Croatia is the land of a thousand islands.
Croatia in a few words seems like an impossible task, but let’s try. What would be the main characteristics of Croatia? How should I present it to you?
Firstly, diversity is undoubtedly the key. That would be the first word. Cultural, geological, and gastronomic diversity. Let’s start with that. If you just move 15 kilometers north or south, you will encounter a completely different accent, habits, or cityscape. And if you move 20 kilometers east, you will enter a completely different cultural sphere; from Venetian to Ottoman. You will feel it, for example, in what they serve you on the table. Not to mention the mentality and customs. Similarly, in just a couple of hundred kilometers, you can go from the coastal area to the mountainous, and again from the mountainous to the plains area. So, on a single-day trip, you can pass through three different geographical zones.
Secondly, it has a rich history. We are located where empires clashed, from ancient Rome to contemporary history. If we focus on, let’s say, the Middle Ages, we can talk about the conflict between Rome and the Mongols, Venice and the Slavs, Venice and the Ottoman Empire, Venice and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, etc. Just imagine how this is reflected in architecture and gastronomy; what a variety of buildings and recipes you can expect…
Thirdly, Croatia is the land of the cleanest sea and the most indented coastline. The most common phrase you hear about Croatia is ‘the land of a thousand islands.’ And that’s not just a phrase. More precisely, Croatia has 1,288 islands, islets, and reefs. It has 78 large islands, and locals usually manage to visit barely half of them in their lifetime. All these islands turn our sea into an endless series of small natural pools where the water is always calm and warm.
There is much more to say than Croatia in a few words, but this is quite enough to start with.