20 18 balkan peninsula (4) Montenegro-kot

It has long been said that Dumito National Park in Montenegro is beautiful, with the deepest canyon in Europe and various geological landscapes such as glaciers, alpine lakes and caves. 1980 is listed in the World Natural Heritage List. I wanted to go there when I first planned my trip, but in this case, I need to start from Podgorica for three days, plus five days before and after. Our entire Balkan trip lasted only 30 days, so the plan was abandoned. Montenegro's itinerary was changed to one-day stopover in Cotor and one-day stopover in Podgorica. However, I learned from the internet that there was nothing to see in Podgorica, the capital of Montenegro, and finally decided to arrange for Montenegro to stay in Kotto for two days.

On May 20th, 20 18, we arrived in Cotor by coach from Dubrovnik. I wanted to sign up for a one-day tour group after I came, but when I asked, I had to climb hundreds of steps with this group. My wife was uncomfortable with the paint for a few days, so I gave up joining the group. It doesn't matter. You don't have to deliberately arrange these two days. You can go wherever you want.

The B&B we booked is on the way to Houshan, and we have to pass a Great Wall ticket charging point. I remember it was 10 euro per person. The landlord greeted the conductor when he took us there, and the tickets were free. The landlord told us that when we pass by here in the future, we just need to tell the conductor the name of the landlord. So we don't have to buy tickets to climb the Great Wall in Houshan.

Behind the B&B is the towering Mount St. John. In the 9th century, the Koto people began to build the Great Wall on the mountain, with a total length of 4.5 kilometers. It is an important fortification in Venice and the most intact Great Wall in Europe at present. It is said that the highest St. John's Castle has 1000 steps, and it takes two to three hours to walk back and forth.

After a short rest in the hotel, we went straight to climb the Great Wall. The following distant view photos of the Great Wall were later taken outside the city. It can be seen that the back hill is steep, and many places are almost vertical cliffs. The Great Wall is tortuous. Although it is not as majestic as the Great Wall in China, its precipitousness and majesty are also amazing.

The mountain road is rugged and the road is not easy to walk. It took us more than half an hour to reach the church of Santa Maria halfway up the mountain. My wife cried, I can't walk any further, so I stopped here. When I am old, I do everything according to my ability and dare not be as brave as young people.

This church is small and very old. It is said that it was built in 15 18. When we arrived, the church had closed. There is a big observation deck in front of the church, overlooking the Koto Fjord and the ancient city of Koto. I saw the mountains in the distance, the blue sea water nearby and the rows of white walls and red tiles in the old city. The magnificent scenery in front of us made us feel that the hard work of climbing the mountain was still rewarding.

The next day, May 2 1 day, we wandered around the ancient city of Keto. The ancient city is located at the edge of Cotto Bay at the southernmost tip of Adriatic Sea. Because it completely preserved the features of the ancient medieval city, it was included in the United Nations World Heritage List. The ancient city is surrounded by mountains and seas with beautiful scenery. It is a paradise for tourists from all over the world. It was rated as the top ten tourist cities in 20 16 by Lonely Planet magazine.

This ancient city has a history of more than 2000 years. Because of its dangerous geographical location, it has always been a battleground for military strategists. It was occupied and ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire, Hungary, the Kingdom of Bosnia, the Ottoman Empire, Venice, Austria, Bulgaria and Italy. 1944 became a city of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, then the former Yugoslavia disintegrated, Montenegro became independent, and Koto became an important tourist city in Montenegro. The terrain of the ancient city is triangular, backed by mountains, guarded by tall city walls on both sides and fortresses in three corners. The city wall was built in13rd century to14th century. At that time, the Republic of Venice, which ruled Coto, relied on the city wall to successfully repel the invasion of the Ottoman Empire.

The biggest gate in the ancient city is Haimen, and outside it is Ketuo Bay. This city gate has a history of more than 500 years. The emblem of the city gate changed with the change of rulers, from the original Venice lion to the double-headed eagle symbolizing the Habsburg royal family, and finally fixed on the emblem of Yugoslavia. I can't help thinking of a poem by Lu Xun. The king's flag changes at the head of the city. Compared with the merry-go-round transformation of the old warlords in China, the rulers here live longer. The words 1944 1 1 are engraved on the stone tablet below the city emblem. This is the day when the guerrillas led by Tito liberated the ancient city from the Nazis. Tito's righteous quotation is engraved on the feldspar between the city emblem and the stone tablet: "We don't want others', but no one can take ours. "When we arrived a few days ago, the gate was being repaired and covered with plastic sheets, so we couldn't see its true face.

Keto Bay is an excellent haven, and the cruise terminal here welcomes cruise ships from all over the world every day. On the day we arrived, a cruise ship had just arrived in Hong Kong, and the sailor band on board knocked on the dock. When thousands of tourists disembarked, the ancient city with 5000 residents suddenly became lively.

