These are images of the ruins of Salona, the ancient Roman provincial capital of Dalmatia (originally an Illyrian settlement), which now lies in the outer suburbs of Split. The day I decided to bus it out to the site as a day trip was not the best weather. In fact, slightly cloudy skies turned swiftly into a thunderstorm while I was on the bus. I was one of the few tourists in Split at the time and the only one who could be bothered heading out to ruins which had been razed almost one and a half millenia ago. I asked for "Solin" and "Salona" of all the locals on the bus and was eventually directed to exit the bus about 20 minutes out from central Split. I did not realise it at the time, but I got off the bus at least 10 stops too early. I walked around in the pouring rain for a while (with no raincoat) and finally dragged my rain-sodden body into a local supermarket where I asked for directions. One young cashier could speak a little English, informed me I was way off base and revealed my predicament to the rest of the store. The guy buying groceries at the time then offered (via the cashier's translation) to drop me at Solin. I gratefully accepted (if he was a crazed axe murderer at least I had witnesses). At Solin town I headed straight to the tourist office. The lady there spoke excellent English and informed me that I was still way off base as the archaeological site of ancient Salona was another 15 minutes drive from Solin town. She took pity on my sodden clothes and squelchy water-filled sneakers and told me that as she finished in about half an hour she and her husband would drop me at the site. She showed me to the staff bathrooms and a heater so I could try and dry my socks, freshen up and enjoy a cup of tea she made me. I was soon dropped at the site as promised, where I was greeted by the archaeological staff, who were very friendly although slightly bemused by my seeming insanity at bothering to check out a relatively minor archaeological site in such atrocious weather. They had a cup of herbal tea ready for me (the tourist info lady phoned ahead) and refused to accept any money for entry into the site and its museum. The rain stopped, and rejuvenated by this string of friendly and very helpful people that I was lucky enough to encounter on a day that could have ended in travel tragedy, I proceeded to enjoy the rare opportunity to wander around the ruins of an ancient city all by myself. It was pure historical bliss, and these are some of my photos...
That is the remains of the amphitheatre in the background, destroyed relatively recently (in the 17th century by the Venetians to prevent their enemies using it for shelter after they were forced to abandon the region). Today, it is apparently a fitting site to dump an old v-dub...
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