As It Once Was

In recent times you might have noticed Croatian Tourist Board videoclips showing the images of Croatia, accompanied with the slogan "The Mediterranean as It Once Was".

Every time I hear that slogan I remember that my grandmother's maiden name was Kursar, and some basic knowledge of linguistics (Kursar = Corsair) will tell you that at least one of my ancestors earned for a living through questionable means. So, the image of "Mediterranean As It Once Was" was the image of islands and coastal communities being in constant fear of plunderers, parents being in constant fear of their children being captured and sold into slavery, husbands and fathers being in constant fear of their wives and daughters being raped, ship passengers being in constant fear of having their throats' cut and being deprived of every penny in their pocket.

Actually, the way most Croatians imagine tourism, things didn't change that much, except for the plunder, rape and throat cutting.