Macedonia gets museum replica of Golden Mask discovered in Trebenista

Skopje, 26 May 2012 (MIA) - A museum replica of the Golden Mask discovered in Trebenista was handed over Saturday in Skopje to Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska by her Serbian counterpart Predrag Markovic. The Golden Mask of Trebenista is housed in the Belgrade National Museum.

"Serbia's culture minister gave me a replica of an immensely important artefact - the Golden mask of Trebenista that is housed in the National Museum in Belgrade. The museum replica of this invaluable artefact, which was unearthed in the 1930s in Macedonia, will be displayed in the new archaeological museum, which is planned to be opened in late 2012 or early 2013," Kanceska-Milevska said.

She explained that the Ministry of Culture had submitted a request to the Serbian Culture Ministry asking museum replicas of artifacts housed in the National Museum in Belgrade to be made.

The move, the minister added, is a gesture of great friendship between the people of Macedonia and Serbia.

"The golden masks are considered to be the most important artefacts unearthed in the ancient necropolis in the vicinity of Trebenista village near Ohrid. Two of the four finds are housed in the National Museum in Belgrade and the other two in the Sofia Archaeological Museum," Kanceska-Milevska stated.

Serbian minister Markovic said that the museum replica was a gift to the Macedonian people and Macedonian state.

Less than a month ago, the ministers of Macedonia and Serbia signed a culture cooperation programme for 2012-2014. ba/14:39

Ohrid-Living History exhibition opens at Chelsea Town Hall

An exhibition, dedicated to the natural beauties and cultural heritage of Ohrid region, was opened late Monday at Chelsea Old Town Hall in London.
The exhibition, that will be opened for public by May 28, displays about 60 photos, pearls, folk dresses and copies of artefacts, originating from the Ohrid region. The photos, works of art of Petar Boev, Dimce Korunovski, Angel Sitnoski and Aleksandar Kovacevski, are part of a collection of the Ohrid municipality.
The event is organized by PRO ART & Co in Association with Mag Culture and Experience and the City of Ohrid. The opening ceremony was attended by many local citizens, friends of Macedonia, as well as Macedonian nationals that live and work in London.
In addition to the exhibition, Chelsea's main street 'Kings Road' is decorated with posters of Ohrid, presenting the city as a 'Living History' - one of the most beautiful towns in Macedonia, settled by the Ohrid Lake. It boasts with rich cultural history and unique natural world. Inhabited in early times, the town once had 365 churches - one for each day in the year - a large number of them are still preserved. Within them, they protect an immeasurable treasure of frescoes, icons, woodcarving and other sacred objects.
Promoting the exhibition, organizers say that every summer Ohrid hosts the internationally renowned Ohrid Summer Festival and other important cultural events. Many artists, from around the world, have chosen Ohrid as their open-air atelier and regard the town and its surroundings as an endless inspiration.It was also a place where St Clement, a student of the famous Byzantine brothers Saints Cyril and Methodius, revised their Glagolitic Alphabet and simplified letters thus created a new Cyrillic Alphabet, which most of the Eastern European Slavs use even today. Ohrid is the soul of Macedonia and the UNESCO’s World Heritage site.
The exhibition will be also presented in Endiburgh - Scotland, Lithuania and Romania.

Kuratica welcomed the Dutch tourist with national dished and rakija

Second year in a row, the Kuratica local have welcomed the Dutch tourists, who stay in Ohrid - with national dishes and home made brandy - rakija.
During their one-day visit to the Kuratica village (Ohrid municipality), the Dutch tourists had the opportunity to see the local beauties, to enjoy the visit to the Mazatar mountain, with a donkey safari.

Source: http://ohridnews.com/index.php?mod=1&kat=4&id=42216

Dutch Tourists Arriving in Ohrid

The first group of 120 tourists from the Netherlands using arrangements of tour-operator "Arke Travel -TUI", arrived in Ohrid on Friday.

A formal event was held at Ohrid-based airport "St. Paul the Apostle", with Economy Minister Valon Saraqini and Netherlands Ambassador to Macedonia Marriet Schuurman greeting the Dutch tourists.

Minister Saraqini wished the guests a warm welcome, saying they should acquaint with Macedonia as much as possible during their stay and convey their impressions to friends at home.

Saraqini told reporters efforts would be implemented this year towards increasing the number of foreign tourists in Macedonia.

"Besides lowering the VAT for tourism services, we have adopted a new rulebook on categorization of capacities, which would significantly improve services offered by hotels. Another measure for attraction of tourists is the subsidizing of low-cost airlines with EUR 4,9 million allocated for the next three years", said the Economy Minister.

According to expectations, nine flights carrying foreign tourists are to land at the Ohrid airport every week.

"Taking into account information we have from tour-operators, we expect about 700 tourists per day from the Benelux countries only. Over 14,000 tourists are expected from the Netherlands this year", emphasized Saraqini while thanking the Dutch Embassy for successful promotion of Macedonia as an attractive tourism destination.

Ambassador Schuurman recalled that such charter flights brought 22,000 Dutch guests to Macedonia last year.

"We are convinced that more tourists will come from the Netherlands this year. I know that Dutch tourists like Macedonia very much, which has been confirmed by the fact that many who came last year are planning to spend their holidays here again this summer", underlined Schuurman.

Warm welcome for ArkeFly and tourists from The Netherlands

The first group of tourists from The Netherlands arrived at Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport, marking the beginning of the tourist season. The guests were welcomed by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of The Netherlands, HE Marriet Schuurman, the Minister of Economy, Mr. Valon Saraqini and the General Manager of TAV Macedonia, Mr. Zoran Krstevski. The welcoming ceremony was organised by TAV Macedonia and the local TUI operator. According to the Macedonian tradition, the guests were offered bread and salt, but also cake and champagne.

14.000 Dutch tourists to visit Macedonia this year

The first group of Dutch tourists will arrive to Ohrid on April 27, Economy Minister Valon Saraqini told reporters on Tuesday.

About 14.000 tourists only from the Netherlands are expected to visit Macedonia this year. Contacts have been also established with tour operators from Israel, Finland and countries form the region, he said.

"We wish for Macedonia to become an attractive tourist destination and have been working hard to that effect. A month ago we have promoted the new national strategy on rural tourism development," Saraqini said after opening the Skopje Travel Market 2012 fair.

The tourism, as fast-growing sector that creates new jobs, will also contribute substantially to the budget foreign currency inflow, he said.

Ohrid residents surprised by April Snow

Edition and film on 2. world religious conference in Ohrid

The Ministry of Culture will promote Tuesday edition "Religion and Culture - Unbreakable Ties among Nations" in five languages, as well as a DVD documentary film, dedicated to the 2. World Conference on Inter-Religious and Inter-Civilization Dialogue, held in Ohrid in 2010.

Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska is set to address the promotion.

The editions and the film have been funded by UNESCO, in the framework of UN's joint programme "Enhancing Interethnic Community Dialogue and Collaboration" towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

The promotion will be preceded by a meeting of members of the international organizing committee for the 3. World Conference on Dialogue among Religions and Civilizations in 2013.

The committee includes Minister Kanceska-Milevska, Foreign Minister Nikola Poposki, director of the Commission for Relations with Religious Communities and Groups Valentina Bozinovska, Macedonia's Ambassador to the Holly See Gjoko Gjorgjevski, as well as professors and religious representatives from other countries.

Carlos Slim, CEOs of largest telecommunications companies in Ohrid

Broadband Commission for Digital Development, established by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and UNESCO, chaired by world's richest man Carlos Slim, will hold a meeting in Ohrid on April 2.

The meeting will also include co-chair, Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, as well as commission members, including CEOs of world's largest IT companies such as Intel, Ericsson, Telefonica, Cisco, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei Technologies etc.

"Slim will meet PM Gruevski and a number of ministers, who will present a portion of our projects", Minister of Information Society and Administration Ivo Ivanovski, who is also a Commission member, told MIA.

U.S. magazine "Forbes" has declared Mexican businessman of Lebanese descent Carlos Slim the richest man in the world for three years running. He is the chairman and chief executive of telecommunications companies Telmex and America Movil and has extensive holdings in other Mexican companies through his conglomerate, Grupo Carso SAB, as well as business interests elsewhere in the world. His wealth is estimated at over US$ 69 billion.

Divers clear explosives from Macedonia lake

Ohrid lake - Macedonia.

Special teams of divers have cleared some four tonnes of explosives from Lake Ohrid in southwestern Macedonia, a protected UNESCO World Heritage site, the MIA news agency said Thursday."There were unexploded mines, bombs and different munitions for the Balkans wars in the 1900s, World War I and World War II... that posed a potential danger to the population," the interior ministry said in a statement quoted by MIA.The 358-square-kilometre (138-square-mile) lake is the deepest in the Balkans at 288 metres (945 feet). It straddles the border between Macedonia and Albania and has a unique ecosystem with more than 200 endemic species.According to Ekrem Zendeli, an environmental protection official, some 23,000 square metres of the lake have been cleared of explosives since the start of the operation in 2007.Over the years around 20 tonnes of explosives had been taken from the lake, Macedonia's main tourist attraction.

Four souvenir Shops open in Skopje

Four souvenir shops opened in downtown Skopje on Wednesday, first of the 20 unified tourism-cultural points in several Macedonian cities (Ohrid, Bitola, Struga, Berovo etc) and three border crossings (Tabanovce, Bogorodica and Deve Bair).
The shops sell replicas of displays in the Museum of Macedonia - items excavated at archaeological sites or applications of authentic jewelry, copies of the monuments throughout the country, puzzles, key chains, magnets etc.
Culture Minister Elizabeta Kanceska-Milevska said souvenirs aim towards cultural and tourism promotion, but are also intended for Macedonian citizens.
"These shops are of enormous significance for Macedonia's tourism promotion. There is a large spectre of items, whereas prices are lower compared to other countries", added Kanceska-Milevska.

