"Prilep" a Prilep Travel Page by Pijlmans

This was part of a 3-4 day trip Ohrid-Prilep-Krusevo-Ohrid.

We came by bus from Ohrid and stayed two days in Prilep, to visit the Towers of Marko and two monasteries, the Monastery of St Michael the Archangel and the Monastery of Treskovec outside of Prilep. We stayed the night in the Hotel Kristal Palace.

There was a big market in the center when we were there, I donīt know if it is there every day.

High above the town of Prilep stand the Markovi Kuli, Towers of Marko, named after the last Macedonian king Marko.

Marko Mrnjavcevic, son of Tsar Volkasin Mrnjavcevic, was of Serbian origin. When his father died in 1371 in a fight against the Ottomans, the crown was passed to Marko. Prilep, which was the capital of Marko's empire, eventually fell to the Ottomans in 1394. A year later King Marko was killed while he was forced to fight for the Ottomans.

Parts of the fortress should date back to the Iron Age, 3rd and 4th centuries BC and later periods during the Ottoman Empire. Most of the ruins that can be seen today are from medieval times.

After spending most of the day relaxing between the ruines of The Towers of Marko, we payed a short visit to the Monastery of St Michael the Archangel. Allegedly the second oldest Cyrillic inscription can be found here.

A great 8 km hike over an old cobbled road can be made from Prilep to the Monastery of Treskovec. The people in the monastery were very friendly and offered us a meal. The monastery itself is extremely beautiful, with magnificent frescos. Make sure that you have clothes that cover shoulders and legs if you want to enter.

It is not without reason that this great place plays a central role in the Macedonian film "Before the Rain" by Milco Mancevski!

It is possible to stay the night in the monastery if you are too tired to hike back.

After this hike we took a cab to the lovely Monastery of St Spas in Trstenik, on the road from Prilep to Krusevo, where we spend the night. From there we hiked to Krusevo.