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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Travel
Camilla Bell-Davies

Mardi Gras the Balkan way – alternatives to Venice carnival

Carnival in Kotor in Montenegro.
Carnival in Kotor in Montenegro. Photograph: Krsto Vulovic

My guide Jovana Markic scoops up a glass of wine from a street table in Kotor old town and raises a toast: “Abrum!” The table is unguarded and not linked to any particular restaurant, but people are happily helping themselves to free vino and food. Jovana says this is normal.

It’s a welcome gesture for visitors coming to Kotor, on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast, for the masked Mardi Gras carnival (3-25 February this year). Abrum means welcome in the local dialect and comes from ombra, Venetian for a little glass of wine.

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