At the foot of Dubrovnik s Gibraltar Jul 23, 2020

At the foot of Dubrovnik s Gibraltar

The stairs in today"s photo lead to Fort Lovrijenac, an 11th-century fortress jutting out into the Adriatic Sea just outside the western wall of Dubrovnik, Croatia. "Game of Thrones" fans will recognize these doors as entrances to a dwelling in the fictional city of King"s Landing. Legend claims that when the fort was built on this rocky coastal outpost, it took just three months to construct. The locals of what was then Ragusa knew they had limited time before their rivals, the Venetians, would arrive to build their own outpost and rule over them. According to "The Chronicles of Ragusa," the plan worked—the fort was completed just as the surprised Venetians arrived in ships heavy with supplies.

© Barbara Vallance/Getty Images

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