Dubrovnik Ancient Walled City

                   

The Main Street, Stradum, of the Walled City welcomes a few people during the early hours. Most of the tourists will be in around 10 and so 8:30 am is a welcome respite from the heat and the hoards of this stunning walled city on the Adriatic in the far southeast of Croatia.

                         

          

It was begun in the 7th century and there are indications that a settlement existed before that, but this massive work which stands today is mainly from the 14th - 17th centuries.
It was built for defense and no army breached its walls until Napoleon.

           
Today, the old part, the walled part...of the city of Dubrovnik has definitely been conquered by tourism. Granted, I am a part of that. But, cruise ships bring 1.3 million visitors to this UNESCO world heritage site each year. It is understandable because it is a remarkable structure which deserves preservation and deserves to be seen.


But there is a certain irony that what the Saracens could not do, only Napoleon and modern day souvenir sellers COULD do.
                          

We arrived at the walls early mainly because I was searching for my morning coffee but then when we looked around we realized that relatively few were around and even though our waiter the night before said that the Walls did not open until 10. They were really open at 8. 
A quick survey of the non-lines convinced us to buy a ticket and walk the 1.3 miles of the upper wall.



 One can walk and walk and see endless sights of military fortifications and views of the Adriatic. 

                      

It took about two hours...and I did find my coffee....up on the wall, they had various cafe's. A small coffee was but $5.

        Worth it for the views.

                            

But there is another side of Dubrovnik which we rather liked, granted, one can see that 1.3 million cruise ship tourists would not be visiting this place to see the harbor and the Adriatic.

We enjoyed the walk around the "new town"....in that it was not "ancient" merely old and in some parts new. 

               

It is a struggle to maintain balance between the old and the new and the ancient and the beauty of nature. 
                      

It is a struggle to allow commerce that permits re-construction and pride in a country's heritage and both destroys at the same time as preserves.

        

But it was worth it.

                        

Peace,  Bob


























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Wrap Up for Croatia 2017

Image
Time to wrap up everything and though I may not have the most comprehensive list of remembrances....here is what I've learned. Best Wall That's an easy one. Everyone whom I know who has visited Croatia has gone to Dubrovnik. I guess the Cruise Ships stop there and so it's popular ... And everyone said that I must walk the Ancient City Wall. They were right. It takes in a mile or more and is straight out of a Hollywood adventure movie. Is that really the color of the Adriatic?   Yes it is...at least it is in Sobra on the Island of Mljet. Every morning we would see this very old couple get in this boat and go out to sea or some other island and return in the evening with fish.....and several bags of cut tree branches and logs. The bags would then set on the stairs near our house...and then disappear. It may have been mysterious or it may have been kindling for the wood fired ovens of the restaurants.         The above view from our Air BnB room in Sobra. Best view...
Read more

Around Every Corner and Canal - Venice

Image
I've had many people comment that Venice is on their wish list; their bucket list; and being an expert on the city after 48 hours I can say that Venice definitely is not what people say or wish for....it is more; much more. The first two photos on today's blog illustrate my point. Top Photo:  notice the small things like the brass door handle on some random door in some random backstreet. Second Photo: notice the grander than grand moments like the sun rising on the Grand Canal with the Basilica di Santa Maria della Salute beside it. I stood on the stairs of the big bridge Ponte dell'Accademia.....competing with about 10 photographers who had huge cameras and tripods all set to capture the sun coming over the canal and Basilica (and a cruise ship that cruised into the picture). I had a backpack and an IPhone ........and you get what you see above. I keep seeing much of Venice through the lens of a pastor who has a calling to a church and that church continually (and wonderf...
Read more

The Brothers Valeri (From the Roman Period) Istrian Peninsula

Image
I have no idea who the Brothers Valeri were but they were perched on the all of building next to a church in Buje, Croatia where I went today. They are depicted in their senatorial robes from the Roman Empire days around here. It's things like this that keep you guessing when wandering around a town. In America we'll get a monument to a war 50 or 150 years ago. In Croatia, you get artwork from the period of say, 300 AD just strewn around the towns I planned to rent a car and go to some of the inland small fortress towns. Unfortunately, this being a Sunday and this being a very rainy Sunday....I had the same idea as everyone south of the Swiss Alps. Plus, there was a cross country bike race and when the bikes descend from a mountain road and onto the "main" highway.....everything stops. Everything.                     I've enjoyed the smaller towns. Yesterday I was in Poreč, just north of Rovinj where I am staying for a few days. After th...
Read more