Our Lady of the Rocks

Posted on by John Ferebee

This church is accessible by boat from several locations in Boka Bay.  We used the Perast Marina.  

The story is on July 22, 1452: two sailors, returning to Perast from a difficult voyage, discovered an icon of the Madonna and Child resting on a rock in a shallow part of the Bay. Considering the find a miracle, they vowed to build a church on the spot. The sailors dropped stones around the spot where the icon was found, slowly creating an islet and building a small chapel. It soon became a tradition for sailors to drop stones in the water around the chapel before a voyage, to contribute to the strength of its foundations and to ask the Virgin Mother to bring them safely home.

Our Lady of the Rocks, Boka Bay

Entering Old Town Dubrovnik

Posted on by John Ferebee

Dubrovnik Old Town Port is in the eastern part of Dubrovnik City. Old Dubrovnik Port is protected by breakwater Porporela in front of St. John fortress and Kaše breakwater. The smaller cruise ships anchor outside this port and bring you ashore in tenders.  The red “boat” that you partially see on the right is the tender that brought us in.

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Ston

Image posted on by John Ferebee

Ston is an hour’s drive from Dubrovnik on the Pelješac Peninsula. It’s best known for salt works, farmed mussels, and a wall which is the longest defensive structure in Europe; they are sometimes referred to as the ‘European Walls of China”.  The parapet show here is where the wall starts and proceeds for another 3.1 miles.

Fortica

Posted on by John Ferebee

In the center top you can see Fortica.  The Byzantines built a citadel here in the 6th century, and the Venetians began construction of the present fortress in 1278. It was strengthened in 1551, which may have saved the lives of Hvar’s population, who sheltered here in 1571 when the Turks sacked their town. The Austrians renovated it in the 19th century, adding barracks. Inside there’s a collection of ancient amphorae recovered from the seabed, and a terrace cafe.

Hvar, Croatia

The Sun of Zadar

Posted on by John Ferebee

The large blue circle in the center of the photo is the Sun and is part of a to-scale representation of the Solar System on the Riva in Zadar, Croatia. The display begins far back on the promenade that runs along the Adriatic Sea. Furthest from the Sun is Pluto, represented by a small disc, followed by Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and Jupiter. After another stretch of empty space, Mars, Earth, and Venus appear as tiny specs in comparison to the massive sun. Each panel is also a solar cell that generates electricity for the city.