From Ohrid, I took a bus to Skopje, the Capital of Macedonia, to kill a few more days before meeting a friend in Bulgaria. Having done no research or planning at all (apart from booking my hostel that cost 5 euros/night), I didn’t know what to expect. When my bus pulled into the decrepit station, Skopje appeared to be just another post-Yugoslavian brutalist wasteland. As I ventured into the city centre, I was thrown off by the over the top landmarks and buildings that looked very out of place. From a distance, the city centre appeared to be full of palatial buildings and monuments.

While the buildings resembled something similar to the Classical architectural style of ancient Greece or Rome, it was very obvious that they were built more recently. In fact, I learned that the city centre had undergone a massive revitalization effort between 2010 to 2014, known as Skopje 2014. The project was an epic disaster.

The massive revitalization project was intended to put Macedonia on the map and celebrate it’s proud history and people with the construction of new government/civic buildings to statues and bridges. What seemed to be an ambitious scheme to strengthen the country’s national identity turned into an expensive monstrosity. Originally budgeted for 80 million euros, the project ended up costing more than 700 million euros. Walking around, you could tell that the buildings were shoddily constructed using cheap materials. Apparently, plaster was slapped on styrofoam to construct the structures.

The monument that towers over Skopje’s main square supposedly depicts Alexander the Great, who is Macedonian.

From peering through the columns and colonnades, you would think that you were at the Vatican. But no, you’re in Skopje.

Why is there a random pirate ship docked by the river in the middle of the city? Because it’s Skopje.

Is this Wall Street? No, it’s a random street in Skopje.

At night, the city centre is lit up for all of it’s tackiness to be put on full display. Maybe they should rename Skopje to Skopvegas.

Is this Caesar’s Palace? No, its the Archaeological Museum of Macedonia.

The Stone Bridge seemed to be the one historical landmark that looked authentic. That’s because it was built in the 1400s. Skopje, please don’t mess it up.

While exploring the city centre, I stumbled upon the Mother Teresa Memorial House. It used to be the site of the church where Mother Teresa was baptized. To my ignorance, I had no clue that Mother Teresa was from Macedonia (although she is ethnically Albanian). I always wondered why Mother Teresa didn’t look Indian…

You don’t have to venture far from the city centre to see the true Macedonia.

Although I wasn’t able to pin point exactly what defined Macedonian identity during the brief time I spent in the country, I got the sense that it is in constant flux and will continue to evolve, just like it’s urban landscape. What I know for certain is that Skopje’s attempt to revitalize the city centre was just plain silly. Skopje, why so silly?