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Bettany Hughes Treasures of the World Season 4 Episode 1
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FunTranscript
00:01I'm on the trail of wonders to treasure.
00:05Precious clues from the past.
00:08She's full of sensuous promise.
00:11With unmissable experiences.
00:15I adore dolphins so much and they're playing with us.
00:19Hidden sights in unexpected destinations.
00:23No way. I've never seen anything like that before.
00:26OK, ready? Let's go.
00:31I'm on a global voyage of discovery to explore our shared heritage
00:36and how our past shapes all of our lives.
00:41This time, I'm heading to southern Croatia.
00:47Through time, this stunning landscape has inspired people
00:51to do incredible things.
00:56This story is waiting for us.
00:58Great!
01:01I can't quite believe they've let me down here.
01:05A place glittering with traditions.
01:08Ghibli! Ghibli!
01:12And where the gifts of the sea made history.
01:15Ghibli!
01:16The Stone Age nines!
01:18I mean, how awesome is that?
01:22Nestled on the eastern edge of the Adriatic, Croatia boasts a stunning shoreline stretching across 1,700 kilometres with over 1,000 islands.
01:34You can come here and take the rudder.
01:35And we're going to be the captain.
01:36Okay, unexpected, but alrighty.
01:39On its southern coast, the history-rich region of Dalmatia, where waterways have shaped lives for millennia.
01:54This is the way to live.
01:55Am I doing okay, Alec?
01:56You don't need me anymore.
01:57I'll have to swim.
01:58I definitely, I definitely, definitely need him.
02:01Welcome to the wonderful treasures of Croatia.
02:02First, the island of Dalmatia is the island of Dalmatia.
02:06The island of Dalmatia is the island of Dalmatia, where waterways have shaped lives for millennia.
02:11This is the way to live.
02:12Am I doing okay, Alec?
02:13You don't need me anymore, Alec.
02:14I definitely, I definitely, definitely, need him.
02:20Welcome to the wonderful treasures of Croatia.
02:22First, the intriguing island of Korchula, a luxurious setting for the TV blockbuster Succession, where local legend claims medieval explorer Marco Polo was born.
02:45Korchula is home to layers of history.
02:52Some long lost to the waves of the Adriatic.
02:57Dalmatia is made by the sea, but my investigations are actually going to start under the water, because I've been tipped off.
03:05There is the most incredible excavation that's happening just over there.
03:11Malta Parrida and his team have been working here since 2021, when they discovered a mysterious underwater Stone Age world.
03:27This white area, this is the probes that we find a road.
03:46The road is going in that direction.
03:49A stone age road?
03:52Martin, why have they got a road in the stone age?
03:59Yes, because they made an artificial island with the coastline and that road connects
04:05this settlement to the coast of Korchul.
04:08So it's a settlement and they've made an artificial island in the stone age, but like for protection
04:16or because they're trading here or...?
04:19I suppose that some kind of protection, probably this settlement is focused on the maritime
04:26trading.
04:27They bring some stuff from Italy, from other destinations and trade in the eastern Ajayat.
04:38So that's, you're marking out where it is?
04:41That's the marking.
04:42This story is waiting for us.
04:47Great.
04:48Great.
04:49What a great day.
04:50Okay, ready?
04:54Let's go.
04:58It's incredible to think that in 5000 BCE all this would have stood above water.
05:24a stunning feat of engineering.
05:28The seabed is absolutely littered with clues.
05:33He's coming back off.
05:34I think he might have something.
05:40Have you got something?
05:41Look...
05:42Yeah.
05:43We find some...
05:44Flint blades.
05:45He's coming back up. I think he might have something.
06:02Have you got something?
06:04Yeah. We find some blind blades.
06:08Oh. Is that okay to hold?
06:10Yes, yes.
06:11Carefully. No way. So this is...
06:14Yes.
06:15For cutting.
06:16Yeah, for cutting. It's characteristic for a Neolithic.
06:18Yeah. And this... Hang on a second.
06:22So this that I'm holding is probably around 7,000 years old.
06:26Yes, yes. 7,000 years old.
06:27Look, look, look, look.