The beaches in Cotto Bay are calm and sunny, but there are not many tourists. I noticed that the beach here is not a beach, but a beach. I see that many similar beaches in the world have been transformed into artificial beaches, especially in tourist attractions. A good beach is very important to attract tourists. But the beaches here still preserve the original ecology. We don't know whether they are short of money or to protect the environment.

Like many medieval European towns, Cotor has several squares connected by narrow streets. As soon as you enter Haimen, you will find the largest square in the city-Weapon Square. The building with balcony on the left in the picture below used to be the official residence of the chief executive during the Venetian rule, called the Duke's Palace. There are two buildings in the square. On the left is the theater, which was built in18th century. 18 10 was occupied by Napoleon's army and renamed Napoleon Theatre. On the right is the Arsenal Building, which was built at 1420. This square is named after it.

The bell tower in the square is a famous landmark of the ancient city, which was rebuilt after the 1667 earthquake. The black triangular pillar under the bell tower is called the shame pillar. In ancient times, prisoners were locked in front of this pillar and publicly displayed to humiliate prisoners and warn others.

There are 14 churches in Coto, among which three are more important, namely St. Luke's Church, St. triffin's Cathedral and St. Nicholas's Church.

The picture below shows St. Luke's Church built in 1 195, which is a building in southern Italy. The church is very humble. It was a Catholic church until 1657. With the change of the population of believers in the city, 1657 was changed to the Orthodox Church.

St triffin's Cathedral is one of the only two Roman Catholic cathedrals in Montenegro. 1 166 rebuilt on the basis of the old church in the 9th century. Due to the lack of funds, the left bell tower built later is much simpler than the right bell tower built at the earliest. The sacred remains of triffin in this city are preserved here.

St Nicholas Church is the Serbian Orthodox Church in Cotor, built in Byzantine style. It has a nave and two bell towers. Built in 1909, this church is the largest Orthodox church in Kotto, with a rich collection of statues and artworks.

We strolled in the narrow stone alleys of the ancient city, with antique houses on both sides, exquisite balconies and green or dark red wooden shutters, which made people feel the rich Italian town customs. Venice ruled Cotto for more than 400 years and left a deep impression here.

This tree in the center of the ancient city is over 400 years old. She has witnessed the changes of the ancient city for hundreds of years and is still full of vitality.

On the third day, May 2 1, we came to Pestra, which is known as the most beautiful town in Kotor Bay. We went by bus. At first, we waited at the bus stop, but when we saw the bus stop, we drove past. Confused, we asked a local, who pointed to the bus sign on the road and told us to wait there. We did, and sure enough, the bus stopped. I learned another trick this time. Based on past experience, it seems that nothing can be done. The bus will arrive in 15 minutes. After getting off the bus, we walked along the coast to the town center.

On the way, I saw a painter sketching. Looking along the direction of the drawing board, green mountains and green waters are all in the painting.

The picture below shows the main street of the town, with cafes and restaurants along the street. Some restaurants have balconies that extend all the way to the seaside. Diners enjoy the beautiful sea view while enjoying wine and food. As Ouyang Xiu, a writer in the Song Dynasty, described in the Preface to Drunk Pavilion, drunkenness is not in wine, but also between mountains and rivers. What is really intoxicating here is the good mountains, good water and good scenery at first sight.

There are two small islands on the sea opposite the town. One is called St. George's Island, which is a natural island with an Orthodox monastery built in 12 century. The island is a private island and is closed to tourists. The other is called Virgin Rock Island, which is an artificial island. There is a beautiful legend about this small island. 1452, two sailors got lost here by boat. At that time, they saw the icon of the Virgin Mary on the rocks in the sea and found their way home smoothly. This stone is regarded by them as the hand of the virgin. They threw stones at the location of the icon, and other passing sailors followed suit. Stones slowly piled up to form an island. A few years later, a Venetian built a Notre Dame Rock Church on the island. This light blue dome church has been quietly waiting here for hundreds of years, guiding people to go home safely.

The sea here is crystal clear. You can see the rocks and moss on the bottom of the sea, but you can't see the fish. Perhaps this is an old saying of China, clear water means no fish. Here, the place near the sea is green as jade, and the distance is blue as sapphire. Maybe this is the legendary fairyland on earth.

It is said that there are 16 churches in the town, most of which were built in 17 and18th century. The largest of these is the Church of Saint Nicholas, whose bell tower is 55 meters high and is the landmark building of Pestra.

During our two days in Coto, there was a concert every night until the next morning 1 half past 0, and the sound was deafening. The first night, we called the landlord and asked why the music here was so loud. The landlord came to the ancient city specially after hearing about it. Knowing the situation, he told us that May 2 1 was Montenegro's independence day, and people set up a stage to celebrate those two days and stayed up all night. The landlord repeatedly told us that he was sorry and that we were right. The voice was really loud. We didn't go to bed until midnight these two nights, but people celebrated Independence Day. What do we have to complain about? You can't be satisfied with everything when you leave home. You still have to learn to take things as they are, so that you can have a good mood to meet the beautiful scenery of the next day.