On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the institutionalism of Islam the third ‘‘World Halal Day Croatia 2016'' congress organized by the Centre for halal quality certification and the Islamic community in Croatia was held in Opatija, Istria from the 2nd to the 4th of November.

This year's largest congress on the halal market gathered representatives and participants from all over the world who, among other things, had the opportunity to see the possibilities of doing business on the markets of the UAE and Turkey. The congress was also dedicated to trends and potential of the halal market in a variety of industries such as halal tourism, Islamic banking and finance, halal cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

At the opening ceremony the president of the Republic of Croatia Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic addressed the numerous guests and participants of the congress from Turkey, the UAE, Malaysia, Indonesia, Iran, Algeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Australia, the US, Azerbaijan, Russia, Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Singapore, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro etc.

In addition, a fair of halal products and services was also organized on 500 square meters of exhibition space as part of the ''World Halal Day'' in Opatija where companies from eleven world countries presented their products and services.

The sixth Third Ear Festival was opened last night and this year it is the turn of Australia. Every year the Third Ear Festival highlights the cultural qualities of a different country and last night in the public library in the heart of the Old City of Dubrovnik an exhibition entitled “The Canning cattle path,” was opened. The Australian Ambassador to Croatia, Susan Cox, opened the exhibition and the festival. The theme of this year’s festival is “Aboriginal culture in Dubrovnik.”

“It is always nice to present a piece of Australia that is a little different from the Diaspora. A lot of people in Croatia know Australia through their families as there is a huge Croatian Diaspora living in Australia. But this exhibition and this festival give people the chance to see another side of our country. The Aboriginal culture is an important part of Australia’s history,” commented Ambassador Cox.

The festival continues today with an exhibition opening 'Shipwreck of Stefano' at the University of Dubrovnik, Maritime department. At 6 pm, again at the City library, there will be a lecture 'Aboriginal culture in Dubrovnik' by Iva Polak. Night full of fun is ahead of the participants of the festival, with a pub quiz with Australia theme in Lazareti, with a later 'Down under – sound of Australia' party.

Ambassador Cox welcomed guests last night and added “I would also like to thank the City of Dubrovnik for opening the doors to this historical city for a dash of Australia to enter its walls.”

What a difference a week makes! The streets of the historic Old City of Dubrovnik last night had their winter look. The hustle and bustle of the warmer, summer months is well and truly behind us and the stone streets are now empty.

Whereas just a few short weeks ago thousands upon thousands of tourists were sightseeing and sipping coffee al fresco, not the city has a slightly eerie feel. The tourist season has come to an end, the planes are ever rarer and the last of the swallows has flown to warmer climates.

Check out Dubrovnik by night

As the leading international organization with a goal of promoting and encouraging the development of tourism in the world, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) stands for responsible and sustainable tourism accessible to everyone. Accordingly, ten years ago the UNWTO initiated the development of the so called INSTO network, i.e. the International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories.

The INSTO is a network of tourism observatories monitoring the economic, environmental and social impact of tourism at a destination level. It includes Greece, China, Mexico and Brazil, whilst Croatia and Indonesia recently became members of this group in which the development of tourism will be monitored. All credits go to a group of scientists from the Zagreb Institute for tourism who launched the CROSTO – Croatian Sustainable Tourism Observatory with a goal of monitoring the development of tourism in Croatia.

The Institute for Tourism with the support of the Ministry of Tourism successfully applied for the INSTO network membership. The first official measurement of sustainability of tourism in Croatia will begin at the end of this year via the so called ETIS (European Tourism Indicators System) i.e. the system of indicators for measurement and monitoring of sustainable development of tourism developed by the EU Commission.

Travel+leisure has just published 2016 destination of the year nominees and Croatia is one of them! Their editors have chosen couple of destinations and now everybody can vote for their favorite – the winner will be known on November 14. 

Croatia is in the competition with America's national parks, Canada, Hawaii, Iceland, Ischia (Italy), Korea, Mallorca, Mexico City, New Zealand, Orlando, Paris, Pittsburgh, Portugal, Rio de Janeiro, Singapore and Washington D.C. It will be interesting to see who'll be the winner!

When it comes to our beautiful country, this is how Lila Battis, Associate editor has described it:
- With fantastic food and wine, an abundance of historic sites, and bone-white beaches, Croatia has something for every traveler—and since appearing as a frequent Game of Thrones backdrop, it’s more in-demand than ever. Stroll the port cities of Dubrovnik or Split, which have all the beauty of King’s Landing without the risk of Wildfire. Just a short boat ride from Dubrovnik you’ll find the craggy cliffs and waters of Lokrum, where Qarth scenes were filmed. And the town of Sibenik has so many soaring cathedrals and medieval fortresses that you won’t even miss the Titan of Braavos statue.

Winners of last two years are Myanmar and Cuba.

Third ear festival is starting today in Dubrovnik for the sixth time and it's dedicated to Australia under the name 'Aboriginal culture in Dubrovnik'. It's an artistic and educational festival that brings a taste of foreign culture every year.

From today to 6th of November organisers will try to bring Australia closer through workshops, lectures, exhibitions, music, pub quiz and film screenings. Third Ear Festival is a volunteer project and admission to all events is free.

The program starts at 2 pm with a dot painting workshop for children in library in Mokosica, but the official opening is at 7 pm in the Dubrovnik City library with the opening of the exhibition The Canning cattle path as well as the “Australian Corner” with donations of Australian books. Day one ends with a movie Satellite Boy from 2012 in Visia Cinema.