06:29So they'll use this maybe for slicing meat or leather or...
06:35Yeah, everything.
06:35Everything.
06:36Yeah.
06:36Wow. Oh, that is awesome.
06:40That's awesome. And there's a lot of this stuff down there.
06:44Yeah.
06:44Where is the flint coming from?
06:48Probably it's from the Monte Gargano in Italy.
06:52That's what shows you that they're traveling and trading and...
06:54Yes. American trade and everything else.
06:58So it's like a sophisticated Stone Age civilization.
07:02Yeah.
07:03So look at this. Look, they're Stone Age knives.
07:07I mean, how awesome is that?
07:10From Italy.
07:11So they're, like, choosing to get this material.
07:15And that shows how sophisticated they are 7,000 years ago.
07:18But I'm slightly anxious about holding them.
07:21Can I give them back to you?
07:22No, thank you.
07:23I really do not want to drop those.
07:26Come on.
07:27Yeah.
07:27Thanks, Madem.
07:29Nice.
07:30Nice, eh?
07:33This unique site completely alters our understanding of how Neolithic people in the region lived and what they were capable of.
07:42We've got beautiful, decorated pottery and bones that are being worked.
07:49And this, look at this, this is a little tiny, it's an arrowhead, isn't it?
07:51Yeah, we find a lot of them.
07:54Where on the boat you described it as an artificial island.
07:57But, I mean, that's incredible.
07:59That's in the Stone Age, in prehistory.
08:02Yes, it's a very good organization.
08:04And how did you find it?
08:06How did you know it was here?
08:07We saw that on the satellite image.
08:11We saw something, but we didn't know, is this natural?
08:15Yeah.
08:15Or is it artificial?
08:16And we, after we died, we said, okay, yeah, this is something.
08:22Totally.
08:22Something, yeah.
08:24Neolithic people are often thought to be nomadic hunters, but this site points to them living in sophisticated settlements and creating international trading networks.
08:35The evidence also reveals a taste for the finer things in life.
08:41My eye is being caught by these two things, and they're in water.
08:44This is sea water.
08:46Is this desalinating them?
08:48So it's taking the salts out?
08:50Yes, yes, yes.
08:50But what are these two beautiful things?
08:54This is head of a needle.
08:55It's very good work, very precision work.
08:57You say a needle, but it looks more like something you'd use to decorate your hair.
09:01More like a hair pin.
09:03There's a food find that's totally unexpected.
09:06And these, I mean, I just almost dare not ask about these, because it looks to me like this is...
09:12Almonds.
09:14Because these layers are without oxygen.
09:17Yeah.
09:17And we can find all organic things.
09:20So we find a lot of pits of shells of the almond.
09:26Find three olive pits.
09:29Olive stones?
09:30Olive stones, yeah.
09:31Yeah, two of them.
09:32Yeah.
09:32Yeah.
09:33You see that?
09:33Because this is rewriting the story.
09:35Yeah.
09:35Because what we're told is that olives don't arrive here until...
09:39From the Greek time.
09:40From the Greek time.
09:41Yeah, but it's not true.
09:42No.
09:43But I think that trade and communication was a bigger deal than we think.
09:48Yeah.
09:49But isn't that amazing to think of them here with their beautiful paved roads?
09:54Yeah.
09:54Enjoying almonds, olive oil, a little fresh, fresh olive, wearing something beautiful in
10:01their hair, you know, decorating themselves.
10:03Yeah.
10:03And they send it for a radiocarbon date.
10:06Yeah.
10:06They're also 7,000 years old.
10:09It's just incredible.
10:12Because all of this put together, all these bits of evidence, it really is, it's rewriting
10:18the story of what we think of civilization, because it's starting much, much, much further
10:24back.
10:24Yes, yes.
10:25It's for the first time in Adriatic Sea.
10:28Yeah.
10:28Prehistoric seafarers.
10:30Yes.
10:31Well, I'm honestly, I'm so grateful that you've let us come here and see all this as
10:36it's happening.
10:37And it's just, you know, it's astonishing.
10:40It's truly astonishing seeing this and seeing the place where it came from.
