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Renault Roaming

Italy -- Croatia - ?
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  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Geometry lesson

    May 8, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    This famous World Heritage castle built around 1240 by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederic II is famous for being without known purpose.
    Since the building sits on top of a hill with 360 degree views and a clear view of the sea 24 km away, experts have suggested that it was a fortress. Sounds more like a resort to me, though it does look like a keep and is believed to cover an earlier fort. From a military perspective it has shortcomings: no curtain wall, no drawbridge, no moat, no stables.
    The original marble and furnishings were removed long go, but as a home it would do during warm weather if one didn't eat: there are no kitchens and only 2 fireplaces.
    The best anyone can come up with is that Fred used it to fly his falcons. The daughter of my last host, Milli, came here on a school trip a a couple of weeks ago and left mystified.
    The castle is designed as a perfect octagon, 123 feet across, with eight rooms and an octagonal centre court. Octagonal towers on each corner , taller originally than nowadays, carry the octagonal theme downward to the missing Islamic, octagonal, floor tiles. The number 3 also re-occurs: in the entrance hall there are 3 rose and 3 mullioned windows as well as an engraved triangle, there are three towers with staircases.
    Frederick founded the University of Naplesand was friendly with the great Leonardo Fibonacci, (who introduced the Arabic representations for zero and ten into Europe.) Given that he was a scholar and architect, spoke Arabic as well as Latin, and had been on a Crusade, it is perhaps not surprising that people have been searching for symbolic meanings in what might otherwise be just a rich man's folly. All the fuss is about the geometry of the architecture, which is 'impecable' (as the French would say.) This leads the intelligentsia on a hunt for symbolic meanings and associations; a search that can continue forever and fund numerous research grants.
    Onto the octaganal floorplan can be can be projected any number of pentagrams, isoceles triangles, stars , circles and so on to tantalise the student. The number 8 itself has secular, religious and mythological meanings. The figure 8 rotated 90 degrees becomes the "lazy eight" representing infinity. There are eight compass points and eight is the union of divine infinity and human finiteness and resurrection. 3 denotes truth and the triangle perfection. Even the shadows in the courtyard form the Golden Ratio used in the Fibonacci Sequence.
    Here are some other cluesto hidden meanings that have been "found":
    + Egyptian epigraphs are written onto the structure. (Frederick is regarded by some as the last “Faraone.”
    + the castle lies on the meridian connecting the Cathedral of Chartres, the Duomo of Milan and the Egyptian pyramids - Templar connection?
    + it lies halfway between the French cathedral and the Sphinx of Cheops.
    and so on and so on. A contemporary observed it and wrote: "Stupor mundi et immutator mirabilis", (wonder of the world and marvelous novelty.) And that wasn't because of the advanced plumbing system, which uses rain water for the toilets and bathrooms of the fortress.
    Fred died from dysentery in 1250 and there is no evidence that he actually used the place. His son Manfred died in battle in 1266, and Frederick's three grandsons were condemned to life imprisonment in the Castel del Monte. One escaped after 30 years, only to disappear into Egypt.
    I had to brave the dozen busloads of tourists visiting the site, taking advantage of the interstitial gaps between the flocks circulating to get a few snapshots before taking the ferry to Albania. Whilst it only takes 30 minutes to walk through the place, even with the exhibition of paintings in each room, a better impression can be had by looking at the plans and drawing lines connecting different points: then the symbology becomes apparent.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Straights of Dozing

    May 8, 2019 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Despite all the adverts for a crossing from Brindisi to Durres, after spending an hour at the port trying to buy a ticket, I was told that there were no services - at least none that would take the van. So I had to go to Bari, which allowed me time to visit the Castel del Monte before taking the 10pm ferry.
    Bari itself had nothing to attract me particularly - churches and another fort courtesy of Isabella d'Aragon - so I went straight onto the the port and queued for 4 hours. Most of the boat is passenger accommodation is in cabins, for which I had not paid extra, but I found a perfectly good bit of floor spce behind the seats in the one lounge and had a good night kip on my mat and in my sleeping bag.
    Despite the strong winds and rain, the crossing was not very rough and I awoke in Albania to a glorious sunny day.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Global warming

