One of the sunniest cities in the Balkans, Prilep, is popularly called the City under Marko’s Towers. We are talking about the fortress Markovi Kuli, a valuable architectural monument situated in the mountains nearby. The ancient ruins are worth seeing to admire unusual landscapes and look at Prilep from above.

Actually, the construction officially bears the name of Prilep. But local people called the fortress Markovi Kuli or Marko’s Towers because the castle was once the centre of the Kingdom of Prilep, ruled by King Marko. In 1935, the monarch died, and the Ottoman troops captured the lands. The locals moved to the foothill, where the village of Varosh later appeared. Today it has already become part of Prilep. By the way, it is the place where the ascent to the fortress begins: a winding path leads to the highest point of the hill. On the way, tourists can freshen up in the healing spring of St. Nicholas consecrated by priests from the closest abbey.

According to different historical documents, the fortress was founded between the 13th and 14th centuries. It stands on a hill 120-180 metres high. Markovi Kuli is designed to unite the peaks of the mountain range and make a system of fortifications. So the rings of the fortress walls with numerous towers appeared here. Remarkably, one of the walls stands over the abyss, so enemies cannot pass from this side. To this moment, there have survived only its separate pieces with a height of eight metres. On average, the walls here are about a metre thick. They are made with the use of lime mortar, and they stand on large limestones. Another wall, one of the medium size, previously had five defensive towers. However, only a 13-metre tower has survived to the 21st century.