Veles is located in central Macedoniaa, on the main route linking Central Europe with the Aegean. The town is first mentioned in 216 BC. During the Ottoman rule, the Turks referred to it as Kiprili, which in translations means the same as its earlier name, "the town of bridges". Veles is mentioned in the diaries of the travelers as a town situated on the both sides of river Vardar, which is the image it sill caries. In the last century, Veles grew into an important trade center and the town traded with Austria, Italy, Serbia, Salonika, Istanbul.

Today Veles is predominantly an industrial town. It is a road and rail junction and the market center for a fruit- and vegetable-producing region.

Together with the Macedonian dialect spoken in Prilep, the Veles dialect is part of the central Macedonian dialects that comprise the basis for the modern standard/literaty Macedonian language. Although this was officially put in practice only after the Second World War, Krste P. Misirkov proposed that the literary Macedonian language be based on the dialects of Veles and Prilep in his book On the Macedonian Matters in 1903.

Besides Vardar, which flows through the town, the rivers Topolka and Babuna flow near Veles, both of them favorite resorts for local fishermen. The so-called "Nezilovi Steni" and the spring of river Babuna, represent real tourist values. The river Babuna made a beautiful canyon scattered with about dozen cave churches and numerous eagle's nests. Local mountainclimbers also enjoy one of the highest peaks in Macedonia - Solunska Glava (Salonika's Head), which is 2540 m above sea level. But most people in Veles will definitely agree that their favorite picnic place is the artificial lake Mladost (meaning Youth), located 9 kilometers north from the town.

Veles is a town with a rich cultural tradition. In honor of the founder of modern Macedonian literature, Kocho Racin, the Racin Meetings in which writers from all the Balkan countries take part, are held here. Some important historical monuments in Veles are the Churches St. Dimitrie, and St. Nikola which were build in the 14th century. There are more churches in the town that are build on the foundations of an older churches.

Some twenty kilometers south of Veles, near the highway running to Gevgelija, is the most famous archaeological site in Macedonia, the classical town of Stobi. This town, dating from 197 BC, was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia Salutaris, but it dates even before the Roman rule. For instance, articles ranging from the Neolithic to Iron Age, have also been found at or near Stobi.

Excavations at Stobi began as early as 1924 and it is still an object of great attraction to archaeologists. The surviving mosaics, amphitheater, basilica and synagogue, as well as other archaeological structures are of exceptional value. The Episcopal Church must have been one of the most impressive buildings of Stobi according to its monumental looks and rich inside decorations in mosaics.

Next to the mosaics, there are some fragments of frescoes discovered on the north and the west side of the church, that are believed to date from the 5th and 6th century. It is not known for sure how old the amphitheater is. Some believe it dates from the 2nd century, others believe it was build in the 3rd century. Nevertheless, like other Roman-built theatres, the Stobi theatreis distinguishable by the fact that the auditorium is a perfect semicircle. The theatre consisted of an auditorium, orchestra and scene. The auditorium consisted was built of quality white marble brought from Pletvar, near Prilep. The names of the five tribes were carved on some of the seats so as to denote what tribe used them. In the 3rd Century, the theatre was transformed into a gladiator arena. The orchestra was expanded for gladiatorial and wild animal fights and correspondingly surrounded by a high wall of over 9.8 feet in height.

A Roman fresco from Stobi	The theater in Stobi

Stobi occupied the juncture of two of the most important ancient routes in the Balkans: the corridor of the Vardar was the chief route between the middle Danubian regions and the Mediterranean, and a road from the Via Egnatia at Heraclea Lyncestis passed through Stobi and continued north-east into Moesia. The cut for the modern highway from Athens to Belgrade and the railway for the Orient Express passes through the north-east limits of the ancient city.

A statue of the Roman Emperor Hadrian in Stobi

Livy (39.53.16) referred to Stobi, and the town figured prominently in his account of the north campaigns of Philip V of Macedonia in the 2nd century B.C. Stobi became a municipium during the early Roman Empire and minted its own coins (denars) at least from the reign of Titus to that of Elagabulus (69-222). The city continued to flourish during the later empire and may even have become the capital of the province of Macedonia Salutaris in the late 4th century, and even later of Macedonia Secunda. Theodosius I resided briefly in the city and issued two edicts.

Stobi was an especially flourishing community during the 5th century when Johannes Stobaeus resided there and a number of palatial structures, public and private, were erected or remodeled and lavishly decorated. The grandeur of its Episcopal Basilica and related buildings, along with the presence of at least four other basilicas, indicates its importance as a wealthy ecclesiastical center.

The historian Malchus records that Stobi was sacked in 479 by the Gothic army of Theodoric. There is considerable evidence of rebuilding at the site, but the city seems never again to have recovered its former prosperity.

A powerful earthquake in 518 devastated Stobi. Stobi was last mentioned in the 14th century, although it had virtually ceased to exist long time before.