CRUISE (6) - Dubrovnik, Croatia

Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea.
 In 1979, the city of Dubrovnik joined the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.  I can well understand why. The old city is so beautiful with lovely stonework and carvings.
This set of photos is from the Dominican Monastry. The feeling of peace within the cloisters is wonderful.

The prosperity of the city was historically based on maritime trade; as the capital of the maritime Republic of Ragusa, it achieved a high level of development, particularly during the 15th and 16th centuries, as it became notable for its wealth and skilled diplomacy.

In 1991, after the break-up of Yugoslavia, Dubrovnik was besieged by the Serb and Montenegrin soldiers gathered in the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) for seven months and suffered significant damage from shelling. 

After repair and restoration works in the 1990s and early 2000s, Dubrovnik re-emerged as one of the top tourist destinations in the Mediterranean.

This was our last stop on the cruise and I would have liked to spend more time here. A visit of several days would not have been too much.

A feature of Dubrovnik is its walls (1.1 million visitors in 2016) that run almost 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) around the city. The walls are 4 to 6 metres (13–20 feet) thick on the landward side but are much thinner on the seaward side. The system of turrets and towers were intended to protect the vulnerable city.
I did not climb up the steep steps to walk all around the city on top of the walls, but preferred to visit the monasteries and other buildings and walk around the whole town on foot. 

The extras are self-explanatory: Cloister columns, a well, an outside carving.