Back across the border after a long drive (who said it would only take two hours?!), Tetovo (map) is the largest city in the north-west, about an hour from Skopje. Two sites were particularly special here, the Painted Mosque, and the Bektashi Baba Arabati Tekke.
As the name would suggest, the Painted Mosque is, well, painted. Everywhere. Though built in the 15th century, but its most spectacular frescoes date from the 1833 reconstruction by Abdurahman Pasha, when it was covered with floral and geometrical motifs.
the Painted Mosque
We were fortunate to arrive at the Tekke just as evening prayers were finishing, and so were taken under the wing of a kind seventy-four year old. He shewed us around, and insisted we stay for coffee. Again, as at the Patriarchate, an excellent end to the day...
The Baba Arabati Tekke
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