Woolly says – With mere seconds to spare I climbed abroad the bus leaving Jo and Zoe to sort out the baggage, well I mean I had a seat and I’m sure one of them could stand for the fairly short journey to Kotor!
He’s all heart! Having moved him up we all managed to squeeze in and a mere forty minutes later we were stepping down into our next new town.
Woolly says – History time…..why do my students always sigh like that when I start my daily lecture?!!!! Ignoring the sighs I began…..The Mediterranean port of Kotor is surrounded by fortifications built during the Venetian period, so lots of castles for me to look at! Located on the Bay of Kotor which is one of the most indented parts of the Adriatic Sea, known as a ria, or submerged river canyon.
The city was first mentioned in 168 BC and has had settlers there since Roman times. Fortified since the early Middle Ages when Emperor Justinian built a fortress in 535 after expelling the Ostrogoths ….I’ve met a few Goths in my time! In 840 the city was plundered by the Saracens and became one of the more influential Dalmatian city states of the Illyrians during their reign. In 1002 the city suffered damage under the occupation of the First Bulgarian Empire and in the following year it was taken by Serbia. From the 14th Century the Venetian’s were in power until like so many other places they had a visit form the Ottomans. There luck really wasn’t in with a plague in 1572 and earthquakes in 1563, 1667 and 1979.
The furry teacher continued to talk as we hoisted our backpacks and walked in the direction the bus driver had told us to, before stopping to ask again when we were pointed back in the direction from which we had come….he continued his lesson!
Woolly says – They seemed to have lost focus on what I was saying and as I heard shouts of glee I gathered we had arrived at our base camp. Having plonked our belongings I was eager to get started, especially given the weather forecast for the day. Crossing under the the Gurdic Gate, one of the three that allow access to the city, I immediately heard the oohing and arrhing from the women as they took in the small streets and tall venetian buildings, arriving in St Triphon’s Square it seemed sensible to have a snack before the sight seeing started in earnest. Having feasted on egg, chips and sausage we enjoyed watching the tourists snapping away at the Cathedral of the same name which was consecrated in the 12th century but reconstructed after several earthquakes, when the entire frontage was destroyed in 1667 and when the baroque bell towers were added.
Having wiped the yolk from his front and the mayonnaise from behind his ears we took the lull in visitors to head through the doors to look around.
Woolly says – Quite modern inside they had some lovely features including lots and lots of silver wear, I wondered if I could convince Jo to slip some into her bag! Upstairs we had the opportunity to admire even more silver and to look out over the square itself before being nearly deafened by the ringing of the bells above our heads. Before my tusks could shatter in the din I led the way back outside and set off through the tiny streets to see what was next.
Hiding in a small side street we had a quick peep into the minute Montenegrin Orthodox Church before arriving in front of St Mary’s Church. St Mary’s Collegiate Church was built in 1221 on the site of a 6th-century basilica and is famous for two things: The impressive 20th-century bronze doors which are covered in bas-reliefs, which looked pretty cool and it’s gruesome larger-than-life crucifix under which lay a glass coffin containing the body of Blessed Osanna of Cattaro (1493 – 1565). She was what is known as an anchoress, and choose to be walled into a small cell attached to a church so as to devote her life to prayer. We stood studying this strange apparition before the three of us shuddered as one and turned to beat a hasty retreat.
Not the usual holiday picture but she will certainly be remembered!
Woolly says – By this point I had started to wonder why Jo kept taking pictures of stray cats….I mean she has her moments but we see cats everywhere we go! Having found our way to the River Gate and taken a few shots of the beautiful water I led the way towards St Nicholas, a Serbian Orthodox Church,
which is one of the more recently built having only been constructed in 1909, a lovely array of gold and silver pictures greeted us along with the smell of what seemed to be wood smoke, the tranquilly there made us all quiet as I sat and looked at the biggest paintings I have ever seen that depicted the apostles, Mathew, Mark, Luke and John…not that I could tell which was which but they were BIG! Across the square was the next church on the epic list to pursue. Constructed in 1195 as a Catholic church it is one of the oldest in the city, from 1657 until 1812 a Catholic and Orthodox altar stood side by side with each faith taking turns to hold services here. It was then gifted to the Orthodox Church, as we entered I admired the remaining fragments of the 12th-century frescoes before staring in glee at the wonderfully painted iconostases, a 17th-century one before seeing a small side room where even better delights met my eyes. The art work was superb and I felt rather humble as I stood appreciating the fine work that had been painted so many centuries ago.
Starting to feel a little churched out a snack and a break seemed to be in order and as we entered yet another square I chuckled at Woolly’s face as he came face to face with the Cat Museum.
Woolly says – Ok call me stupid…..that doesn’t mean you can but why on earth do they have a cat museum?
For centuries Kotor was a busy trading port – the exact history of the town is unknown but this ancient city is believed to be as old as the sea trade in the Adriatic. With those ships came cats from all around the world, many of them got left behind and today the place not only has a very large kitty population it has a very multicultural one!
Woolly says – Hmmm well there not sharing my snack! Having spent all of ten minutes in the small museum I had access to cats of long ago famous people, cat cards,, cat books and cats through the wars……I’m sure a mammoth museum would be far more interesting! Having dragged the two cat lovers out we set off once more, we found ourselves in what I hoped would be the last church of the day! The Franciscan church of St. Clara was originally built in the 14th century and then reconstructed several times, the last time in the 17th century. As I plodded inside I was rather taken aback with the severe but beautiful Baroque altar which was the work of Venetian sculptor Francesco Cabianca who designed it in 1708, not really my style but more worryingly I could hear Zoe videoing and saying the words ‘don’t blink’…….the weeping angles of Dr Who had seemingly found a home here!
Before anything untoward could happen to me I picked up my pace and scurried past the 17th century clock tower just as the heavens opened and it became a necessity to seek shelter under one of the many café umbrellas. Having licked ice cream off as much as my fur as I could and undergone the wet wipe treatment from Jo I looked high above our heads to the walls that had once protected the city, with the hope that tomorrows weather wouldn’t mean a soaking as we checked them out!