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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.
00:06Precious 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.
00:28Okay, 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 to do incredible things.
00:56History is waiting for us.
00:58Great!
01:00I can't quite believe they've let me down here.
01:05A place glittering with traditions.
01:09Jivoli! Jivoli!
01:10And where the gifts of the sea made history.
01:20The Stone Age knives!
01:23I mean, how awesome is that?
01:25Nestled on the eastern edge of the Adriatic, Croatia boasts a stunning shoreline stretching across 1,700 kilometres with over 1,000 islands.
01:46You can come here and take the rudder and be the captain.
01:52Okay. Unexpected, but alrighty.
01:55On its southern coast, the history-rich region of Dalmatia, where waterways have shaped lives for millennia.
02:05This is the way to live.
02:06This is the way to live. Am I doing okay, Alec?
02:11You don't need me anymore, Alec.
02:13I definitely, I definitely, definitely need him.
02:17Welcome to the wonderful treasures of Croatia.
02:29First, the intriguing island of Kortula.
02:35A luxurious setting for the TV blockbuster, Succession, where local legend claims medieval explorer Marco Polo was born.
02:45Kortula is home to layers of history, some 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.
03:04There is the most incredible excavation that's happening just over there.
03:10Marte Peridra and his team have been working here since 2021, when they discovered a mysterious, underwater, Stone Age world.
03:40This white area, this is the probes that we find a road. The road is going in that direction.
03:50A Stone Age road?
03:55Marte, why have they got a road in the Stone Age?
03:58Yeah, because they made artificial island with the coastline, and that road connects this settlement to the coast of Kortula.
04:08So it's a settlement, and they've made an artificial island in the Stone Age, but for protection or because they're trading here?
04:18We suppose that some kind of protection.
04:21Probably this settlement is focused on the maritime trading.
04:26They bring some stuff from Italy, from other destinations, and trade in the Eastern Age.
04:38So that's, you're marking out where it is?
04:41Yes, that is the marking.
04:45History is waiting for us.
04:47Great, great. What a great day.
04:50Okay, ready? Let's go.
04:59It's incredible to think that in 5000 BCE, all this would have stood above water.
05:24A stunning feat of engineering.
05:29The seabed is absolutely littered with clues.
05:33She is coming back up.
05:51She might have something.
05:55He's coming back up. I think he might have something.
06:03Have you got something?
06:05Yeah. We find some plinth blades.
06:09Oh. Is that okay to hold?
06:11Yes, yes.
06:13No way. So this is for cutting?
06:17Yeah, for cutting. It's characteristic for a Neolithic.
06:19Yeah. And this, hang on a second. So this I'm holding, they're probably around 7,000 years old.
06:26Yes, yes. 7,000 years.
06:28Look, look, look, look. So they'd have used this maybe for slicing meat or leather or...
06:35Yeah, everything. Everything.
06:37Wow. Oh, that is awesome. That's awesome. And there's a lot of this stuff down there.
06:44Yeah.
06:46Where's the flint coming from?
06:48Probably is from the Monte Gargano in Italy.
06:52That's what shows you that they're travelling and trading and...
06:55Yes. Maritime trade and everything else.
06:57Amazing.
06:59So it's like a sophisticated Stone Age civilisation.
07:03Yeah.
07:04So look at this. Look, they're Stone Age knives.
07:08I mean, how awesome is that? From Italy.
07:11So they're like choosing to get this material. And that shows how sophisticated they are 7,000 years ago.
07:19But I'm slightly anxious about holding them. Can I give them back to you?
07:24I really do not want to drop those.
07:26What?
07:28Thanks, Madhu.
07:30Nice.
07:31Nice, eh?
07:32This unique site completely alters our understanding of how Neolithic people in the region lived and what they were capable of.
07:43We've got beautiful, decorated pottery and bones that are being worked. And this, look at this little tiny. It's an arrowhead, is it?
