August 16 – Trogir and Sibenik

We are enjoying our little hotel just inside the Silver Gate of Diocletian’s Palace here in Split. It has such a lovely terrace where we are enjoying breakfast outside each morning and evening drinks every evening.  

Down side - yesterday was a major festival day and folks partied in the adjacent square until 2:00am. And the bells in  the practically adjacent bell tower started pealing merrily away at six am. 

We are all a little tired. 🥱

We have an all-day tour to some of the small towns in the surrounding area.  On the way out of Split we saw an aqueduct. Turns out it dates from the end of the 3^rd century to the beginning of the 4^th century and was bult by Diocletian.  It was destroyed in the 6^th century but was rebuilt.  It brought water to Split until 1932.

Our first stop is the small fishing village (and tourist town) of Trogir.  The town dates from the Roman times and the old section was great to walk…narrow streets, ancient stone buildings, colorful locals…

and a pretty promenade along the waterfront. 

      ***************************************************
More Trogir
***************************************************

From there we followed the coastline for quite a ways…lovely but we didn’t get to stop.  

The drive ended in the small fishing village of Sibenik.  This is a much “newer” city in that it doesn’t date from the Greek and Roman times.  It was founded by the Croats and the first mention of it in the historical record was in 1066. 

We had lunch at a sidewalk café and then headed on up the hill to see more windy, narrow streets and…

the Cathedral of St. Lawrence (no photos inside). 

At one square a musician was playing a lovely sounding instrument that looked like a lap-sized flying saucer or two dented woks welded together.  After getting back to wi-fi access we did a bit of research. 

It is called a Hang, and according to Google the name comes from the Bernese German word Hang, that has a double meaning…Hand or Hillside (for the shape of the instrument).  It is played by tapping the sides of the saucer.  The sound was soft, warm and soothing.  Loved it. 

         ************************************************
More Sibnek
************************************************

Then it was back to the long drive back to Split.  

Back in Split we did a bit more sight seeing...

and a visit to the Silver Gate. 

As well as a visit to the "basement" in the walls of the Diocletian Palace.

We had dinner at a café we liked along the waterfront.  What a great stay in this lovely town.

Split, Croatia...what an absolutely gem of an old city.  And it is crawling with tourists.  Old town Split is dominated by the palace built by the Roman emperor, Diocletian.  The walls are pretty much intact, everything within the walls is tightly controlled in terms of exterior work, it is a labyrinth of tiny windy streets but retains the Roman lay out of two main streets that cross in the middle.  

We have thoroughly enjoyed exploring.  And the best part...sitting in the sidewalk cafes, having a drink or meal, people watching and enjoying the lovely warm breezes coming off the Adriatic.