Saint John at Kaneo and Lake Ohrid
Listen at the stop, then read the transcript and follow the sources behind the story.
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Transcript
Saint John at Kaneo sits on a cliff above Lake Ohrid and has become the region’s default postcard.
The church is medieval, probably dating from around the thirteenth century, though exact chronology has been debated. Its dramatic setting encourages the idea that Ohrid’s history is naturally harmonious.
The lake is scientifically exceptional in its own right. UNESCO describes it as an ancient lake with extraordinary endemic biodiversity and a history measured in millions of years.
Human settlements around it are therefore recent by geological standards.
Finish by separating two kinds of continuity. Ohrid’s institutions repeatedly changed rulers, languages and confessional conditions. The lake ecosystem evolved over a vastly longer timescale.
A thousand-year-old church is ancient until the water starts talking.