07:52Yeah, we find a lot of them.
07:54Where on the boat, you described it as an artificial island. But I mean, that's incredible. That's in the Stone Age, in prehistory.
08:03Yes, it's a very good organisation.
08:05And how did you find it? How did you know it was here?
08:08We saw that on the satellite image. We saw something, but we didn't know, is this natural?
08:14Yeah.
08:15Or is it artificial? And after we died, we said, okay, yeah, this is something.
08:22Totally.
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.
08:36The evidence also reveals a taste for the finer things in life.
08:40My eye is being caught by these two things. And they're in water. This is seawater. Or is this desalinating them?
08:49Yes. So it's taking the salt out?
08:50Yes, yes.
08:52But what are these two beautiful things?
08:54This is head of a needle. It's very good work, very precision work.
08:58You say a needle, but it looks more like something you'd use to decorate your hair.
09:02More like a hairpin.
09:04There's a food find that's totally unexpected.
09:07And these, I mean, I just almost dare not ask about these, because it looks to me like this is...
09:12Almonds. Because these layers are without oxygen.
09:17Yeah.
09:18And we can find all organic things. So we find a lot of bits of shells of the almond. Find three olive bits.
09:29Olive stones?
09:30Olive stones, yeah. There are two of them.
09:32Yeah?
09:33It's here. You see that?
09:34Because this is rewriting the story.
09:35Yeah.
09:36Because 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.
09:55Enjoying almonds, olive oil, a little fresh olive, wearing something beautiful in their hair, you know, decorating themselves.
10:03Yeah.
10:04And they send it for a radiocarbon date.
10:06Yeah.
10:07And also 7,000 years old.
10:10It's just incredible, because all of this put together, all these bits of evidence, it really is...
10:17It's rewriting the story of what we think of civilization, because it's starting much, much, much further back.
10:25Yes, yes. It's for the first time in the Adriatic Sea.
10:28Yeah. Prehistoric seafarers.
10:30Yes.
10:31Well, I'm honestly, I'm so grateful that you've let us come here and see all this as it'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.
10:51There's one other prehistoric treasure on the island I just have to show you.
11:01It's just so awe-inspiring here, isn't it?
11:16So, archaeologists who are working here, this is called the Great Cave, have discovered evidence 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 at the same time as that community who are creating that beautiful settlement under the sea.
11:38So, isn't that fabulous to think about that women and men carving out a prehistoric life for themselves both ends of the island.
11:51The people who lived here were stone age communities, actually going right the way back to the Ice Age and they were really pioneering.
12:03So, you know, they obviously traded in ships, they developed these amazing settlements for themselves.
12:10You know, they were, it was tough to live back then.
12:13But they're developing these rich, nourishing lives for themselves and in many ways leaving us the foundations of the lives that we live today.
12:25My next treasure on Croatia's Dalmatian coast is one of the best preserved defence systems in the world.
12:48The walls of Ston, designed to protect a natural wonder.
12:55700 years ago, the Republic of Ragusa thrived in Dalmatia.
13:01Their 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.
13:35But for medieval Ragusa, Ston was a vital source of a particular income.
13:42Because the shallow bay here provides what they called white gold.
13:49These have been in use since Roman times, which makes these salt pans the oldest working salt pans anywhere in Europe.
14:09Hello. Hello. Hello. Yeah. Is this your, er, salt pan cat? Are you a Croatian salt pan cat?
14:24Yeah, I bet there have been cats here in Roman times as well. Oh, nice, keeping our fork.
14:29You cannot overstate how important salt was in pre-modern times.
14:36Without fridges, it was how you preserved everything.
14:39Salt 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.
14:53These salt pans yield 500 tonnes every year.
14:57So, although this fruit of the sea represented a lot of cash, one pool was always reserved for the poor.
15:06So, they too could access this life essential.
15:16You'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.
15:24And there were piles of salt like this going right back 2,000 years here.
