One of the most popular myths of ancient Greece speaks of Jason and his Argonauts on a quest to retrieve the legendary Golden Fleece from a distant land of Colchis at the shores of the Black Sea. Succeeding in this attempt, they have arosen the wrath of the pepole of Colchis who have instantly organised a pursuit. After a long and tedious voyage, the pursuit had finally caught up with the Argonauts near the isladns of Apsyrtides. In order to save the quest, Jason and his Medea trick the pursuiters and kill their leader - none other but the son of king of Colchis. Tricked and leaderless, the Colhis sailors had given up their pursuit. However, they lack the courage to return to their homeland where the punishment for their failure awaits. Left optionless, they decide to found a new settlement near the spot where they have lost their leader.
If we take into account the fact that the islands of Apsyrtides are today known as Cres and Lošinj, it's not hard to believe Strabon, one of the most prominent historian of ancient times, who states that Pula is the very city founded by desperate sailors of Colhis - a city of fugitives, a city of a new beggining.
Rough as the way it was founded, Pula has been living its history among the worlds and civilizations. Perhaps due to the fact it was, like Rome, build on seven hills, Pula had flourished during the period of ancient roman empire. Changing its masters in the following centuries, from Venice, the Habsburg empire, allied management after the World War II, the communist Yugoslavia, Pula had finally settled in modern Croatia as an important shipyard and turist center of the Istrian peninsula.
The history of Pula is depicted on the very face of the town - narrow streets of the city center, surrounded by medieval and renaissance palaces, are paved by stone panels dating back to roman times and the hole city is packed with ancient monuments. Unlike other cities where these monuments are kept under protective glass or only on pictures, in Pula they still live their lives. Starting from the Arena of pula - a roman amphitheatre from the Ist century, 6th in size in the world, but surely the most elegant one - used as a concert stage, the Temple of Augustus to the Triumphal Arch of Sergius that surpasses the main pedestrian area.
Your vacation in Pula? Let us see... more than 60 miles of coastline and beaches, numerous hotels, camping sites and apartments in Pula and its surroundings, music festival that takes place every summer in the Arena and welcomes on regular bases such celebrities as Eros Ramazzotti, Jamiroquai or Placido Domingo, or maybe the Pula Film festival during which your favourite actress may be sunbathing on a rock near you... The choice is all yours!
