24 September 2024 - Bar & Stari Bar

My birthday began with breakfast out at one of the beach-side cafes; a great treat. Later we took the local bus up into the hills behind the port of Bar, to visit Stari Bar, the earliest settlement in this part of the country.

Montenegro borders with Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Serbia and Albania. It is a very beautiful area, although the large port of Bar is an industrial area. Over the past few decades the country has experienced considerable turbulence, from earthquakes, political uncertainty and from knock on effects from the wars in this area. Most of the physical devastation has been repaired, making it more attractive as a visitor destination.



This morning a cruise liner was in the port and large numbers of people poured into the town. It was a surprise to us, as a lot of cruise ships go into the Gulf of Kotor, to the north of here. We can only speculate that there are so many such vessels these days that there just isn’t room for them all.

Stari Bar is an ancient fortress town, now somewhat dilapidated, but recognisable. As usual round here, it was founded by the Illyrians, occupied by the Venetians and the Turks. It was abandoned in 1878 following damage in the war between the Turks and the Montenegrins. Further explosions of ammunition, stored in two churches / mosques, in 1881 and 1912 completed it’s destruction. The views from this high vantage point were excellent. The dwellings leading up to the fortress now host cafes and tourist shops.







The views of the surrounding areas are commanding






The interior of the church at what was once a monastery

The aim is to make the site a cultural centre for teh arts, and there is this small theatre within

This was our first land excursion during this autumn trip and it was very pleasant. The bus was full of a mixture of tourists and locals, driven by the sort of very experienced driver at what seemed like F1 style. Holding on a good move.

We had supper on board. As expected, a spectacular electric storm started in the early evening, so we knew to literally batten down the hatches and stay in. The thunder and lightening was kicking off at rapid intervals long into the night, and we went to sleep with the sound of the rain hammering on the deck.

Distance today -           0 miles

Distance this year - 1432 miles 

Tricia (and Steve) 



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