Last week marked the 50th anniversary of the Skopje earthquake, which destroyed more than 80 percent of the Macedonian capital and left some 1,000 people dead. The city's long and slow recovery in the intervening decades was given a controversial fillip three years ago with the launch of the ambitious Skopje 2014 project, which involves the construction of new municipal buildings, including museums, theaters, and concert halls. Dozens of new statues have also been erected to commemorate the nation's heroes. Nonetheless, despite this elaborate makeover, the effects of the devastating tremor all those years ago still leave their mark. Just a few hundred meters from Skopje's revamped central square, one can still find dilapidated houses, peeling walls, and broken windows that show another side of the city. (9 PHOTOS)
