Mare Nostrum

We were not expecting much from the city of Dubrovnik in Croatia. How surprised we were! I had heard that there were some buildings here from the ninth century. I did not realize that the whole ninth-century town is still intact behind the original walls. The main churches are those of St. Mary and St. Blaise, the patron of Dubrovnik. He miraculously repelled a Turkish invasion. A seventh-century wall around the old harbor leads to the church of St. John. Although we had few expectations of Dubrovnik, the fact that the old city is clean, whole and intact impressed me. One shopkeeper excoriated a man who allowed his dog to foul the street. Dubrovnik has recovered from the artillery shelling it endured in the Serbo-Croatian War in 1994. The main street and the palace of the Rector of the old Republic of Raguza were very impressive.Läs mer