 Project description
People with various religious and ethnic affiliations, especially young people from the Dolna Reka region, became closer to each other by getting to know the customs, tradition, and traditional costumes in this region. This was exactly the goal of a project called “Traditional Costumes and Customs - Eternal Witnesses”. Panel discussions were organized in several villages, and people were invited to prepare diaries containing events and customs they had heard of from their ancestors. Exhibitions were then organized of traditional costumes, photographs, and drawings by children from the three ethnic groups living in the region where similarities and differences were explained among traditional costumes, and this all was then presented through promotional materials and a brochure.
Contact
Pejo Kirovski, tel. 042/489-284, 070/721-084, bituse_@hotmail.com
Adem Sulejmani, 042/478-839, 070/515-970, asart@mt.net.mk
Location
Villages of Rostuse and Bituse, Dolna Reka, western Macedonia.
 About Rostuse and Bituse
Rostuse is the centre of the Rostuse municipality covering some 40 villages including Bituse. Population of these villages has various ethnic and religious affiliations - orthodox and Moslem Macedonians, and Albanians. This region is known for the cohabitation of various cultures. People do cattle breeding, agriculture, and other activities, depending on natural mountainous conditions.
How to reach Rostuse?
You can reach Rostuse and Bituse from Skopje (120 km) by car in about 2,5 hours, or by bus driving several times a day (at 6.30, 10.00, 13.00, and 14.15 hours). Each working day (not during weekends) at 14.30 hours a van departures from Skopje to Rostuse. You can reach Rostuse from Ohrid as well, using the road via Struga and Debar, by car (80 km for 1,5 hours) or by bus from Struga to Debar, departing to Rostuse from Struga at 11.30 hours by van.
If you take a car, when on the Struga-Debar road, you reach a spot known as the Rostuse Bridge; there you will see a road sign to Rostuse, and an asphalt road leading to the village itself. Bituse is located higher in the mountain, and you can also reach it on an asphalt road.
Where to stay overnight?
The nearest accommodation places are the hotels at Mavrovi Anovi offering overnight room and board, as well as the “Termal” hotel located next to the Kosovraski Spa offering on its menu specialties characteristically authentic for the region.
 Local specifics
In the Dolna Reka region, you can try specialties of the Macedonian, Albanian, and Turkish cuisines. This region is particularly interesting in summer, when massive weddings and baptisms are organized of local people living and working abroad. This offers a possibility to see traditional costumes and enjoy the nature, especially waterfalls coming down from the mountain.
What can you see in the surroundings?
On the road between Mavrovi Anovi and Debar, the monastery is located of St. John the Baptist Bigorski from the XVIII century, a significant cultural and historical monument, famous for its iconostasis in deep carving. On the road between Debar and the Rostuse Bridge, several other cultural sites are located: the monastery of St. George the Victor (“Gjorgjija Pobedonosec”) at a site known as Rajcica; the famous Debar and Kosovraski Spa, famous for their sylphur springs. This region is rich with numerous natural and cultural sights. You can visit the Debar Lake, the Deshat Mountain with its mountainous lakes, as well as Mavrovo and Galicnik.
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