sibenik times
THE
ISSUE 26 | SatUrday, may 30
th
2009 | yEar II
POWErEd By
šibenskilist
Kornati National park
te Nionl Pk of Koni is ue wone of e aiicSe, wi 150 islns in se e of bou 320 k² Koni ise enses cipelgo in e meienen Se.
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sibenik times
saturdaymay 30
th
2009.
Welcome to our beautiful city andto the eighth edition of the secondseason of “The Sibenik Times”. Whata difference a road makes. The joy ofthe open road, nothing behind youand the way ahead clear as the eyecan see speeding along without acare in the world. Normally this situ-ation would be pretty much impossi-ble in Dalmatia at this time of the yearwhere, unless you drive in the middleof the night, the roads are packedwith sweating and swearing motor-ists. I’ve been running up and downDalmatia this week, from Dubrovnik toSplit and onto Sibenik. This howeverwas pretty unattainable a few yearsago before the construction of theA1 highway. Just being able to travelfrom Dubrovnik to Sibenik inside fourhours was impossible in the past whenall we had was a single track coastalroad that was busy at all times of theyear and resembled a car park in thesummer season. The highway hasopened up Dalmatia and broughtcities closer. I saw a good exampleof this a few months ago when I metcoincidentally some friends from Du-brovnik who were on their way to Splitto “drink a coffee.” Strangely the high-way is never really busy in fact it wouldbe better described as half empty allthe time and the last section towardsDubrovnik is almost completely emptythrough all the seasons. I don’t reallysee the reason why. It surely can’t bebecause of the relatively small tollfees. Not only has it connected Sibe-nik to the rest of Dalmatia it’s alsomade the capital at lot closer. A merethree hour drive from Sibenik to Za-greb would have been unthinkable afew years ago. Open roads, combinedwith plenty of stops and service sta-tions for the thirsty driver make thewhole experience pleasant.
FROM THE EDITOR
SPEaK UP!
We woul love o e fo ou.Plese wie o sen n e-il ous bou ou s in Sibenik. yo-u coens e vluble o usn e os ineesing leeswill be publise eve week. In-eesing n unusul poos elso welcoe. tnks.marK thOmaSk.os@sibenik-ies.co
SUNDAY SHOPPING STARTS ON 1st JUNE
CROATIA LIFTS VISA RESTRICTIONSFOR MANY FOREIGN DIPLOMATS
TRAVEL EXPERT PREDICTS LATEHOLIDAY BOOKING MARKET
TOTAL SMOKING BAN ENTERS FORCE
Croatia has started with acomplete ban on smoking fromWednesday the 6th of May.Smoking at bars will only beallowed on terraces, while resta-urants would have the possibili-ty of allocating a separate roomfor smokers. Also, the bill ban smoking onall work places. Smoking hasalready been banned in health,social institutional and educati-on facilities. The new bill alsointroduces a special health war-ning on every pack of cigarettes.Health Minister Darko Milinovicsaid with the new law the gover-nment want to change people’ssmoking habits and protect non-smokers.The new Croatian Sunday-shopping law allowsall shops to be open on Sundays from 1 June to 1October. Numerous merchants remain dissatisfi-ed, however, since their shops will be able to stay open only until 2 pm on Sundays. The merchantsclaim early Sunday closings will make it impossi-ble for them to recoup daily expenses and Sunday openings will therefore be unprofitable. They alsosay it will be impossible to explain to tourists why their shops must close at 2 pm. The new regula-tion could affect furniture and home-furnishingstores at shopping malls more than others sincepeople tend to visit them in the afternoon or theevening. The new law banning Sunday shopping, which partially exempts Sunday closures duringthe summer tourist season, entered into force on 1January. Numerous shopping malls, markets andsupermarkets have failed in their efforts to havethe law repealed.The Croatian governmenthas lifted restrictions on visasfor holders of diplomatic andofficial passports issued by Ko-sovo, Peru, Kazakhstan andColombia. The government, which brought in the initiativeyesterday (Thurs), also lifted re-strictions on visas for holders of Algerian diplomatic passports.Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integra-tion spokesman Mario Draguntold Hina news agency that visarestrictions on holders of ordi-nary passports issued by Peruand Colombia had also beenlifted. The visa regimes for Ko-sovo residents who want to visitCroatia for tourism, business orfamily visits remain unchanged.Kosovo has repeatedly requestedthe lifting of restrictions on visasfor visits to Croatia in light of thetwo countries’ good bilateral re-lationship. Croatia has already opened an embassy in Pristina,and Kosovo is planning to openan embassy in Zagreb. Accor-ding to the Pristina media, the-re have been a record numberof applications for positions atKosovo’s future embassy in Za-greb, compared to the numberof candidates for positions at theother 19 embassies the Kosovogovernment is planning to openin foreign countries.It is likely there will be a la-te holiday booking market thisyear, according to spokespersonfor Abta - The Travel Associati-on. Sean Tipton claimed that with people unsure about thefuture of their jobs, there will bea number of holidaymakers whohold on until they organize theirtrips abroad. Many of them willchoose to holiday Croatia style,by taking advantage of the many historic sites and tourist attrac-tions the country has to offer.Sun, sea, sand and culture areall provided by the nation's va-rious travel hotspots such as Du-brovnik, Split and Sibenik. MrTipton said: "If you are worriedabout your job and those kind of issues, you're not going to rushout and book a holiday. You aregoing to wait till you feel secureand its inevitable there will bea late booking market becauseof that."
saturdaymay 30
th
2009.
sibenik times
3
DID YOU KNOW?
•Sibenikcelebratesitsdayofthe
ci on e 29 of Sepebe.