15:29And do you know what?
15:31There's actually a direct connection between the Roman salt industry and our own lives
15:36because the Latin word for salt is sal.
15:41And 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.
15:58So, 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.
16:13By 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. In vino veritas.
17:00Something else the Romans did hear was start oyster farms because the oysters are...
17:06most beautiful in the TV.
17:08Oh, thank you very much. Thank you very much.
17:11Really, I really need that.
17:12Oh, well, that's big flattery. Not after I've had too much wine here. I won't be...
17:17Thank you. Hi. Hello.
17:19Can I, um, can I get a glass of wine?
17:23Oh, thank you. Voila. Thank you. Cheers.
17:27Are these your oysters?
17:29Mm.
17:30Because I'm a lifelong vegetarian, so I'm definitely not gonna eat those oysters.
17:35But...
17:37Our producer, Johnny, just behind us, loves an oyster. Thank you.
17:43Look at this, Johnny.
17:45So, I've never eaten meat or fish in my life.
17:48But these are supposed to be exquisite and special.
17:52Can I try one?
17:53Yes, go for it.
17:54One of those. Twelve?
17:55Twelve?
17:56Yeah.
17:57Oh, my gosh.
18:02Right?
18:03Yeah.
18:04Absolutely delicious.
18:05Yeah.
18:06They are supposed to be absolutely delicious.
18:08They'll be flat.
18:09Right.
18:10But juicy, riny.
18:12Everything you want from the most.
18:14Is it? Never having had one.
18:15But they are supposed to be amazing here.
18:17Because there's, um, a river, sort of mineral-rich river,
18:20that runs down to the salty water and combines.
18:23And they're supposed to be...
18:24Are those the best oysters you've ever tasted?
18:29Spitting out some chunks, 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, this one?
18:41Yeah.
18:42Yeah.
18:43Yeah, why not?
18:48I've heard about this.
18:50Oh, my gosh.
18:52Okay.
18:53I am not going to be able to move this afternoon.
18:55So, this cake is traditional to stone.
18:59And it's a mixture of pasta, almonds, other nuts and chocolate.
19:04And it's probably got about 450,000 calories per forkful.
19:10Go for it.
19:15It's like eating pasta covered in chocolate.
19:18So, I just want to wash that down with another little sip of wine, though.
19:25Time to walk off all that indulgence.
19:34The twin towns of Ston and Mali Ston, or Little Ston, carefully controlled access to the wealth of the peninsula.
19:46A crucial pinch point kept safe by some of the most gravity-defying fortifications in Europe.
19:54We are up.
19:55.
19:57.
20:05.
20:14.
20:19These walls, which are quite an adventure to climb,
20:38were 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,
20:46they were 7,000 metres long.
20:50So they're affectionately known as the Great Walls of Croatia,
20:54which actually isn't a bad name, because next to the Great Wall of China,
20:58these are one of the biggest defensive wall systems anywhere in the world.
21:07The Walls of Ston held back invaders for over 500 years.
21:12Napoleon's army did breach them in 1806,
21:16but these resilient ramparts still stand strong.
21:22How amazing it's been to witness the natural treasures here in Ston,
21:27and then to experience this extraordinary, monumental, human-made wonder
21:33created to protect it all.
21:53My next stop transports us back to ancient Rome,
21:57and a time when this coastline was pivotal for the Roman Empire.
22:04It's Croatia's second-largest city...
22:07Split.
22:09I'm just in time for another special day.
22:12So, I'll time my visit here on the feast day of St Dominus,
22:29who's the patron saint of the city.
22:31So this only happens once a year,
22:33and it celebrates the fact that he was martyred
22:37and was a Christian who supported the church.
22:40I love the fact they've got incense,
22:41which is a very ancient Roman thing.
22:49Pretty apt, because Split was home to a game-changing Roman emperor, Diocletian.