    May 9, 2019 in Albania ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    The very first sight I saw after a tortuous and poorly signed (but maybe that was because I can't read Cryllic scripts,) exit from the docks, this is what I discovered: Albania's version of a carbon tax.
    Now whether this makes clear what will happen to petrol users, or if it is restricting use of the pollutant to a limited subset of potential clients, I could not work out and did not have the bxxxx to try.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Durres

    May 9, 2019 in Albania ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Durrës ( Dyrrah ), founded in the 7th century BCE by ancient Greek settlers from Corinth and Corcyra, is another of the world’s oldest continuously inhabited cities.
    During the Roman period, 5th century BCE. Epidamnos as they renamed it, was a main harbour during the Peloponnesian War. After the war it expanded and changed its name to Dyrrhachion; Dyrrachium was used in Roman literature and known as the battlefield between the legions of Caesar and Pompey (49-48 BCE). Dyrrhachion was a vital Roman port of The Egnatian Way (Via Egnatia). This trade route was one of the main roadways which connected Rome with Byzantium and Durres prospered with it. A result it had the largest Roman amphitheater in the Balkans which is now a pile of rubble and easy to overlook. (I did, though I saw it.)
    =================
    This is the so called Durres Castle, aka Venetian Tower.
    It dates back to the 400s, during the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Anastasius I who was born here. Although it's only a single tower and wall reinforced by the Venetians just before the city’s conquest by the Ottomans.
    It's seen some serious action right up to WWII but s you can see, the Martini rifle is no match for the Martini cocktail whose umbrella battle standards now fly triumphently above the parapets.
    =======================================================
    The Great Mosque was built in 1931 by King Zog I on the site of an earlier Ottoman building. After 1967 its minaret was destroyed and the building was used centre for local youth organisations. It survived the Communist repression and is now fully functional as a religious centre.
    There is another, smaller and older one; the Fatih Mosque, which dates to 1503 in the first decades of Ottoman rule. This was also closed down during communism but was declared an Albanian cultural monument in the 70s. I found it down a side alley, all boarded up.
    ====
    Albanian drag racer?
    =========================
    Britannia rules - thanks to Tony Blair
    ==================================
    The old part of town    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Tirana

    May 9, 2019 in Albania ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    I nipped into Tirana to see what the extensively rebuilt communist capital had to offer. Very little in the trad tourist market but a few interesting relics. I was struck by the cleanliness of the streets after my sojourn in Southern Italy. Rubbish was collected and numerous street-sweepers - with old fashioned brooms - wheeling their carts around bright in their hi-viz clothes. I have been told that this does not extend into the peasant countryside but is a reflexion of the new found wealth entering the country in search of cheap labour unrestricted by such fanciful notions as employment or environmental rights. Thanks to a maverick politician in the '80s, many of the concrete tower blocks are painted in loud colours which considerably softens the deadening effect of such structures on the population. Another striking observation was how many new Mercedes were being driven: followed by Audis and VWs. The government imposed an import ban on used vehicles made before 2005 from 1 Jan this year, ostensibly to curb pollution, by encouraging people to buy new cars from certified domestic dealerships, (and of course to improve overall road safety.) I'm sure European car manufacturers had little to do with it, and the banking system is naturally happy to carry the debt.
    My first stop was in the recently renamed Skanderberg square, where a huge socialist mosaic of victorious partisans on the History Museum dominated one skyline.
    =============
    The square itself is a huge piazza buging upwards in the middle. There is a carpark underneath it and a statue of Skanderberg mounted on his horse, with his hair nicely sharpened into a point, has replaced the rather staid one of Stalin.
    =============================================
    In another corner of the square is the the Et’hem Bey Mosque that dates back to the late 18thC.
    At the fall of communism it was the site of one of a remarkable event on the 10th January 1991 when 10,000 people gathered to practise their religion, against the decree of the authorities who had banned Islam for almost half a century. In the end there was no police interference and the event marked a turning for religious freedom in Albania.
    Unfortunately, I could not admire the idyllic scenery such as forests and waterfalls. as the walls were shrouded for building restoration. (They are on the outside because inside they would contrevene Sharia.)
    The rather bland and often altered Clock Tower goes back to 1822 when it was completed by the court poet Haxhi Et’hem Bey. The first change was a Viennese design, which was replaced by a German-style timepiece which was destroyed in the Second World War. After that there was one with Roman numerals that came down in the 70s in favour of the current Chinese clock.

