"Checkpoint Charlie - Roman style" a Zadar Travel Page by Lochlainn

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To the Romans this was the town of Jadara. When the emperor Diocletian split the Roman Empire into two halves this little sleepy seaside fishing village in Dalmatia suddenly found itself the border crossing point between the two administrations on the Adriatic coast (not always amicably related) and was catapulted from obscurity into an importance that brought mixed blessings in the ensuing centuries. When the western empire collapsed it found itself in the role of bulwark, protecting the Eastern Roman civilization against the invading Slavs. It was to find itself in even more turmoil later when it accidentally managed to be on both sides at different times during the Crusades, both besieged and besieger. The old town itself is literally almost an island, surrounded on three sides by the sea and to the east by a channel. This ability to defend itself well, plus the fact that expansion was not an option for many centuries, means that the Roman city is very evident in the streets and monuments still visible today. In fact the architectural development of the old town seems to have almost frozen at the point of its status as the prominent seaport of Zara in the Venetian Republic. This makes for fascinating rambles through its narrow lanes and squares, especially for those of us who love to imagine what life must have been like for the citizens who's ambitions, skills and imagination created the fantastic townscape that we can still enjoy today.