Kotor

The town of Kotor is surrounded by Croatia to the left, Serbia above, Albania and Greece bottom right. 

Although there’s evidence of ancient settlements, Kotor was first recorded as the Roman town of Acruvium. It was later fortified by the Byzantines, was fought over by the Bulgarians and Serbs, Hungarians and Bosnians. In 1391 it achieved independence, only to accept the suzerainty of Venice as protection against the advancing Ottomans. So much history in such a small space. So many mountains, and like Dubrovnik, so many walls. Kotor now is a perfect example of a late medieval town.

Circa 1911. A local warlord. Far away in Liverpool, my dad was eleven. He  lived in interesting times. 

A map of Kotor, small and contained within walls

                                           

If you study the photograph, you can see the walls of Kotor snaking up the mountain side. You will also see a small church. A woman we were talking to told us, that as a child, she was carried there on her grandmother’s back every Sunday. 

As you walk through its winding lanes leading to unexpected squares and more churches than you can shake a stick at—if you’re that way inclined—you notice the cats. They’re everywhere. The Egyptians may have worshipped them, Kotor on the other hand feeds and protects them. Once, no doubt great ‘ratters’ they’ve become quite indolent and betray the quiet arrogance peculiar to cats.

It put me in mind of Algernon Blackwood’s wonderful short story Ancient  Sorceries. In it, an English traveller steps from a train into another world, a medieval French village demonically possessed by cat spirits. At night, its otherwise attractive inhabitants turn into cat people. The book, in turn, was turned into the 1942 film Cat People. It could have been filmed here.

A statue of a stretching cat. There is, apparently, a Cat Museum.

A cross looking cat

A sleeping cat

Numerous sleeping cats

A glimpse of the Orthodox cathedral from the square.

The Cathedral of St Tryphon, a third century martyr and a cult figure in Kotor. It was built in the C12th and took the form of a three nave basilica with a dome and three semi circular apses, a feature of Byzantine and Romanic architecture. An earthquake nearly destroyed it in the late C17th and the tower was rebuilt along Baroque lines. 

                                             

A view of the square from the Cathedral balcony.

                                                   Above and below, the interior of St Tryphon

Church of St Luke, built in 1195 and surviving every earthquake. Over the centuries, orthodox and catholic have shared the church, their altars sometimes side by side. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed in, 

The Orthodox cathedral of St Nicholas

And below, the beautiful interior of the Franciscan Church of St Clare

Crucifixion, Baptism and Confession in one

 

There were other churches, but we were churched out. Time for a beer

Like Blackwood’s village, the people were both graceful and friendly, but I detected a number of feline traits. Exhausted and thirsty after so many churches, we wandered past one of the many cafes, where a waiter ushered us to a table and then promptly ignored us. We sat for ages until thirst prompted us to move. The same thing almost happened in the next open-air café. This time, the thirst for beer was overwhelming, and after ten minutes, I walked inside the bar where an elderly woman regarded me politely but puzzled. The next moment, I was aware of a presence. A young, piratical waiter had sidled up to me. He was close, shoulder and hip touching close. I turned, startled, and he gave me a piratical wink, which startled me even more. Orders taken I sat down and the beer arrived and for a moment I was in heaven. 

The harbour wall that will snake up and around Kotor.

The wall passes behind the Orthodox Cathedral

Another  cat, who may have been the waiter who ambushed me.

A similar thing occurred a little later on when we were walking the walls. We passed another open-air café and for a split second I thought I was being mugged. It was another waiter, one who appeared from behind and placed a friendly arm over my shoulder. I’d sprayed myself with Lynx that morning. Not catnip. It was all most puzzling. 

I like Fred Olsen. Their ships look like ships, not floating tenements. They slide smoothly into the smaller harbours. But just then, I was thinking of dinner. 

And we’re away! the Fjords of Scandinavia which were caused by ice gouging out gorges for water to fill, the fjords here were caused by earth movement and landslips on a  massive scale, which water subsequently filled. The 3D map at the very top gives you an idea of the scale of the landslips and how nicely Kotor is situated in terms of defence. The photos below are of the maze of water leading from it to the open sea.

Dubrovnik

 

The St Lawrence Fortress, 121 ft above sea level (Dubrovnik's Gibraltar) has 40ft thick walls and 10 large cannon and has since the C11th protected Dubrovnik from the Venetians and later foes. Now it is a nice little money earner, doubling up as the Red Keep and the scene of the Battle of Blackwater in Game of Thrones. 

