Zadar Walkabout

Christianity sits atop Roman Walls and a Roman Forum

Zadar, Croatia, is an old place.  Understatement, that.  It was old when it was first named Zadar, but its history flows back into the Neolithic, or New Stone Age.  The Neolithic Era, as I'm sure you remember from Ancient History class, ranges from around 10,000 BC (or BCE for you revisionists) until the coming of the Bronze Age.  It's all about the tools, Baby!

Zadar as Ladar and the march of sandal-shod feet:  Liburnians, Illyrians, Romans, Oh My!  This region of the Adriatic was peopled with folks of Pre-Indo-European culture.  With the Liburnians it became know as Ladar.  Then Romans conquered the area and the settlement became Ladera, a Roman city and later a Roman Municipium.  As we know, empires come and empires go.  The Romans faded under the weight of their own divisions and strife, aided by the Goths and Visigoths.  For Zadar, there was an almost regular rhythm to the rise and fall of empire.  The Byzantium empire ruled, then the Franks (the barbarians that would become Charlemagne, Holy Roman Empire, France), and, for a bit, Zadar was ruled by Croats.  But tides come in and tides go out.  In 1202 Zadar was conquered and burned by the pesky Venetians who were aided by those God-fearing marauders and murders, the Crusaders.  Then came the Hungarian Kingdom, who ended up selling Zadar back to the Venetians.  Are you dizzy yet?

The flow of merchants and marauders, along with zealots and religions, continued to wash over Zadar.  Turks came banging up the Balkans from the Bosphorus, then the Venetians took over again.  After the fall of Venice due to the opening of Atlantic trade routes by the Portuguese (cause and effect, cause and effect) the Austro-Hungarian Empire took over and stayed more or less in power until the end of World War One.  When one treads upon the stones of Zadar, one is literally walking in, and on, time itself.

New Town from the Wall of Old Town

History does not negate the need for caffeine.  Imagine this:  There was no coffee in Europe before Christopher Columbus brought it back from the New World at the closing of the15th Century.  No coffee!!  And no hot chocolate either.  Bummer for those guys.  

We breakfasted in our cool little studio near the water, a repast of fruit and bread and cheese, washed down with tea.  This was all fine and well for a start, but there would be no walkabout without the proper chemical boost, and that would only come from a cafe' along the water.  I admit that it was somewhat later in the morning before the magic Kava had given me the will to explore that which needed to be explored.  Bodily needs properly attended to, it was time for a walkabout.

Who stacked those stones?

And so we wandered.  The Old City sits atop a small peninsula that is about two kilometers long and one kilometer wide.  There are a few narrow lanes that run the long axis of the town with even smaller passageways crossing the narrow width of the place.  Wander where you will without regard for the map, for you will only strike water or wall.  One of the things that I really like about the Old City is that it is not simply a Tourist Ghetto.  Scattered amongst the monuments and monasteries are modern apartments and even a University.  Local folks actually live and work inside the walls built by Venice.  

The tour groups were already out, oozing across the old forum like disjointed amoebae.  They grouped and regrouped around their leader, following the beacon of the tour guide's hoisted flag.  My Heart thought up the idea for an evil game, one that we will have to put in practice on our next trip.  The idea is simple and mischievous.   We will equip ourselves with small flags of various colors.  When we see a large tour group. we will hoist our own flag, a flag of the same color as theirs, and with it we will see how many of the tour group we can cull from the herd.  Then we will lead them a merry chase through the small passageways, only to furl our flag and scuttle into the shadows, leaving them leaderless and adrift.  Perfect, yes?

The Pillar of Shame, topped by the Lion of Saint Mark

During the Venetian rule, there was a simple method for dealing with folks who were naughty.  They malefactors were chained up to the pillar of shame and left to bake in the sun.  Like everything else in this town, it's one culture atop another, in this case literally.  The Lion of Saint Mark, very faded now, sits atop a surviving Roman column.  

My Zadarian Doppleganger

Stones and streets, lanes and passages, tour groups to dodge, and all was well.  A simple left or right turn down a tiny walkway was enough to secure peace and quiet.  There were crumbling piles of stone to discover, waterfront promenades to stroll, and the fun of the Sea Organ at the tip of the peninsula.  A clever architect built the Sea Organ along the stone walkway at the northwest tip of the city.  Pipes and chambers under the walkway are filled by the pulsing waves.  The force of the waves actually "plays" a giant pipe organ, the sounds of which are transmitted through ports in the walkway.  The resulting music is a cross between a very drunk organist and whales having an orgy.  Mesmerizing, as I am sure it was meant to be. 

There was another organ, the Bee Organ.  Zadar is a city of gardens and flowers.  The folks that live here are nuts for gardens.  Anywhere that people have a small plot of land, be it a walled backyard or a vacant lot, there are tilled gardens surmounted by olive and fig trees.  Verdant doesn't come close, but it's the best word I can call up.  Besides the tilled vegetable plots, the city is awash in roses, jasmine bushes, and flowering trees.  The fragrance of the jasmine is pervasive.  With the flowers come honey bees, droves of them.  We stood under one flowering tree in the old city and were serenaded by the sonorous hum of thousands of honey bees feeding on the overhead flowers.  Magic!

Old Town from New Town

Even a great walkabout requires sustenance from time to time.  We crossed the city harbor from Old Town to New Town via the walking bridge.  A trip to the bakery and a sunny bench was all we needed.  The early afternoon took care of itself as we sat and ate.  A good cigar, more sun, and all was well with the world.

The Tiny Old Harbor beneath the frowning Lion of Saint Mark

Every walkabout must come to an end, and this one did.  Hungry and tired, we ventured along the water under the outer walls, returning to the snug outer harbor and the main gate.  From here our feet turned homeward and our thoughts to real food.

Little Dead Fishes, Giving One the Strength to Carry On

Back at the wee apartment, we cleaned up and turned our tired feet towards dinner.  Our choice was a local place near our digs, a small restaurant outside the Old City.  It turned out to be a super friendly family run joint with great food.  Platters of little grilled sardines, wonderful appetizers, and shiksa were soon burdening the table as we did our best to unburden same.  A wonderful meal to cap off a wonderful day.  But we weren't done yet.

The late evening was spent on the flagstones of our miniature terrace, overlooking the grassy vacant lot next door.  My sharp-eyed Sweetie spotted a hedgehog rooting about in a pile of old vegetation near our wall.  We spent a good bit of time peering over the wall at our new friend, who was oblivious to our presence as it hunted for tasty grubs and slugs amongst the rotting verdure.  

It had been a fine first full day in Zadar, and happy we were to have chosen this for our Dalmatia base of operations.  For tonight we were done.  As always, be strong, be kind, and I bid you Ciao for Now!

Sources:

Wikipedia

and...

My many history teachers.  (wouldn't they be proud?)