Dubrovnik
The “Yugo” wind was blowing in from the south churning up the waters of the old port, so we anchored in the new port of Gruz and took a bus to Ploce Gate to begin our walking tour of Dubrovnik; the city Byron called “The Pearl of the Adriatic.”
Dubrovnik started out as a settlement to the south of its present location in Cavtat (Epidarium), first settled by Illyrians and then used by the Greeks as a trading outpost, and still later by the Romans. In the 7th century the inhabitants resettled on the rocky promontory of what is now the Old Town, either because of the influx of Slavic tribes or because of an earthquake (depending upon which source you choose to rely). The original name of Dubrovnik is Ragusa (possibly from the Greek word lausa 'rock'). The wide street Stradun separated the nobility from the commoners who lived up the slopes of Mt. Srdj. The current name Dubrovnik comes from the Slavic word dubrava 'oak' since the hills were covered with oak trees until the Venetians cut them down to use for ship building. Since the 13th century until the arrival of Napoleon's troops in 1808, Dubrovnik managed to maintain its status as an independent city-state through shrewd negotiations with the Byzantine, Venetian and Ottoman Empires. One salient mark of this independence is the noticeable lack of the Venetian lion, which we saw everywhere in Hvar and Korèula, as well as its slogan “Libertas” (“Freedom”). Instead of the lion of St. Mark, St. Blaise is everywhere cradling the city in the palm of his hand.
We began our tour in front of the Cathedral of St. Blaise, the city's patron saint while our guides Emanuel and Paolo introduced us to the city of Dubrovnik. We then strolled leisurely down the Stradun while admiring the narrow alleys that ran up the hill. At the Pile gate we entered the Franciscan monastery, which houses the third oldest operating pharmacy in Europe and which makes its own face creams from rose, rosemary and lavender oils. The museum has an impressive collection of old pharmaceutical equipment, relics, ex votive jewelry as well as paintings and a selection of books from the monastery's library. Next were the walls that have surrounded and protected Dubrovnik for centuries. The views to the sea and the island of Lokrum (where Richard the Lion-Hearted was said to have been shipwrecked) were stunning. The intermingling of old and new roof tiles in the Old Town bore witness to the extent of damage done during the bombing of Sarajevo by the Yugoslav Army. During pauses in the bombing citizens would rush out into the street to collect surviving tiles and stone in order to reconstruct the city out of original material as much as possible. Indeed this UNESCO protected city is a symbol of the independence of its people. In the remaining free time we explored the farmers’ market, local shops and sat in cafes to simply people watch.
We returned to the ship for lunch followed by Grace Fielder's presentation “Language and Identity: The Language formerly known as Serbo-Croatian.” At 4:30 we returned to the Old Town for a special klapa concert in the Dominican Convent. Klapa is a traditional Dalmatian style of acapella singing, and the Klapa Ostro is an award-winning group whose exquisite harmonies are quite unique. In the quiet courtyard of the cloister we were transported to an earlier time. Following the concert most passengers returned to the ship for dinner while others opted to remain in town to try some of the local restaurants and Dalmatian specialties such as black risotto and mussels buzara.
