Štip

Štip is the largest city in Eastern North Macedonia with about 44,000 people (2002). It has been perhaps the most important educational, cultural, and economic centres of this half of Macedonia for centuries. The first opera in Macedonia was played in Štip in 1924. In 2007, Štip became home to the country's fourth state university when Goce Delčev University opened.

Understand
Štip is a very pleasant city that gets fewer tourists than the west, which makes the people nicer and more willing to help than the people in the western part of the country.

Smoking is prohibited in all nightclubs and bars (kafanas). Cigarettes and alcohol can be sold to individuals aged 18 and over.

As in all other cities in North Macedonia, if you are not a Macedonian citizen, you must check in with the local police station when you arrive and leave.

History
The history of Štip goes back a few thousand years, evidenced by archaeological findings. Perhaps the best intact archaeological site in its vicinity is Bargala, listed below in this guide.

Štip was an important city in Ottoman Macedonia: Turkish traveller Evliya Çelebi noted in 1661 that Štip had 2,240 homes, 24 Islamic religious buildings, seven hans (Turkish baths), one caravansary (inn), and a bazaar with 450 shops. The city was briefly under Austro-Hungarian rule from 1689 to 1691.

Štip once had a relatively significant Jewish community. Following the Spanish Inquisition at the beginning of the 16th century, a number of Sephardic Jews settled in the city, with roughly 200 living here by 1519. On 11 March 1943, Štip's 551 Jews were deported to Treblinka by the occupying Bulgarian fascists where virtually all of them were killed. The city's Jewish quarter, including its synagogue and Jewish school, were destroyed.

The city was active between the world wars, home to the Association against Bulgarian Bandits from 1922 to 1930. Factions within Bulgaria felt that it deserved a larger share of Macedonia and other parts of Yugoslavia and thus organized guerilla attacks within eastern portions of Yugoslavia. Organizations like Štip's Association against Bulgarian Bandits helped suppress these attacks.

Today, Štip is home to a population that is nearly 90% ethnic Macedonian. The city also has sizeable minorities of Roma (Gypsies), Vlachs (Aromanians), and Turks.

By car
By car from the north (Skopje), the main regional road circumvents Štip, but any of the several clearly marked exits will take you downtown. From the south: the main Strumica-Štip road enters through the Bregalnica canyon in the south and goes directly to downtown. There are many local roads entering from the east and west.

By train
Štip lies on the Skopje - Kocani line. Passenger services are running again as of January 2021, according to Macedonia Railways (MŽ) website. There is one daily train each way, departing for Skopje in the early morning, and one coming from Skopje in the afternoon.

By plane
By sport airplane: Štip is served by the largest sport airport in Eastern North Macedonia, accommodating single and twin-engine aircraft. The third international airport in North Macedonia, to be built in Štip, is still in the initial stages (the first phase is planned to be for cargo only).

Get around
The best ways to get around are by foot or by taxi, though there is a municipal bus fleet which connects the center with the outlying of Babi, Senjak, Prebeg, Makedonka, Kezhovica, etc.

See
Štip offers a variety of sights to see including fortress ruins, medieval churches, Ottoman monuments, Jewish sites, and museums plus more in the immediate surrounding area.

Novo Selo
Novo Selo is a historic former village that is nowadays considered a neighborhood of Štip. It sits at the confluence of the Bregalnica and Otinja rivers, just below the Isar fortress on the west side of the city. The rivers carve into the landscape, forming sharp hills around this neighborhood.

Neighboring villages
The villages around Štip range from populous suburbs of the city to isolated and depopulated old villages. Several villages are completely abandoned; these are primarily ones inhabited by a significant Turkish population that has all but left the Štip area since the fall of the Ottoman Empire. Štip also has a relatively high, but declining, population of Vlachs (Aromanians) in its vicinity.

Events

 * MakFest, the largest festival of pop music in North Macedonia
 * Štip Summer of Culture (Macedonian: Штипско Културно Лето), which is a month long festival held from 1 July to 1 August
 * Štip Summer of Culture (Macedonian: Штипско Културно Лето), which is a month long festival held from 1 July to 1 August

Eat
Štip is known throughout North Macedonia for the local dish called Pastrmajlija. It is a pizza-like crust, in a long canoe shape topped with chicken or pork meat, eaten with hot pepper or pepper flakes on top. It is available at nearly every restaurant in Štip, and at the annual Pastremajlija festival in late September.

There are many great restaurants that serve traditional Macedonian food, as well as many Pizza-restaurants (Italian style, as opposed to American Pizza-parlors). Every restaurant is famous for some specific dish, so try to order that one in particular.

Drink
There are dozens upon dozens of bistros/bars aka kafani all over the city, on every corner. They serve all types of alcohol at a cheap price and food with it as well. Drinking coffee is a social event which often lasts for hours, with very little coffee or alcohol actually consumed. It is not considered rude to sit a table and order very little for several hours, as it would be in many western cities.

As with the rest of North Macedonia, being intoxicated in public is frowned upon.

Nightlife
There are several large disco-techs, including Mystic, Angels, and Ice, which play pop and dance music. Jazz Art Club is the local rock club featuring live bands all year round.

Sleep
All hotels could probably be classified as 3 stars, though there is no official rating system. Oaza and Garni are right in the center, while Izgrev is about 10 minute drive from the center (or 30 min walk). Garni is a boutique hotel with few rooms, but held to high standards.

Stay safe
Štip is probably one of the safest cities in North Macedonia, and definitely much safer than all the major cities in the western and central part. Violent crime and murders are almost non-existent, and property crimes are very rare. Foreigners are welcomed and looked upon as a curiosity as Štip is not advertised or developed as a tourist destination, despite having a lot to offer.

There are several night clubs in Štip, and they are all much safer than any western counterpart (no metal detectors anywhere). Keeping a low profile is recommended as not to tempt the local macho mentality. Aggressive courting of girls is not recommended as this can be seen as encroachment and cause physical conflict.

The Roma (Gypsy) population of Štip is mostly living far below the overall poverty level, and although their shanty towns (spread around several areas of the city, mostly in the north) are very picturesque and exotic for the tourist to behold, avoid giving them gifts or money, as that will make you a target for more panhandling and possibly a (non-violent) property crime. Do not be fooled by the looks of the Roma children beggars, for most of them that is their full-time job, and no one is dying of hunger or cold in Štip.

The police is sometimes helpful if approached politely, but beware that the socialist heritage where the police was very brutal and was mostly used to keep an eye on the population, instead of maintaining law and order, is still very much alive. Ask a younger person for directions, as most youngster speak passable English, and only deal with the police when you have to, taking good care not to offend them in any way.

As pretty much anywhere else, do not accept offers from strangers; do not enter in business deals with unknown people, even if the offer is most tempting; do not go to secluded or dark places at night or abandoned places during the day, and exercise good judgement that you would in other poor countries like Mexico or Central America.

Do not be alarmed if glasses are shattered by being slammed on the ground as this is a cultural thing, especially when one male individual is intoxicated and there is live music. This practice is quite common for males of all ages, and is the same in all the surrounding countries like Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia and Albania.

Don't carry too much cash on you and do not flash/show it (there is no need, there are plenty of 24/7 ATMs around the city). Try to dress like the locals. Too much differentiation might attract unwanted attention, which, while usually harmless, can be very annoying at the end. Lock your valuable in the hotel safe or hide them well. Keep your electronics and cameras in bags for most of the time while taking picture/videos around.

At the end, exercise a common sense that you would exercise in rural Alabama or West Virginia, for example, and you will be fine and have a great time!

Go next

 * Skopje (NW 50 km)
 * Veles (W 30 km)