Visit Croatia (Part 4) - Mljet island. Sea, sun and national park.

Hello again dear SteemIt users,

here we go again, in my new article I will write about Mljet island. This will be very interesting article, i recommend you to read ti, not just vote-up or comment.

I didn't mentioned in my last articles what is purpose of my writing...
In my articles I'm trying to get all the users closer to the beauty of Croatia. In every text I mention the general information about the place I write about, the climate and the sights you need to visit. If you want to devote to some other topics, please give your opinions freely in the comments.

But first let me tell something i learned from my last article.
My last article started discussion about the rights of used photos. So i will try to use "free" photos from now. I loved that discussion because i learned something new, and gave me some ideas about writing new articles.

Special and big thanks goes to @lynncoyle1 , @viking-ventures and @wolfhart .

In this article all images have source URL's, some of them are from free sites like https://unsplash.com, some are from Wikipedia (i think it is free source), some are free for use taken from Croatian tourist agency. And some are from my own gallery.

And for some i really liked, i asked for permission to use, for some i got green light to use, and for some i didn't even get answer. But what is most important: all images have source URL, and i think that's enough because i don't steal from anyone.

Image source: https://pixabay.com/en/nature-background-tree-2236048/

Mljet island - Introduction

The eighth largest island in Croatia, one of the largest southern Dalmatian islands, and the southernmost and easternmost island of the larger Croatian islands. Mljet is located in the Dubrovnik archipelago and is its largest island. Its surface is 100.4 km2. Its length is 37 kilometers long and only 3 kilometers wide.

It is considered the most forested island on the Adriatic, more than 70% of the area is covered by forests, and within the national park, coverage exceeds 90%, therefore it has the nickname Greenest Island of Croatia.

The relief of the island has a distinct and very dynamic look. The highest peak of the island is the Great City (514 m), while at the same time many peaks exceed 300 meters. Along the island there are many karst valleys (fields) and hundreds of smaller dolomites. About Mljet has more islets and reefs.

Image source: http://www.boriskacan.com/galleries.php?ID=95

Climate

Mljet belongs to the Mediterranean climatic region, so the summers are dry and long, while the winters are rainy and mild. The spring - summer period is most often marked by dry, hot, sunny and clear weather, while the rain falls only in the case of a dreary or strong southern wind. In the summer months the most common wind is maestral. The autumn - winter time is fairly fresh because it is known to blow the strong bora. Rains are frequent due to exposure to the southern winds. The temperature rarely drops below zero, and snow usually falls once in a decade.

Image source: http://www.mljet.hr/

Which sights you should visit!

Saplunara beach

Saplunara is a village on the island of Mljet.

Due to its natural features, the area was protected by law in 1965 (significant landscape). It represents one of the last remaining sandy coastal habitats in Croatia and the habitat of extremely rare and endangered sand fungus. Sandstone vegetation is very specific because of its adaptation to extreme living conditions (tide, hay, salt, wind, etc.) and is extremely sensitive to changes caused by human activities.

Image source: http://wikipedia.org

Rock of Paul the Apostle

According to tradition, rescuing from great storms and shipwrecks, Paul sailed with his boat on the southeastern coast of the island of Mljet. In the field of Žara near the site of Korit, a part of the islanders today call the Church or Church, and the people circulate their surrender as it has been a part of the church of St. Paul. Stari Mljećani say that the church was erected in honor of the apostle Paul, who spent three months in Mljet after the shipwreck of 61 years.

Image source: http://www.hrvatskatravel.org/hr/city-view/74?category=277&subcategory=465

Image source: http://www.hrvatskatravel.org/hr/city-view/74?category=277&subcategory=465

Odyssey pit

Odysseus pit is a cave on the island of Mljet. It is located on the southern coast of the island, near Babin Field.

The Odyssey cave is an oval shaped cave with several dozen meters in diameter. There is a collapsed vault that is named after the Jama, because looking on the land side, it looks like a big hole in the ground. The bottom is filled with the sea. Through the limestone layers, separating it from the open sea, a tunnel penetration has formed, so a cave can enter a floating or smaller boat.

The entrance from the sea side is 4 to 5 meters wide and above the sea level is only 1 to 1.5 meters. The depth of the sea in the tunnel cave is 8 to 10 meters, the tunnel itself is about 20 meters long. Access from the mainland is possible through very steep improvised stairs.

Odysseus's cave is used as a shelter for fishing boats and a fishing tool: the net, today forbidden for mossy pits, parangas and paddles, and represents the most unusual port on the whole Adriatic, but also wider.

Image source: http://dubrovnikdigest.com/otoci/mljet
In the summer months, around noon, when the sunlight strikes the caves in the caves, the color is created in the sea, especially interesting to tourists and fans of true natural phenomena and photos. In the Jam itself, because of the high rocks, light never comes.

Roman palace Mljet

The palaces in Polača were imposing in size, and the administrators of this imperial estate, together with their courtrooms and numerous servants, the lower and more clergy, and the people who lived in the nearby and remote surroundings of the palace, lived in the small and unobtrusive houses of which there was nothing left trace.

Image source Mljet tourist board: https://www.mljet.hr

The governing layer belonged to the Roman-Romani population, and the Romanized Illyrians served as the main physical force for extracting and transferring stones for the purpose of building a palace and a basilica. The conquest of the prosperity of the island of Mljet in the 5th and 6th centuries is proved by Odoakra's donation from March 18, 489, which gives its own domesticorum of Pierius to Sirakuze and Mljet properties, where the estate in Mljet is estimated at 200 solids annually at that time was big money.

Such revenue was brought by agriculture, developed agriculture, exploitation of forests, firewood and construction, and trade that went through the port of Polače, where boats from all over the Empire came and went equally to all the major ports of the Empire.

Church of St. Blaise in Babino Polje

The Romanesque-Gothic style of the church is a rare occurrence in Dalmatia. The church is 6x15 m long but has two chapels on the side walls, so it is a cross-shaped floor. Portal is a renaissance, Baroque low bell tower and bell of Venetian workshop, altars and graves from the 17th century. but also added to the porch g.1616. from the Palunko brothers who were judges in Babino Polje. The bell has enlisted invocations for a stormy weather.

Image source: http://www.dubrovacka-biskupija.hr

National Park Mljet

The Mljet National Park covers the northwestern part of the island of Mljet, which stretches over the area of ​​5,375 hectares of protected land and the surrounding sea. This area was declared a national park on November 11, 1960 and represents the first institutionalized attempt to protect the original ecosystem on the Adriatic

The vegetation of the national park Mljet is very lush because of which Mljet is called the Green Island. The Alps pine forest around the lake is considered to be the most preserved and beautiful forest in the Mediterranean. The original forests of oak or black oak, along the Dundo Forest, on the island of Rab, are the most watched on the Adriatic.

Image source: http://np-mljet.hr/en/

Final words

I hope you enjoyed this article about the island of Mljet. With this article I have tried to show you the look and surroundings of one of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean.

If you like this article please leave a comment and vote-up :).

Follow my profile and read about the beauties of the Republic of Croatia in the future.

And remember: