Stately old Bitola, known 100 years ago as Monastir, the ‘city of the consuls’ for its key role as an Ottoman regional headquarters. It keeps up some of its lost grandeur in fading turn-of-the-century buildings, especially around the central pedestrian street, Shirok Sokak (Turkish for ‘wide street’), where the bulk of Bitola’s cafes and bars are located. Bitolans, who have a reputation for paying attention to fashion and style, put a high priority on leisure and the cafes are busy at all hours. The locals, who in their patriotic pride view themselves as the ‘real’ Macedonians, tend to have smoldering dark eyes and dark hair, and a long-standing rivalry with the citizens of Skopje, the capital, in the mold of more celebrated rivalries such as that between Corkmen and Dubliners.

Bitola still enjoys the presence of a few ceremonial foreign consuls, their flags flying high above the Sokak, a testimony to its former prestige. This large university town is notable for culture, hosting quality art exhibitions and theatrical performances. Bitola also enjoys a vibrant night life, due in no small part to its alluring young people, and even the old men keep up appearances, playing chess in the park dressed in vintage suits and fedoras. The latter are repositories of fascinating old stories and tend to know over 100 songs written in praise of Bitola by heart.

Bitola is connected to the capital, Skopje by bus and train. The trip takes around 2.5 hours. It is also about 1.5 hours to Ohrid to the west. To the south of Bitola, it is just 14 km to the northern Greek border and town of Florina, which connects with Thessaloniki to the east.