Vol. XIX, No. 5 



WASHINGTON 



May, 1908 



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WHERE EAST MEETS WEST 



Visit to Picturesque Dalmatia, Montenegro and Bosnia 



By Marian Cruger Coffin 



With photographs by the author 



THE Dalmatian coast deserves its 

 reputation for picturesque beauty. 

 The great limestone mountains — 

 practically bare of vegetation and culmi- 

 nating in peaks over 5,000 feet high, de- 

 scend to the sea in an almost unbroken 

 line, while a continual fringe of islands 

 forms a buffer between the coast and the 

 Adriatic from Fiume to where the Bocche 

 di Cattaro lies like a giant starfish spread 

 out upon the land, cutting deep into the 

 mountains with its great tentacles. 



The fertile rivieras lie in nooks of the_ 

 coast, sheltered from the fierce "Bora," 

 "the wind of death," which in winter 

 sweeps down from the mountain gorges 

 with terrific force ; these are practically 

 the only cultivated lands in this desert 

 country. The contrast between the 

 island-studded sea, the rugged mountains, 

 and the semi-tropical vegetation com- 

 bined with old-world architecture of the 

 cities affords a picture not easily for- 

 gotten. 



The interior is wild, lonely, and im- 

 pressive, and so barren and uninviting 

 that except for the Falls of the Kerka it 

 is seldom visited by the traveler. Beau- 



tiful in the extreme, the falls, or rather 

 cascades, gain an added interest from 

 their source being one of those under- 

 ground rivers not uncommon in this part 

 of Europe. The Kerka rises to the sur- 

 face of the ground in the form of a blue- 

 green lake, surrounded by verdure, the 

 life and color appearing like a miracle in 

 the midst of the desolate hills. 



The towns of the coast are distinctive 

 and have each their special points of in- 

 terest as well as architectural beauty. 

 Zara and Sebenico have fine Duomos, 

 Spalato and Salona are famous for their 

 Roman remains, and indeed much of 

 Spalato is built within the walls of Dio- 

 cletian's palace, while at Trau and Ra- 

 gusa are admirable examples of medieval 

 architecture, dating from the occupation 

 or influence of Venice. 



RAGUSA 



Ragusa is easily queen of the Dalma- 

 tian cities. None can compare with her in 

 beauty of site or architectural and his- 

 torical interest. She has stood for cen- 

 turies a sister republic to Venice, a bul- 

 wark in Europe against the Turk, a wise 



