Only 20 km away from Tetovo, on the slopes of the Sara Mountain, lies the villages of Beloviste. At first glance, one might think this is just another ordinary Macedonian village, but several features make it different and more attractive than the others, Telegraf.mk reads.
Beloviste is a village where most of its residents have worked abroad in the aim of supporting their families at home, most often to America and Canada. But unlike some ten years ago, when the village was crowded with its immigrants during the summer period, these past few years, it sees a completely different image.
Another interesting information regarding the village is that it was the place where the first discotheque in the Tetovo region was opened.
Yet this place hides another secret, which is the reason why many visitors from the country and abroad flock to Beloviste. The village has become so attractive because the spring water near the St. Petka church there is believed to have healing powers.
This healing water is considered to help people who have problems with their eyesight.
"There is a legend on how the water from the source has become curable. It says that in the past, the villagers came there to fill water, but one day a man came who insulted the source. Some 50 meters further down the road, the man lost his eyesight. He managed to return somehow to the source, washed his face with the water and his sight was back again. This is just one of the legends that people who still live in the village believe in," said Dusko Matoski, villager from Beloviste and owner of the 'Beloviste Pearl' restaurant.
People from all over Macedonia come to the source. Dusko says that those who have paid a visit to the church and the source several times have testified of health improvements.
"Almost everyday people from all towns across the country come, but there are also many visitors from abroad too. Also, I have to note that the St. Petka source is visited mainly by those who have problems with the sight. Regardless if they are Christians or Muslims, they come to visit the source," Matkoski explained.
Otherwise, not far from the St. Petka church, another church will capture your spirit by its beauty - the St. John the Baptist church.
These two churches were built in 1997 by an immigrant from the village of Beloviste, who had a dream about the two temples before he decided to build them. The locals made sure they would arrange the space surrounding the two churches.
If you have already gone through the trouble of locating the village and the 'magic' source, then make sure you visit the nearby waterfalls, just some hundred meters away from the two churches.