    ================================================================
    Albanians prefer their books to cover weighty themes and in fact buy them by the kilo.
    =================================================================
    The third-largest such structure in the Balkans is the Resurrection of Christ Orthodox Cathedral, completed in 2012.
    You will be fascinated to learn, as I was, that the dome reaches 32.2 m above ground and the bell tower stretched 46 m to the heavens: and the complex is now a major tourism attraction.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Bunk Art

    May 9, 2019 in Albania ⋅ 🌧 13 °C

    Enver Halil Hoxha (16 October 1908 – 11 April 1985) was the WWII resistance leader who became the First Secretary of the Party of Labour of Albania (socialist), from 1944 until his death in 1985.
    Now Anwar as the Arabs would call him, liked to do his own thing, so Albania became famous for its independence, not just from the yoke of Western style free market, pretend democracies but also of other pretend Communist ones - even neighbouring Yugoslavia. Nevertheless, after a particularly exciting trip to China Mr Hodges, (as we would spell his name,) came back thrilled with the idea of an NBC proof bunker which he had visited near the Celestial City. So he had this one built in a hill just outside Tirana to act as the centre of government in case of nuclear war.
    It’s set over five stories and has more than 100 different rooms including a meeting hall with 200 seats. With almost 3000 sq metres of space underground spread over several floors, the bunker is a natural fit for a history and contemporary art museum.
    =========================================================
    A guard stands at the entrance, bored stiff by the inaction.
    ==========================================
    5 doors are provided for the safety of inhabitants. First a curved 15cm thick, concrete blast door, then a small 10cm concrete door, followed by 3 airtight sealed steel doors. [And a cat to keep the mice out.]
    =============================================================
    Photography is strictly prohibited, but I managed to sneak a photo of the Prime Ministers room by standing out of sight of the surveillance cameras.
    =============================================================
    They say that the absence of any creditable war ensured the bunker was never used, but I think it was for a different reason. In the West we treat governments who do not do what we tell them by shunning them, trade sanctions etc. But China is more subtle: they welcome recalcitrant nations and give them gifts. All the equipment in the bunker, (electronics, communications, pumps, gas filtration etc) was provided. But all the signage and instructions for use are in Chinese.
    =========================================================================
    One room has been set up as a standard Albanian post-war flat. It looks just like my digs at uni, dating from the same period.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Krujë Castle