22:57You can really get a sense of Diocletian's character
23:04from this exquisite gold coin
23:07that I am incredibly lucky to be allowed to hold.
23:11Just look at his expression.
23:13He's really ferocious,
23:14and he's got this close-cropped military-style beard
23:18with a laurel wreath in his hair.
23:20And then if you just look at the back of the coin there,
23:24there's an image of Jupiter, the king of the gods,
23:28brandishing a spear and holding Victoria,
23:32who was the goddess of victory, in his hand.
23:36And this was minted in the year 290 CE
23:39in what's now modern-day Turkey.
23:42And this was the time when Diocletian
23:44was also associating himself with Jupiter.
23:47So basically, he was telling the world,
23:50like the king of the gods, I am super-powerful,
23:54I'm indomitable, I'm pretty much omnipotent.
24:01He ruled the empire with an iron fist for 20 years,
24:05strengthening borders
24:06and unleashing a ferocious persecution of Christians.
24:10He also established the Tetrarchy,
24:13splitting the Roman Empire into East and West.
24:17Two emperors, the Augusti, shared rule,
24:21assisted by two junior leaders, the Caesars.
24:26In his early 60s, Diocletian did something extraordinary,
24:31something no emperor had ever done before or would do again.
24:35He voluntarily retired to this mega-palace.
24:42This is the Golden Gate
24:47and it gives you access inside Diocletian's original palace.
24:55His seaside retirement home was completed in 305 CE.
25:01Its design, rectangular with towering walls,
25:08four entrance gates and 16 defensive towers,
25:12echoes the structure of a Roman military camp.
25:15With the empire under threat,
25:17the fortified palace was a safe haven,
25:20evolving into a city that still thrives today.
25:24In Diocletian's time,
25:32the palace was a fusion of luxury and military might,
25:36where he etched his legacy in stone.
25:40This is basically a grand entrance hall
25:53where Diocletian would welcome visitors
25:55from right across the empire
25:57and he'd be raised on a podium underneath a canopy.
26:00And it's really interesting,
26:01because obviously I'm here in Croatia,
26:03but just look at where the materials come from.
26:06So these granite columns are from Asia Minor,
26:09what's now Turkey.
26:11And over there, there's a sphinx in Egypt.
26:16So even though he wasn't emperor anymore,
26:18it's all a reminder of Diocletian's enduring power
26:22within a vast, interconnected empire.
26:26Diocletian was not shy about coming forward.
26:33He'd wear purple robes and a golden crown.
26:37And he hated being in Rome,
26:39because there they treated him like a human being,
26:42whereas here they treated him like a god.
26:56Archaeologists who are working here
27:01have lent me this awesome graphic map
27:06that they're producing of the city beneath the city.
27:11So this is the bay where I came in by boat.
27:14This is the whole city here,
27:16and they're literally mapping the city beneath the city.
27:18Look.
27:19So this is Diocletian's palace.
27:21Amazing.
27:22I spent the night just here,
27:26next to the vestibule.
27:28So where I'm heading is this little white mark here,
27:31which I think is just around this corner.
27:40This is right.
27:52I can't quite believe they'd put me down here.
28:01So what I'm standing in right now
28:04would have been a furnace,
28:06a huge kind of oven for heating hot air
28:11to go in here.
28:13Look, look at this.
28:14I mean, look at that.
28:15That is just pure Diocletian period.
28:18Hang on, here we go.
28:19Here we go.
28:21So these are part of this hypercore system,
28:23so they're the bases of pillars.
28:25So actually the floor would have been above me,
28:27and it heated air for the baths, Diocletian's bath.
28:32So where I'm standing right now
28:34is basically in his private apartments
28:37in his private chambers.
28:38So I'm experiencing the sensual pleasure
28:44enjoyed by a Roman emperor
28:471700 years ago.
28:52And today, it's my home too.
