Dubrovnik, Croatia
The entrance into Dubrovnik's old port was breathtaking: the famous walls of the old town were bathed in sunlight. Tenders took us to the harbor and our guides Danijela and Nikolena began our walking tour of the old town. It was early in the morning and the city was just waking up. Later it would become more crowded with day trippers, but right now Stari Grad was all ours.
The Rector's Palace served as our introduction to the politics of Dubrovnik, which was heavily influenced by Venetian rule. A new rector was elected every month and sequestered in the palace so that he could rule without undue influence from the population. Since the 13th century until Napoleon took over the city, Dubrovnik had been more or less an independent city-state by negotiating special deals with the Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman empires. The city motto is “Libertas” and the citizens today take pride in being Dubrovnik residents first and Croatians second. The name Dubrovnik originates from the Slavic word for oak, since the hillsides were covered with oak trees (long since cut down for ship construction by the Venetians). The original name was Ragusa (probably from the Greek word lagusa 'rock') and was originally settled as a Greek trading colony.
After an orientation we headed down some side streets (shading us from the already hot sun) into the square of the farmers market where we could sample candied citrus peel, caramel olives and dried figs. Numerous venders had everything for sale, from tiny spring artichokes to giant red tomatoes bursting with flavor. Olive oil and olive oil soap, as well as emollients, were for sale and the whole square was aromatic with the smells of the Dalmatian coast.
We then walked to Stradun, the main street separating the city from the flat promontory where the nobles had their palaces and the smaller residences on the hillside where the commoners lived. On the buildings, instead of the lion of Venice, was the city's patron saint Blaise (Sveti Vlaho). We then visited the Franciscan monastery which is home to the third oldest operating pharmacy in Europe. The museum is a treasure trove of religious art, votive jewelry and vestments from the city as well as the original pharmaceutical equipment from the old pharmacy. In the new pharmacy one can still purchase face creams made from original recipes combining olive oil with essential oils of rose, lavender and rosemary as well as the usual array of modern medicines.
Exiting the monastery, we stopped at St. Onofrio's Fountain which served as the city's main water supply. It was time to climb the famous walls of Dubrovnik. Some opted to continue exploring the town with its cafes and shops. The more intrepid were rewarded with the refreshing sea breeze and fantastic panoramic views of both the harbor and the old town. From the walls we could see the mixture of new and old clay tiles that bear witness to the bombing by the Yugoslav army in the early 90s. In between bomb raids, residents would run out into the street and collect the old tiles so that they could be used in the reconstruction of the city. There is still evidence of damage from the seige, but the restoration work is magnificent. The walk along the walls also reveals Dubrovnik as a fully functional modern city with schools, private gardens and, of course, colorful laundry. Photographers had the opportunity to shoot the Panorama anchored off of Lokrum Island, where it is said that Richard the Lion-Hearted was marooned on his way back from the Crusades.
After free time wandering the city we had the choice of taking tenders back to the ship or staying in town for lunch and then returning for Grace Fielder's presentation “Language and Identity: the language formerly known as Serbo-Croatian.” After the talk we returned to the city and the Dominican convent for a private concert by “Ostrov Konavle,” an amateur but highly talented klapa group. “Klapa” is a traditional Dalmatian a capella music form. This group of young men perform exquisite love songs from the medieval times as well as some more recent songs using mandolins.
Again there were choices to be made: whether to return to the ship for dinner or stay in town and participate in a workshop on night photography with Sharon. An unexpected pleasure was to stumble upon the klapa group sitting on the stairs in a cafe and spontaneously singing just for the pure joy of it. The ride back to the Panorama was magical, with the city of Dubrovnik lit up and the sky full of stars.