    May 9, 2019 in Albania ⋅ 🌧 10 °C

    Gjergjj (or George,) Kastrioti was born in 1405, the son of an Albanian Prince based in the fortress city of Krujë . Unfortunately it was a vassel state of the Ottoman Empire, so he and 3 siblings were shipped off to Constantinople as hostages, meaning they had to join the Janissary Corps.
    The Janissary philosophy was to take the boys from their vassal states, convert them to Islam, train them in military tactics and religious fanaticism, and then send them back to attack their former countrymen.
    The Sultan renaged on the contracted 3 winter enlistment period when the old Prince died, so our George had to stay a slave-soldier nearly 20 years until he kicked over the traces.
    He commanded a cavalry regiment, governed 9 provinces, and once personally thrassed a Mongol and two Persians in the Throne Room of the Ottoman Court after they were being disrespectful to the Sultan. Whilst he himself proved to be a strong and ruthless commander, and perhaps because of it, his three brothers were poisoned.
    In his honour - or maybe ironically - the Sultan named him "Arnavuthu Iskender Bey", meaning "Lord Alexander the Albanian" in reference to Alexander the Great, but he himself preferred to be called the more Albanian sounding "Scenderbeu", (Skanderbeg in English for reasons unknown.)
    One can surmise that having been circumcised forcibly at the age of 18 left an unpleasant feeling for, when he was 38, he chucked away the power that came from being a high-ranking Turkish official with all the wealth and women he could want. During a battle against John Hunyadi, a Hungarian Crusader, he absconded with 300 fellow Albanian Janissaries and returned to his birthplace at Kruje.
    The castle was under Turkish control, so the canny Georgey forged an order appointing him Governor of the region in the name of the Sultan. As soon as the previous governer left, George raised his own double-eagle standard over the ramparts and rallied the Albanians to it, openly declaring rebellion and obviously re-converting back to Christianity again. He quickly secured his position by liberating surrounding cities and towns, giving the Turkish defenders the usual Christian offer: Baptism or Martyrdom.
    Sultan Murad II was a bit miffed and came with 100,000 men to recover his assets.
    Using a combination of guerilla warfare, scorched earth policies and hit-and-run attacks on supply columns, the Turks were repulsed several times over the next few years and never succeeded in dislodging the self-styled "Avenger of the Albanians." Surrounded by the Empire, George spent the rest of his life fighting battles in which he led from the front with his goat-head helmet and 2 handed sword. Thus was a legend born.
    Pope Nicholas V called him the "Champion of Christendom" (sometimes translated as "The Athlete of Christendom"). Pope Pious II called him the "Christian Gideon", and Pope Calixtus III appointed him Captain-General of the Holy See.
    After Sultan Murad died, his son, Mehmet the Conqueror, had another 2 goes at capturing the fort, which Skanderberg repulsed in his traditional way, whilst finding time to negotiate deals with the Hungarians, Serbians and Venetians. Oh! And repressing a rebellion started by his own nephew.
    Once, taking a vacation from his Balkan odyssey, he nipped across to Italy with 800 cavalry to break the Siege of Naples and pick up a Dukedom, ( which his son and heirs enjoyed for a few hundred years.)
    Eventually he was defeated - by a mosquito and he died of malaria in 1468. During his career he is credited with 3,000 kills and has become the Hero for the Albanian people: his battle standard is the present-day Albanian Flag and school children are required to memorise a song about his feats.
    Ten years later, Kruje fell to the Ottoman ruler Sultan Mehmed II. The Turks dug up the Dragon of Albania and made bracelets out of his bones; either as keepsakes to disperse any trace of his body or as a fetish to get some of his power.
    =========================================================
    Not much of old Kruje remains now within the castle walls. In front is the rebuilt Sultan Mehmed Fatih mosque, (named after the man who finally broke down the castle’s security,) and in use. Its about the size of a living room and still un use.
    Visitors are channelled from the car park up a shopping street to the gate. For 450 years it was a bazaar with up to 150 shops: now it is reduced to selling tourist trophys. It reminded me of villages outside Hanoi.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Fork in the road

    May 10, 2019 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Billed as the most boring capital city in the world - even more boring than Canberra - I had to visit Titograd.
    Probably it was originally an Illyrian tribal centre then became Birziminium, a Roman caravan stop. It was known as Ribnica in the early Middle Ages and Podgorica from 1326; occupied by the Turks (1474), Montenegrans (1878), Austrians (1916), Italians (1941) , Germans (1943).
    Nothing much survived WWII and I am not sure if there was anything much before. At any rate, all I could see in the pouring rain was a modern provincial capital, with plenty of cafes and a working population that saves it from the insulation of Canberra. No photo opportunities though!
    Onwards and travelling the back roads out of Podgorica I came across this picturesque concrete monument. As far as I can tell it is a memorial to fallen soldiers, but which and whom I couldn't fathom.
    I copied the cryllic inscription to show to various people hoping to discover its meaning: two people read it and gave up trying to translate it so I gave up too. The import is something like "the sun has no meaning without darkness".

