The Clock tower

The construction of clock towers in the Balkans under the Ottoman ruling began in the mid XVI century. The increase of the clock towers was conditioned by the urban development and the religious rituals of the Islamic believers performed at certain times of the day. In order to read the time, public clocks were placed either on one or on all four sides of the towers. First the clocks were ticking the a la turca (lunar hour) and later a la franga (European) time. 
The clock tower in Skopje was constructed between 1566 and 1572, on the hill of the former Upper Town, near today's Bit-bazaar. It was built next to the monastery of St. George - Gorgos Skoropostisnik dating from XI century, located on the site of today's Sultan Murat Mosque. The clock mechanism was brought from Sziget, Hungary, after the Turks conquered it. Travelers from different cultures and religions attribute the construction of the Skopje Clock Tower to the Christian population. Haxhi Kalfa, elderly Turkish geographer, mentions "Skopje has had a clock tower, since the time of the infidels, the largest of all known clock towers among Christians. It beats day and night, and the bells can still be heard even after two hours of walking from its location. An appointed watchmaker makes sure that everything runs smoothly”.
The tower suffered great damage, in the great fire of 1689. However, it remained in its original form until 1904, when Ali H`vzi-pasha, the nazir of Skopje, ordered its renovation – stone materials were used for constructing the first half of the building from foundation up, and the other half was constructed of wood. During the 1963 earthquake, the clock tower was badly damaged, and the clock mechanism was lost too. Afterwards, the tower was rebuilt, but without a clockwork mechanism. The new clocks were added on May 26, 2008, as part of the Chair Municipality's project for its reconstruction.
105 steps lead from the bottom to the top of the tower, where the clocks are placed.