The Messiah stopped in Ulcinj. Sabbataï Tsevi (1626-1676), a Jew and Kabbalist from Smyrna (Izmir), who proclaimed himself as such, caused a major schism in the Jewish community of the Ottoman Empire before being forced by the Sultan to convert to Islam and then exiled to this pirate den in the south of present-day Montenegro. His story is discovered in the bend of an alley in the old town, at the same time as his bronze statue, Torah scroll in hand, looks beyond the light stone walls, towards the open sea and his homeland.
For three years it has been located a few steps from another more stylized sculpture representing Cervantes: legend has it that the author of Don QuixoteKidnapped by Ottoman corsairs in 1575, he spent five years as a prisoner in Ulcinj, then called Dulcigno in Italian, from which he would have taken the first name of the Dulcinea of his “ingenious gentleman” after falling in love with a young local girl. Nothing confirms this story, but the coastal city cultivates it to find an extra bit of heritage and cultural soul.
Which is rather reassuring on this coast of tiny Montenegro, too often given over to predatory developers who disfigure the seafront. And those who do not want to limit their stay to hikes among lakes, gorges and mountains in the five national parks inland can still expect a bit of beauty and spirit along the coast. The old town of Ulcinj, a citadel rebuilt after an earthquake in 1979, retains the charm of its austere facades and cobbled passages, despite the garish signs advertising restaurants and “apartment”.
Its moving archaeological museum, whose old-fashioned stained glass windows display fragments of a past dating back to the 5th century.my century BC BC in a former Renaissance church converted into an Ottoman mosque: its 14th century square towermy century and its place of Slaves are a concentrate of the history of the Mediterranean.
All around, the “modern” town centre is reminiscent of the East, with its bell towers and minarets. And out of season, the vast beach of Velika Plaza, which stretches to the Albanian border – 12 kilometres of sand bordered by marshes and pine trees – is one of the most beautiful in Europe, a paradise for kitesurfers, before taking up their comfortable mattresses and parasols from the private concessions (Playa Cabo, Playa Habana).
Beautiful decorations
A rounded cove between cypresses and pines, behind centuries-old olive groves, in Valdanos; an almost wild cove at the end of a pedestrian path, in Uvala Zakolac; a luxurious break between cedars, grass and turquoise waters in the park of a former royal residence in Milocer; THE The fishing village of Sveti Stefan, on its islet connected to the shore by a golden sand spit, are still beautiful decorations. We must pray that greed does not disfigure too quickly the charming bay of Petrovac and its promenade that runs from the port to the mille-feuille rocks, with its two islets and its chapel planted in the middle. Above the port is Kastio, a 16th-century Venetian castle.my century that houses a café, a cannon placed on the wall and pointing towards the sea, it is an operetta fortress.
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