Some facts about Republic of Macedonia

» Area: 25 713 square kilometres

» Location: Southeastern Europe
click here to see map

» Capital: Skopje

» Climate: warm, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall

» Time: GMT/UTC plus 1 hour

» Electricity: 220V, 50Hz

» Weights & measures: Metric

» Currency: Macedonian denar (MKD)
Travellers' cheques can be changed at most banks with no commission deducted. Small private exchange offices can be found throughout central Skopje and Ohrid, and the rate they offer is generally good.

» Credit Cards: You can use all established international credit cards (American Express, Visa, Diners, MasterCard/EuroCard) as well as Eurocheques in most hotels, shops and restaurants.

» Working Hours:
Shops - Monday to Friday 8 AM - 8 PM, Saturday 8 AM - 3 PM
Institutions & offices - Monday to Friday 8 AM - 8 PM or 9 AM - 5 PM
Banks - Monday to Friday 8 AM - 7 PM, Saturday 8 AM - 12 AM

» Holidays:
New Year - 1 and 2 January
Orthodox Christmas - 7 January
Labour Day - 1 and 2 May
Ilinden or Day of the 1903 Rebellion - 2 August
Independence Day - 8 September
1941 Partisan Day - 11 October

» When to Go: There's no bad time to go to Macedonia weather-wise, as the country benefits from being close to the Aegean, which keeps it relatively warm in winter and very nice in summer. July and August are the best months to catch festivals: the Balkan Festival of Folk Dances and Songs is held in Ohrid in early July, while the Ohrid Summer Festival takes place later that same month.

» OHRID

Lake Ohrid, a natural tectonic lake in the south-west corner of Macedonia, is the deepest lake in Europe at 290m (960ft), and one of the world's oldest. A third of its 450 sq km (175 sq mi) surface area belongs to Albania. Nestled amid mountains at an altitude of 695m (2280ft), the Macedonian section of the lake is the more beautiful, with striking vistas of the water from the beach and hills.

The town of Ohrid is the Macedonian tourist mecca. Some 30 'cultural monuments' in the area keep visitors busy. Predictably, the oldest ruins readily seen today are Roman. Lihnidos (Ohrid) was on the Via Egnatia, which connected the Adriatic to the Aegean, and part of a Roman amphitheatre has been uncovered in the old town. Under Byzantium, Ohrid became the episcopal centre of Macedonia. The first Slavic university was founded here in 893 by Bishop Kliment of Ohrid, a disciple of St Cyril and St Methodius, and from the 10th century until 1767 the patriarchate of Ohrid held sway. The revival of the archbishopric of Ohridin 1958 and its independence from the Serbian Orthodox Church in 1967 were important steps on the road to modern nationhood.

The better part of a day at Ohrid could be spent on a pilgrimage to the Albanian border to see the Church of Sveti Naum on a hill above the lake, 30km (20mi) south of Ohrid by bus.