28:55And if you're lucky enough to stay here,
29:07then you get to spend the night
29:09surrounded by the walls of a Roman emperor's palace.
29:12Spending a night within the palace walls
29:17gives you a unique connection to the past,
29:21while the bustling streets outside keep it alive
29:26with a big dose of Croatian hospitality thrown in.
29:31Hi.
29:32Hi.
29:33Hi.
29:34You need to try this.
29:35Typical from Croatia
29:36from this part of the sun.
29:37Yeah.
29:38And also you need to try this later.
29:40Okay.
29:41Also typical from Croatia.
29:42Yeah.
29:43Yeah, also.
29:44Okay.
29:45You are very kind.
29:47And I feel incredibly welcome here in Split.
29:49What do you say?
29:50Jivili?
29:51Jivili.
29:52Jivili.
29:53Jivili.
29:54Jivili.
29:55Jivili.
29:56Jivili.
29:57Jivili.
29:58Jivili.
29:59Jivili.
30:00Jivili.
30:01Jivili.
30:02Jivili.
30:03Jivili.
30:04Jivili.
30:05Jivili.
30:06Jivili.
30:07Jivili.
30:08So this happens a lot in Croatia.
30:10Randomly people come up.
30:12I think they've seen the programs
30:13because they love history
30:14and they just kind of ply us with food and drink.
30:16It's hard to actually know about this.
30:18This is a walnut liqueur.
30:19It's very delicious.
30:21Come on.
30:22Sneaky soup.
30:25Mmm.
30:26And I might give this to the crew.
30:36So this extraordinary building here
30:38was originally Diocletian's mausoleum.
30:41But the incredible irony is that after his persecution
30:45of all of these Christians,
30:48that burial place has been changed into a church.
30:56To add insult to injury, it now honors St. Dominus,
31:00once the local bishop, who was killed on the orders of Diocletian himself.
31:06Diocletian's plans for a powerful pagan Roman Empire soon fell apart.
31:12And his tetrarchy descended into brutal civil war.
31:18What a city this is.
31:22There's a great story because we're told that towards the end of his life,
31:26Diocletian became really keen on growing vegetables.
31:30And 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?
31:50He may not have been able to save the old Roman religion or keep his empire together.
31:55But 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 huge gas.
32:32And certainly through time,
32:34this coastline's protected the really rich interior of the country.
32:38So you get these amazing fortified cities all along the coastline.
32:42And arguably, Dubrovnik is the best.
32:45Yes, of course.
32:56My final stop, Dubrovnik,
32:58has been called the Pearl of the Adriatic,
33:02where natural wonders were proudly protected
33:05and the gifts of the earth traded.
33:08You can hear all the swallows coming in at the end of the day.
33:14Isn't that beautiful?
33:16And if there are any Game of Thrones fans out there,
33:20this is Blackwater Bay.
33:23This city's story begins with the sea,
33:29a haven for refugees from the turmoil following the fall of the Roman Empire.
33:35The city thrived, growing into a great port, Ragusa,
33:41the origin of the name of the medieval Republic of Ragusa
33:45that would flourish on the Dalmatian coast.
33:48By the 14th century, Ragusa, or Dubrovnik as we know it,
33:53rivaled its one-time master, Venice, just across the Adriatic.
33:58And the city is still revealing new secrets.
34:11This is a place that's full of hidden gems.
34:16Some of Dubrovnik's most precious treasures are hidden in the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary,
34:27raised in 1667 after an earthquake that devastated the city.
34:33I'm lucky to get in before the crowds.
34:38And I'm promised a bit of a surprise.
34:48Closely guarded within are extraordinary medieval relics,
34:54many a thousand years old.
35:02Including the arms and head of St. Blaise,
35:06the patron saint of Dubrovnik,
35:09encased in some of the silver and gold that this treasure city traded,
35:15helping to make it so rich.
35:18Seismic activity here uncovered another marvel.
35:42This cathedral is just full of wonders, isn't it?
