandoned and over time, it was heavily damaged, but, the recent restoration and conservation works, have restored, to a certain extent, the original appearance to the mosque.