With an area of less than one-third of Malaysia and a population of only four and a half millions, Croatia has six heritage sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List and the first three were listed nearly thirty years ago. A Mediterranean and Central European country, Croatia was an assemblage of various geopolitical formations, including Greek city states, Roman and Byzantine provinces. Though exposed to the pressure of big powers throughout its history, Croatia has always maintained its statehood and national identity.

The first entries in 1979 were Dubrovnik, Split and the Plitvice Lakes National Park. Dubrovnik was recognised as an example of the highest material emanation of the national spirit, and Split as a dynamic coastal town within the walls of Diocletian’s palace, built in the late antiquity. Plitvice Lakes National Park, which forms an important part of Croatia’s landscape identity, is the most beautiful of all its national parks.

After independence in 1991, three more sites were added to the List: the historic nucleus of Trogir, a jewel of Croatian Romanesque architecture, the sculptural masterpiece of master Radovan; the Šibenik Cathedral; and the Euphrasian Basilica in Poreč, a masterpiece of early Christian art.

The exhibition of photographs of these locations was shown for the first time in Paris in 2004 marking the 25th anniversary of the first Croatian heritage sites on the World Heritage List. In Malaysia, it was aptly opened by Dato’ Prof. Emeritus Zuraina Majid, Commissioner of Heritage, National Heritage Department of Malaysia on March 17, 2008 at Wisma Kebudayaan SGM, Kuala Lumpur. The exhibition ended on March 23, 2008.