10:48There's one other prehistoric treasure on the island I just have to show you.
11:12It's just so awe-inspiring here, isn't it?
11:15So archaeologists who are working here, this is called the Great Cave, have discovered
11:22evidence of women and men living here as long as 18,000 years ago.
11:29So that's right back to the Ice Age, which would have meant there'd have been people here
11:33at the same time as that community who are creating that beautiful settlement under the
11:38sea.
11:38So isn't that fabulous to think about that?
11:41Women and men carving out a prehistoric life for themselves, both ends of the island.
11:49The people who lived here were Stone Age communities, actually going right the way back to the Ice Age.
12:01And they were really pioneering.
12:03So, you know, they obviously traded in ships.
12:07They developed these amazing settlements for themselves.
12:10You know, they were, it was tough to live back then, but they're developing these rich, nourishing lives for themselves and in many ways leaving us the foundations of the lives that we live today.
12:40My next treasure on Croatia's Dalmatian coast is one of the best preserved defense systems in the world.
12:49The walls of Ston, designed to protect a natural wonder.
12:54700 years ago, the Republic of Ragusa thrived in Dalmatia.
13:02Their land territory was modest, but Ragusa became a maritime power, punching above its weight, combining cosmopolitan diplomacy with commerce across the waves.
13:15In 1399, the Republic acquired Peldrishak, a slender, mountainous peninsula.
13:22The rugged hills are dotted with ancient local burials, Roman villas, and some of the world's steepest vineyards, famous since antiquity for their potent red wines.
13:36But for medieval Ragusa, Ston was a vital source of a particular income.
13:43Because the shallow bay here provides what they called white gold.
13:52These have been in use since Roman times, which makes these saltpans the oldest working saltpans anywhere in Europe.
14:11You cannot overstate how important salt was in pre-modern times.
14:35Without fridges, it was how you preserved everything.
14:40Salt alone brought in one-third of all income to the Republic of Ragusa.
14:46Our bodies don't produce salt, but we can't live without it.
14:52These saltpans yield 500 tonnes every year, so although this fruit of the sea represented a lot of cash,
15:02one pool was always reserved for the poor, so they too could access this life essential.
15:10You've got to come and have a look at this.
15:18Isn't it awesome?
15:20So this is where all the salt is stored, and there were piles of salt like this going right back 2,000 years here.
15:29And do you know what?
15:30There's actually a direct connection between the Roman salt industry and our own lives,
15:36because the Latin word for salt is sal, and there's another word that they used, which was salarium.
15:44And a salarium was either money that was given to Roman soldiers to buy their salt rations,
15:50or a salarium was when Roman soldiers were actually paid in salt.
15:55And it gives us our word salary, so it's like the ancient world reaching out across to us.
16:02And it's lovely here. It's really beautiful.
16:04It's very sort of timeless and calming and magical for some reason.
16:11It's lovely.
16:11By luck, the day we're here, there's a festival celebrating local food and wine.
16:37In vino veritas, in vino veritas, in vino veritas.
16:55Something else the Romans did hear was start oyster farms, because the oysters are...
17:05Oh, thank you very much. Thank you very much.
17:11Really, I really need it.
17:12Oh, well, that's big flattery.
17:14Not after I've had too much wine here, I won't be...
17:18Hi, hello.
17:19Can I get a glass of wine?
17:22Oh, thank you, Avala. Thank you. Cheers.
17:27Are these your oysters?
17:29Mm.
17:30Because I'm a lifelong vegetarian, so I'm definitely not going to eat those oysters.
17:36But our producer, Johnny, just behind us, loves an oyster.
17:44Look at this, Johnny.
17:45Look, I've never eaten meat or fish in my life, but these are supposed to be exquisite and special.
17:52Can I try one?
17:53Yes, go for it.
17:54Or four, or 12?
17:56Yeah.
17:57Oh, my gosh.
18:02Yeah.
18:04Absolutely delicious.
18:05Yeah.
18:06They are supposed to be absolutely delicious.
18:07They'll be flat.
18:09Right.
18:09But juicy, riny.
18:12Everything you want from the most.
18:13Is it?
