A Travel Essay on Montenegro, a Hot Spot in the Balkan Peninsula
The Balkan Peninsula, which you reach when you cross the Adriatic Sea east from Italy

There, a land marred by war and conflict for many years, lies beautiful Croatia, and beneath it lies Montenegro.
Although it faces the Adriatic Sea and is blessed with natural beauty, Montenegro is a country of deep gray.
If you've seen Croatia in the Balkans, now you have to meet Montenegro.
The blue sea, intense sunlight, red roofs, and medieval ruins all seem familiar, but the majestic, deep gray cliffs and solid castle walls are a unique landscape that can only be found in Montenegro.
Because it is located at the southern end of the Dinaric Alps, there are many mountains, most of them rocky, and each city is surrounded by walls, giving it an even more grayish color.
The name Montenegro itself means ‘black mountain’.
There are many blue seas and picturesque islands, but what makes Montenegro 'more than anywhere else' is its rugged beauty combined with its magnificent scenery.
So Montenegro needs to be rediscovered, and now we can experience it firsthand in this book, a collection of beautiful photographs and short texts.

"Montenegro is a small country on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe.
It borders the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia to the north and east, and Albania to the south.
It is also a country in a very important geopolitical position, bordering several Balkan Peninsula countries, as it is located slightly west of Croatia.
For that reason, it is a place where many wars, big and small, took place, but thanks to the blessing of the Adriatic Sea, it is a beautiful place that is constantly visited by travelers today." - 11p

"An old white bench placed near the beach.
It was only after I got back on the main road that I realized I had left the bottle of water I was drinking from there.
Although I will soon be abandoned by someone, I have left a trace of myself here in Perast.
Perhaps we live to leave our own traces.” - p. 56

"Kotor, the southernmost city of the Adriatic Sea where the past and present coexist.
Kotor, a port city where people have settled since Roman times, has a huge city wall.
A wall built to protect the city from constant invasion by foreign enemies.
"Inside it lies a unique medieval European city, incomparable to any other in the world." - 97p

"The thing I envied most in Budva's old town were the little shops that were just two or three houses away and had signs saying 'art shops' or 'art studios'.
At first, I thought it was just another souvenir shop, but I was surprised to see the walls filled with unique artwork.
The various aspects of Budva and Montenegro reflected in their eyes, who live looking out over the Adriatic Sea every day, were depicted on pottery, paper, and cloth." - 201p

"Where are you going now?"
“Yes, I’m going to Podgorica.”
“No, no”
The owner of the Virpazar cafe waves his hand, his face red.
“There is nothing to see in Podgorica.
Don't go.
Do you know what we Montenegrins say? We say that everything in our country is beautiful except Podgorica.”
He looked at me, dumbfounded by my strong dissuasion, and said with a slight smile.
“Oriental people are strange.
“No matter how much I tell you not to go, you still go to Podgorica and say there’s nothing to see.”
I said I would go and said goodbye, but since I had already decided to go, I had to go there." - 258p

"I am now going to the Ostrog Monastery, a place carved into a nearly 90-degree vertical cliff, 900 meters above the Zeta Valley, where the faith and life of the Montenegrin people are engraved.

A long time ago, I saw a picture of this place in a foreign travel magazine that was featured as one of the 'Top 10 Highlights of the Balkans' and I always wanted to visit there.
The thrill of excitement just before seeing such a place is an extremely sensual feeling that can only be felt through travel.
- 281p

"In Petrovac you must try the fruit sold on the side of the road behind the beach.
Grapes, strawberries, and figs.
Among them, if you put a fist-sized fig in your mouth, sweetness and freshness will spread throughout your mouth.
It is a mysterious taste that lets you fully experience the sunlight of the Balkan Peninsula and the breeze of the Adriatic Sea.
After eating three in an instant, I went back and bought five more from the street vendor.
"On that afternoon, when the sun was shining brightly, I enjoyed the most mysteriously delicious lunch in the world." - 323p

"I wanted to walk along the forest path while looking at the deep blue sea of ​​Adriatic Sea.
After going through countless valleys and going around again, we arrived at Ulchini.
A cool breeze blows through the reeds.
"All my wishes came true at once." - 349p

__From the text