Opening of House of the Miyaks: the first restaurant and museum to feature Macedonian Miyak culture

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Situated between peaceful silence and picturesque nature, at the corner of the road that leads to Bigorski Monastery, along the Radika River – the first restaurant and museum featuring the Macedonian Miyak culture, “the House of the Miyaks,” was officially opened today.

This culturally significant building was built according to the idea of the abbot of the Bigorski Monastery, Archimandrite Father Partenij, and is the embodiment of rich Miyak tradition, culture, and architecture.

Essentially, the purpose of this building, which captivates with the history it tells, as well as with the imposing architecture, aims to contribute to the development of religious and rural tourism in the Miyak region of Western Macedonia and will be managed by Jonche Nikolovski from Tetovo.

The House of the Miyaks consists of a ground floor and two upper floors. There are four guest rooms for overnight stays. The two other floors with an area of about 500 m2 are intended for the multi-room restaurant, decorated with traditional wooden ceilings and rosettes, fireplaces, mosaics, harmoniously playful ornamentation in the revival style, characteristic of the 19th century Miyak homes, with antique chandeliers and lamps, built-in wooden benches and screens.

The restaurant’s traditional ambiance is enhanced by the waiters and other employees, who are dressed in Miyak-style costumes specially designed by the Macedonian fashion house, Elena Luka.

“It is a great privilege and honor to be a part of such a culturally and spiritually significant project, which I have no doubt will leave a lasting mark in our tradition. Elena Luka is a long-time close friend of Bigorski Monastery and Archimandrite Father Partenij, and we as a team really have a rare opportunity to be a part of something of lasting value. Thanks to the rich tradition of the Macedonian Miyak tribe, as well as the unique architecture that is reflected in the construction of this beautiful facility, we as a design team had inexhaustible inspiration when creating the uniforms that the staff will wear here. We really tried to create something unique that will be the embodiment of their traditional aristocratic Miyak costume and history, and you will even notice elements of authentic mosaics. At the same time, we are extremely careful to keep the original ornamentation, which also served as our inspiration, and precisely because of this, we created costumes that are in the spirit of the entire setting and the rich history it tells, because this building is, in its own unique way, a museum of Miyak culture. It was really a great honor for us and I would like to publicly thank Father Partenij for the opportunity,” said Elena Pandeva, owner and general manager of the fashion brand Elena Luka.

Apart from the beautiful ornamentation, the walls of the “The House of Miyaks” are also decorated with black and white photos of prominent Miyak clergymen, voivodes, revivalists, teachers, social workers, artists, and also scenes from everyday Miyak life, customs, and clothing. Together, the architecture, interior, and exterior, furnishings, ornaments, photos, food, music, and ambiance make the “The House of the Miyaks” much more than an ordinary ethno-restaurant; in fact, it is a restaurant-museum, a kind of memorial to the Miyak’s glorious past.

Indeed, the “The House of the Miyaks” ends up being an exquisite ornament in the valley of the clear Radika River, so harmoniously integrated with the surrounding nature, that they almost seem perfectly fused together, harmoniously co-existing and making a noble addition to the area. It is a place where one can easily rest from everyday responsibilities and worries, and calmly sail through past centuries, learn more about the history of the region and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere and food.

The whole building was designed according to plans conceived by the Monastery abbot, Archimandrite Partenij.

“It is believed that the celebrated Miyak tribe, which produced our most prominent churches, educational, cultural, and social figures, comes from an old noble family. Apart from this idea, we have the highly developed spiritual and material culture of the Miyaks. Throughout history, they have been distinguished by the noblest human characteristics: faith, piety, patriotism, chastity, learning, diligence, courage, and determination. Nourished by the pure waters of the Orthodox Christian faith, they left a great and lasting mark on the spiritual culture of the Macedonian people, which, in turn, had a strong impact on our material culture as well,” said Abbot Partenij in a report by religija.mk.