Tuesday 16th October 2007

Up early (for us) and prepared for the trip into Split when Jane mentioned that the biker camped by us must be travelling a long distance as he was carrying two spare tyres. I noticed that his black and white registration plate was only four numbers and thought that the only ones that I knew like that were ones from Guernsey, but he couldn't be from there, could he. Sure enough, on the way to the shower block I spotted the GBG sticker on the bike and had to find out more. It turned out that he was from Sark and as they don't have any vehicles on the island, the bike was registered in Guernsey. George was on his way overland to the tip of South Africa! Once he got to Egypt, the asphalted roads would disappear and he would be on rough dirt roads – hence the spare tyres. His bike was a hybrid designed to be able to withstand the tough conditions that he would encounter. He had taken the front wheel and handlebar assembly from another bike and strengthened the rear with extra struts. He said that he could have got this far in half the time if he had used his Kawasaki but it was designed for modern roads and would have fallen apart on the dirt roads. We had a very pleasant chat (nearly missing our bus as a result) and wished him the best in his adventure.
I gave George the details of the blog site and told him that I would post his picture on it. He said that he would tell his parents so that they could see his photograph. So, George's parents, here he is and I can assure you that he is fit, well and enjoying the trip!
Split was a revelation, an absolutely fascinating city and I would recommend it to anyone coming to Croatia. The centre of Split is very much lived in and not just a tourist trap. We have seen many Roman ruins but nothing like those in Split. Most Roman sites have been used as quarries after they fell into disuse and therefore there is very little left. Although this also happened in Split, they also built around the Roman buildings and reused them. Emperor Diocletian's Mausoleum, built in the 4thCentury AD was simply converted into the Cathedral of St. Domnius in the 7thCentury. The mausoleum has been preserved with an extra bit tacked on to the back to extend the church. Inside there are still the Corinthian columns looted from a Greek site in Egypt. Given that Diocletian viciously persucuted the early Christians, putting many to death, it is not surprising that his sarcophagus was removed. Once Christianity was embraced by the Romans, the bones of the martyrs killed by Diocletian were bought to the mausoleum and it was converted to a church.
Diocletian's Mausoleum is inside Diocletian's Palace (215m long and 180m wide) and an amazing amount of this is still visible. The Palace fronts on to the sea and the whole of the walls and corner towers exist, often converted into or incorporated into newer buildings. Hence the very chic cafés and restaurants are dominated above by the walls of the palace. All four gates and corner towers can be seen and the interior is full of buildings of all ages and architectures. The basement of the palace has been completely cleared of the detritus of many centuries and is open to the public. It was created to provide the palace with a level foundation and to ensure that the Emperor's apartments were able to catch the sun and breeze in the Summer. The walls matched those of the buildings above and helped to understand the layout of the palace. It was well presented with many finds and information boards.
Whilst in the centre of Diocletian's Palace we heard some wonderful unaccompanied singing and following the sound, found Klapa Sufit. Based in Split they are acapella singers and were extremely good. Acapella singing is very popular in Croatia and an international competition is held in Split every year and a festival is held annually at Omis just down the coast. I was so impressed, I bought the CD and very good it is too.
Unlike many other historic towns that have become full of tourists shops and expensive apartments, Split is full of shops and houses for the locals. Going through to the back of a Venetian mansion, there was washing strung across the inner courtyard from the very run-down flat. Another example of re-use was the bank we visited. It was on the main square in the palace, near to the cathedral and as we walked in through the door, we found ourselves walking on Roman paving and confronted by an extant Roman pillar. We were amazed that they were allowed to put the bank there but they had very carefully preserved the archaeology. The palace provided a fascinating mixture of archaeology, history, architecture and local life.
Wandering around the town and harbour occupied all of the morning and early afternoon after a very tasty lunch of Black Risotto (squid cooked in its ink) for me and Veal Risotto for Jane. Then it was on to the Archaeology Museum with a relatively small but exquisite collection mainly Roman find from the nearby Roman town of Solona. Wonderful intact delicate glass objects, coins that looked as though they were minted yesterday, a huge variety of brooches and a collection of beautifully carved Roman sarcophagi.
We were walking gently back to catch our bus when Jane noticed a bar that was titled 'Rugby Bar'. We had seen the pitch next to it and assumed that it was for football but, on checking, discovered that it was indeed a rugby pitch. We were a little thirsty, so w called in for a coffee and chatted to the waiter. Yes, there was rugby in Croatia and Split were the champions, in fact they were so much better that the other three teams in Croatia that they had little competition. They therefore played a lot of international games against Slovenian, Hungarian and Italian teams. They hoped that they may be able to join the Italian league some time soon. Unfortunately, they had played a home match last Saturday and wouldn't be playing another one while we were in the area. Still, there are two teams in Zagreb, so we might be able to see some there.
Photos: George's route to South Africa; George with bike and tent; Klapa Sufit singers; Front of Diocletian's Palace; An unguentarium in the shape of Bes or Silenus.