day six - dubrovnik, croatia

We arrived in the Dubrovnik harbour before breakfast, anchoring at sea.  I lifted this picture of the city and harbour from  the Internet:

Rather a spectacular setting, isn't it?  Until the war broke out in 1991, Dubrovnik was one of the top international tourist destinations of Dalmatia, noted for its beautiful monuments, magnificent wall and welcoming atmosphere.  Founded in the 7th century, the city was ruled by the Romans, the Byzantines and the Venetians over the years.  In 1382 it became the Republic of Ragusa.  There was a serious earthquake in 1667, and much of the old town was rebuilt after that time.  More recently, Dubrovnik was the target of sustained, heavy bombing by Yugoslav troops from the autumn of 1991 until May, 1992.  During this time, over 2000 bombs and guided missles fell on Dubrovnik, and many of the most revered symbols of the Dalmatian culture were damaged.  The war also damaged the city's tourisit industry, which suffered a dramatic decline for 4 years.  UNESCO and the European Union set up a special commission for the reconstruction of the city and much of the damage has been repaired.  Today tourism  is flourishing in Dubrovnik.

We heard much of this information at a special Tauck presentation which began at 8:00am in the ship's theater.  The speaker was Pave Zuban Ruskovic, who had been president of Atlas Travel, a huge travel company in Croatia, and later the Croatian Minister of Tourism:

Mrs. Zuban Ruskovic spoke movingly about her experiences before, during and after the war of the 1990's.  At one point she was brought to tears, as were many in the audience.  The war became very real that morning.  She also spoke of the good things that were happening in Croatia now, including a satellite campus of the RIT Business School in Dubrovnik.  We spoke with her later, as she was seated next to us on the tender ride to the city, and she was most enthusiastic about the RIT program and what it means to the Croatian people.

When our group arrived at the citiy port, we began our guided tour by entering through the Ploce Gate, which dates from the 1300's.  Our first stop was the lovely Dominican Monastery:

The church was plain but beautiful, and featured some spectacular paintings, including a stunning gilded panel by Veneziano from the 14th century:

We exited onto a side street...

and made our way to the very busy Stradun, or main street.  Dubrovnik was almost as busy as Venice:

We got our bearings in the central square and looked up at the Church of St. Blaise, which was rebuilt in the early decades of the 18th century:

We then went to visit the Jewish synogogue, which was located in a small house down a side street.  I was surprised the synogogue was open to the public that day, as it was Yom Kippur.  The ceiling was striking:

There was a room dedicated to the Dubrovnik freedom fighters who were killed during the war of the early 1990's.  Picture after picture of young men lined the walls.  The names of members of the synogogue who died in the war were listed on a special plaque.  At least 5 had the same last name as the family that lived next door to the synogogue and were the caretakers of the building.

We then walked down the Stradun to the Big Fountain of Onofrio, just by the citiy ramparts.  Many in our group planned to walk the walls of the city, over a mile long and with many uneven steps and stairs.  Our knees cried out in protest and we decided to listen to them..

When we saw the 100+ steps going up, we knew we had made the right choice.  You can see the steps going up, with the Church of St. Saviour to the right.  Tiny little people are high up on the walls:

We walked back to the area near the port, where we first began, and visited the Rector's Palace.  This was the seat of government for the Republic of Ragusa, and was designed in the 15th century:

The Rector's Palace now houses the Cultural Historical Museum, which offers an overview of the city's history.  Of course, photos were not allowed inside, so I concentrated on the architecture:

We had a little gelato (!!) after the tour ended and returned to the ship.  Also anchored in the harbour was the Seabourn Spirit:

Later in the afternoon, Tauck presented the Mike Wallace documentary film, "The Death of Yugoslavia," in the ship's theater.  While well done, we walked out of there even more confused about the history of the area and complex issues that brought about the war.

We set sail later in the evening for Kotor, Montenegro.  We'll be visiting our third country of this trip tomorrow.