Stenje - A treasury of nature and culture

The new perspective is called sustainable tourism

If you have not tasted dried loach, Prespa carp or a specific kind of yellow cheese which is made at one place only, if you have not yet seen the most beautiful Prespa beach and if you feel a strong need of tranquility, clean air and a view full of heavenly beauty - the answer might be Stenje.

The village Stenje is located at the mountainside of Galicica and on the border of the National park that bears the same name, that is in the immediate vicinity of the Macedonian-Albanian border, on the Lake Prespa coast. The line that connects and divides the lake and the mountain gives this place a unique beauty, at the same time creating the microclimate conditions that you can feel at the very arrival. The air is clean and you feel like you are breathing much deeper and much more intensely, especially if you are coming from a bigger and polluted city. And the view of the lake where the reflection of the mountains and the sky is seen is magnificent indeed.

During our visit to Stenje, we experienced a beautiful, fair weather - a right moment to feel the most beautiful experience in this part of Prespa. What we had been able to notice before we arrived is the new marking of the direction on the road that leads to Stenje. The Stenje inhabitants hope that not only the signposts, but also the good word that can be heard far away, will bring more visitors, considering the fact that most of them think in the direction of developing the rural tourism.

Informing

Since recently, the Stenje inhabitants, who used to be oriented mainly towards the existence which they provide through fishing, agriculture and fruit-growing (especially apple growing), have started to realize and explore more and more the development possibility through the local natural and cultural resources. That was also the motive to apply for the programme "Live Heritage" of the Foundation Open Society Institute - Macedonia and the Foundation King Bouduen from Belgium, whose goal is to encourage the sustainable development of the small communities through their local cultural heritage.

As far as the heritage is concerned, this part of Prespa has an abundance of natural and cultural riches that the local inhabitants tried to promote to the broader public. Our group, which used the last warm and sunny autumn days to visit Stenje, consisted of journalists mainly. Inviting them was a clever marketing move of the village inhabitants - the cameras were on all the time, and the thrilled eyes behind them, as well as all the others “drank” from the blueness, the greenness, the bright whiteness of the lake doves, the colourful boats and the Stenje inhabitants' happy and proud faces.

The visit started with the solemn opening of the information board, which had been placed at the very entrance of the village. Following the example of many other developed tourist places, the Stenje inhabitants made it and placed it there so that the visitors can get a clear picture of the natural and cultural heritage of this area. And, of course, there is English translation of all the information. The board was unveiled by the young Irena Galobovska who lives in Stenje, and the Mayor of Resen, Dimce Toskovski spoke on the importance of this project for the whole Prespa region.

The project, implemented as part of the "Live Heritage" programme, has also covered the preparation of promotional brochures on Stenje and the island "Golem Grad" both in Macedonian and in English. The inhabitants took some activities to clean part of the coast where the village lies. After the lake had indented, it was covered in tall grass, bushes and willows, in fact it could not function as a beach. With a great effort made by volunteers, and with assistance from the National Park "Galicica" officials, the Stenje inhabitants have cleaned it, so now the long stretch of small quartz sand, which is one of the specific geological rarities of the Lake Prespa comes into full view again.

Paths to the attractions

-In our opinion, a lot can be seen in Stenje and its surrounding. Therefore we have tried to identify the attractive spots and promote them in the brochures, on the information board and on the signposts that show how to get to them - says Svetlana Lazarevska, Stenje inhabitant. She came to this part from her native Serbia, but she immediately fell in love with the Prespa beauties, so now she works to promote them with great enthusiasm. From the waters of Danube, she sailed to the waters of Lake Prespa, unselfishly sharing her experience as a tourist worker to help the Stenje inhabitants achieve their goal, which is attracting special guests who would enjoy the peace and quiet, the authentic rural atmosphere and food, the walks by the lake and the mountain, fishing and conversations with the local inhabitants, visits to churches, archeological remains, caves and the specific natural reservoir, "Golem Grad".

Kico Uzinovski, another great enthusiast for the Stenje future was our guide to the "Sveti Ilija" Church, located above the most beautiful Prespa beach - the famous Lisa. We chose to reach our destination by boats, although it can be reached through land as well - there are two paths, one of which leads to the church along the ridge and through a beautiful old oak wood, and the other one leads along the coast line and ca also be used as a bicycle path. The latter used to be covered in stones, but with a great volunteer effort if has been cleaned by several inhabitants from Stenje who wanted to enable the guests and themselves a splendid walk to Lisa and Sveti Ilija. Somewhere in the middle of the path, there is place that is thought to be holly by the Stenje inhabitants. High above the rock, a fresco of Sveta Petka is painted, and those who go on foot, as well as those who come by boat can stop to have a rest on the bench which the inhabitants placed there.

The beach Lisa and the small church Sveti Ilija are a story for themselves. The view of them takes your breath away and the lake shows its most spectacular beauty right there. The white beach covered in tiny little pebbles which surround it and the wild yellow flowers are remain deeply carved in the memory of all visitors.

The nearest village from there is Konsko, which is probably the most exotic Prespa village. The access to it is hard (one needs to have a good terrain vehicle). However, at the same time it can be considered its advantage. The persistent ones will get an unforgettable award when they reach Konsko - the magnificent view of the island Golem Grad. It seems like you can touch it from there just by reaching out your hand; there are some old fishermen huts, small boats and nets drying along side, the ridge which looks like a finger pointing to the lake and is nested by doves and other birds, the sea of wild flowers, the huge purple wild iris that blossom throughout the summer, the fishermen's stories spiced with the local fish specialties...

The Stenje inhabitants want to share all these beauties with the others. Nevertheless, their message and their great wish are to develop the tourist according to the principles that do not harm nature and the cultural heritage. They are aware of the fact that the project they implemented is just a small, but yet a very important step in that direction.

In the and, our group enjoyed several other things that were organized by the inhabitants - the speed walking race along the coast line path (the award, a box of Prespa apples went to the "Forum" reporter, Aleksandar Pisarev), the bike race for the Stenje children, the traditional Prespa specialties (fish, "gomleze", original cheese and home-made bread). WE drank our good-bye coffee on the local restaurant's balcony, enjoying the sunset over the lake. A wonderful autumn day, indeed!

Marijana Ivanova