The Pearls of Ohrid

Where to begin and where to end? These pearls of mediaeval architecture and religious art, woven into and atop older civilizations and further enhanced by achievements of later periods as well, surround and embrace the lake. They shine with a divine splendor that radiates out into the lake, Macedonia, and the world!

If the future is a logical extension of the present, then the previous development of Ohrid also shows the way this city will take. If nature has finished its work (!?), something beyond the scope of humanity, the human creativity that is present today will remain present till the end of human time! Most likely as long as mankind persists in its quest for perfection!

It seems that natural splendors and the artistic achievements of modern, ancient and prehistoric civilizations co-exist here as nowhere else on earth. So many treasuries on such a small portion of the earth! Magnificent mountains, a gorgeous lake, an ancient city! Pearl next to pearl, and which is the more beautiful?

Many books have been written and many words of praise have been spoken about the city and the lake of Ohrid. As much as in the past, the city and the lake of Ohrid today stand as an inspiration for artists of all kinds, though no single artist has ever fully succeeded in conveying their grandeur. Therefore, the best you can do is to see them with your own eyes and experience them through your own spirit.

Somewhere here must be the end of our story about the pearls of Ohrid. Entirely conscious of the fact that our story is somehow incomplete, we are ending our journey through the past and into our own times, through the natural splendor and cultural treasures of Macedonia’s, Europe’s and the world’s Ohrid.

Let the end of the story be just the end of the story! Let it be just a beginning for many new acquaintances and friendships, a beginning of a new world, a beginning of the common journey toward perfection.