Day 73 The Old City of Bar

Saturday 02/06/02018 Apartment Miles UTJEHA - BUSAT, Utjeha, 85000, Montenegro

Today’s another day where the ocean looks unreal, as we poke our head out the door, cool breeze blowing until you stand in the sun... so different between the 2.....
We had another slow start become a habit... heading to the bay not far from us before we went to the old city was our first stop... It is a gorgeous bay, but only pebbles to lay on. Plus it has 2 quite nice camp grounds across the road from the beach... a few lovely little restaurants to sit and and watch the world go by... and of course people watch.... all women wear only bikinis, doesn’t matter what shape you are how many rolls you have a tummy hanging over the pants, Boobs swinging low, young or old if fact the older the more you do, you wear bikinis. No shame in bodies here... all the same apparently... mind you some look Ana ing others well, if in Aust you just most likely wouldn’t do it, we are very body conscious and I am one if the worse I know....

So I ordered a salty pan cake for breaky very late breaky it was 1130 by the time they cooked it... I thought they had forgotten, but like most Mediterranean type countries it’s in slow mode no rush, take it easy.... wow what an amazing flavour it is the best thing (I know I keep say this) but it really was the most amazing flavours on the tongue it delighted all my senses.... so simple but fantastic.... only could eat 1/4 of it and I was full.... but it was the best full I have had for ages...

Once we finished there we set off for the Stardie Bar which means Old Town... but before we made it to the old town we came across a church on the road there, so stopped to have a look, no sooner had I got in th crate when I was greeted by a gentleman , I am not sure if he is the care taker or priest. He couldn’t speak English but did know a few words, asked if we were American I told him no Australian he smiled, and said Brusbane I could for once so nearly....most ask straight away if it’s Melb or Sydney or Perth.... never Brisbane so I was surprised... he followed me in and around, not being able to exchange conversation was hard as I had questions. I did get him to tell me how old he wrote on a piece of paper built 1890... then he picked up a candle to ask if I would light it, I said no thank you I should have just done it... but not ever having done this ritual I wasn’t sure how to go about the whole thing.... I think he wanted a donation, in actual fact I didn’t take money in with me and John had run away... I felt bad I didn’t have anything to give, I only took a few pics as I didn’t want to seem like an intruder....
So back to the car and on we went, as you read below Old Bar has an unreal history, sadly it’s mainly in ruins but worth every uneasy step I took, I wore my sanders today not a good plan my silly old foot has no support in them I thought it would but it’s very wide at the grimy of them, meaning my foot has no support. In my boots which sadly are falling apart far too quickly they do give support...l so lesson learnt to have boots on uneven ground and cobblestones... This was an amazing place from start to finish... we spent ages wandering around the ruins and half built buildings, spotted a section of the main wall just leaning against another section with only a small amount of cement holding it together... John said it looked like it was cashed by an earthquake then we read a bit later it was but most likely the 1979 one, as it seems to have been the worst one recorded.....

Some if the views from on top of the citadel walls were breath taking, the valley was so far below, and you could see more ruins scattered down there as well..... the wild weed flowers looked so pretty sprinkled all over the ground, in cracks of rocks, up walls, just everywhere they added to its visual appeal as you wandered around... some of the buildings restored, like a chapel, they called it the palace but just a tall building, the Turkish baths really well done... up rocky uneven steps, to the sights we see below and around the city that once was... heading back down we came across a group restoring other sections of it, the money supporting the restoring, some comes from Turkey.... not sure who else supports.

We had to run the gauntlet going up to the old town, past heaps of little restaurants, gift ware, Oliver oil, and home made jams shops... all looking very tempting done up in different themes... but again I had my contestant companion watching what I spend.... however on the way back we did stop for lunch and again I had another simple meal of Bruschetta, so tasty 😋 it again tantalised the taste buds.. I can’t believe 2 in one day unreal.... The heat had been unreal while we wandered around the ruins, it must have been all the rocks drawing in the suns heat and radiating it out at us as we spent our time here... I was so thirsty I could stop drinking water and it wasn’t quenching my thirst... after having our lovely lunch wheee I filled up on orange juice freshly squeeze and a cup of tea, I finally felt like I had hydrated again... I am sure a John is a camel he hardly ever drinks water silly man, you have to remind him it s a good thing to keep hydrated.... once we had spent a good hour here relaxing and enjoying the scenery and cool breeze in the shade we headed off to our next destination.

