Shallows and sand paradise

Jezera have won the Blue Flower Award five times. It is awarded by the Croatian Tourist Board in the category of the most beautifully kept tourist destinations!

Jezera abound with distinctive, authentic customs. One of them is the Jezera Marine Ball - today part of the programme of the Cultural and Artistic Association Koledišće - dating back to the late 19th century. In 1911, the Association of Jezera Sailors was founded (locals called it "šocija naviganti") who would organise the ball at the sendoff of a young sailor on his first voyage. Other interesting customs are Preperuše - a Dodola custom of the calling for rain during dry months in which children participate.

On the island of Kukuljar Vodeni, next to Jezera, there is a  drystone wall named “Pirates” by the inhabitants of Jezera. According to legend, bodies of dead sea pirates killed by the inhabitants of Murter Island in a naval battle were buried there.

Legend of the name “boduli” (islanders) comes from the 15th century during the Turkish conquest of Croatian islands. As the Turks did not know how to swim, they used empty water skins in their attempt to conquer them. The islanders were formed into groups led by a commander. At his command "buodi duoli", they would dive into the sea and pierce the skins with spears and the Turks would drown. The surviving Turks escaped to their camps and talked to the agas (officials) that they were defeated by those who shout "buo doli".

Writer Vjekoslav Kaleb was born in Tisno. His birthplace is in the very centre of town.

There is a moveable bridge in Tisno. From 9 a.m. to 9.30 a.m. and from 5 p.m. ​​to 5.30 p.m. each day in the summer months, the bridge is lifted so the larger boats could pass below. The drivers and passengers are not bothered by the half-hour wait, as everyone usually joins the crowd of tourists on the bride railing and enjoys the procession of traditional boats as well as luxury boats. A photo of the raised bridge with white boat sails is the perfect memento of Tisno.

The bell tower or campanile of the parish church of the Holy Spirit is unfinished. Namely, the Tisno campanile had to have two additional floors according to its original draft, but due to the lack of financial resources it was built shorter, and has remained so to date.

At the main altar of the today`s church of St. Spirit, there is an early Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary with the child. The mentioned statue (11/12th century) is unique in Europe because it is uniquely coated with silver and gold and has not previously been painted. This statue represented Tisno across Europe.

The story says that Murter Island was a pirate nest in its history, from which the famous name Isola del Morte - the Island of Death originates.

Inhabitants of Murter are the largest owners of the Kornati-Žuta-Sit group of islands that they bought in the late 19th century from Zadar's gentry.

The Kornati drystone walls or add-on walls are as high as is necessary so the sheep cannot jump over them and cross to another property, and they are as wide as is necessary to keep the wind from knocking them over

There are five small family shipyards in Betina, where high-quality shipbuilders use hand tools to build solid and durable traditional wooden boats.

The legend says that the name of the settlement Betina comes from the old Celtic word "bet" meaning mouth, which corresponds to the shape of the Betina harbour.

Did you know that in all four villages of Murter Island a different dialect is used? For some terms, every village on the island has a different word. About all the differences and curiosities of the speech of Murter island wrote Edo Juraga in the “Rječnik govora otoka Murtera” (Murter's Dialect Dictionary).