18:14Never having had one.
18:15But they are supposed to be amazing here, because there's a river, a mineral-rich river,
18:20that runs down to the salty water and combines, and they're supposed to be...
18:24Are those the best oysters you've ever tasted?
18:29Spitting out some chum, delicious.
18:31Roman emperors adored stone oysters, taking them on campaign.
18:35But for me, there's another treat.
18:37Cake?
18:38Now you're talking.
18:40This one?
18:42Yeah.
18:42Yeah, why not?
18:47I've heard about this.
18:50Oh, my gosh.
18:52Okay.
18:52I am not going to be able to move this afternoon.
18:55So this cake is traditional to stone, and it's a mixture of pasta, almonds, other nuts, and chocolate.
19:03And it's probably got about 450,000 calories per forkful.
19:10Go for it.
19:14It's like eating pasta covered in chocolate.
19:18So I just want to wash that down with another little sip of wine, then.
19:22Time to walk off all that indulgence.
19:32The twin towns of Ston and Marley Ston, or Little Ston, carefully controlled access to the wealth of the peninsula.
19:42A crucial pinch point kept safe by some of the most gravity-defying fortifications in Europe.
19:54And...
19:54Oh, y'all!
19:59I had to walk up.
20:01I'm going to go inside.
20:31These walls, which are quite an adventure to climb, were built to protect the white gold that was produced in the salt pans down there.
20:43And they were started in the 14th century, and by the time they were finished, they were 7,000 metres long.
20:50So they're affectionately known as the Great Walls of Croatia, which actually isn't a bad name,
20:56because next to the Great Wall of China, these are one of the biggest defensive wall systems anywhere in the world.
21:04The walls of Stom held back invaders for over 500 years.
21:13Napoleon's army did breach them in 1806, but these resilient ramparts still stand strong.
21:22How amazing it's been to witness the natural treasures here in Stom,
21:28and then to experience this extraordinary, monumental, human-made wonder created to protect it all.
21:36My next stop transports us back to ancient Rome,
21:58and a time when this coastline was pivotal for the Roman Empire.
22:03It's Croatia's second-largest city, Split, and just in time for another special day.
22:12So our timeline visit here on the feast day of St. Dominus, who's the patron saint of the city.
22:32So this only happens once a year, and it celebrates the fact that he was martyred and was a Christian who supported the church.
22:40But I love the fact that they've got incense, which is a very ancient Roman thing.
22:49Pretty apt, because Split was home to a game-changing Roman emperor, Diocletian.
22:58You can really get a sense of Diocletian's character from this exquisite gold coin that I am incredibly lucky to be allowed to hold.
23:12Just look at his expression.
23:14He's really ferocious, and he's got this close-cropped military-style beard with a laurel wreath in his hair.
23:21And then if you just look at the back of the coin there, there's an image of Jupiter, the king of the gods, brandishing a spear and holding Victoria,
23:33who was the goddess of victory, in his hand.
23:36And this was minted in the year 290 CE in what's now modern-day Turkey.
23:42And this was a time when Diocletian was also associating himself with Jupiter.
23:48So basically he was telling the world, like the king of the gods, I am super powerful, I'm indomitable, I'm pretty much omnipotent.
23:59He ruled the empire with an iron fist for 20 years, strengthening borders and unleashing a ferocious persecution of Christians.
24:10He also established the Tetrarchy, splitting the Roman Empire into East and West.
24:18Two emperors, the Augusti, shared rule, assisted by two junior leaders, the Caesars.
24:25In his early 60s, Diocletian did something extraordinary, something no emperor had ever done before or would do again.
24:36He voluntarily retired to this mega palace.
24:45This is the Golden Gate and it gives you access inside Diocletian's original palace.
24:55His seaside retirement home was completed in 305 CE.
25:05Its design, rectangular, with towering walls, four entrance gates and 16 defensive towers, echoes the structure of a Roman military camp.
25:16With the empire under threat, the fortified palace was a safe haven, evolving into a city that still thrives today.
25:25In Diocletian's time, the palace was a fusion of luxury and military might, where he etched his legacy in stone.
