Although it says Boat Race, the actual boat race is only one of the races that will take place on the Cetina river this Sunday (August 23, 2015) in Trilj. Rope climbing, swimming race in the Cetina river and fly-fishing will be again entertaining guests and locals of this year´s Boat Race on the Cetina river organized by the Trilj tourist board.

For a taste of what you can expect at a boat race in Trilj, watch the video below from the Zemlja Cudesa youtube channel (all photos: snapshots from the video).

The event will start at 15:00 and will end around 19:00 with a delicious fish stew - all welcome!!

Although the traditional dalmatian klapa singing was mostly reserved to men in the past, women had their own way of expressing music and preserved their traditions up to this day. This unique festival is dedicated to Female traditional singing and music and will take place tonight (August 6, 2015) from 20:00 in Vrbolje near Trilj.

The "Vesta Festa" Festival will entertain its visitors with:

- Traditional female songs from the Cetina region

- 30. anniversary of ethno-music of Lidija Bauk

- Stories and legends of the Cetina region

- Exhibition: Vrpolje in old photograps

- Fair of traditional hand-made products and gastronomy 

A rather interesting evening it will be. Get to know the local culture among those special ladies from the Cetina region.

For the 12th time a celebration of local gastronomy, folklore and traditions "Dani Komina, Pure i Bronzina" will take place in Trijarica near Trilj. There were several little happenings these days in preparation for the main day, which will be tomorrow (August 1, 2015). The official program starts at 18:00 with preparing bread in "peka", "uštipci", making butter and many more traditional ways of preparing delicious food from this region.

Continuing with cultural program from 20:00, where several folklore groups from Croatia and even Bosnia and Herzegovina will present their traditions dancing in folk costumes. For the rest of the warm summer night Šime Jovanovac and tambourine group "Prijatelji" will entertain the whole Tijarica to complete the celebrations. To get a taste, check out the video from 2010 below.

It is a very summery summer this year. It is already unbearable hot and it should even get hotter over the weekend. I personally am more a spring and autumn kind of person, but when we have these temperatures, one have to find ways to enjoy the true summer atmosphere. One of the things to enjoy are the warm nights. Going out to an open-air event is one thing to do on such a warm night.

Trilj invites all people to join the folk celebrations to take place on Saturday July 18, 2015 starting at 21:00 at the Trilj City Park with the fabulous group Stella.

Enjoy!!

As I wrote before, singing is a strong part of the Dalmatian culture. And as such, it is present in all parts of the society, including church. Christian folk songs have a long tradition in Trilj. Women used to sing folk songs during "big" masses at the Church of St. Mihovil in Trilj and men used to sing liturgical readings "pištule". This tradition was slowly replaced by a church choir formed 25 years ago, where men and women united to sing and celebrate God together.

With time, men formed their own choir - "Pivači Zbora Župe Sv. Mihovila Arkanđela" (Singers of the Choir of the St. MIhovil Archangel Parish) to be able to focus on men folk singing.

Tomorrow they will host the St. Cecilia Folk Singers from Kaštel Lukšić (Pučki Pivači Sv. Cecilija Kaštel Lukšić), which was formed in 1892. Their common concert will take place at the Museum of the Trilj region (Muzej Triljskog Kraja) at 20:00. You are all welcome to enjoy the unique Marian songs performed by these folk choirs.

The Museum will hold another event on Tuesday July 14, 2015 with the Exhibition - Lady´s Path from Rama to Sinj" by the members of the art association from Rama and Trilj.

All welcome in Trilj!!

Thanks to the Trilj tourist board for the information and pictures.

The town of Trilj, just north of Split and on the Sinj to Mostar road, does not seem to have too much going for it at first glance. It is located all on one through road, and I must have driven through it 100 times in my life with the only thought being if I would have to slow down for a traffic policeman.

It seems I have been missing something...

First up was a visit to the oldest working mill in Dalmatia, where little has changed in the 600 years of operation (learn more here).  

"And over this hill are the remains of a Roman military camp," said Ante Latinac, former head of the Trilj Tourist Board, and my guide for the day. From the town, which is dominated by the Cetina river running through it, the hill did not look as though it was guarding anything special, but there were secrets dating back 2000 years behind it.  

According to Latinac, the wife of former Croatian Prime Minister Sanader has been instrumental in uncovering the secrets of Tilurium, which is located at Gardun, just outside Trilj. Aerial photographs showed an unusual formation in the grass and, as the existence of a Roman camp was known, excavation began. 

The former sleeping quarters are extremely well preserved. In the words of the information sign:

Military Sleeping Quarters (centuriae)

They are located in the south-eastern part of the camp, where the terrain gently slopes towards the south. Due to the levelling of the ground, the preserved substructures were filled with stone. Wooden beams were built into the walls, and their imprints have been preserved in the mortar. The beams visible on the facade were linked by vertical beams passing through the wall. The southern and eastern walls of the building were supported by buttresses, and afer the completion of the exploration, they have been conserved and partially reconstructed. The room enclosed by these two walls in the south-eastern part has also been conserved. The excavations have indicated that to the north, in parallel with the explored complex, there are other buildings consisting of the same structural elements, and this notion was used during the reconstruction of this complex. On the basis of this ground plan, we can rightfully assume that these were military sleeping quarters (centuriae), and in three cases such assumption has been confirmed by archaeological excavations. Originally, six centuriae made up a unit by one legion cohort, which numbered 500 troops. 

Trilj has long been an important post in the defences of the region, with its strategically important location on the way to Bosnia - here is the town from above, not far from Tilurium. 

Excavation work has stopped, presumably due to funding issues, but Tilirium is an important part of the Roman road heritage of Dalmatia, a tourism heritage which the regional tourist board is looking to promote more heavily. 

The site is open and entrance is free, with access through the courtyard of a very friendly local family, whose house is in rather a curious position - perched several metres above the sleeping quarters - and presumably directly on top of some other Roman treasures.  

What was once military sleeping quarters is today an adventure playground for the local canine population.  

Meanwhile, on top of the as-yet-unexcavated Roman remains, it is feeding time for the pigs.  

And the chickens...  

An exceptionally beautiful and tranquil place, and a fusion of modern rural Dalmatian rural living and thousands of years of history. So the next time you are driving through Trilj, wait awhile and find out what secrets are within its close vicinity. To learn more about Tilurium, click here.