๐ฒ๐ชย ๐ฒ๐ชย ๐ฒ๐ช
… continued fromย “Train from Belgrade to Bar”
Train journey was quite long and we reached bar at about 8 in the morning. Bar is pretty little touristic town with Mediterranean climate. This town was inhabited from ancient times. There are findings from Neolithic era. Old part of the town (Stari Bar) still has the remains of the fortress which is a great landmark of Byzantine empire.
The city was largely destroyed in WW II an since rebuilt. It was again destroyed completely in an earthquake in 1979 and then again rebuilt.
We took a taxi straight to hotel which is very close to the beach. We visited church of St John, Bar Beach and walked around the town center. I did not know the existence of the church but it has an imposing structure near the beach and very beautiful. There is also a story behind this church, The legend of Vladimir and Kosara – The oldest and the most beautiful love story in Montenegrin history is related to Vladimir, the King of Duklja. During a war with the Bulgarian Emperor Samuel, he was imprisoned in the year 998 at the court in Prespa. The merciful Emperorโs daughter Kosara went to see the slaves in the cellar of the court every day and she fell in love with the beautiful man from Duklja who received bread and water from her. The Emperorโs daughter persuaded her father to allow her to marry the famous prisoner. King Vladimir, when back home, became very popular with the people and so Samuelโs heir, Emperor Vladislav decided to destroy him. He lured Vladimir to Prespa, sending him a wooden cross as a guarantee of his safety, and then he killed him. Because Vladimirโs cult started to spread, Vladislav allowed Kosara to transport Vladimirโs remains to Duklja. In the Precista Krajinska monastery on the lake of Skadar, Vladimir was buried with the wooden cross. Here, Kosara spent her remaining days as a nun under the name of Teodora and was buried next to her husband. The cult of the first saint from Duklja quickly spread to the neighboring lands – Albania, Macedonia, Bulgaria, and beyond.
The cross of Saint Vladimir has been kept for centuries as the greatest relic of the Androvic fraternity. Each year, on Holy Trinity Day, it is carried to the top of Mt. Rumija, where, according to legend, there was a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity. After the church was destroyed, the cross was found in the remains. The procession which carries the cross respects custom that each member of the proce-ssion (Orthodox, Catholic and Muslim) should bring one stone with them, because they believe that the church will rebuild itself, once there are enough stones.
The beach itself is very beautiful dotted with restaurants . I watched the sunset from there before heading back to my hotel.ย I had my dinner at hotel , it was an excellent 3 course meal.
Next morning we again strolled along the beach and then took our bus to next destination Kottor.