    Is it a tuning fork; an eating fork? Or maybe its a toasting fork: fight and you're toast or a toast to the fallen. Its all very confusing.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Dan's pad

    May 10, 2019 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Prince Danilo started the town of Danilovgrad would you believe. Surrounded by 1000m hills, on the banks of the River Zeta, in the middle Bjelopavlici valley, it would have been a beautiful setting had it still not been pouring with rain.
    Petar II Petrović Njegoš wanted it to replace the capital, Cetinje, but was trumped by the 1878 Congress of Berlin, which gave Montenegro possession of the far-grander cities of Nikšić, Podgorica and Bar.
    Despite being dumped, Danilovgrad has survived as a dormitory town for the capital, Podgorica, 18km away.
    This socialist realist monument featuring two lads and a staunch woman topped by a red star faces the river at the end of its main, pedestrian street, Ulica Baja Sekulića.
    I was impressed by the town cemetry at the other end of the street as every grave I could see had fresh flowers on it, supplied by one of the half a dozen flower stalls adjacent to it. These and two cafes appeared to be the only shops open.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Slightly unorthodox

    May 10, 2019 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 12 °C

    Continuing up the road to the mountain of Ostroška GredaI, I found the Ostrog monastery jammed in a crevice.
    Founded by Vasilije, the Bishop of Herzegovina and later known as St. Vasilije of Ostrog, whose body is kept in a box covered with cloth and guarded by a verger, ( that is a man on the verge of sleep,) inside one off the two remaining cave chapels. As I was being closely watched by a priest I did not dare to take any pictures: it was too dim in the candlelight and looked like a pile of laundry anyway. Despite appearances, word of the miraculous healing powers of his mortal remains spread far and wide, and the monastery become a center of pilgrimage not only for Orthodox Christians but Catholics and Muslims as well.
    Much of the present monastery dates from a 1923-1926 renovation after a fire. The monastery was seriously damaged in the blaze and has been rebuilt: luckily for the monks who don't have to live in damp and draughty cells.
    Nowadays there is a lower monestary as well, leaving the upper one to sightseers. Seeing a horde of people taking photos inside one chapel, and unable to enter, I held my camera up above their heads to see what was causing the excitement. An orthodox baptism I think.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Shkodër

    May 10, 2019 in Albania ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    Shkodër viewed across Lake Scutari.
    I had bit of lunch on the banks of the lake and saw these fish traps - still in use.
    There is a great deal of modern architecture being built around Albania - is it a reflex from the drab square blocks of 1960's "form follows function" that the Communist & Western nations liked? This is a new hotel just outside Shkodër with Rozafa Castle [ Kalaja Rozafes] in the background. It dates back to the 14th C. Built by three brothers,but in order for the castle to stand one of the brother needed to sacrifice his wife to be buried within the walls. The youngest brother's wife (Rozafa) agreed but asked for her right side to be left exposed so she could care for her infant son. An image of her feeding her baby is carved into the wall of the castle.
    Xhamia e Plumbt Mosque is known as the Lead Mosque because all of its cupolas were covered with lead.
    It was built in 1773 by the Albanian pasha Mehmed Bushati of the noble Bushati family, who was vizier of Pashalik of Scutari and thought this would give his city the staus of a capital. It is said that the mosque's edifice was built on land owned by the catholic church.
    Mehmed walked down the hill from Rozafa castle nearly everyday to get his hands dirty with the construction, no doubt to the irritation of the masons, and stones were incised under his direction.
    A mate of the Pashas, Haxhi Ahmet Misria, was appointed the first Imam of the mosque and being Egyptian, made lots of friends amongst the Montenegrins.
    In 1967, the Mosque was closed down, like most religious institutions, after the great leader Enver Hoxha declared Albania an atheist state. Unlike many mosques that were destroyed during this time, it survived as it had been declared a Cultural Monument in 1948.
    By peering in the windows I was able to see that the small, sitting room sized prayer hall was now being used again, although it does not seem to have been renovated in any way.
    I gave up searching for the archetypal Albanian peasant on a donkey cart: everybody working on the land seems to be driving these little carts instead.
    I also gave up trying to figure out whether I was in Bosnia, Serbia, Herzogovna, Albania or Montenegro as everyone seemed to be muddled about their nationality and country. Did you know that wars break out if you fail to differentiate between a Bosnian Serb and a Serbian Bosnian? Apparently it can.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Star struck

