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| Dubrovnik this morning waiting for the bus |
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| Dubrovnik City Center |
I stared out extra early today because I had to get a 7:15am bus to town to catch my tour to the beautiful country of Montenegro. I was very much looking forward to seeing this country because I'd heard so much about it from my doorman, Nick in New York as he was born and raised here. Actually all our doormen and even our former super are from Montenegro and I'm so happy I finally got to see how truly special this place is for myself.
The bus driver met me at their offices and then we picked up a couple from Sao Paulo, Brazil and a couple from London (the wife is originally from NYC where she was raised on East 12th Street but got married to her husband who works for BP and she moved to London 20 years ago.)
The ride was stunning past he water (again along the cliffs) and about an hour and half later we approached Risan, "a town in the Bay of Kotor, Montenegro. It traces its origins to the ancient settlement of Rhizon, the oldest settlement in the Bay of Kotor.
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| Risan Roman Ruins - Families Room |
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| Risan Roman Ruins |
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| Risan Roman Ruins |
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| Risan Roman Ruins |
Lying in the innermost portion of the bay, the settlement was protected from the interior by inaccessible limestone cliffs of the Orjen mountain, the highest range of eastern Adriatic, and through several following narrow straits in the Bay of Kotor from the open sea."
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| Risan Roman Ruins - Room for the Army visitors |
Risan is the home to a museum housing 5 large floor Roman mosaics dating back to about the 3rd century AD and they were found when in the 1930's a road was being built and they dug up the remains. All that's there now is the grid of where the ancient villa stood and where these floor mosaics were laid in the rooms. Two new ones have been found and are being slowly restored and will hopefully be placed in the museum here in the coming years depending on funding. There area few other remains of pottery and architectural elements. Also, in what looks like it may have been their ancient refrigerator, a man's body was found with his arms crossed over his chest and they think he was a soldier in World War II and was buried there.
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| Risan Roman Ruins - Checker board patter for playing games |
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| Perast from the boat |
We left Risan and headed off to Perast a nearby seaside town only about 25 minutes away. "Perast lies beneath the hill of St. Elijah (873 m), on a cape that separates the Bay of Risano from that of Kotor, and overlooks the Verige strait, the narrowest part of the bay of Kotor. The average yearly temperature in Perasto is 18.3°C, and the number of sunny days is 240 (or around 2,500 sunny hours per year).
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| St. George Island |
Near Perast there are two small islands: one is called St. George island which is a monastery and the other called Gospa od Škrpjela (Our Lady of the Rock), and each has a picturesque chapel. Gospa od Škrpjela is particularly interesting given that it is the only artificially built island in the Adriatic, with an area of 3,030 m² — it was built upon a rock (Škrpjel) after two Venetian sailors from Perast found a picture of the Virgin Mary on it in 1452."
This was the an incredible site to visit and well worth seeing for anyone in the area even if you have to make a special trip. A small boat picked us up at the marina in Perast and in 5 minutes we were on the island. A tour guide spoke to us about the church and then took us to the museum which is right through a door on the right of alter.
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| Our Lady of the Rock Church |
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| Beautiful Alter with the original painting of the Madonna found on the lone rock 1452 |
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| Beautiful Alter with the original painting of the Madonna found on the lone rock 1452 - The Venetian glass chandelier above is 300 years old. |
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| Protective cover made for the painting centuries ago with the cut out area so the face of the Virgin and the face of Baby Jesus will show through |
The Alter is spectacular made from various types of marble and in the center is the painting of the Virgin Mary and Child who inspired the building of this artificial island. "It is an artificial island created by bulwark of rocks and by sinking old and seized ships loaded with rocks. The Roman Catholic Church of Our Lady of the Rocks (Italian: Chiesa della Madonna dello Scarpello) is the largest building on the islet and according to legend, the islet was made over the centuries by the seamen who kept an ancient oath after finding the icon of Madonna and Child on the rock in the sea on July 22, 1452. Upon returning from each successful voyage, they laid a rock in the Bay. Over time, the islet gradually emerged from the sea."