35:49But there was an earthquake here in 1979
35:52that revealed something truly astonishing.
35:56Hello, this is Ivan.
35:57And Ivan, hi, and Bethany, hi.
35:59Thank you so much for coming.
36:01So Ivan's promised to reveal it to me,
36:05and I've got a funky feeling it's down here.
36:07Yeah, and let's go down and see.
36:09Archaeologist Ivan Veeden is devoted
36:14to uncovering Dubrovnik's treasures.
36:16Ivan, it's incredible.
36:18Is it okay for me to come in?
36:19Yeah, please do.
36:22Ivan, this is totally incredible.
36:25So we're kind of, what, two metres, three metres?
36:27Yeah, two and a half metres, yeah, at least.
36:32Down here, archaeologists discovered
36:35the cathedral had been rebuilt three times across the centuries,
36:40with earliest remains dating back to the late Roman period.
36:45So we are entering the main site,
36:47the main nave of the so-called Byzantine cathedral.
36:51So they knew that there was something here from the 12th century,
36:55so it was kind of a crusading time.
36:57But what we're standing on now goes centuries back before that.
37:00Yeah, centuries back, yeah, yeah.
37:01It's really cool.
37:02Is it okay to tread here?
37:04Yeah, just be careful about the curbs.
37:06I will be careful about it.
37:07Oh, thank you very much.
37:08Yeah.
37:09But look, Ivan, look at that.
37:16Yeah.
37:17This is the ebbs.
37:18Yeah.
37:19And the bishop's chair, the bishop's cathedra.
37:21Yes.
37:22And the fresco paintings,
37:23because all this cathedra was completely covered in frescoes.
37:32But they're so fresh, those colours.
37:35Yeah, they are, really.
37:36But this is at least 1,000 years old.
37:41At least 1,000 years, exactly.
37:43It's really fascinating, this,
37:45because this pushes back the dating of Dubrovnik.
37:48Yeah.
37:49It completely changes the story.
37:50It was said that these refugees came here and founded it,
37:52but this would have been earlier than that.
37:54Yeah, this goes centuries back.
37:56Yeah.
37:57And it's still an open question of debate among scholars
37:59about this first centuries of Dubrovnik.
38:01Yeah.
38:02But don't you love that about history?
38:04You get these little secrets that are revealed,
38:07and then the whole story of the place changes.
38:10Yeah, it's like a circle of questions and answers all over again,
38:13yeah, because every answer gets you another question.
38:16Yeah, amazing.
38:18Thank you so much for letting me down here.
38:20You're welcome, yeah.
38:21That's awesome.
38:31Dubrovnik has been forged by its dynamic geography
38:35and has benefited from it too,
38:38all in abundant evidence on the tiny island of Lokrum,
38:43a short ferry ride from the city.
38:48It's just so peaceful here,
38:50and the plants are nuts, aren't they?
39:07And there's a reason for that.
39:20The Benedictine monks who were once here nourished foliage
39:25as a kind of act of worship to God.
39:28And then centuries later,
39:30this island sort of became a botanical scientific experiment
39:35when plants from Europe, Asia and Africa were all grown together.
39:40And now they're beautifully entwined in this kind of glorious hymn to life.
39:46Over the centuries, many household names from history have found their way here.
40:05One of the people to experience all of this
40:08was a medieval king of England, no less, Richard the Lionheart,
40:13who came here in 1192 on his way home from the Crusades.
40:17And the story goes there was a terrible storm
40:20and his boats were shipwrecked along these shores,
40:24but the islands gave him sanctuary.
40:26And so, in fact, he decided to found a church in this lovely place.
40:39It's just incredible thinking about everybody
40:42who's come here because it was such a thoroughfare
40:45and I'm loving it.
40:47You're sitting and looking at this now,
40:49but other people, tourists and travellers
40:51and, you know, adventurers
40:53and crusaders even would have had the same experience.
