Kotor, Sidewalk Cafe

Of all the photos on this Internet Site, this is close to being my favorite, or maybe it really is my favorite. Don't know why, but I just love this photo. (Well, I do know the photographer, me, and I do enjoy this memory of a fascinating little city.)

This picture of a few tables, complete with table cloths, in a “sidewalk” cafe at base of the several story building, looks inviting. A few blocks away, a small stone church had three brand new, bright and shiny copper-covered domes, a tower with two large clocks, all backed by gray-green mountains.

Kotor was founded by the Romans on the Adriatic coast, a dozen centuries ago. A church was constructed in Kotor in the 700s AD, was rebuilt in 1166 as St. Tryphon Cathedral, which was then damaged by a large earthquake in 1667. After another quake in 1979, Kotor was inscribed on the World Heritage List to restore, as well as to preserve, this impressive medieval city.

Nearby, in the Gulf of Kotor, a small island was created over the centuries by seamen who dropped a rock at this place when they returned from a voyage. A beautiful church called Gospa od Skrpjela (Our Lady of the Rocks), was built there in 1632. Truly a unique creation, and a tourist gem.