•St.JacobCathedralinSibenikwasrecognisedbyUNESCOonthe
30 of Novebe 2000 wen iws plce on e lis of poecewol onuens.
•TheSibenik-KninCountyhas
806 kiloees of cosline, fiveives, ee big n en slllkes.
•ThereadersoftheEnglishnews
-ppe “te Sun ties” voe
in2003thatCroatiawasthemost
soug fe ouis esinion.
•Theeditorsofoneofthemost
well known ouis guies, te
LonelyPlanet,placedCroatiain
fou plce s e os populesinion fo 2004.
•TheSibenikInternationalChil
-en’s Fesivl, wic is el
theendofJuneandbeginningofJuly,hasbeenheldforthelast50
es.
•Dolphinsareoftenseenswim
-ing in e ses oun e Sibe-
nikCounty.•Oneoftheoldestandmost
popul els in dli n inSibenik is sines in olive oil.
•ACIMarinainVodicehas415
bes n 90 bes.
•ThecityofKninis56kilometres
fo Sibenik.
•TheresortofVodicehasover
50,000 ouis ccooions,wic kes i one of e lgesoli cenes on e aiicSe.
•Twonationalparks,Krkaand
Koni, e siue in e Sibe-
nik-KninCounty.•The300thanniversaryof
sponge vesing ws ecenlel on Kpnj Isln.
•Sibenikwasthefirsttownwhich
ine is coins une e ule of
theVenetians.•Thelargestinhabitedislandin
e coun is mue.
•Inthesummerof1936KingEd
-
wardVIIIcametoCroatiaonthe
c Nlin, wi Wllis Sipson,wo e le bice o .te 90.2 c s now been e-soe.
•Jamiroquai’sJayKayandsu
-
permodelJodieKiddwereamong
ose wo visie e Kk we-flls s p of e Gubll llin 2005, wic se e in
London’sTrafalgarSquare.
IVO SANADER: SIGNS OF RECOVERY ON THE HORIZON
SHIP OVER 2,000 YEARS OLD FOUND IN NOVALJA
WARNINGS ISSUED AS CROATIA EXPERIENCES EARLY HEAT-WAVE
CROATIA ADDRESSING GREEN AGENDA
DRESSING FOR CROATIA
Exporters are the healthiest part of the Croati-an economy, said Darinko Bago, president of theCroatian Exporters Association (HIZ), opening the4th convention of Croatia’s exporters. Addressingthe exporters, Prime Minister Ivo Sanader saidthat the crisis will not be conquered by “old, co-mmunist taxes” or currency depreciation, or those who advocate the same level of taxes for the richand the poor, referring to the opposition. He boa-sted that the Government created a framework fordevelopment of entrepreneurship and concludedthere are reasons to be optimistic. The PM saysthat certain signs of recovery can already be seenon the horizon. He once again stressed that theGovernment had saved the banking system by increasing the insured savings amount in banksto HRK 400,000, mentioned the national planfor maintaining the current level of employment worth HRK 520 million, and positive IMF’s eva-luations.With a number of campaign groups calling onpeople to choose a more environmentally-friendly vacation, Croatia could provide the answer. Next week, the country’s capital Zagreb hosts Gree-nergo - the first international ecological car showthe nation has ever held. Running from May 25thto 26th, the event will showcase Croatia’s greencredentials and promote the use of eco-friendly energy sources in transport. Demonstrations andspeeches from prominent figures in the transportand environment industries will take place. It co-mes after Laura Burgess, director of environment-focused travel website ecoscape, said that peopleneed to embed sustainability into their holidays.She indicated that there are a number of processestravellers can follow to be more eco-friendly. “Youcan look at all sorts of things,” she explained. “Forexample if you want to reduce your emissions, youcan look at the way you travel there, whether ornot you fly or take the train.” A Canadian newspaper that looked into whatmakes the ideal attire for travellers has revealedthat khaki is no longer the staple backpack itemfor people on adventures across the world. Indeed,the Ottawa Citizen used the example of one trepidexplorer, who visited Croatia with nothing but theclothes and bag on her back.For those taking a holiday to Croatia this year,the comments of public relations manager KateBuska may come in handy. She said that sleevelesscotton shift dresses are a must, before adding: "I went to London and Croatia for two weeks witha few shift dresses and was able to wear them inall kinds of situations, from chic business cocktailparties in Kensington to romantic sunset strollsalong the Adriatic coast." It is not just Ms Buska who enjoyed a Croatia travel experience lately - American celebrity Bridget Marquardt, who hoststhe show Bridget's Sexiest Beaches, told USA To-day that her Dubrovnik holiday was "absolutely beautiful".In the Caska Bay on the Island of Pag,near Novalja, an ancient sewn ship over2,000 years old was found. This is theresult of research done by the city of Novalja and the Zadar University, in co-operation with the French institute forscientific research (CNRS-CCJ University in Marseille) and numerous other foreignassociates. Archaeologists have found an ancientsewn ship more than 2000 years old inPag’s Caska Bay, reports ezadar.hr. Theresearch, which was organized by theCity of Novalja in cooperation with theZadar University in cooperation with theFrench national institute for scientific re-search, was led by Professor Zdenko Bru-sic from the Zadar University.The heat-wave hitting Croatia forthe past few days will continue for atleast a few more, according to weatherexperts. Temperatures have risen intothe high 30s throughout the country recently, according to weather foreca-sters, and could rise to as much as 33degrees. Visitors to Croatia should be preparedfor quite exceptional summer weather,and doctors are warning that the old andthe very young should take precautionsfor dealing with the heat. People in thoseage categories should avoid the midday sun and protect themselves with high-fac-tor sun creams.
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The Sibenik Times, May 30th
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