Kotor, Monte Negro

Monte Negro is a small country on the east side of the Adriatic Sea. It is bordered by Croatia, Albania,Bosnia, Herzogovina, Kosovo and Serbia. Kotor is a small port city, population about 14,000, located at the foot of the mountains at the end of a long inlet. It took at least an hour to get by ship from the mouth of the inlet on the Adriatic to Kotor. The inlet looks very much like a fjord, but according to the geologists it is not a fjord but a flooded river valley. Oh, well...it looks like a fjord, it quacks like a fjord...

 In the photo above we are just entering the inlet from the Adriatic. The photo below shows a commercial mussel farm up the inlet a little ways.

The photo below shows a church halfway up the mountain.

Below is a village and two churches.

 
Kotor owed allegiance to, and received protection from, Venice from 1420 to 1797. The sea wall above and the city wall shown below are both Venetian. Note the Lion of Venice. For much of this time period the Adriatic Sea was a Venetian lake.

This deep green color shown on the shutters  in the two photos below is typical of Kotor.

Kotor is basically a medieval town, with very narrow streets and some small squares. A typical street is shown above.

The photo above shows a typical street lamp, the ubiquitous red tile roofs and the domes of a church with the rugged mountains rising in the back ground. Because of the abrupt rise of the mountains from the sea there is very little room for a town.

Above are a gate and a door. I believe the door is a side door to a church. I don't know where the gate leads.

I believe this is the Cathedral of St. Tryphon, shown from a side street.

This dog was minding its own business on a small square when a tourist took its photo. A gypsy woman immediately claimed the dog was hers and demanded money for its photo. Of course the dog was not hers and she was quickly sent packing. We had several encounters with gypsies, but only the one in Kotor.

Small square. I believe the church is Serbian Orthodox, but I am not sure.

Small dress shop off a square.

 I like the above building. I think it has a lot of character. Note the dark green shutters.

I think this is a tower on a church. Note the flower growing out of a crack and the rugged mountains behind.

This is a water fountain on one of the squares--apparently no longer used.

Above-- note the flowers growing out of the cracks in the wall.

A typical narrow medieval street. Note the green shutters and the wash hanging from the third story windows.