THE OLD TOWN OF DUBROVNIK

This post in not going to be easy. One, the place is so beautiful that pictures and videos cannot bring out the essence of the place. Second, you simply don't know where to start. So Dubrovnik, it is...and it's Old Town. It took me three days exploring the place. And I feel it is not enough. Different gates, magnificent churches, synagogue and palaces, the famed city walls, Saint Blaise and his stories hidden almost everywhere, the beautiful Adriatic, the sound of the Bells,  the fountains and the cobblestone streets, the red tiled roof tops...list is unending....the Old Town is a rare gem to see and absorb. Just keep walking and enjoy this marvel. UNESCO would have been really proud the day when the Old Town of Dubrovnik was assimilated into its list of world heritage sites. And if you are a Game of Thrones fan, the visit is no less than a treasure.

So, from Zagreb airport to Dubrovnik airport, from Dubrovnik airport to the hotel and from the hotel, which was a few stairs up, to the Old Town, the excitement was too difficult to resist. And finally, the view of the City Walls and the Pile Gate with the engravings of Saint Blaise was right in front. Saint Blaise has been the patron saint of Dubrovnik since the last thousand years. A thousand years back, it is believed that Saint Blaise saved the people from Dubrovnik from a Venetian attack. Needless to say Saint Blaise is supremely revered in Dubrovnik and his statues and effigies are present in most of the magnificent monuments of the Old Town. If you visit around first week February, you can be part of the celebrities dedicated to the Saint. This annual celebration is a part of a thousand year heritage and it known as Festa Svetag Vlaha and is a part of UNESCO intangible cultural heritage.

Once inside the Old Town, one after another, beautiful monuments start greeting with all the elegance and wisdom of survivors, which have survived many wars and earthquakes alike...through multiple restorations and additions. Every time the monuments were restored back, they returned with more imaginations and stories engraved within them. The delicate richness and harmony of the major architectural forms including Baroque, Venetian, Renaissance and Gothic imparts a sort of fairy tale beauty to each of these monuments. Even the alleyways possess the pull and  promise of a medieval story teller. The Onofrio fountains (both large and small), the palaces (Rector and Sponza), the churches (St. Blaise, St. Ignatius and the Saviour), the monasteries (Dominican and Franciscan)  the forts and the fortresses (Bokar, Minceta, Mulo, Revelin and the detached Lovrijenac or St lawrence Fort), the city walls and its gates (Pile, Ploce, Buza and Ponte), the central walkway called Stradun and the main Luza Square, the bell tower, the statue of Orlando and the beautiful harbour....each of these and many more will just pull you into a bygone era... with so many stories to share....the stories of the days, centuries back when Dubrovnik used to the capital of the Kingdom of Ragusa.

Ragusa, believed to be founded during 7th century, peaked as a  maritime republic during the 15th and 16th centuries. First, under the protection of the Orstogoths (the early Italian kingdom), then under the Byzantine, followed by the Serbians, Venetians and then Hungarians, it was not before the 14th century when Dubrovnik declared itself free, but remained as a tributary of the Ottoman Empire for four hundred years. Needless to mention, this intense cultural immersion  is manifested in the monuments of the Old City.   As if the dynamics was not enough, Ragusa (known as Dubrovnik, by then) was captured by French in the early 19th century when Napoleon was at his peak and this was followed by British and Austrian Habsburg influence also. 

Ok, getting  back to the walk, here is a small piece of advice. If you are in Dubrovnik, and you are wondering if you should take the city wall walk trip (its quite costly at about 200 Kunas or about 30 Euros per person), my suggestion is to just go for it. The views, while walking on  the city walls, not only add perspectives to the beauty of the place but also bring out some of the most stunning views of the Adriatic Sea and the island of Lokrum. You will not repent the money spent.  Personally, for me the most angelic moment was when we were relaxing near the Minceta on the city walls and the church bells started ringing . A video of the experience can be located at the end of this post. 

The sunset view of the harbor is beautiful and its worth walking along the side of the harbor witnessing the dusk creeping in. I know, the post is getting long and probably its time to stop. One more advice, before I do that. Do get inside the Churches and Monasteries. With the beautiful paintings and statues, they are surreal.

The experience from the City Walls with Church bells ringing.

This post is for alphabet ‘D’ of the #BlogchatterA2Z 2020 challenge:

 D for Dubrovnik