Montenegro. In Stari Bar at sunset

Montenegro - In Stari Bar at sunset

Stari Bar is an extraordinary place – it is my thought strolling around the first little street of the town, though I visited all old towns on the seaside of Montenegro, from Herceg Novi to Ulcinj. I am taking photos, being curious - peeking a look into dark corners of narrow, tortuous alleys. Low but high-density housing, sleepy but pleasant atmosphere. Walking through bending upwards cobbled street I am looking easily into small houses interiors. Two rooms and hallway, two windows looking at benches and tables by the wayside leading to the oldest area of the town. Three kids outside the little house are waiting for the dinner which is preparing by their mum. The calm of late afternoon, a soft buzz of conversation and cicadas. Fancy sitting for a while in one of the coffee bars and talking with locals. A sudden moan of the muezzin from nearby minaret keeps me from doing it. When the muezzin calls for prayer in the evening, it is not a moment too soon for photo taking. In that golden hour, the light starts to be the best.

The mosaic of different cultures

The borderland – although this term we can easily use to describe the whole Balkans, this is the place where you can see and feel it deeply. The area has a contemporary, strong and substantial occurrence of being such a melting pot. Venetian of yore, Stari Bar is nowadays settled mainly by Albanians who illegally immigrate from Kosovo and Albania. They only have to transit the limitrophe Szkoder Lake and then cross the Rumija massif.

The picturesque ruins

We are strolling around Antibarums ruins, the town named by the Roman founders as a counterpoint to the city of Bari located on the opposite, Italian shore of the Adriatic sea. Dozens of totally ruined and fairly unspoiled ancient buildings make a terrific impression and quite an idea of the former glory of that place. Temples, well-preserved clock tower, palaces – architecture of the West, and from the other side remains of Turkish reigns like an aqueduct and Turkish traditional baths. First city demolition was made by siege while Russian-Turkish war in the XIX century, second and final – by a great earthquake in the 1979 year.

Paradoxically these plagues preserved that inimitable, genuine atmosphere. Sunset is making Rumija Mountains fabulous now. Breathtaking scenery of color pallet, changing in every minute like alive creature formed by rock layers and sunbeams taints, living incisively on a rolling hillside. There are only a few tourists in the area of old town ruins and fortress. Feast. For the eyes – ruins with iridescent mountain background, for the ears – cicadas and muezzin, for the body – chill, and relief after all-day heat.

Picking the place

From the old ruins of the walls, we can see now the Adriatic Sea, misty at sunset, and the city of New Bar - the main port of Montenegro, and until recently the main way of Serbian mass-scale contraband. The outline of the hills and old olive trees, some of which are believed to be the oldest in the world since they have been around for more than 2,000 years, give the landscape a kind of calm and warmth that even forces you to stop and calm down. The light is over, it's time to think about some culinary stop. It's completely dark now. We sit down in one of the little restaurants. Lanterns appear on the table. Lots of kindness - may be calculated on the more crowded return of tourists, or maybe just true?

The article published in FotoGea.com

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