Megalithic Observatory Kokino, Macedonia

Let's touch the Sky

In the past Kokino was a place of rituals, where people were watching Sun and Moon. In the present there are no rituals, but Kokino is still a place where you can touch the sky and feel echoes of past. You need to do just one thing. Stop there and listen...


By ILONA OLEHLOVA
from Prerov, CZECH REPUBLIC


If you are coming to area where Kokino is located, maybe you are wondering what can be situated there - where nobody is living, where you can meet probably only few ghosts.
But the story of Kokino has started a long time ago. "In so-called Bronze Age, during development of the human civilization there was no distinction between science and religion. People used to live in unity with the nature and very carefully monitored the nature's rhythms, because it was very important for their survival", explains Gjore Cenev, manager of the Planetarium in Skopje and continues: "From this reason numerous religious rituals were performed in the wider area of the Megalithic Observatory Kokino, for example - one of the rituals should provide guarantee for reach harvest next year."

During the time Kokino has become a place where Full Moon raise and Sunrise were being observed. In the Kokino we can find proofs of these observations. There are nine specially crafted markers which were used for development of a lunar calendar also. For NASA these markers were one of the reasons to put Kokino on the fourth place of the World's Ancient Observatories list. Above Kokino you can find such places as Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Stonehenge in Great Britain and Abu Simbel in Egypt. The markers are not the only reason why NASA put Kokino on the World's Ancient Observatories list. The other aspects which played role in the process of decision were preservation of the original design, monumentality of the place and moreover the purpose and method of building.

We can see that Kokino exists for a long period. On the other side, this place has been unknown for a very long time, because it was discovered just a few years ago, in the year 2001. From that moment a new story of Kokino has started, full of astronomical and archeological analysis which brought to light other information about this observatory. For example, now it is known that length of Kokino is approximately 90 meters and its width reaches 50 meters. Gjore Cenev also claims, in the interview for WAVE magazine, that you can find four stone seats that are dominant and known as stone thrones in Kokino.

Even if you are not interested to watch the movements of Sun or Moon, Kokino is still a place to make a short day trip. Beautiful nature around, story full of history, and the special atmosphere make Kokino a place where you can try to catch a great moment, especially when clouds disappear and sun shows its last face.

In Kokino you can really hear echoes of past, because no civilization is disturbing you. There are no people living in this place. You can meet only other travelers here, who found the way here. The closest civilization points are called Staro Nagori?ane and Kumanovo. If you are looking for Kokino that is located in north-east part of Macedonia, near the border with Serbia. The webpage about Kokino is also saying that observatory is located in the area with small density of the population as there are less than 1000 inhabitants in the area of ten nearby villages.


(Published: 10.05.2009.)