25:41This is basically a grand entrance hall where Diocletian would welcome visitors from right across the empire and he'd be raised on a podium underneath a canopy.
26:00And it's really interesting because obviously I'm here in Croatia, but just look at where the materials come from.
26:06So these granite columns are from Asia Minor, what's now Turkey.
26:12And over there, there's a sphinx from Egypt.
26:15So even though he wasn't emperor anymore, it's all a reminder of Diocletian's enduring power within a vast, interconnected empire.
26:26Diocletian was not shy about coming forward.
26:34He'd wear purple robes and a golden crown.
26:37And he hated being in Rome because there they treated him like a human being, whereas here they treated him like a god.
26:46Archaeologists who are working here have lent me this awesome graphic map that they're producing of the city beneath the city.
27:11So this is the bay where I came in by boat.
27:15This is the whole city here and they're literally mapping the city beneath the city.
27:19Look.
27:19So this is Diocletian's palace.
27:22Amazing.
27:23I spent the night just here next to the vestibule.
27:29So where I'm heading is this little white mark here, which I think is just around this corner.
27:34I think this is right.
27:59I can't quite believe they've kept me down here.
28:01So what I'm standing in right now would have been a furnace, a huge kind of oven for heating hot air to go in here.
28:14Look.
28:14Look at this.
28:15I mean, look at that.
28:16That is just pure Diocletian period.
28:19Hang on.
28:19Here we go.
28:21So these are part of this hypercore system.
28:24So they're the basis of pillars.
28:25So actually the floor would have been above me and it heated air for the baths, Diocletian's bath.
28:33So where I'm standing right now is basically in his private apartments, in his private chambers.
28:39So I'm experiencing the sensual pleasure enjoyed by a Roman emperor 1,700 years ago.
28:49And today, it's my home too.
29:05And if you're lucky enough to stay here, then you get to spend the night surrounded by the walls of a Roman emperor's palace.
29:13Spending a night within the palace walls gives you a unique connection to the past, while the bustling streets outside keep it alive, with a big dose of Croatian hospitality thrown in.
29:31Hi.
29:32Hi.
29:33Hi.
29:34You need to try this.
29:35Typical from Croatia from this part of the throne.
29:38Yeah.
29:38And also you need to try this later.
29:40Okay.
29:41Also typical from Croatia.
29:43Yeah.
29:43Yeah, also.
29:44Okay.
29:45You are very kind.
29:47And I feel incredibly welcome here in Split.
29:50What do you say?
29:50Jivili.
29:51Jivili.
29:51Jivili.
29:52Jivili.
29:53Hmm.
29:56Ice.
29:57Lovely.
29:58Like this, huh?
29:59Yeah.
30:00I haven't got a hand, but I'll go and put it down.
30:03You have just two hands, or?
30:04I think just two hands, just one mouth.
30:06Yeah, it's very nice.
30:07Ciao.
30:08So this happens a lot in Croatia.
30:11Randomly, people come up.
30:13I think they've seen the programmes.
30:14It's because they love history, and they just kind of fly us with food and drink.
30:17It's hard to actually know about this.
30:18This is a walnut liqueur.
30:21It's very delicious.
30:22We're going to have a sneaky soup.
30:25Hmm.
30:26And I might give this to the crew.
30:30So this extraordinary building here was originally Diocletian's mausoleum,
30:41but the incredible irony is that after his persecution of all of these Christians,
30:48that burial place has been changed into a church.
30:52To add insult to injury, it now honours St. Dominus, once the local bishop,
31:03who was killed on the orders of Diocletian himself.
31:07Diocletian's plans for a powerful pagan Roman empire soon fell apart,
31:13and his tetrarchy descended into brutal civil war.
31:21What a city this is.
31:24There's a great story because we're told that towards the end of his life,
31:27Diocletian became really keen on growing vegetables,
31:31and when imperial officers came to try to persuade him to become an emperor once more,
31:36he said, just tell all that to my cabbages.
31:40How could I possibly exchange a never-satisfied greed for all this peace?
31:47He may not have been able to save the old Roman religion or keep his empire together,
31:56but his palace and the extraordinary city that now lives within it
32:01are a legacy to be proud of.
