So much history

We all met this morning and headed off to Salona which is the site of the ruins of a Roman era amphitheater.   The theater sat about 17,000 which leads the experts who know such things to believe there were about 65,000 inhabitants of the area.  The ruins are now filled with wild flowers but you could make out arches and what were likely holding pens for animals as this Diocletion, of which I will write more later, was particularly fond of letting eat Christians.  In the background of the amphitheater, you could see a concrete plant built under the communists.  The juxtaposition between the ancient world and the modern one was eerie.

The next drive was to Trogir, a medieval town now preserved by Unesco.  The patron saint of the town blesses you as you enter.  The town is on an island and the cathedral bell tower took 400 years to build with each generation adding something to the style.  The paths through the town are very narrow but we walked the town, saw the central court, a stage from which judgements were handed down, sometimes exile and sometimes needing to stand on the pillar of shame while you were pelted with rotten food.  The cathedral doors were "held up" by stone effigies of Saracen pirates, with their turbans and dark hair visible, Adam and Eve stood on either side while the top was the Christmas story and the columns were symbols of the months. We were also able to take photos in the cathedral - many churches in Croatia do not allow this so you can see the marble altars that are so common in Croatian churches.