Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
bright- and dark-toned roof tiles indicates the damage caused by the mortars
that were lobbed over the hill by the Serb-dominated Yugoslav National
Army in 1991. h e new, brighter-colored tiles marked houses that were hit
and had been rebuilt. At a glance, it's clear that more than two-thirds of the
Old Town's buildings were bombed.
But today, relations between the Croats and their Serb neighbors are on
the mend. h e bus connecting Dubrovnik to Serb-friendly Montenegro—
which was stubbornly discontinued for a decade—is, once again, up and
running. And Pero says that, with age, someday all the tiles will fade to
exactly the same hue.
Poignant as a visit to Dubrovnik may be, rich rewards await those who
push on into the interior of the former Yugoslavia. Dubrovnik—the most
touristy and comfortable resort on Croatia's Dalmatian Coast—is an ideal
springboard for more scintillating sightseeing...including some sobering les-
sons in sectarian strife.
The Balkans
We hear the term “the Balkans” now and then, and even if we don't know exactly
where that is...we know it's a challenging place. h e Balkan Peninsula—a wide
swath of land in southeastern Europe, stretching from Hungary to Greece—
has long been a crossroads of cultures. Over the centuries, an endless string of
In Dubrovnik, brighter tiles mark homes rebuilt after the shelling.
