WHEN THE SMELL AND TASTE ARE MIXED – DOJRAN LAKE
Poured by
Ivana Antovska
Those who have visited it, they felt it and they know, to those who did not, I warmly recommend it.
I tried to express my impressions of the small lake city into this text and to encourage you whenever you have extra time on your hand to make it your next travel destination. In anticipation of the upcoming prolonged weekend, my recommendation is Dojran.
The best point of view is from the top of the mountain Belasica. From wherever you watch it, it is small, very small, and yet very nice. it’s smell captures you and you will remember it forever because it is unique and it is not like in any other place. It’s a mixture of scent of the lake water and oleander. When you are in the middle of the lake, and you come across one of the cottages, or as the people from Dojran call them “mandri”, standing there under the warm sunshine and the Dojran wind called “dubroven”, you can feel the power of nature. And then, breathe deeply my friend, breathe in the smell of the south.
The fact that cottages are carried by the water is evidence that nature can be both crude and cordial. One doesn’t know whether to regret and be nostalgic about them, or to be happy that nature gives back, it returns the water, returns the lake to us as it once was, long time ago. Dojran is a city with vast past and history. It has a soul, it existed for so many years and as an evidence to that there are many remains from the Turkish era – the Turkish baths, the clock tower… Today, the museum in Dojran represents a true treasury of the history of the city, as a city that was demolished and rebuilt again. Today, Dojran experiences renaissance, it is returning to life, it is built and enlarged. At the entrance to Nov Dojran you will see the hotel Istatov, owned by the football legend that brought football into this region, and contributed to the development of this sport.
Old and New Dojran are connected with a pedestrian and bicycle path, so it is exceptionally pleasant in the evenings walks and cycling. At the beginning of the old Dojran stands the Tito’s Villa, lonely and deserted. Just above it, is my favorite place, the church of St. Ilija. It was built in 1848, and later burned to the ground. After many years, it has been reconstructed and restored, and now is the best place to hold summer events and celebrations. In the center of Dojran, over all hills and houses, huge trees rise – beautiful maple trees. The citizens say that they are older than 100 years, since they can be seen in the old photos from the distant 1914.
Of course, the inevitable part of a reportage are the gastronomy specialities. Dojran has plenty of them. Given that we are talking about a city on water, in Dojran it is certain that you have to try a traditional fish dish. I advise you to visit the old city restaurant “Fuk-Tak”. In 1824, an old man called Mite decided to open a restaurant which he called Fuk-Tak and which soon became the most famous one in this region. He managed to attract guests from the whole former Yugoslavia. It is truly surprising when you realize who was in Fuk-Tak; famous actors, music and sports legends …. And today is the same. For it’s name there is a story that says that the restaurant got its name by the sound (fuk-tak) of a load train that has been passing by over the other side of the lake for years.
People come for the specialties of this house. I would recommend a fish on reeds and langidi. In the past the reeds were cooked in the cottages, the fishermen took the fish from the nets, cleaned the fish half-live, placed them in the reeds and then on the fence. In order not to throw anything from the fish, the people in Dojran invented, yet another nice specialty, called langidi, or caviar burgers. The caviar is mixed with eggs, flour and finely chopped leeks and shortly fried. In the end, I recommend that you refresh yourself with cold SKOPSKO beer and enjoy the sights of Dojran.
