Galichnik Wedding Traditional Geocache
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Size: 
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There are such beautiful places in Macedonia to be seen! Let’s start in Galichnik.
Galichnik village
This region is famous by its majestic mountains and rich pastures for livestock grazing and belongs to the National Park Mavrovo. Galichnik along with Lazaropole is one of the two biggest and oldest Miyak villages in the region. Galichnik has well preserved traditional architecture, including an amphitheater in the village square.
The bride
The most important event in the village is the Galichnik Wedding (Galichka svadba), a traditional wedding custom held annually in summer, the first weekend after the day of the village feast of the Patron Saint – Petrovden (St. Peter's day, July 12 th). Galichnik Wedding nowadays, represents a colorful ceremony of old rituals, preserved as they once were held, and organized as a cultural and tourist manifestation. The rituals, played as their former originals, describe the history of the people in Galichnik, starting from the ancient times (the ritual "Inviting the dead"), till the modern ages (the ritual "Firing the gun").
Girls in traditional folk costumes
However, most of the rituals during the centuries, disappeared, some completely, some replaced by new. In the past, most of the weddings were held around St. Peter's Day, when sometimes happened over 50 couples to get married in a single day. The reason for everybody marrying in a period of several day is the return of the men who were working abroad in the foreign countries. They usually arrived few days before St. Peter's Day, got married and left their loved ones not longer than a month later, again.
Men dancing Teshkoto (the hard dance)
During the wedding, men dance the "Teshkoto" (the hard dance), symbolizing the suffering of the Macedonian people through the centuries. Source and photos: Wikipedia, Official web site of NP Mavrovo, other Internet sites, original photos. It would be a unique experience for geocachers to witness this beautiful and rear event. However, if you do not manage to be in Galichnik the first weekend following after July 12th, don’t be sad.
Shaving the groom
Any time is good to visit this mountain beauty. In the summer you can reach Galichnik by car (from the village Mavrovo on Mavrovo Lake) or by bike from the same place, as well as from Lazaropole. In fact, this region offers good trails for mount biking. Hiking is also a very good option. However, in winter it can be quite difficult to reach Galichnik due to heavy snows and problems with snow removal.
The cache
The gate to a small church with a long wall left
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gur pnpur vf pybfr gb gur jnyy, haqre gjb fgbarf.