Tomorrow at 11 am there will be an exhibition opening 'Shipwreck of Stefano' at the University of Dubrovnik, Maritime department. At 6 pm, again at the City library, there will be a lecture 'Aboriginal culture in Dubrovnik' by Iva Polak. Night full of fun is ahead of the participants of the festival, with a pub quiz with Australia theme in Lazareti, with a later 'Down under – sound of Australia' party.

Third day starts at 6 pm with multimedia travelogue 'My Australia' by Pero Kojan at Art workshop Lazareti and continues in Visia Cinema at 9 pm with multimedia lecture 'Development of Aboriginal films in Australia – Black Wave'. Sunday is casual with a movie 'Mary and Max' in Visia Cinema at 9 pm.
For all the extra details there is an info pult in front of the Sponza Palace from 11 am to 5 pm.

When it comes to movies, I am a big fan of horror. I love being scared and respect the science behind frightening people. This is why I enjoy Halloween. Not necessarily the part about the costumes and house decoration, that I really don't care for, but the celebration of the horror culture is something I revel in.

Horror is such a rich genre, and might as well be the oldest one in human culture. Since the dawn of time we have fantasized about what is unknown to us and it's in our nature to assume all sorts of scary things about what exactly lurks in the hidden corners of our surroundings. There is something profoundly creative about it. Next time you are walking to your house at night, take a look at one of the dark hallways or streets along the way and think about what could possibly be there, hidden in waiting. You will be amazed at how creative you can be.

There is also one very important thing that those who dislike horror and scary movies need to know. It's all for fun. Horror is an immensely fun genre and the rush you get from it is exhilarating. Those who believe horror fans in general have a tendency for violence in real life are sadly mistaken. There is nothing interesting or fun about real life violence and gore seen daily on the news. That's the beauty of horror; you get to imagine all sorts of fantastic things about the world around us. It's much nicer than actually seeing what the world around is really like. There is no make-believe horror more disturbing than the reality of what people are capable of. In fact, some of the most famous cult horror movies very serious in criticism of human nature or human society, like Dawn of the Dead (original one), Godzilla, Hellraiser, and many others. This is where horror and comedy genres are very much alike. They are both rich, they are both focused on entertainment, but they can also be anything from very silly to a very serious works of art.

This year we've seen Halloween getting more popular in Croatia, along with the rise of anti-Halloween sentiment, mostly from the Catholic Church. Now, I am trying to be respectful about everyone's religious beliefs, but I fail to see the big controversy. What Halloween boils down to in practise is eating sugary treats, watching horror movies, and sometimes, dressing up as a killer clown or Catwoman and attending a standard Saturday night party at your local bar. Hardly the stuff of satanic conspiracies! However, there are still people that are very vocal against this practise, saying it offends the religious, and this saddens me. Not because I really think it’s a controversial matter, but rather because this is just one of the recent indicators Croatians are losing their sense of humour and thirst for entertainment. We don't know how to have fun anymore and those that try, we judge, saying they offend the rest. That is both sad and scary, as nothing is more prone to acts of aggression than dissatisfied, humourless people with no emotional outlet. Those protesting Halloween are saying these practices are imported, they clash with our local culture, and cater to consumerism. They are right about the last part, although I seriously doubt anybody's Halloween budget is going to outweigh their Christmas shopping budget anytime soon. As for the local culture statement, saying Croatia doesn't have a rich and beautiful horror folk tale legacy is truly insulting. If you think we've imported dressing up in monster costumes from American suburbanites, just write „zvoncari“ in your favourite search engine and enjoy discovering a beautiful local tradition universally loved and cherished by all Croatians.

What I’m trying to say it that next time you want to be truly scared, watch the news. On the other hand, if you just want to have some fun, get a few friends together, make some finger food, buy a nice bottle of wine and treat yourself to a horror movie marathon. I promise, the Devil will not take your soul because of it.

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Bozidar Jukic, AKA The Restless Native, is a Dubrovnik local with too many interests to name them all, with writing being at the very top of the list. He is a lover of good food, music and film, and a firm believer in the healing power of laughter. His professional orientation is towards tourism and travel so it comes as no surprise he spends most of his time alongside Mrs. Jukic running their own local tour company. Their goal is helping travellers from all over the world get a more intimate experience of Dubrovnik and what it has to offer. To find out more about their work, visit their website or Facebook page.
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The internationally praised Grammy-winning American house music DJ and producer David Morales will play in Zagreb on the 11th of November as part of the DJ Legends program at the Boogaloo club.

The world popular DJ has already visited Croatia on several occasions thus expressed his desire to spend his retirement days in Croatia one day.

''Croatian people always make me feel welcome wherever I go, whether it is a restaurant or a local shop. When I'm in Zagreb, I usually eat at the restaurant on the old square. Every year when I come here I feel like I'm visiting my family'', said Morales.

Morales is one of the most prolific remixers of all time, transforming many pop music songs of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Mariah Carey, U2 etc. into club-friendly dance tracks. He was born in New York City, but is of Puerto Rican ancestry. He won a Grammy Award for Remixer of the Year in 1998.

“For me the Croatian audience is one of the best in the world, not just in Europe. They love to have fun, they are warm and always in a very friendly mood. I keep saying that I would really like to come and live here in the future. I have also visited Split and some of the Dalmatian islands. The lifestyle here is unbelievable, and quality of life is something that is very important for me”, concluded Morales.