Twelve arches
Ottoman stonework.
aiva. — CC BY 2.0 · Драган Сандић — CC BY-SA 3.0 · METOKARA — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Марјан Петковски — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Meri Boshkoska — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dan from Brussels, Europe — CC BY-SA 2.0
The Stone Bridge is the symbol of Skopje: a 15th-century Ottoman bridge across the Vardar River that links Macedonia Square on the south bank with the Old Bazaar on the north. It appears on the city's coat of arms and flag, and almost every walk through the centre crosses it. It was built on Roman foundations under Sultan Mehmed II, the Conqueror, between 1451 and 1469. Solid stone blocks rest on heavy piers joined by twelve semicircular arches, and the bridge is 214 metres long and about 6 metres wide. In the middle stands a small guard post shaped like a mihrab, rebuilt in 2008. The bridge has survived a great deal: an earthquake in 1555 damaged four of its piers, which were repaired the same year, and in November 1944 retreating German troops wired it with explosives before the city's notables persuaded them to spare it. Today it is a pedestrian crossing, at its best in the evening when the lamps come on and both riverbanks fill with people. Crossing is free at any hour.
Ottoman stonework.
Shaped like a mihrab.
Lights on the Vardar.
Over the Vardar between Macedonia Square and the Old Bazaar, central Skopje
Macedonia SquareMacedonia Square is the main square of Skopje and the largest in the country, ab1 minute walk
Archaeological Museum of North MacedoniaThe Archaeological Museum of North Macedonia occupies one of the large columned 1 minute walk3.9
Daut Pasha HamamDaut Pasha Hamam is a 15th-century Ottoman bathhouse at the southern entrance to3 minutes walk4.5
Old BazaarThe Old Bazaar, the Čaršija, spreads over the east bank of the Vardar from the S6 minutes walk4.4
Kale FortressKale, from the Turkish word for fortress, crowns the highest point of Skopje's o7 minutes walk4.2No, it is for pedestrians and links Macedonia Square with the Old Bazaar in a few minutes.