    May 10, 2019 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

    I went to Stari Bar hoping for a drink but instead found the original city of Bar. 4 km outside the current Bar, at the foot of Mount Rumija, on top of Lundža Hill , lie the ruins of old Stari Bar.
    Destroyed by the occupying Romans in the 3rd C, it was rebuilt by the Venetians, the Serbians, the Hungarians and the Ottoman Empire. The Montenegrans took it back from the Turks in 1877 by smashing the aquaduct supplying the city. (As you can see, it looks pretty vulnerable.)
    The 1979 earthquake further jumbled the ruins of the 240 buildings that used to fill the site.
    I paid my 1 Euro to walk around looking at individual remaining walls belonging to the old stone houses, fort, churches, a Turkish bath, town gates and the clock tower. There’s also the aqueduct which seems to be in better condition than anything else.
    Gradually the place is being rebuilt, or should I say reconstructed as the evidence suggests a healthy appreciation of the tourist income and the desire for Disneyland. The walk from the carpark to the entrance is lined with knick-knack stalls and restaurants, (but no bars,) - as it must have been during its working life so many years ago.
    Incidently, Montenegrans are amongst the tallest people in the world - yes, even taller than the Dutch. So much so that they are disproportionally represented on American basketball teams, where one stands 6ft 11" in his socks. Certainly many of the males I saw where well over 6ft.
    There again, that might be just a tall story.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Цетиње

    May 10, 2019 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Cetinje is an odd mix of capital cityand overgrown village, where single-storey cottages and mansions share the same street. Indeed, the main street, empty in the rain, ressembles a small market town and has an attractive feeling even in the rain.
    The city was founded in 1482 by Ivan Crnojević, the ruler of the Zeta state, after abandoning his previous capital near Lake Skadar, Žabljak Crnojevića, to the Ottomans. Cetinje was the capital of Montenegro until the country was subsumed into the first Yugoslavia in 1918. After WWII, when Montenegro became a republic within federal Yugoslavia, it passed the baton – somewhat reluctantly – to Titograd / Podgorica.
    Ambassadors appointed to the Royal Court, (a Grade 4 posting at best,) built the mansions - if that is the right word for middle-class 18th C town houses. The town lies in a valley at the base of the Lovcen mountain and is the base camp for numerous long hikes in the hills. Definitely worth coming back to do one some day.
    In 1864 the remains of the small, XV century church of the Birth of the Holy mother of Good, (probably they added an 'o' in enthusiasm,) were covered by a new one, not much larger. Vlachs Church, as it is now known for unexplained reasons, is famous for its establishment under canon law. The fence surrounding it was made from the barrels of guns confiscated in the wars against the Turks in 1858 and 1876 – 1878.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Afjordable holiday

    May 10, 2019 in Montenegro ⋅ 🌫 20 °C

    The Bay of Kotor, (Boka Kotorska or Bocche di Cattaro,known simply as Boka,) is an enclosed part of the Adriatic Sea in parts ressembling a Norwegian or NZ fjord, in fact the southernmost fjord in Europe and the deepest in the Mediterranean. I spent peaceful night camped on an isthmus outside the monestary of Miholjska Prevlaka by the unpronouncable town of Brda. The unalluring sound of nearby Sveti Marko put me off visiting the island in fear that it might prove maloderous.
    The bay is surrounded by well-preserved medieval towns such as Kotor, Risan, Tivat, Perast, Prčanj and Herceg Novi. The main road North crosses the bay at its narrowest point, (Verige Strait / 340m,) by the ferry linking Lepetane to Kamenari.
    Suddenly I miss Sarcelle, my old sailing boat.
    https://boka360.com/    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Standing up for himself

    May 10, 2019 in Montenegro ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Dukovic, a prominent not to mention upright resident of Herceg Novi, may have thought he was well endowed but I'm afraid he may have been deceiving himself as I couldn't even find it
    Herceg Novi was established as a fortress called Saint Stephen, (Castelnuovo,) in 1382 by Bosnian King Stephen Tvrtko I to facilitate and protect trade in salt and silk. Greek sources from the Vth C BCE record the existence previously of an Illyrian settlement, but traces of it are lost.
    ‘Herceg’ refers to Herceg (Duke) Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, who fortified the town in the 15th century.
    This statue of Bosnian King Tvrtko I is more than 5.5m high and weighs 1,2 tons. It was made in Zagreb by Serbian sculptor Dragan Dimitrijević who gave donated it to HN for the 631st anniversary of the town's foundation.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Diverting times