40:56So, yeah, it's lovely being here.
40:59It's a beautiful place, but it's got beautiful memories, this place too.
41:03Dubrovnik's freedom was ferociously protected.
41:17For over 500 years, the city's intimidating walls,
41:21almost two kilometres long and up to six metres thick in places,
41:26kept its people safe.
41:41And this inscription, which, by the way, is on what was the Red Keep
41:45in the Game of Thrones, pretty much says it all.
41:47So, it translates as,
41:49freedom cannot be bought for all the gold in the world.
41:56That freedom was sorely tested from 1991,
42:00when Dubrovnik was besieged by the Yugoslav People's Army
42:05during the Croatian War of Independence.
42:08Yay!
42:10Mihaila Skuric, who lived through that siege,
42:13is a champion of the city's heritage.
42:16You could not have a better view than this.
42:18No, no, no.
42:19It's amazing, isn't it?
42:20It's amazing.
42:21So brilliant to meet up here,
42:23because you get such a sense of how the city's entwined with nature.
42:27Yes, it is.
42:28It's walled by its marvellous city walls,
42:31but you see the gardens inside,
42:33you see there's even one vineyard and the sea, you know.
42:37It's all connected to the sea, isn't it?
42:39You can't actually picture it without it.
42:42And, you know, you're the same as me,
42:44because as historians you can just imagine all the ships
42:47that would have come here trading salt and silver and silk.
42:52Yes, they brought so many goods to the city and so many news,
42:55but what Dubrovnik kept was always its freedom and its legacy.
43:00Liberty is on the flag of Dubrovnik.
43:03Yes, it's the most important value that we inherited from our ancestors.
43:07For my generations, it's very, very important,
43:10because we know that it took so many skills and efforts to protect it.
43:15And throughout the history,
43:17people of Dubrovnik really made a magnificent task
43:21of preserving it for future generations.
43:24Because you were a child here, weren't you, during the War of Independence?
43:28Yes, I was just 11 years old,
43:30and we all fled, you know, to Dubrovnik,
43:33thinking that it would never be attacked.
43:36But it was attacked, it was shelled,
43:38and it was under siege for several months.
43:41And many of our greatest monuments were damaged back then.
43:45You know, any building, it's not just a building,
43:48it carries memory and history and identity.
43:51It's important to save them, to restore them,
43:54but for its cultural value.
43:57But what it means to us, being its inheritors,
44:01it's the identity they give to us.
44:04So our city has provided so much to us,
44:07and it still is doing the same job.
44:10And it is the foundation of our being here.
44:13So it's a city to be cherished.
44:15You know, our city, Dubrovnik,
44:17has been actually like a member of our family.
44:26Honestly, just look at that place.
44:30Dubrovnik's a real reminder that when cities work with nature,
44:35they succeed.
44:37And thanks to the persistent resilience of its citizens,
44:42even despite being pounded by earthquakes,
44:46this really is a pearl that hasn't just survived,
44:50it's thrived.
45:05The Adriatic has forged the spirits and the stories of Croatia.
45:15And it feels as though these waves and this beautiful sea
45:19have beaten out this kind of vibrant narrative
45:23full of optimism and opportunity and inspiration and prosperity
45:28and sheer enjoyment that has nourished this place
45:32from the time of ancient seafarers right up until today.
45:39Here in Croatia, natural resources were celebrated and respected,
45:44fostering an expansive interconnectedness with the wider world,
45:49a testament to harmony between us, the land and the sea.
45:56Californiaids, both of these who registered with Cab.'s
46:03have tried full, quite strongopolies,
46:05a powerful Communicative Meditation.
46:08Ancient Take- mensaged people come into your work on the minds offly
46:09's expertise.
46:10We'll see you in the next one.
46:12If you want another subset of the mountain
46:17in life, if you wanna go to a pack of cash,
46:20Transcription by CastingWords
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