Skopje

Skopje (Macedonian: Скопје, [ˈskɔpjɛ]; Albanian: Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic center. It was known in the Roman period under the name Scupi.

The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; remains of Neolithic settlements have been found within the old Kale Fortress that overlooks the modern city centre. On the eve of the 1st century AD, the settlement was seized by the Romans and became a military camp. When the Roman Empire was divided into eastern and western halves in 395 AD, Scupi came under Byzantine rule from Constantinople. During much of the early medieval period, the town was contested between the Byzantines and the Bulgarian Empire, whose capital it was between 972 and 992. From 1282, the town was part of the Serbian Empire and acted as its capital city from 1346. In 1392, the city was conquered by the Ottomans who called the town Üsküp. The town stayed under Ottoman control for over 500 years, serving as the capital of pashasanjak of Üsküb and later the Vilayet of Kosovo. At that time the city was famous for its oriental architecture . In 1912, it was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia during the Balkan Wars and after the First World War the city became part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia). In the Second World War the city was conquered by the Bulgarian Army, which was part of the Axis powers. In 1944, it became the capital city of Democratic Macedonia (later Socialist Republic of Macedonia), which was a federal state, part of Democratic Federal Yugoslavia (later Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia). The city developed rapidly after World War II, but this trend was interrupted in 1963 when it was hit by a disastrous earthquake. In 1991, it became the capital city of an independent Macedonia.

Macedonia

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Lake Ohrid

Lake Ohrid (Macedonian: Охридско Езеро, [ˈɔhridzkɔ ˈɛzɛrɔ], Albanian: Liqeni i Ohrit, [liˈcɛni i ˈɔhrit], Liqeni i Pogradecit), straddles the mountainous border between southwestern Macedonia and eastern Albania. It is one of Europe's deepest and oldest lakes, preserving a unique aquatic ecosystem that is of worldwide importance, with more than 200 endemic species. The importance of the lake was further emphasized when it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979 and when, in 2010, NASA decided to name one of Titan's lakes after Lake Ohrid. In 2014, the Ohrid-Prespa Transboundary Reserve between Albania and Macedonia was added to UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The towns situated at the lakeside are Pogradec in Albania, along with Ohrid and Struga in Macedonia. The lake is otherwise densely surrounded by settlements in the form of villages and resorts in both basin countries.

Geography

Lake Ohrid is the deepest lake of the Balkans, with a maximum depth of 288 m (940 ft) and a mean depth of 155 m (508 ft). It covers an area of 358 km² (138 sq mi), containing an estimated 55.4 km³ of water. It is 30.4 km long by 14.8 km wide at its maximum extent with a shoreline length of 87.53 km, shared between Macedonia (56.02 km) and Albania (31.51 km). The Ohrid Lake is divided between Republic of Macedonia and Albania. Of the total surface area, 248 km² belongs to Republic of Macedonia and 110 km² belongs to Albania.

Ohrid

Coordinates: 41°07′01″N 20°48′06″E / 41.11694°N 20.80167°E / 41.11694; 20.80167

Ohrid (/ɒx.rid/, Macedonian: Охрид [ˈɔxrid]) is a city in the Republic of Macedonia and the seat of Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country with over 42,000 inhabitants as of 2002. Ohrid is notable for once having had 365 churches, one for each day of the year, and has been referred to as a "Jerusalem (of the Balkans)". The city is rich in picturesque houses and monuments, and tourism is predominant. It is located southwest of Skopje, west of Resen and Bitola. In 1979 and in 1980, Ohrid and Lake Ohrid were accepted as Cultural and Natural World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. In fact, Ohrid is one of only 28 sites that are part of UNESCO's World Heritage that are both Cultural and Natural sites.

Name

In antiquity the city was known under the ancient Greek name Λύχνιδος (Lychnidos) and Latin Lychnidus, probably meaning "city of light", from λυχνίς (lychnis, gen. lychnidos), "a precious stone that emits light", from λύχνος (lychnos), "lamp, portable light". By 879 AD, the town was no longer called Lychnidos but was referred to by the Slavs as Ohrid, possibly from the Slavic words vo hrid, meaning "on the hill", as the ancient town of Lychnidos was at the top of the hill. In Macedonian and the other South Slavic languages, the name of the city is Ohrid (Охрид). In Albanian, the city is known as Ohër or Ohri and in modern Greek Ochrida (Οχρίδα, Ωχρίδα) and Achrida (Αχρίδα).

Places to Visit

Places to Visit is an Extended Play released by British group Saint Etienne in May 1999. It showed the band moving toward the experimental electronic sound that they perfected on their next official full-length, 2000's Sound of Water.

Originally released in 1999 in the US only on Sub Pop, German label Bungalow released a vinyl version in 2000. The German release included as a bonus track "Garage for Gunther", the B-side to "52 Pilot".

The EP appeared in its entirety on the second disc of the 2009 deluxe edition reissue of Sound of Water, also marking the first UK release of the tracks.

"Sadie's Anniversary" and "Half Timbered" are tracks omitted from the Misadventures Of Margaret soundtrack. Sadie is incidentally the name of the band's longtime backing singer's daughter. Debsey, the backing singer, has been with the band since the early days of them performing live. She is also Sarah Cracknell's sister-in-law.

"We're in the City" is featured in the 1999 film But I'm a Cheerleader.