Zadar, Croatia November 30, 2010.

Diocletian who built a palace in Split was responsible for dividing the empire in half. All of western Europe became the Roman Empire. Eastern Europe became the Byzantine Empire. The eastern empire was subjected to invasions from the Visigoths, Huns and Lombard warriors. When the Romans left, the Croats and Slavs moved south below the Carpathians in the mid 7th century.The Slavs of the Western Balkans were divided into 2 groups: the Croats of Pannonia and Dalmatia, and the Serbs of Central Balkans by the 8th century. They joined together but each had their own dukes. The Croats always had to fight off the Serbs, Huns, Venitians, Ottomans, Haspbergs,and Mongols. At the end of the 11th century, Hungary invaded and ended the Croatian king rule. It was renamed Pannonia- Slavonia. By 1107 they included the Dalmatian coast also. All of this land was coveted by the Hungarians because they were a landlocked country.
For 800 years Venice tried to capture all of the Croatian islands and denuded them of their forests for their shipbuilding. They refused to allow the Croats to build or sell any ships and they took their figs, olives, olive oil, wine and salt to be sold cheaply. Therefore, they made the Croats very poor. Croatia is known to have the best salt in all of the Mediterranean area and their ships were of the finest quality. On the island of Pag they produce the best cheese in the world. They won an award worldwide for this cheese which is made from free range
sheep. The flavor is unusual because of the salt infused herbs the sheep eat. The houses are all stones that are cut to fit together exactly like a puzzle with red tile roofs. Zadar was called Zada in the Roman times. In 1991, the Serbs placed mines all over the town.Q
Zada became a walled town in the 16th century. They are a UNESCO site for their "Greetings to the Sun" and the " Sea Organ". The Greetings to the Sun is a huge solar panel to represent the sun, set in the concrete on their seaside surrounded by the planets and engraved with the saints names all around it's circumference. The Sea Organ is a set of pipes similar to a pipe organ's pipes and placed under water at the seaside. When the tide comes in and goes out, the pipes sing a song. The Romans laid out the streets and they remain the same today. There is a basilica here, a cathedral to Saint Anastasia, with huge concrete or stone cisterns where they stored their olive oil in the past centuries. They do not have a tower but a round building which is empty now because Napoleon used it as a barracks for his gunpowder. When they built the cathedral they saved the Roman forum colums to use as the foundation for the church. In 1203 Zada was destroyed by the Crusaders. Now the church has 2 crosses on top and is a Greek Orthodox church. Only 3 original buildings still stand because the city was bombed by the Allies and British during WWII.
There is a Roman column in the town square that Venice added a winged lion (which was their symbol) at the top. This was where executions and hangings were performed. Also there is an altar in front of the Roman temple for the sacrifice of live animals. It has a drain in front for the blood to run off. On the front of the basilica of Saint Anastasia is a round rosette window from the 13th century which is the Gothic style. It was built on top of the Romanesque temple. Several carvings in the stones depict cows which is was a sign of wealth. Saint Anastasia was a Roman woman who was captured and executed by burning at the stake. Her remains were transported to Constantinople then brought here to Zadar. The paintings in the cathedral were done in the Middle Ages. The apostles and the city's patron saint Chrysogonus are carved into the sides. A Romanesque style church has the church and the bell tower separate. The basilica has the Romanesque style on the first floor. The top is finished by a Victorian architect, Grant Jackson, who also built Oxford University. The clock tower called loggias was built for watch guards and has round holes for the cannons during Medieval times.The town symbol for Zadar is a knight on horseback which is carved into the wall at the land gate on the continental side. During the late 15th century the Venetians added a winged lion at the top to make it theirs. The goldsmiths had a shop here and it is now the Museum which the Benedictine Nuns run. Inside are the bones and hair of several saints. These were hidden from the Italiens during WWII. Saint John the Baptist's bones are in a golden arm that has it's first finger pointing up. These items are called reliquary. In the 14th century Croatia was controlled by the Anjou family of Hungary. Their King and Queen Elizabeth protected the Croats from attacks. Their elaborate crowns with jewels and the King's chalice is also in the Museum.
Our boat is called The Athena, but they don't pronounce the h.It was built here in Croatia. It has a very international crew. They are from Turkey, Egypt, Ukraine, Croatia, Indonesia, Tunisia, England and India. They are constantly trying to please us. The Indonesian waiter says hello to us everytime he sees us and uses our first names. I don't know how they memorize all 50 passenger names. He heard me refuse the onion soup so now at dinner he makes sure I receive a dinner with no onions.There are 4 decks including a sun deck. Our cabin is 306 just below the sun deck and we have a balcony with a table and 2 chairs. Tomorrow we sail at 6:30 AM for Sibenik. The s in Sibenik is pronounced as a sh.