    May 10, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    One bridge along the coast road was being renovated; entailing a 1000m high diversion through tiny villages to cross the river. Along the way I came across this memorial to the partisans which is what one might expect to see all over ex-Yugoslavia, but doesn't.
    Nice view.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Splitting images of somewhere else

    May 10, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    The ferry to Vis, my next workaway, leaves from Split. Unlike Dubrovnik which has become a Game of Thrones theme park, Split is still a working town even though it has a Unesco World Heritage Site.
    Diocletian’s Palace was a huge complex rather like the Forbidden City in Beijing; little remains but the walls. I rather like the way the city has absorbed the ruins into itself without a great deal of fuss.
    Its dramatic coastal mountains act as the perfect backdrop to the turquoise waters of the Adriatic; and help divert attention from the dozens of shabby high-rise apartment blocks that fill its suburbs.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Port Vis-ions

    May 11, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Corinth had a colony in Sicily, Syracuse, whose tyrannical ruler Dionysius the Elder, founded his own colony Issa in the 4th century BCE to control shipping in the Adriatic Sea. Issa then established its own colonies, such as Aspálathos, (Split,) Epidauros (Stobreč), and Tragurion (Trogir). It was an independent polis until the 1st century BCE when it was conquered by the Roman Empire which had no use for it.
    "Issa" may have meant "spas" in Illyrian or maybe it was just the Pelasgian word for "island". Who cares?
    The well protected harbour of Vis, (the town,) lies in the Bay of Saint George (Uvala Svetog Jurja.)
    I had a quick snack by the old Roman theatre, now buried under a monestary, (closed of course,) then sped off to my next workaway.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Hosts

    May 20, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    My hosts are Filippo, an Italian from near Bologna, and Dayane who met him whilst at university there, having been born and raised in Split. After travelling around Europe selling their homemade, completely natural, traditional herbal remedies they decided to settle and start a retreat / yoga centre in a permaculture garden. Out of the blue an uncle offered them the use of an unused plot of land he owned in the centre of Vis that turned out to be ideally suited to their purpose. So for the last couple of years they have been engaging workawayers to help build a geodesic dome, a small house and the start of various gardens.
    During my stay I helped lay the fireplace stones, begin the flooring in the dome and begin a perimeter wall to support a stockproof fence, in this case to keep animals out rather than in.
    Any walk with Filippo through the countryside around their home took 5 times longer than necessary as he would stop at every different plant to explain what it was and its medicinal and culinary uses. His knowledge was matched by Dayane who spent large parts of the day wandering around collecting fresh food for dinner. It is no wonder they were vegetarians as we had delicious food for nothing! I found after a couple of weeks that I had not missed meat, at least not the hormone and antibiotic laden, machine killed meats found in supermarkets.
    Well, I confess to culinary thoughts about the numerous pheasants flying around but not having my Purdey's to hand I could not bag them.
    Also present were two of their friends from Italy, Andrea ( aka SKA,) and Monica . SKA is the overly tatooed man in the work photos and Monica is his slightly less tattoed consort. (Not surprising really, as she is the tatooist and he does piercings to earn their living.) They travel in a Mercedes 310 van with 4 fiercesome pit bull / something mongrels who are actually surprisingly timid and amiable.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Some advis