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| Our Lady of the Rock - Stairs leading to a patio from the museum |
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| Our Lady of the Rock - A table outside (possibly an alter) with two marble figures holding it up. They reminded me or sumo wrestlers |
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| Our Lady of the Rock Alter |
Well there is a little more to it than that from what we learned from our guide. The painting was found on a rock protruding from the water (and the alter is sitting just over that rock now) and they brought the painting back to Perast just a quick boat ride back across the water and put it in their church but miraculously the next morning the paint was back sitting on the rock in the middle of the water. Apparently this happened three times and they realized she wanted to be there so they began the process of building the island. It actually gave me shivers when she told me about the picture finding it's way back to the rock each night. And clearly it has effected thousands and thousands that way as well especially sailors who have prayed to her through the centuries and when they're prayers were answered they had "votive paintings" something I never heard of until today and they are beautiful paintings of various sizes with mostly the same theme, a ship or boat depicted in the painting in peril and the Virgin Mary and Child usually near by saving them and then at the bottom of most there is an inscription telling of what was happening to them and how they prayed to her and how they were saved and had this painting made to thank her. The church also houses a collection of silver votive tablets which are silver plates with engravings of those sailors thankful for their prayers being answered. They continue to be brought there and there is a space for new ones and I think there were about four or five hanging. And also in the "museum is a famous votive tapestry embroidered by Jacinta Kunić-Mijović from Perast. It took her 25 years to finish it while waiting her darling to come from a long journey, and eventually, she became blind. She used golden and silver fibers but what makes this tapestry so famous is the fact that she also embroidered her own hair in it." And because it took her 25 years you can see how her hair changed color from blonde to gray to silver. It's a remarkable work of embroidery and the detail is so fine you can imagine why she would have gone blind with no proper lighting. The guide also said that her love never returned but that no one knows for sure so if we want to believe it was a happy ending we could. The women from Brazil and I choose to believe in the happy ending!
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| Our Lady of the Rock Church - tapestry embroidered by Jacinta Kunić-Mijović |
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| Our Lady of the Rock silver votive tablets |
"The custom of throwing rocks into the sea is alive even nowadays. Every year on the sunset of July 22, an event called fašinada, when local residents take their boats and throw rocks into the sea, widening the surface of the island, takes place.
The first known church was built on the islet in 1452 and it was Serbian Orthodox. It was taken over by Roman Catholics and in 1632 the present Church of Our Lady of the Rocks was built. It was upgraded in 1722. The church contains 68 paintings by Tripo Kokolja, a famous 17th-century baroque artist from Perast. His most important painting, ten meters long, is The Death of the Virgin. There are also paintings by Italian artists, and an icon (circa 1452) of Our Lady of the Rocks, by Lovro Dobričević of Kotor."
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| Coat of Arms for Perast |
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| From the Church Museum Our Lady of the Rock Church |
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| Our Lady of the Rock Musuem - Madonna sculptures from different ships over the centuries |
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| Our Lady of the Rock looking toward St. George Island |
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Our Lady of the Rock Museum beautiful stone sculpture
Of an angel or a martyr, the guide wasn't sure |
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| St. George Island |
The museum also houses artifacts from all manner of life on the sea including glass, weapons, statues of the Madonna, a wooden chest kept by families where you had to have three keys to open it and they were held one by the wife, one by the husband and one by the first born and each had to be present every time the trunk was opened. There was also a metal contraption from several centuries ago that had I think two large gears and when you turned the handle attached to one of them it would turn the other which would eventually turn the propeller at the bottom and there you have the first propeller operated boat, just amazing when you think of how simply but how profoundly useful.
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| Our Lady of the Rock Island |
We left the Island on the same boat and was back on the main land in just a few minutes passing the monastery which must be closed this season or I'm sure we would have stopped. In Perast we just picked up the van again and off we went but our tour guide Ivana was telling us that even today that in this charming town 90% of the men living there are still fisherman and sailors. They kept up the tradition.
