Lion of Venice gate into Zadar 's old city |
Zadar's cathdral |
Alfred Hitchcock thought the sunset in the ancient
city of Zadar was the most beautiful in the world. With crystal clear waters and numerous
islands off its coast, Zadar is certainly scenic but it is also very historic. Zadar is
3,000 years old and the 5th
largest city in Croatia. Zagreb, the capital, is the largest.
The city gates and walls around Zadar's medieval center were built when the land was part of the Roman Empire. Numerous ruins and
monuments from that period
remain. More recent additions to the old
city are the University of Zadar, a wide walkway around the city and a water
organ. It is an interesting and lovely town to walk around. We also enjoyed a ferry ride across to the island of Preko.
Undoubtedly, the most serene place we stayed was Rogoznica. Our residence was at the water's edge with a large balcony to enjoy the view. Since the building was not yet full, the owners kindly upgraded us from a studio to a 2 bedroom apartment. It was about a 15 minute walk on a gravel path along the sea into town which is known for having one of the safest, most sheltered bays on the Adriatic.
Church of St. Donat 9th century |
Ron on the steps of the water organ |
The city gates and walls around Zadar's medieval center were built when the land was part of the Roman Empire. Numerous ruins and
Roman ruins |
Rogoznica |
Our apartment building in Rogoznica |
View from our balcony in Rogoznica |
The bay of Maraska |
Baroque church in Maraska town center |
Our hotel in Maraska beside the promenade and beach |
Continuing south along the coastline, we came to one of Croatia's most popular vacation areas, the Maraska Riviera, a 38 mile stretch of small towns and nice beaches.
The town of Makarska is in
Clock tower in Trogir |
Trogir's fortress |
Lookout tower Trogir |
Our apartment building in Trogir |
View from our apartment in Trogir |
From Trogir, a pleasant one hour boat ride took us to Spit, Croatia's second largest city.
One of the gates into Palace complex |
Central courtyard of Diocletian's Palace |
15BC Egyptian sphinx at the Palace courtyard |
The bell tower of St Duje Cathedral |
The main draw here is Diocletian’s Palace, also a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Emperor Diocletian chose the land beside Split's harbor for the construction of his retirement home. Begun in 293 and completed 10 years later, it was actually a small city.
The Cathedral of St. Duje was built in the 13th century and stands next to the original site of the emperor's mausoleum. On the other side is a black granite sphinx that Diocletian brought back from conquests in Egypt.
Now we head inland to visit two of Croatia's national parks.
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