Sauropolis City Center
Approach to Sauropolis by water.
“A crowd of merrymakers preparing for a parade swept us up in its spirit of happy abandon.” — Will Denison
Sauropolis, the capital of Pelledrine (western Dinotopia), is located on the eastern shore of Dolphin Bay, a large bay on the south-west side of the island. Sauropolis was designed and built by dinosaurs, who prefer the Roman style, which is readily visible in its broad avenues, many arches, heavy use of marble, and grand (not to mention ever so slightly pretentious) monuments. Every major structure has an arched entry fifty feet high to accommodate the larger citizens. Smaller creatures find their way up ladders to perches or nest baskets inside steeples and domes.
The City boasts a large Carthaginian style harbor, a huge Skybax rookery, theaters, and ferries. The city is managed by a "Council of Elders", but embodies democracy in its many philosophical factions, who debate many aspects of saurian life. Halfway up the Polongo River sits Waterfall City, Dinotopia's western center of culture and learning.
Concepts embodied in the City[]
Sauropolis seems to embody the Dinotopian dream of idealistic democracy. The words balanced, peaceful, and calm seem to best describe the manner of its inhabitants, who are generous and welcoming to guests.