We then headed to Kotor the amazing, amazing walled city about 25 minutes along the water and past several small garden towns all green and lush from all the rain this season. And the highest mountains in the distance are still snow capped, so beautiful.
The wall is the 2nd largest after the Great Wall of China and very impressive as it winds up the rocky mountain.
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| Kotor Walled City - View of Wall up the mountain. It's the 2nd largest wall in the world after the Great wall of China |
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Kotor clock tower. An Austrian family many, many years ago were given the responsibility for keeping the clock time correct and given the house attached to live in and to this day the same family (decedents of course) are still living there and keeping the clock which was about 2 minutes slow and the tour guide said they're Austrian and Swiss!
And as an added note to the clock above. Just below it is a marble pyramid that centuries ago was used for criminal. It's the Pillar of Shame and used in a lot of towns in the Baltic states. If you stole something you would be tied to the marble pillar and for a few days all the people of town would walk by and see your shame. They would feed the person a little to keep them going but once released they usually left the town forever due to their shame for themselves and their now disgraced families. I said you'd have to wonder if a "shame" punishment would work now a days to deter crime but when you consider all the reality TV stars shaming themselves and their families daily and all the millions on Facebook and the likes shaming themselves for fun I guess it probably wouldn't.
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| Kotor Town Square with these ingenious upside down umbrellas which were designed specifically by the town to combat the rain water flooding that occurs there. The poles are hollow and the water runs down the fluted umbrella top and then down the hollow pole and into the sewers. I think this is fabulous, you have to love when people tackle a problem logically, find a good solution and make it happen. |
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| The Main, or Sea Gate, on the west side of the town, dates from 1555 and was built in the renaissance style. The Relief represents the Virgin Mary and Child in the middle, St. Tryphon (the patron saint of Kotor) on the left holding a model of the city and I think St. Elizabeth on the right |
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| Bizanti Palace and apparently Bizanti means "without a home" and the lord of this palace centuries ago to not be called the homeless palace owner bought up 100 building and changed his name to something like owner of a 100 homes but in the end he is still remembered by tour guides to their guests as the homeless palace owner. Also the large door below which you can't see all of it but it's about 15 feet tall was made that way so he could ride his horse into the palace. Also the palaces in town, of which there are several, are still owned by the decedents of the original owners but in the case of this one he doesn't have any so it remains empty until a certain amount of years pass we were told and then it will it seems go to the state to do as they wish with. |
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| Pima Palace with it's varying architectural design due to damage from the 1667 earthquake. The decedents of the original owners of the palace were actually teachers centuries ago and still the few decedents left are professors at the university in town (following in the family footsteps.) The front of the palace is used as a hotel to help defray costs of running the building and the family lives in the back. |
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| Cathedral of Saint Tryphon |
The Cathedral of Saint Tryphon in Kotor is one of two Roman Catholic cathedrals in Montenegro. "Ever since the arrival, in 809, of Saint Tryphon's relics the saint has a very special place in the hearts of the people of Kotor, no matter whether they be Catholic or Orthodox. The celebration of his feast day on February 1st is the most important holiday for all townsfolk and the mass held on the Sunday of that week is the culmination of a week of festivities."
Actually our guide told us St. Tryphon's remains arrived in 809 almost by accident a boat containing them was going up the coast to Venice to sell his remains and when they stopped in Kotor for food and such the locals offered the merchant a lot of gold pieces for St. Tryphon's remains because it was known that if a town had religious significance people would come and it was the start of tourism for the town. They built the cathedral for their patron saint and he has been protecting the city ever since.
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| 300 year old tree and it was for centuries the only tree in town and still is the only one of any height or significance |
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| Lovely old church |
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| Kotor ruin but so beautiful |
The old Mediterranean port of Kotor is surrounded by fortifications built during the Venetian period. It is located on the Bay of Kotor (Boka Kotorska), one of the most indented parts of the Adriatic Sea. Some have called the southern-most fjord in Europe, but it is a ria, a submerged river canyon. Together with the nearly overhanging limestone cliffs of Orjen and Lovćen, Kotor and its surrounding area form an impressive and picturesque Mediterranean landscape. In recent years, Kotor has seen a steady increase in tourists, many of them coming by cruise ship. Visitors are attracted both by the natural beauty of the Gulf of Kotor and by the old town of Kotor. Kotor is part of the World Heritage Site dubbed the Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor.
