Croatia - Split

Croatia, a country in Central and Southeast Europe on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.  What a beautiful country with its 1 244 islands, islets, and reefs.  78 of them are considered islands, 50 of them are habited with permanent residents.  

We arrived in Split, the largest city in Dalmatia, with just over 200 000 inhabitants.

We knew very little about the country so booked in a walking tour of the Old Town which gave us a great insight into the local way of life and its history, which is a very troubled one.  For the older readers, you will know of the country, Yugoslavia, had a big war in the early 90s - long story short, there are now 7 countries that have been created from that conflict - Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Slovenia.

According to the guide, everyone has had enough of turmoil and change, and just want things to stay as they are for awhile.  So onto Split, a great coastal city with so much history.  Looks quite modern on the outside but once you go off the Riva (main waterfront) there is a maze of little alleys and squares to explore.

A huge amount of water activities to keep people busy with its gorgeous beaches and port.

It began as an ancient Greek settlement but it truly became a city when the Roman Emporer Diocletian built his retirement palace around 305AD.  

Over the centuries, the city has been ruled by numerous nationalities but in 1992, finally independent.  It definitely has a Roman flavour to it.  

So much that the Roman Soldiers thought I might have been an enemy but Rosie went into battle for me!

During the tour we were lucky to be entertained by some tradition Dalmatian singing

An imposing statue of Grgur Ninski, a 10th century Croatian bishop, stands at the entrance to the Diocletian's Palace.  He fought for the right to use old Croatian in church services instead of Latin.

The palace was also used as a filming location for Game of Thrones scenes such as the palace's cellars and underground areas for Daenerys's dragon keep, and narrow streets for the setting of the slave rebellion.

After the tour we found the Game of Thrones museum, had a nosey and look at me, getting to sit on the Iron Throne!

As an introduction to Croatia, the city of Split did well.  What medieval adventures will we get up to in our next stop? Better get a move on - Winter is coming!!