The Islands of Mljet & Korcula
Waking up anchored in front of the island of Mljet this morning was out of this world. The weather was perfect and we were ready to explore the mystical place where Odysseus spent seven years with Calypso enjoying nature. Who could blame them?
The path took us to the lakes from where we took a short boat ride to the small island of Sveta Marija (St Mary). It was still morning and the smell of pines and oaks was surrounding us, mixed with the smell of perfectly clean sea water. When we arrived to the island, we visited Benedictine monastery and the church from the 12th century. It is a unique monument of Romanesque architecture in Croatia finally returned to the ownership of bishopric in 1998.
Behind the walls of the monastery, the monks were writing books under candle light for centuries with the writing kit they produced…This was a true treasury of art and books until the monastery was closed at the beginning of 19th century. Unfortunately, almost nothing was preserved until today.
After lunch we were already docked in front of the old town of Korcula, the old city of seaman, shipbuilders and the best stonemasons in Dalmatia. On this island one could enjoy probably the best white wine in the region, famous Posip from Korcula, and Plavac, red wine from neighbor Peljesac peninsula.
Like proper Dalmatians we took a siesta after lunch and then went to explore the narrow streets of this charming town. The afternoon Maestral was circulating through the fish bone shaped streets of the city. The old people of Korcula knew that and they knew how to make their lives easier just using the forces of nature and adopting the architecture to them.
The history of Korcula is quite fascinating and two epic battles took place in front of the walls of the city. One was the battle of Venice and Genoa, in the 13th century, when Genoa was victorious and Marco Polo, the famous traveler was captured and taken to prison in Genoa. The locals are very proud of the possibility that Polo could be a native Korculan! The other battle was when the Turkish fleet, led by vicious Uluz-Ali, attemped to take over the city. The defence of Korcula was already getting very weak and then a miracle happened. One more time the wind was crucial for this town. Northern wind, Bura, scared away the fleet that was crashing on the stones in front of the city.
During our walk we visited the cathedral of St. Marcus, the Bishops court and the Church of All Saints with all the beautiful pieces of art collected there for centuries. Korcula town has 17 churches and considering the size of the town it is quite a fascinating number.
Our walk ended at the summer cinema where we enjoyed Moreska sword dance. Like any other time, the performance was intense and we even saw sparks from swords at one point! That was the reminder of glorious days when this small town defended from the powerful ottoman fleets with a lot of courage, a big heart and a little help of an old friend… the Wind.