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| St. Luke's Orthodox Church in Church Square (across from the Orthodox Church of St. Mary.) Because the town is so mall at one point the churches had two alters so the Catholics had one and the Orthodox had another and they harmoniously shared the same worship space. |
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| View of the City walls going up the hill where you can stop midway and visit our Church of the Lady of Our Remedy built to honor her after or during the plague. I didn't end up walking up there but the couple from London did. |
I loved the city and not only because it has as one of it's main symbol the cat. Kotor's Cats are famous apparently and they are everywhere and so adorable and friendly. I feed a few while eating lunch of local cheese and there homemade prosciutto and bread so one bite for me one bite for the pregnant kitty who kept looking up at me with those greenish piercing eyes with only a slight black slit visible in the middle. But it was more than enough for us both so it's all good.
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| City Walls with River below |
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| Beautiful Stone walk way |
The city has so much for anyone who loves historic architecture and beautiful winding cobble-stoned and marble block streets. Another great feature are those streets that are often paved with a special pink/red/yellowish marble that came from near there but is now completely used up. Our fabulous young tour guide Alexander said that the large Anti-war sculpture in front of the United Nations in New York City is on a base of that same marble. I'll have to look for that when I get home.
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| Alter at the Monastery of St. Clair (a beautiful convent still used by a much smaller population of nuns.) Our guide said the nuns work as nurses and do lots of community work in town and are revered and respected by all the towns people. And to hear that from a young man of about 20 was so sweet. |
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| Montenegro red/pink/yellowish marble |
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| Monastery at St. Clare Alter - the yellow and brown part of the alter that is modeled after a blanket is actually made of a mustard colored marble, it's really remarkable. |
It's a remarkable city in every aspect and only 1,000 people live in the old town walled area but they are a thriving community of artists and regular people like bakers, butchers and probably a candle stick maker as the children's rhyme goes. And they also have an impressive music school where anyone, after the kids are finished their main lessons can take free classes and we heard some people practicing as we stood in the plaza. The tour guide I think said that it's run by nuns.
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| Courtyard of a museum |
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| Old well pump in town |
Montenegro has turned out to be one of the most beautiful places I've visited and that says a lot considering how many I've seen and how great they all are. It has natural beauty, lovely people, great food (you've got to try the cheese) and incredible architectural, cultural and artistic history so worth exploring.
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| View of Perast (in the distance) from the car ferry |
We took the drive back to Dubrovnik slowly and even, to cut about 20 minutes off our time, got a 5 minute car ferry across the narrowest part of the sea and then past he boarder control and I was in my hotel by around 6:30pm.
Great day visiting a great country and several great cities!!! And as I finished my blog a very sweet young Italian man asked me to watch his laptop as he had to run upstairs to his room so of course I did and then he asked again which I was happy to do. It turns out he is here for a huge Governance conference being held in Dubrovnik tomorrow and there are so many professional people staying here tonight which is nice as well. This young man Jacoame, who is a lawyer and teaches a business economics class in Florence each week lives in Rome but is from Sicily. He was very chatty and I think being here alone he was just wanting to talk and although he's a business man he is very much into the arts and even went before class yesterday up to Florence 2 hours early just so he could see a art exhibit. But he is straight which I was kind of thinking was not the case or at least he mentioned a girl from the south he dated. And he was telling me that on the day the new Pope was announced he was in his office and saw online that the white smoke was coming from the Vatican and so he zoomed on his Vespa to the Vatican and waited 20 minutes and got to see Pope Francis make his first address to the world. He said it was incredible and everyone seems to be pleased with the appointment which is great.
So then it was off to bed because by that point it was 11:30pm and I was so tired from the long trip and he also needed to get his work done as he is speaking at the conference tomorrow which for someone so young is pretty impressive.
