KOTOR, MONTENEGRO--Day 7

KOTOR, MONTENEGRO--

The country of Montenegro is the world's youngest nation!  

Montenegro was actually founded as a state in the 15th century and was able to maintain its independence during the reign of the Ottoman Empire.  However after WWI, it was absorbed into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929 until it regained its full independence in June 2006.  Montenegro was the last of the former Yugoslavian republics to break away from Serbia.  Because of its longstanding ties with Serbia, the country missed out on most of the violence that engulfed the region (like we saw in Croatia).  However, the Yugoslav wars hit Montenegro's economy hard, and it is still recovering.   

Four centuries of Venetian domination have given the city the typical Venetian architecture, that contributed to making Kotor a UNESCO world heritage site. 

The Bay of Kotor is listed as one of the 10 most beautiful bays in the world.  Cruising into the bay, the terrain opens up to reveal the dramatic limestone mountains that surround the beautiful waters.  Hugging the steep cliffs of the bay at its deepest point lies the equally stunning town of KOTOR, a beautifully preserved, fortified, Medieval town with a vibrant history.

Coming into the Bay of Kotor, we saw the smallest island with "Our Lady of the Rocks" Church on the left.  According to legend, fishermen saw Mary in the reef and began a ritual of dropping a stone on the spot every time they sailed by.  Eventually the island we see today was created, and upon that island the church was built.  On the right is a fortification that was built to protect Kotor from any ships entering the bay.  

As we slowly cruised our way into the bay, we felt like we were in Alaska, but instead of wilderness at the base of its steep mountains, there were villages with red-tiled roofs.

The bay is often referred to as Europe's most southern fjord (not really a fjord, but a submerged river canyon).

"Welcome" sign to Montenegro

The cruise into the bay was a little foggy in the early morning, but the rest of the day was bright and sunny.

After disembarking the ship, we took an hour-long bus drive along the coast.  We visited two walled cities (Budva and Kotor) and had a photo stop of a very exclusive island resort (Sveti Stefan).  While riding in the bus, I took a picture of this darling billboard sign, which reminded us of our granddaughters back home!

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Sveti Stefan--once a 15th century sleepy fishing village, but today a highly exclusive resort connected to the mainland by a natural causeway and frequented by celebrities.

The resort in total contains 50 rooms, cottages and suites on the island and 8 grand suites.

Among its early guests were Marilyn Monroe, Bobby Fischer, Sophia Loren and Carlo Ponti, Kirk Douglas, Claudia Schiffer--to name a few.

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Budva--The town of Budva is 2,500 years old, which makes it the oldest settlement on the Adriatic seacoast!  The walled city was built in the Venetian style during the Middle Ages and is a pleasant maze of winding alleyways.  Old Town twice suffered from strong earthquakes, first in 1667 and again in 1979.

Roman ruins adjacent to modern buildings

Budva is surrounded by ramparts from the 15th century including a medieval fortification system with city gates, defense walls and towers built to protect Old Town against the Ottoman invasions.

Old Town is the trademark of Budva.  Originally built on an island, a sand isthmus developed between it and the mainland, forming a peninsula. 

Insignia over main gate of Budva

Our pretty guide leading us up the narrow streets of Budva

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Holy Trinity Church
Built in 1804

George at the rear of the church

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We had fun exploring and wandering the narrow streets

 Fun (interesting) picture of Laura and George on steps

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St. Ivan Church
Built in the 7th century

Clock and bell tower of the church

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Church of St. Mary in Punta--
Dating from 840 A.D.

Steep Medieval fortress walls to protect from invaders from the sea

Outside the entrance to the Citadel (medieval fortress)

Canon used to protect the Citadel

Driving back to Kotor, our bus stopped at this picturesque site--a view of the Bay of Kotor.

Our ship was the only one that day.  Cruise ships only started sailing to Kotor two years ago.

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Kotor--Butted up against a steep cliff, cradled by a calm sea, naturally sheltered by its deep-in-the fjord position, and watched over by an imposing network of fortifications, Kotor has survived centuries of would-be invaders by its imposing town wall, which scrambles in a zigzag line up the mountain behind it. 


The 16th century city walls not only surround the town center but also includes the steep hill behind the town, which was built along the ridge.  The wall is up to 65 feet tall, in some parts almost 50 feet wide and a little over 3 miles long.  St. Ivan Fortress (at the top of 1500 steps) and the walls were gradually built up over the course of the centuries.  Reminded us to a lesser degree of the Great Wall of China!!

Entrance into Old Town Kotor

Main Gate (Sea Gate)--Dating from the 16th century (1555), the main gate is the largest and probably the most beautiful of the city's three gates.

Moat and walls of Kotor fortress

George and some other men in our group with the walls high above the city.

Clock Tower--Located in the very heart of Kotor, the 16th century tower is one of the most recognizable landmarks of the city.

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PALACES--Actually homes of wealthy merchants


Entrance to Palace of Beskuca Family--15th to 18th century

Grgurina Palace--Dates from the 18th Century--now home to the Maritime Museum

Another of the many palaces of wealthy citizens

George showing us where we are on the map of the Old Town.

Most of the buildings within the city walls were built between the 12th and the 14th century.

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CHURCHES--


Saint Luke's Church--Built during the 12th century (1195)

The Church of St. Nicholas--in comparison with the other churches, is brand new.  It is a Serb Orthodox church and was completed in the first decade of the 20th century.  It stands upon the foundation of a previous church that dated back to the mid 1500s.

Interior of St. Nicholas Church

George in the square at the back of the church

St. Triphon Cathedral--This Romanesque church was built in 1166 on the top of an old Roman temple.  It is one of the oldest churches in Europe, predating Notre Dame by decades and St. Peters by centuries.  The church was severely damaged by the earthquake in 1979 but the damage is not visible from the outside.

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We enjoyed wandering through the labyrinth of narrow and cobble stoned streets, the same as pirates, wealthy merchants and conquering soldiers and sailors of mighty rulers once walked.

We always enjoyed the pastries in the different countries.

That night, our ship passed through the Strait of Messina, with a distance of almost two miles between Sicily and mainland Italy.  George and Laura had two sons that served LDS missions in Sicily, so it was fun for them to get a glimpse of the island.

Tomorrow will be another "At Sea" day and then onto Naples, Italy.   I'll show you in my next post of all the activities we participated in on the ship.  We just didn't relax and eat.