Macedonia's airports welcome 6.000 passengers during New Year Holidays

During the New Year weekend Macedonia's airports welcomed 6.101 passengers, or 8 percent more in comparison to the same period last year, the Ministry of Transport and Communications said Tuesday in a press release.

The frequency of passengers reached its peak on the New Year's first day, when Skopje and Ohrid Airports handled 2,268 and 345 passengers respectively.

"Renovated airports in Skopje and Ohrid were opened last year. Skopje's Alexander the Great airport got a new passenger terminal, thus increasing its capacity to serving 4 million passengers per year," the press release reads.

Albanian tour-operators, journalists visit Macedonia

Popova Sapka

Economy Minister Valon Saraqini and Macedonian Ambassador to Tirana Vele Trpevski met Monday with tour-operators and journalists from the Republic of Albania, who pay a visit to Macedonia within project "Promotion of Macedonia's Winter Tourism in Albania".
"Macedonia-Albania cooperation in the tourism field has focused on stay of Albanian tourists in the Ohrid-Struga region, as well as vacations of Macedonian nationals on the Adriatic coast. This project aims at offering Albanians our winter resorts. Moreover, we want to create a joint tourism product for the global tourist by combining their seaside with our lakes and mountains", said Minister Saraqini.
The Albanian guests were presented with the possibilities of winter resorts Mavrovo and Popova Sapka. They also met with Macedonian tour-operators and representatives of country's tourism associations.

Both Mak Airports register increase in travellers

The number of passengers transported through Skopje airport "Alexander the Great" and Ohrid-based "St.Paul the Apostle" in October has increased by 18.9 percent compared to the same month in 2010.
A total of 74,703 passengers were transported this October compared to last year's 62,876, said the Ministry of Transport and Communications on Thursday.

The same trend was registered in September, with the number of passengers rising by 25.4 percent compared to last year, i.e. 82,641 to 65,878.

Ohrid's St. Paul the Apostle is Best in Class of Smaller Airports

Ohrid airport: Saint Paul the Apostle

According to the International Airport Council, Ohrid-based St. Paul the Apostle airport is the absolute winner in the group of small airports with up to five million passengers a year. In comparison with September 2011, goods transport growth reached 198.1 percent in a year.
The two Macedonian airports are managed by Turkish TAV. Istanbul-based Kemal Atatturk Airport, which is also managed by TAV, reported the highest growth in goods transport in its group of airports with more than 25 million passengers a year. Leading European airports (Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London) recorded losses in international goods transport (6, 5.7 and 3.7 percent).

Nearly 40 Events at 51st Ohrid Summer Festival

The 51st Ohrid Summer Festival will be formally opened on Tuesday (July 12) with "Trilogia Romana", a grand multimedia project produced by famous Spanish company "La Fura dels Baus" and performed by the Macedonian Philharmonic Orchestra. The festival this year, which ends of Aug. 20, will host about forty events."Trilogia Romana" is composed by Ottorino Respighi, which was performed last month in Rome and Valencia. "La Fura dels Baus" company has been producing plays for 32 years and is known for its uniqueness.Selector of the music program, Gordana Josifova-Nedelkovska told a press conference on Wednesday that the festival would see the performances by Nigel Kennedy - one of the most famous violinists in the world, eminent Russia pianists, Alexander Gindin, Alexei Volodin and Boris Berezovsky, as well as many others.Other must-see performances, especially by Macedonian artists, are the concerts by guitarist Vlatko Stefanovski and violinist Stefan Milenkovic on Aug. 1 and by musician Duke Bojadziev on Aug. 2 at the Antique Theater in Ohrid.
"This year the program is different from last year's because it was retrospective. The festival once again aims to bring fresh artists from all around the world. In the past 50 years, the festival hosted an impressive number of musicians, however nowadays there is a pleiad of amazing musicians who perform in packed venues worldwide and our goal is to bring artists who haven't performed before in Ohrid," she said.
Selector of the drama program, Gjorgi Jolevski said this year's Ohrid Summer Festival offered performances of classical plays by Euripides, Heiner Muller, Beaumarchais, William Shakespeare...
There will be three premieres at the festival - "The Marriage of Figaro" directed by Levan Tsuladze and produced by the Macedonian National Theater, "Cabaret Misterioso" directed by Dejan Damjanovski and produced by the Ohrid Theater. Ohrid Summer Festival will be closed with the premiere of "Medea" directed by Nada Kokotovic and produced by the Bitola National Theater.In addition to concerts and plays, the festival also offers numerous exhibitions.

Construction of an elite hotel in Ohrid

Macedonian Ministry of Transport has invited a tender for the sale of a building lot owned by the Republic of Macedonia in Ohrid. A five-star hotel is envisaged to be built at the location.

The initial auction price for the lot of the total surface of 15,878 sqm is MKD 61 sqm. All interested parties can apply for the auction by October 26. The auction will be held on November 2, 2010