    May 21, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    As one might expect Vis - the island farthest from the Croatian mainland and only 60 kms from Italy - was inhabited in Neolithic times.
    The Greek tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius the Elder, founded the colony Issa on the island in 4 BCE in order to control shipping in the Adriatic. "Issa" is thought to have meant "spas" in Illyrian. As it prospered it became an independent polis, founding its own colonies, notably Aspálathos (modern Split), Epidauros (Stobreč), and Tragurion (Trogir). until eventually it became an "oppidum civium Romanorum" in 47 BCE.
    Until 1797, the island was under the rule of the Republic of Venice, remnants of this are traceable in the dialect of Komiža, (the second town on Vis situated on the West side,) as well as various buildings. In fact Italian was the official language and the island was called Lissa, until it came under the rule of the Austro-Hungarian empire in 1814, returning to Italy after WWI before being traded to the kingdom of Yugoslavia as part of the 1920 Treaty of Rapallo.
    During most of these times, the unconsulted islanders cultivated every square inch of the land for grapes, especially its own, vugava, a white varietal that makes a jolly nice sundowner. Stone terraces, abandoned since WWII, can be seen on every slope and large piles of surplus rocks are found at the end of every wall.
    Italians had control and built extensive bunkers all over the place at the start of WWII until Josip Broz Tito and his partisan broz took it over. One of the few tourist sites on the island is "Tito's cave", though it is more of a small cavern than a cave and nobody here thinks Tito ever visited it. Evelyn Waugh was an early tourist in July 1944, popping in with one Randolph Churchill as part of the British military mission to Yugoslavia and airbnbing with Joe. They crash landed on their return to Bari, but Boeing deny all culpability.
    Of course, Yugoslavia got it back in the end as nobody else wanted it and most of the islanders hopped it - to America mainly. They had a military base cut off from foreign visitors from the 1950s right up until 1989. As far as we could discover wandering through the hulks it was mainly a training and R&R camp - nothing particularly secret exept for the fact that Communists were enjoying themselves in the same way as Westerners.
    The benfit from all this is that the island has been spared the overdevelopment of its shoreline and the growing number of visitrs come precisely because of that. Unfortunately, the Croatian government gave permission for "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" to be filmed here a year ago which has drawn too many of the Wrong Sort to come over in skinfulls of alcohol and the mistaken impression that they can sing like Abba. The ferry ride can be excruciating.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    RetroVISion

    May 22, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Vis is proud that it was never occupied by German's during WWII.
    The stone house is the cover for ladder access into a huge tunnel system stretching at least a kilometre under the headland.
    Vehicle access is from the side of another tunnel, whose entrance is camouflaged by polystyrene rocks suspended on a net.
    Yet another tunnel from the sea is a submarine pen.
    As you can imagine, springing up fast are a number of "military tours" that will take you to all these attractions in the comfort of a Series III Land-Rover for a fee. One side benefit of workaway is being able to bypass this and go around with a local in a comfy car.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    DiVISion of labour

    May 25, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    The famous dome and illustrious workers.
    Admire the craftsmanship in the rough stone walls and the skill of fitting wooden floors to a sloping and not quite circular geodesic plan.
    And yes, my friend really is black and has no African blood. Many people are repulsed but I found him a well read and articulate traveller with a bit of a philosophic disposition. If my Italian was better we would have extended our chats through most of the working day, so its just as well it isn't.Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Unexpected VISitor

    May 28, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Lucky to have a visit from Nandalie for the last few days of my stay on Vis.
    She came over with a group of drunken women determined to 'Have A Good Time' whether on-key or off as they visited their modern shrines to Mamma Mia.
    Weather wasn't brilliant but we managed a trip to the B24 diving school, (named after a bomber lying in 60m of water,) so that she could freshen up her PADI Open Water cert. She was grateful for the 8mm neoprene wetsuit as it was pretty chilly.    Read more

  • Roland RoutierRenault RoamingTraveler

    Zadar

    May 30, 2019 in Croatia ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Brief visit to an old Liburnian settlement called Jadera and now Zadar whose boast is that having been settled in 9 BCE it is the oldest continuously inhabited town in Croatia. Unfortunately, the Allies bombed 75% of it flat during WWI but it has now been pieced back together and makes for a pleasant place to walk around.
    Unlike most of the places around here, the town managed to avoid being sacked during the Avar and Slavic invasions of Dalmatia (5–6 CE) and later Turkish attempts to incorporate it. It could not resist commercialisation though, being sold to the Venetians in 1409. The French breifly got their hands on it (1808 - 1813); otherwise from 1797 to 1920 it was Austrian followed by Italian and Yugoslavian.
    Brochures explain that there are 34 churches to see. I didn't.
    Instead I was captivated by the locals strolling about in traditional Croatian clothing. Actually, it seemed to be a competition between various folk clubs who danced, sang and chanted field songs on a stage in one of the squares. Mostly adolescents following an elderly leader.    Read more

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