YUGOSLAVIA - JUNE 1980 - V

DUBROVNIK - THE "PEARL OF THE ADRIATIC"

CROATIA

From an important Mediterranean sea power (13th century onwards) to a World Heritage Site! Being a prominent tourist resort, you should probably avoid the Italian Summer Cruise Season, in case you wish to visit the worth seeing old Ragusa town...


"Come in from land through the Pile Gate. Dating from 1537, this gate once housed the drawbridge that was raised every evening. The gate was then closed and the key handed to the Prince"


"Saint Saviour Church and Onofrio fountain"



"Placa (Stradun) - The main street in the old town; view towards the clock tower and towards Saint Saviour Church"



"The Sponza palace with its arcades"


"Got to the port"



"The port, source of medieval power, source of modern euros from the tender boats"


"Time to rest"


"The Magistrale Adriatica cuts the hill"



"Old and narrow sreets in the old town"


"You'll need some food after all these tours - Restaurant Jadran"



"Goodbye Yugoslavia"

YUGOSLAVIA - JUNE 1980 - I

REQUIEM FOR... A COUNTRY (?)

Keeping together six Republics (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia - with the autonomous regions of Vojvodina and Kosovo -, and Slovenia), with three official languages (Serbo-croat, Slovenian and Macedonian), three main religions (Orthodoxs, Catholics, and Muslims), two alpabeths (Roman and Cyrillic), and many ethnic groups (Serbs, Croats, Muslims, Slovenes, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Albanians, Hungarians, and others) was not an easy task. Created after World War I as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, changed its name to Yugoslavia - Land of the southern Slavs - in 1929, and survived until World War II. Recreated in 1945, it finally lasted until 1991!

FROM DUBROVNIK (CROATIA) TO MOSTAR (BOSNIA)

CROATIA


"DUBROVNIK - Aerial view"


"DUBROVNIK - Bay of Gruz"


"MAGISTRALE ADRIATICA - Peljesac"

***

BOSNIA and HERZRGOVINA


"POCITELJ - A picturesque little town perched on a hillside above the Neretva River"


"POCITELJ - The ancient fortress"



"MOSTAR - The Old Bridge, built in 1565 by the architecht Mimar Hajrudin, by order from Emperor Suleiman, the Magnificent, was destroyed on November 9th, 1993. Rebuilt, it was recently listed as World Heritage Site, not without some controversy on the quality of the reconstruction"


"MOSTAR - Riverside view"


"MOSTAR - One of the Mosques"


"MOSTAR - View from the new bridge"