32:04We're sailing right into Dubrovnik now,
32:24and it's really interesting because there's a possibility
32:27that the name Croatia comes from a really ancient route,
32:30meaning one who guards,
32:33and certainly through time,
32:35this coastline's protected the really rich interior of the country,
32:39so you get these amazing fortified cities all along the coastline,
32:43and arguably Dubrovnik is the best.
32:46Yes, of course.
32:48Argued.
32:48A fact.
32:56My final stop, Dubrovnik,
32:59has been called the Pearl of the Adriatic,
33:02where natural wonders were proudly protected
33:05and the gifts of the earth traded.
33:11I can hear all the swallows coming in at the end of the day.
33:16Isn't that beautiful?
33:18And if there are any Game of Thrones fans out there,
33:22this is Blackwater Bay.
33:24This city's story begins with the sea,
33:30a haven for refugees from the turmoil following the fall of the Roman Empire.
33:36The city thrived,
33:38growing into a great port,
33:41Ragusa,
33:42the origin of the name of the medieval Republic of Ragusa
33:45that would flourish on the Dalmatian coast.
33:48By the 14th century,
33:51Ragusa,
33:52or Dubrovnik as we know it,
33:54rivalled its one-time master,
33:56Venice,
33:57just across the Adriatic.
33:59And the city
34:00is still revealing
34:02new secrets.
34:04This is a place
34:12that's full
34:13of hidden gems.
34:20Some of Dubrovnik's
34:22most precious treasures
34:23are hidden
34:24in the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary,
34:28raised in 1667
34:30after an earthquake
34:31that devastated the city.
34:33I'm lucky to get in
34:37before the crowds
34:38and I'm promised
34:40a bit of a surprise.
34:48Closely guarded within
34:50are extraordinary
34:53medieval relics,
34:55many a thousand years old.
34:57including
35:03the arms and head
35:05of St. Blaise,
35:07the patron saint
35:08of Dubrovnik,
35:10encased in some
35:11of the silver
35:12and gold
35:13that this treasure city
35:14traded,
35:16helping
35:16to make it
35:17so rich.
35:18seismic activity here
35:39uncovered
35:40another marvel.
35:42This cathedral
35:47is just
35:48full of wonders,
35:49isn't it?
35:50But there was
35:51an earthquake here
35:52in 1979
35:53that revealed
35:54something
35:54truly astonishing.
35:57Hello,
35:57this is Yvonne.
35:58And Yvonne,
35:59hi,
35:59and Bethany,
36:00hi,
36:00thank you so much
36:01for coming.
36:02So Yvonne's
36:03promised
36:03to reveal it
36:05to me
36:05and I've got
36:06a funky feeling
36:06it's down here.
36:08Yeah,
36:08and let's go
36:09down and see.
36:11Archaeologist
36:12Yvonne Wieden
36:13is devoted
36:14to uncovering
36:15Dubrovnik's
36:16treasures.
36:17Yvonne,
36:18it's incredible.
36:19Is it okay
36:19for me to come in?
36:20Yeah, please do.
36:23Yvonne,
36:23this is
36:24totally incredible.
36:25So we're kind of,
36:26what,
36:26two metres,
36:27three metres?
36:27Yeah,
36:28two and a half metres,
36:29yeah,
36:29at least.
36:31Down here,
36:34archaeologists
36:35discovered
36:35the cathedral
36:36had been rebuilt
36:37three times
36:39across the centuries,
36:40with earliest remains
36:42dating back
36:43to the late Roman period.
36:46So we are
36:46entering the main site,
36:48the main nave
36:49of the so-called
36:51Byzantine cathedral.
36:52So they knew
36:53that there was
36:54something here
36:55from the 12th century,
36:56so this is kind of
36:56crusading time,
36:57but what we're
36:58standing on now
36:59goes centuries back
37:00before that.
37:01Centuries back,
37:01yeah, yeah.
37:01It's really cool.
37:03Is it okay
37:04to tread here?
37:04Yeah,
37:05just be careful
37:06about the curbs.
37:06I will be careful
37:07about it.
