Adriatic Coast - Montenegro - page 186

WORTH A TRIP
THE OLD OLIVE TREE

There are over 100,000 olive trees in the Bar area, many of which have seen more than a millennium. At
Mirovica near Stari Bar is a living witness that has stood and mutely waved symbols of peace while the armies
of consecutive empires have swept through the land. With 2000 birthdays under its belt, stara maslina (old olive
tree) is possibly the oldest tree in Continental Europe and one of the oldest of its species in the world.
A ring of white stone protects its personal space from tree-huggers and there's a nominal charge to visit
(adult/child €1/50c), but it can be admired nearly as well from the road. Look for the signpost on the Bar-Ulcinj
road; at the end of this road, look for the stone wall slightly to the right.

Sights

Stari Bar
(Old Bar; adult/child €2/1; 8am-10pm) A small museum MAP GOOGLE MAP just inside the entrance
explains the site and its history. From here you can follow the green arrows around the
major points of interest. In the western part of the town are the remains of St Nicholas'
Church MAP (Crkva Sv Nikole) offering glimpses of Serbo-Byzantine frescoes.
The northern corner has an 11th-century fortress with views showcasing Stari Bar's
isolated setting amid mountains and olive groves. Nearby are the foundations of St Ge-
orge's Cathedral (Katedrala Sv Ðorđa), dedicated to Bar's patron saint. Originally a
Romanesque church, the Turks converted it into a mosque in the 17th century but the un-
lucky edifice was yet again in ruins after an accidental explosion of gunpowder.
If you're wondering why St John's Church MAP GOOGLE MAP (Crkva Sv Jovana) is in such
good nick, it's because it's been completely reconstructed by one of the families associ-
ated with the original church. One of the few other buildings to have an intact roof is St
Verenada's Church (Crkva Sv Verenade), which contains a display of photography from the
greater Bar area.
Ottoman constructions include a solid and charming Turkish bathhouse from the 17th
or 18th century, the clock tower (1752) and the 17th-century aqueduct that carried water
from a spring 3km away; it was reconstructed after the 1979 earthquake.

RUINS

Omerbašića Mosque
(Omerbašića džamija) Just outside Stari Bar's main gate, this simple construction (dating from
1662) has a square stone base and an elegant minaret enclosed by a stone wall. The

MOSQUE