Balkan Peninsula Travel Note 5: Split

It takes only two hours to drive from Zadar to Split. About halfway through the drive, we drove onto a high plateau and suddenly saw a clear view. The scenery at the foot of the mountain seemed to be a lagoon. The condescending feeling attracted many passers-by to stop and watch.

Approaching Split, we took a short detour to Trogir, an ancient city listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as planned.

This small town was founded in the third century BC, and some of the existing streets are products of the ancient Greek period.

Trogir is actually a very small island. The distance between the island and the mainland is very close, and a small bridge can connect it. The waterway between the two is a small river no matter how you look at it, but What flows through is sea water.

After crossing the bridge, there is a parking lot outside the ancient city. People can only enter the city on foot. There are many restaurants next to the parking lot, and we started to appreciate the ancient city from the tip of our tongues.

Going through this alley to the outside of the island, the first thing we encountered was Fortress Kamerlengo.

The fortress is a Venetian Republic-era building built in the 15th century. It looks simple and practical, and it reminds people of the fierce battles back then.

The Cathedral of St. Lawrence, built in the 13th century, is the largest church on the island, and its architectural style looks a bit mixed.

The Cathedral of St. Lawrence is characterized by a large number of exquisite stone carvings, and the portico is a sample.

This conspicuous statue outside the wall of St. Dominic Monastery (St. Dominic Monastery) built in the 13th century caught my attention. The owner of the statue, Augustin Ka?oti?, was born in Trogir in 1260. He later became the bishop of Zagreb and was canonized by Pope Nocent XII in 1700.

The seaside outside Trogir is a relaxing place, and the bars are full of people under the shade of the awnings and date palm trees on the roadside.

The seaside is only separated by a bridge from another larger island, Ciovo Island (?iovo). The small strait between the two sides is full of holiday atmosphere, forming a distinct contrast with the solemnity and solemnity of the ancient city. Contrast.

After passing the bustling fruit and vegetable market by the bridge, we left Trogir and soon arrived in Split, 25 kilometers away.

Split is also a promontory city. The western tip of the peninsula extending into the Adriatic Sea is the Marjan Park. The center of the park is a hill covered by Mediterranean pine forests, surrounded on three sides by the sea. It is said that this place was already a park in the 3rd century AD.

There are not many buildings in the park. Playing in the water in summer is the main purpose of people coming here.

Of course, humans are not the only ones who like to go to the sea to cool off.

As a historical city, Diocletian’s Palace is the highlight. Diocletian was the Roman emperor who founded the rule of the Four Emperors, and was the only emperor in the Roman Empire to abdicate on his own initiative. Diocletian's Palace was the place where he lived after abdicating in the early 4th century AD. The statue of the Croatian religious leader Gregorius of Nin that stands outside the north gate of the palace is widely seen in promotional materials. It is said that touching the left toe of the statue will bring good luck, so that part was polished. Bright.

Outside the walls of Diocletian's Palace, an old man surrounded by stray cats attracted many tourists to watch.

In order to pay for the cat feeding, the old man placed a playing card next to him to raise funds. Xiao Hei seemed to understand the importance of this sign and used his body to protect the meal ticket.

Diocletian’s Palace is quite large, and it is difficult to find a place to see the whole thing. You can only appreciate its style a little bit.

The Cathedral of St Domnius (Cathedral of St Domnius) was built on the site of Diocletian's mausoleum and has a rather strange shape and layout.

The most distinctive feature of this large-scale palace is that it has not been carefully restored and turned into a museum like some ancient monuments, nor is it shown as a ruin like other ancient monuments; it is in normal condition. In use. For example: a church is still a church.

Walking around the buildings of 1700 years ago, what I hear and see are modern commercial activities, which feels a bit fantasy.

There is a conspicuous statue on the square in the center of the palace. I was completely unfamiliar with this name, so I looked it up. This poet named Marko Maruli? has a very high status in the history of Croatian literature and is known as the father of Croatian literature. His portrait is printed on the 500 kuna banknote.

As the sky gets darker, restaurants everywhere become lively.

It seems that people on vacation live up to this restaurant’s slogan: eat/sleep/repeat.

But the boss lady missed at least one thing: music.

Walking around Diocletian’s Palace, you can enjoy several decent performances in one night.

Even the buskers on the streets have pretty good standards.

Farewell to Split, the next stop is the southernmost point of this trip and the most popular tourist city: Dubrovnik.

Travel Tips: Travel guides about Diocletian's Palace will all mention that "the crypt where Daenerys kept the dragon in "Game of Thrones", the streets of Meereen and other scenes were filmed in This." and so on. I haven't seen this drama and have no idea about it at all. If you have followed "Game of Thrones", you might as well look for scenes that you are familiar with.