37:08Oh, thank you very much.
37:09Yeah.
37:15Well, look, Yvonne,
37:16look at that.
37:17Yeah.
37:17This is the ebbs.
37:19Yeah.
37:19And the bishop's chair,
37:20the bishop's cathedra,
37:22and the fresco paintings,
37:23because all this cathedra
37:25was completely covered
37:26in frescoes.
37:33But they're so fresh,
37:35those colours.
37:35Yeah, they are, really.
37:42But this is at least
37:43a thousand years old.
37:43At least a thousand years,
37:44exactly.
37:45It's really fascinating,
37:46because this pushes back
37:48the dating of Dubrovnik.
37:49It completely changes
37:50the story.
37:51It was said that
37:52these refugees came here
37:53and founded it,
37:53but this would have been
37:54earlier than that.
37:55Yeah, this goes
37:56centuries back,
37:57and it's still
37:58an open question
37:59of debate among scholars
38:00about these first
38:01centuries of Dubrovnik.
38:02Yeah.
38:03But don't you love
38:04that about history?
38:05You get these little secrets
38:06that are revealed,
38:08and then the whole
38:09story of the place.
38:10Yeah, it's like a circle
38:12of questions and answers
38:13all over again, yeah,
38:14because every answer
38:15gets you another question.
38:17Yeah, amazing.
38:19Thank you so much
38:19for letting me down here.
38:21You're welcome, yeah.
38:21Awesome.
38:23Dubrovnik has been forged
38:33by its dynamic geography
38:35and has benefited
38:37from it, too,
38:39all in abundant evidence
38:41on the tiny island
38:43of Lokrum,
38:44a short ferry ride
38:46from the city.
38:53It's just so peaceful here,
39:15and the plants are nuts,
39:19aren't they?
39:19and there's a reason
39:20for that.
39:22The Benedictine monks
39:23who were once here
39:24nourished foliage
39:26as a kind of act
39:27of worship to God,
39:29and then centuries later,
39:31this island sort of became
39:33a botanical scientific experiment
39:35when plants from Europe,
39:38Asia, and Africa
39:38were all grown together,
39:40and now they're
39:42beautifully entwined
39:43and this kind of glorious
39:45hymn to life.
39:56Over the centuries,
39:58many household names
39:59from history
40:00have found their way here.
40:01One of the people
40:07to experience
40:08all of this
40:08was a medieval
40:10king of England,
40:11no less,
40:12Richard the Lionheart,
40:14who came here in 1192
40:15on his way home
40:17from the Crusades,
40:18and the story goes
40:19there was a terrible storm
40:21and his boats
40:22were shipwrecked
40:23along these shores
40:24that the islands
40:25gave him sanctuary,
40:27and so, in fact,
40:29he decided
40:29to found a church
40:31in this lovely place.
40:39It's just incredible
40:41thinking about
40:42everybody who's come here
40:44because it was
40:45such a thoroughfare
40:46and I'm loving it
40:48just sitting
40:49and looking at this now,
40:50but other people,
40:51tourists and travellers
40:52and, you know,
40:53adventurers
40:53and crusaders even
40:55would have had
40:56the same experience,
40:57so, yeah,
40:58it's lovely being here.
40:59It's a beautiful place,
41:00but it's got beautiful
41:01memories,
41:02this place, too.
41:14Dubrovnik's freedom
41:15was ferociously protected.
41:17For over 500 years,
41:20the city's intimidating walls,
41:22almost 2 kilometres long
41:24and up to 6 metres thick
41:25in places,
41:27kept its people safe.
41:41And this inscription,
41:43which, by the way,
41:44is on what was
41:45the Red Keep
41:45in the Game of Thrones,
41:47pretty much says it all.
41:48So, it translates as
41:50freedom cannot be bought
41:52for all the gold
41:54in the world.
41:57That freedom
41:58was sorely tested
41:59from 1991
42:01when Dubrovnik
42:02was besieged
42:04by the Yugoslav
42:05People's Army
42:06during the Croatian
42:08War of Independence.
42:10Mihaila Skuric,
42:11who lived through
42:12that siege,
42:13is a champion
42:14of the city's heritage.
