Bar is on the southern edge of the coast of Montenegro, and we had sailed by it last season on our way to Tivat. Stari Bar (the old town), is actually 5 km out of town up in the hills. Due to wars and earthquakes, much of the old town is in ruins (and the new town of Bar was established). With much rebuilding though, people have slowly moved back and it is still magnificent to visit.
As with so many other towns in Montenegro, it saw Illyrian, Roman, Venetian, Slav, Hungarian, and Ottoman rule throughout the centuries.
The site includes the fortress at the very top, multiple churches (which have had far more restoration than the other buildings), a museum containing historical artifacts from the town, and an original Ottoman aqueduct.
We wandered the ruins for a few hours and simply enjoyed the vistas.
With all that walking, we were thirsty and hungry, and stopped at one of the popular new restaurants on the outside edge of the ruins. I immediately took to a pomegranate beer (beer mixed with pomegranate juice), which pretty much tasted like a shandy.
For lunch we opted for a Turkish veggie sampler to share. Roasted eggplant with yogurt, baked beans, braised peppers, herbed rice, it was all quite tasty.
To finish out the day, we drove over to visit the Stara Maslina, one of the world’s oldest olive trees. Now preserved in a suburb of Bar, the tree is 10 meters in diameter, and believed to be 2,240 years old.
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