That being the 2,243 yr old olive tree.... of course a fee to go in but who gets to see an olive tree this old... apparently it’s this particular breed of olive tree that extends its limbs and reshoots new babies if it’s side... I felt all the other ones were as interesting, turns out they are over 800 yrs old... so like the ones yesterday at Ulcinj, they to would have been as old if not older after looking at the trunks here....

We came home had a kip then walked down to the ocean for a swim, being Saturday it was very busy down there getting a spot to dip in was a bit of a challenge, we ended up back at the same one as the other day... oh well maybe something different next time... we were down there for about an 1.30hr the sun was still pretty high, still very hot even at this time which was 6.30pm.... after a recharge in the cool waters we headed back I started dinner was about to cook the fish when Mila’s son and daughter in law knocked in the door, with a bottle of Rakia... John not wanting to offend but couldn’t do it all over again, said he would just have one, informing them that he didn’t fare well after the episode with his father... they were great about it..Turns out your not to have Rakia like a spotter it is meant to be drunk slowly, that’s where we went wrong it would see,, having them like a shooter... Mila must have thought we were greedy downing his drink so fast.... no wonder John got so sick...we talked for ages they came about 8pm and didn’t leave until 1030, we didn’t finish dinner until 1130, so was well and truly after midnight when we went to bed, big day... these Montenegrins know how to talk and party it would seem.... a great night and a great day....

Below is taken from some google facts about it!
Old Town Bar is one of those magical places where modern residents live in the shadow of Turkish baths, Roman aqueducts and a citadel where the first stones were laid over 1000 years ago. The Montenegrin government has been pursuing an ambitious project to completely restore Old Town Bar and make it into a living museum, and this emphasizes the important the Old Town Bar has on local Montenegrin tourism, and also as a cultural, religious, and historical icon for the entire nation. Other notable landmarks in Old Town Bar include the ruins of King Nicola’s castle, Haj Nehaj fortress, and Saint Veneranda church. Also worth investigating in Old Town Bar: the Bishop’s palace, the ancient walls, and the gunpowder store. The Old Town Bar’s cobbled streets, are very interesting to say the least, but they are also. Dry slippery from all the years of many feet wearing them smooth... On the highest point near the Citadel you can feel the ages spread out beneath you and you can almost imagine the caravans which winded their way along the old road from Lake Skadar, through the ravines cut deep into Rumija mountain where ancient olive groves, some with 2000 year old trees, still lend their fruits to Bar’s excellent olive oil. Stari Bar as it’s also called (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Стари Бар, Italian: Antivari Vecchia, Albanian: Tivar i Vjetër), meaning Old Bar, is a small town in Montenegro. It is located inland, a few miles from the new city of Bar, resting on Londša hill, at the foot of Mount Rumija. According to the 2003 census, the town has a population of 1,864 people.
In the Early Middle Ages, Antivari (Latin: Antibarium) remained a subject of the Byzantine Empire, as part of the Theme of Dyrrhacium. Stefan Vojislav, incorporated it into his state in c. 1040, and his family till 1090, after which it became part of the medieval Serbian state culminating in the Empire under the Nemanjić dynasty. It was briefly annexed by the Republic of Venice. About 1360, the Balšić family of Zeta gained control of Bar as the Serbian Empire crumbled, after which Louis I of Hungary controlled Bar briefly before it was annexed by Venice again in 1443. Bar remained under the rule of Venice until it was taken by the Ottoman Empire in 1571 as part of the Ottoman expansion into Europe. On 13 November 1877, during the Montenegrin–Ottoman War (1876–78), the town was besieged by forces under the command of Mašo Vrbica. The defenses of the town were in the hands of Ibrahim Bey, who refused to surrender the town despite the Montenegrin heavy artillery bombardment, consisting of four Russian guns, and six Ottoman guns that had been seized at the Battle of Nikšić. The bombardment lasted over seven weeks and much of the town was destroyed. On 5 January 1878, the Montenegrins detonated a 225 kg explosive inside the Bar Aqueduct which cut off the town's water supply. Ibrahim Bey surrendered the town on 9 January. The Bar peninsula and the town were awarded to the newly recognized Principality of Montenegro at the Congress of Berlin (1878). After the 1979 Montenegro earthquake destroyed the aqueduct that supplied water to the town, the location was abandoned, and the new town of Bar constructed on the coast at the old port facilities. After the aqueduct was restored some years later, people began to returnBaca lagi