Former Days in Former Yugoslavia Part 3 Copyright Robert Fullarton 2015

Former Days in Former Yugoslavia Part 3
Copyright Robert Fullarton 2015


The city of Dubrovnik -"the Jewel of the Adriatic"- can be seen from a glorious height...on the Dubrovnik airport road, where from the mounts above the old town, you get a clear view of the terracotta tiles, the sea, the ships, the islands and the white stone fortifications of Ragusa. A spirit of Venetian maritime history is mixed with the Croat Slavic culture to produce a diamond in the rough.

The city endured Ottoman dominion of Croatia and the greater Balkans, through a steep and meteoric tribute that rose and rose in Gold for the Sultan in Constantinople in exchange for autonomy.

The main stradum (street) visually resembles Venice in style, form and atmospheric spirit (and I believe it to be equally as much an aesthete) where cobbled narrow side streets meet you with little taverns and romantic night lights. Where quaint and aromatic fish restaurants, steak houses and coffee shops meet the tourists gazes with opulent churches, regal houses and arched entrances.

The taste of olive oil and spinach, the char grilled steaks, the hearty soups and sweet after taste of a local beer are enough to entice any old puritan to loosen their belt and lighten up!

Musicians and amateur actors perform in traditional Dalmatian costume adding atmosphere to this wonderfully Baroque quarter. I myself went in awe to a local baroque church for a trio performance of Tchaikovsky's waltz of the flowers and Grieg's Peer Gynt. It was a ecstatic experience akin to what a child feels in a pure moment of innocence and wonder. The top experience to be had lies in the walk that nimble and fit climbers may take up the stairs and paths of the Stari Grad walls (old town walls)

Out onto the marina, there is a U-shaped harbour where fishermen come and go with their daily catch (fish is a highly sought commodity by both locals and tourists) and from here tourists will embark and disembark from the island of Lokrum.

I particularly love the island of Lokrum as a forested beauty set against the harbour, with its monastic settlement, it's once sabbatical habituation of Prince Maximilian of Austria and the old tower complete with French guns that date back to the French occupation under Napoleon. Turtles and peacocks roam amid the hedge-growth, sea caves and coves add to the attractions in their rough beauty. But botanical treats and hiking trails will take tourists well away from the crowds that emerge from the embarkation point.

This city has received a makeover from the damages of shell and mortar fire during the siege of Dubrovnik in 1991. UNESCO have come to the aid with great financial leaps and bounds made for the restoration of this city (unfortunately the northern baroque city of Vukovar received no such aid and assistance after the horrific siege completely destroyed and displaced many people both Serb and Croat) for the return of the tourist in the 20th century. The war has ended but it is not been forgotten, its scars have been concealed but they sting with the salt of the sea and chill with the movements of the wind, as human nature tends to remember and hate simultaneously rather than forgive and forget.