Our last stop before taking the ferry to Italy (our plans to go to Greece were foiled by border closings and immigrant problems) was at Stari Bar where we passed a pleasant afternoon waiting until we could board the boat.
For a town I had never even heard about (and nor apparently had anyone else judging by the lack of tourists) it was totally breathtaking. The town had a long and conflicted past, having changed hands a number of times from the Venetians to the Ottomans to a number of different powers, all of which have left their mark on the town, from Turkish baths to renaissance style buildings.
Pillars like this is something I always look out for, as although I cannot say why, the engravings found on them whether they be pristine or tumbled over and forgotten always fascinate me, I feel like they are a facet of ruins that are often overlooked.
The sun was beginning to set and we found the second half of our wandering somewhat rushed as we were beginning to run out of time. At the beginning I had not realised how large this site was, truly an entire town abandoned.
Wandering down upturned cobblestoned lanes and into tumbledown buildings, we were free to explore as we wanted, and it was brilliant. The lack of other people also made it something special and unique to me.
This awesome structure looked like it was something straight out of Lord of the Rings, a place where Frodo and Sam wandered the lost and beautiful land of Ithilien to carry the ring to Mordor. (Best seen in the extended edition of the movies of course!)
And last but not least as we neared the exit of this ancient town, some rustling alerted us to this little guy who shyly made an appearance for us. What was he doing there?
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