42:17You could not have
42:18a better view than this.
42:19It's amazing,
42:20isn't it?
42:21So brilliant
42:22to meet up here
42:23because you get
42:24such a sense
42:25of how the city's
42:26entwined with nature.
42:27Yes, it is.
42:28It's walled by its
42:30marvellous city walls
42:31but you see
42:32the gardens inside,
42:34you see there's
42:34even one vineyard
42:36and the sea.
42:38It's all connected
42:39to the sea,
42:40isn't it?
42:40You can't actually
42:41picture it without it.
42:43And you're the same
42:44as me
42:45because as historians
42:46you can just imagine
42:47all the ships
42:48that would have come here
42:49trading salt
42:50and silver
42:51and silk.
42:52Yes, they brought
42:53so many goods
42:54to the city
42:55and so many news
42:56but what Dubrovnik kept
42:57was always its freedom
42:59and its legacy.
43:01Liberty is on the flag
43:03of Dubrovnik.
43:04Yes, it's the most
43:04important value
43:05that we inherited
43:06from ancestors.
43:08For my generations
43:09it's very, very important
43:11because we know
43:11that it took
43:12so many skills
43:13and efforts
43:14to protect it
43:15and throughout
43:16the history
43:17people of Dubrovnik
43:18really made
43:19magnificent tasks
43:21of preserving it
43:23for future generations.
43:25Because you were
43:26a child here
43:27weren't you
43:28during the War of Independence?
43:29Yes, I was just
43:3011 years old
43:31and we all fled
43:32to Dubrovnik
43:33thinking that
43:35it would never be attacked
43:36but it was attacked
43:38it was shelled
43:39and it was under siege
43:41for several months
43:42and many of our
43:43greatest monuments
43:45were damaged
43:46back then.
43:47You know, any building
43:47it's not just a building
43:49it carries memory
43:50and history
43:51and identity.
43:52It's important
43:53to save them
43:54to restore them
43:55but for its
43:56cultural value
43:58but what means
43:59to us
44:00being its inheritors
44:02it's the identity
44:03they give to us.
44:05So our city
44:06has provided
44:07so much to us
44:08and it still
44:09is doing
44:09the same job
44:10and it is
44:11the foundation
44:12of our being here.
44:14So it's a city
44:15to be cherished.
44:16You know,
44:17our city
44:17Dubrovnik
44:18has been actually
44:19like a member
44:20of our family.
44:26Honestly,
44:27just look
44:28at that place.
44:31Dubrovnik's
44:31a real reminder
44:32that when cities
44:34work with nature
44:35they succeed
44:37and thanks
44:39to the persistent
44:40resilience
44:41of its citizens
44:42even despite
44:44being pounded
44:45by earthquakes
44:46this really
44:48is a pearl
44:48that hasn't
44:50just survived
44:51it's thrived.
44:52the Adriatic
45:10has forged
45:12the spirits
45:13and the stories
45:14of Croatia
45:15and it feels
45:16as though
45:17these waves
45:18and this beautiful
45:19sea
45:19have beaten out
45:21this kind of
45:22vibrant narrative
45:23full of optimism
45:24and opportunity
45:25and inspiration
45:27and prosperity
45:28and sheer enjoyment
45:30that has nourished
45:32this place
45:33from the time
45:33of ancient seafarers
45:35right up until today.
45:37Here in Croatia
45:41natural resources
45:42were celebrated
45:44and respected
45:45fostering
45:46an expansive
45:47interconnectedness
45:48with the wider world
45:50a testament
45:51to harmony
45:52between us
45:53the land
45:54and the sea.
45:59And Bettany
46:00is in Uzbekistan
46:01next week
46:02for more treasures
46:03at the same time.
46:04Starting next tonight
46:05exploring the drama
46:06of the Scottish Highlands
46:07one of our stunning
46:08train journeys
46:09from above.
46:10Monday at 8
46:11the view from inside
46:12a control room
46:12where ambulances
46:13are stretched
46:14and resources
46:15view 999
46:16undercover
46:16NHS in crisis
46:18dispatch is special.
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