By means of an Introduction

The border with Macedonia is a fifteen-minute drive from where I live, so it is nice occasionally to take the car up to the border, leave it in Greece, and walk across to the village of Star Dojran. Spring is an especially nice time to do this, as the countryside by the lake is green and dotted with flowers. The frogs are croaking away for all they are worth (click here to listen to them!), and there are lots of waterfowl. While the Greek village of Doirani remains underdeveloped, the Macedonian village of Star Dojran ("Old Dojran" in Macedonian) has hotels, eateries and villas. Below are some pictures of the village and the lake, with comments. Click on any of the pictures to view a larger version in a separate browser window.

Sunday 14 May 2006 A cow's life by the lake.... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Star Dojran (Old Dojran) is the first village on the Macedonian side of the border. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Of course, in this part of the world signs are in both Latin and Cyrillic script. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 The village draws a lot of tourists, and many have caravans here on a permanent basis. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Dilapidated and unattractive buildings are characteristic of the Tito era. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 A hazy Greece across the lake. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 Spring is a time of rapid plant growth in the area, before the scorching of summer. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 A shrine-cum-water fountain. How twee! (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Ivy on a tree... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 What appears to be the remains of a church. Typically enough, telephone wires get in the picture...! (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 A wireless photo of same church. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Isn't nature wonderful? (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 A decent path runs alongside the lakefront. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Initially I wasn't sure what this was, and there were a few of them there... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 ...and then all was revealed!! It is a khasi...!! (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 Greece in the distance... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 This reminds me of a Korean film I once saw... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 And so does this... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 A rather weather-beaten statue... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 The lake is fished for carp, mainly, and here are some of the boats. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 These must provide some well-deserved shade in summer... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 The jetty from nowhere to... nowhere! (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Home sweet home... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 The reeds abound in frogs. Rivet, rivet! (click photo to enlarge in separate window) Click here to hear the frogs (mp3, 30Kb)

Sunday 14 May 2006 Swimming pools right by the lake... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Poppies are very common in this area in May. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Young children on a school trip were staying at one of the hotels in the village. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 The Hotel Polin. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 A stallholder set up an impromptu stall selling fishing gear - it looked quite good, and I was tempted to buy a fishing rod, until I remembered that I don't know how to fish!. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Some shops in a precinct sell some rather tacky tourist stuff. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 Time for a beer at the Hotel Polin, and time to try out my meagre Macedonia. "Edna flasa piva Skopsko, molam!!" ("A bottle of Skopsko beer, please!")... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 The skies above this area form a major southern European air corridor, over the VOR beacon at Fiska between Kilkis and Serres, hence the many contrails. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 A jet on its final descent towards Thessaloniki airport. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 More contrails... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Another Skopsko down the hatch! (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 You cross a border and all the product names change. I love that. No more Greek Algida icecream, now it is Cermat (shouldn't that be Zermatt?)... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 A beautiful old Mercedes - pity about the missing hubcaps.... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Weird architecure, but a good way to build on a hillside.... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Just like in Greece, many half-finished buildings. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 How do you double the value of a Yugo? You fill it up with petrol... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 This being the road leading to the border and the port of Thessaloniki, the village of Star Dojran gets more than its fair share of juggernauts rumbling through. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 And so goodbye to Star Dojran and back to Greece. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 Is that a Wartburg I see before me? (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 What appeared to be a block of flats, only a couple of which showed any sign of habitation. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 More nature... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 Ex-Yugoslavia seems to abound in these weird all-plastic kiosks... and they never seem to be put to any use! (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Doncha just love Spring?. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Who are you looking at? (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Sunday 14 May 2006 This casino and another are what draw most Greeks over the border. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 The border post on the Macedonian side. (click photo to enlarge in separate window)	Sunday 14 May 2006 Royal Flash? Is that when Prince Charles drops his kecks? You know something is Greek-run when it is misspelt in English... (click photo to enlarge in separate window)

Bryan Hollamby, 16th May 2006