After passing through so many statues and making hundreds of photos with them we finally got bored. Fortunately we got some fresh air from all these monuments of known and unknown people.... what I mean is that we encountered one unordinary house situated near the main pedestrian street.
This was the Memorial House of Mother Teresa. Of course here also a big monument of Mother Teresa was placed so we didn’t wonder much which was this tourist attraction.
The house itself was quite impressive looking at it from outside, an interesting combination of modern and retro style. There were so many doves symbolizing peace. Conversely, the inside of the house was plain and simple like Mother Teresa's soul, it represented typical urban house from the early 20th century.
We saw in many places in Skopje some of the words of Mother Teresa, these timeless thoughts that had inspired millions of people over the world. The true is that I didn’t know much about her lifetime, only a few facts about her humanitarian work around the world. If you don’t know much about her and you do not have an Internet connection at that time to search online, you may find all information about this remarkable woman in her memorial house.
We briefly read about her biography on one photo on the wall. Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhlu was born in Skopje on the 26th of August 1910. It seemed that her family was quite religious and also wealthy. They always helped to everyone who needed help. In 1928 she left her home with the desire to become a missionary and joined the Loreto Sisters in Dublin, Ireland (The Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary). There she chose the name Teresa. Few months later she left for Calcutta, India and dedicated her life to help the poorest of the poor. Mother Teresa was canonized as a saint in the Vatican on the 4th of September 2016.
The true is that it was not the house where she actually lived. Her real family house had been destroyed in an earthquake in 1963. The memorial house was opened for visitors on the 30th of January 2009. On the ground floor there was a small exhibition representing her voluntary work around the world - photos with world leaders, awards, certificates, her handwritten notes and etc. We also saw some of her personal belongings like her bed, wardrobe and other items from her everyday life (as well as one of her famous white saris with blue stripes).
She is the only Nobel Peace Prize winner from Macedonia. It was really enlightening to see how many good things she did and how many people she inspired to be better human beings and to help each other.
On the second floor there was a small chapel. All walls were made of glass which created a peaceful atmosphere. We found a small souvenir shop on the first floor and bought some postcards (I collect postcards from every place I go if possible ;).
There was a church next to the house which was under construction. I read that near this place an old Catholic Church “Sacred Heart of Jesus” used to stand and that Mother Teresa was baptized just one day after her birth in this church.
Entrance fee: no
Working time: Monday-Friday 09:00 – 20:00; Saturday – Sunday 09:00 – 14:00
Estimated time to spend: about 15-20 min
Location: ул. Македониjа bb, Скопје 1000
Type: Museums
Curious facts: There are still some discussions about the origin of Mother Teresa as although she was born in Skopje, some people think that her family was from an Albanian origin.
