Day 8 To Sibenik And Zadar

We left Spit this morning for our 2 tours of the day as we headed to Zadar where we will be spending the night. Sibenik is another one of those little settlements with a long history. We did stop in a square to view one of those old churches that has some amazing features. This church was completely built of stone without the use of any wood to hold it together. One feature on the outside were “heads” of people the sculpture/designer knew. Every one had a different expression which reflected something of their personality. It was an impressive place. St James Cathedral showed incredible craftsmanship.

The interior was impressive enough but the baptistery was something to see. We descended a small staircase. The baptismal fount was not overly large in the small space. The carvings of the angels and the way the natural light filtered in showed that the builder had taken great pains in the design. After a short time to walk around we headed to Zadar. Zadar is a large city and port. Our destination was the old city within the walls. As was expected there were many shops. We were given some time to explore.

A large bell tower of the cathedral was built in the 15th century and has been added to over the centuries . It is about 160 feet high and quite impressive. For a few euros we could walk to the top. The views of the city were quite impressive! The area near the shoreline had been settled by the Romans and we toured the remains of the Roman settlement. The foundations of the “market shops” could easily be seen. A walk along the waterfront brought us to the “sea pipe organ”. A series of openings were made at the low tide level.

Small openings were left to the walkway above. As the waves roll in air if forced upward to the small openings making a rushing whistling sound. Hence the organ sound. After a long day of sightseeing we were glad to head to the hotel and dinner.