Nestled along the southernmost region of the Republic of Croatia lies one of the Mediterranean's best kept destination secrets: Dubrovnik. Called "the Pearl of the Adriatic" by the poet Lord Byron, the city is rich in history and natural beauty. With bays, beaches, steep cliffs and dense woodland areas, Dubrovnik's landscape is beautiful and unexpected.
Our early morning first glimpse of the modern part of the city of Dubrovnik (taken from our ship balcony).
At the dock we met our guide and proceeded to pass through Old Town's stone walls where you are transported into the breathtaking medieval world of "Stari Grad" (old town). Marble-paved squares, monasteries and fountains are just a few of the antiquities still standing just as they were over a thousand years ago. The City Walls are among Europe's finest and most complete.
The walls of Dubrovnik are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the citizens of the afterward proclaimed maritime city-state of Dubrovnik, situation in southern Croatia, since the city's founding prior to the 7th century as a Byzantium castrum on a rocky island. With numerous additions and modifications throughout their history, they have been considered to be among the great fortification systems of the Middle Ages, as they were never breached by a hostile army during this time period. The walls run an uninterrupted course of approximately 6,360 feet in length, encircling most of the old city, and reach a maximum height of about 82 feet. The walls were reinforced by three circular and 14 quadrangular towers.
Next, we boarded the van for the climb away from the coastline.
In the next pictures you can see the sea and the city below us.
A short stop took us by a church
and along a street where some shops were open. Note the umbrella and the wet pavement.
Back in the van we passed some beautiful bougainvillea
before we parked to see more of the Old City buildings and the wall.
We visited the Holy Annunciation Orthodox church, a Serbian Orthodox church located inside the wall. It was built in 1877 and sustained damage from bombing during the Siege of Dubrovnik.
The pictures below are from the inside of this church.
Outside, notice the people gathered in the street.
And the narrow passageway.
The umbrellas indicate the weather conditions.
Our plans for the remainder of this excursion were to walk the wall of Dubrovnik, one of the most popular attractions of Dubrovnik. Because of the weather conditions with rain having started mid-morning and still coming down 2 hours after noon we followed the advice of our guide and decided that with the stone wall being so wet and slick, we would need to return to Dubrovnik on another occasion for this walk the wall event.
So, we returned to the ship and later snapped these pictures of the beautiful red roofs of the buildings as we departed that evening.
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