The Bokar Fortres                         

                                 

                     The Pile Gate, the main entrance into Dubrovnik

The existing city walls were built between the C13th and C17th, and run an uninterrupted course of over 6000 ft, completely encircling the old town.The main wall on the land side ranges from 13 to 20 ft thick and in some places 80 ft high. The walls were reinforced by one large bastion and nine further smaller ones. A moat and 120 large cannons further protected the walls.

The first thing you see as you enter the town through the Pile Gate is the sandstone Onophrian Fountain which has been supplying clean drinking water for over 500 years. The carvings from which the water spouts are worth looking at. From the fountain  you enter the main pedestrianised street, the Stradun pictured below.

Croatia has great pride in its heritage and our guide, Boris, exemplified it, going to great pains to show every bullet and shell wound to its ancient walls. Shell damage has been covered up with fresh stone, which in time will weather but is clear enough to see when pointed out. Bullet holes remain, a sign of pride as much as anything else.

We did have the option of climbing up to its walls, but it was quite pricy, took one and a half hours to explore, the steps were many and steep, and it was a baking hot day. The case for the defence rests, m’lud. And so, we went for coffee instead. 

The restaurant was near the city gate and overlooked the walls of Dubrovnik. Instead of coffee, I settled for a glass of Croatian red and a plate of Croatian cheese. The various cheeses looked much the same and in fairness tasted much the same, but none actually unpleasant. Soon my attention was called by the small figure trapped high in the wall (see pics below)

                                     

The harbour for King's Landing

It was in fact the patron saint of Dubrovnik, St Blaise. A fine way to treat a patron saint. And why is he a patron saint? Blaise was a hermit, renowned throughout Cappadocia and martyred by the Emperor Licinius in 316 AD. His martyrdom was not without some technical hitches. When they tried to drown him, he walked on the water. Finally, to have done with it, they beheaded him.

 But why was he the patron saint of Dubrovnik? Blaises is also the saint of ‘sore throats’ because, according to legend, he save a young boy from choking on a fishbone. To this day, his devotees have their throats blessed on his feast day, and has become the patron saint of Otorhinolaryngologists. But why of Dubrovnik, too?

In the C10th Venetian traders landed in Dubrovnik seeking fresh water and supplies. In fact, they were spies probing Dubrovnik’s defences before a Venetian attack. The city authorities were warned by a local priest who had been visited by St Blaise in the guise of an old, grey-haired man with a long beard, a bishop’s cap, and with a long stick in his hand – as you see him now portrayed on the wall. 

February 3^rd is both St Blaise’s and Dubrovnik day——if you are of Croatian heritage and have a sore throat.

Croatia fought for its independence from the failing Yugoslavia, which under Tito had held Croats, Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Montenegro and Slovenia in an uneasy federation—one largely controlled by the dominant Serbs. The war 1991-1995 ended in victory for Croatia which retained its territorial integrity and gained full independence. At a cost: 15007 dead and 3000 displaced. When you see Dubrovnik today, you realise that a lot can happen in thirty years 

But Dubrovnik’s history goes well beyond its most recent spat with Serbia and its allies.

There is evidence of an ancient settlement, but Dubrovnik burst on to the scene as the Republic of Ragusa. Initially it was a protectorate of the Byzantine empire, later falling under the sway of the Republic of Venice followed by a loose arrangement with the Ottomans. This allowed them to play off the Ottomans and Venice against the other while they developed their own trading networks stretching from India to North Africa and even America. With such wealth and surrounded by such  powerful and avaricious rivals, it is no wonder their walls and defences were so strong.

According to Boris, our guide, C15th Dubrovnik was sufficiently enlightened to hire Italy’s best architects and artisans for major projects, and paying top dollar attracted them. It’s exemplified by the ‘Spanish Steps’ shown in the picture below. Descending from the Jesuit Church of St Ignatius, completed in 1725, the steps are an exact copy of the original Spanish Steps in Rome. They also illustrate the guile and business acumen of the new Croatian State. Aware of what they have to offer they’ve successfully sold themselves to Hollywood film makers who can no longer afford Hollywood itself. 

Dubrovnik is,  in another world, King's Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms in Game of Thrones. Here you can see the Red Keep and the Iron Throne. 

After persuading the makers of Game of Thrones to film many of their scenes here, Dubrovnik has since developed a nice side hustle in tourism – aficionados of the series taking selfies in key places noted in the photographs above and below. It is on these steps that shaven-haired Cersei Lannister walked her steps of shame.

Alleys and mysterious lanes to explore

Franciscan Church and Monastery 

The Rectory, the home of  government

Sibenik Cathedral

We had planned to take a boat trip to a nearby island and a medieval Benedictine Monastery, but the trip was cancelled because of choppy waters Choppy waters? These guys have clearly never seen the River Mersey.

And finally, leaving Dubrovnik for our next stop:

Kotor