Today, October 26, is the Orthodox church holiday of St. Dimitar. In folklore, with the arrival of St. Dimitar, starts to snow for the first time. It is believed that the winter begins on this day.
 
On St. Dimitar's Day, many predictions were made for the upcoming year. If the moon was full, the hive would be full of honey and the bees would swarm. On the evening before the feast, the shepherds threw a staff into the barn. If the sheep lay on it in the morning, it was believed that the winter would be long, severe and cold.
To this day, traditional predictions are made after the first guest enters the house. If the guest is good and rich, the year will also be rich and blessed.
 
Dimitar is one of the most beloved Bulgarian names and on this day celebrates everyone who is named after the saint. According to an old custom, on a Name’s Day one goes uninvited and should bring white flowers so that the winter is good. The flowers are wrapped with red thread in order to bring health to the receiver.
 
Sources: https://www.hera.bg/
https://www.wikipedia.org

The #Skanderbeg Museum located in #Krujë, #Albania is one of the most important and visited museums in the country. It was built at the end of the 1970's and dedicated to the most celebrated of all Albanian heroes. George Skanderbeg’s ability to reunite Albanian families that had been divided for six centuries, made him an important national figure. He was the leader of the country during one of its most prosperous periods and created an army that successfully fended off the #Ottomans’ advances for 25 years, until his death in 1468.

The Museum of Skanderbeg represents grand collaboration of experts in all fields, including a team of renowned Albanian architects, led by Pirro Vaso and Pranvera Hoxha. They drew inspiration from the conceptual platform devised by Aleks Buda, then chair of the #Academy of #Sciences of Albania. Originally conceived as a memorial, the architecture of the museum seamlessly synchronises with history and the medieval arts. It also adds a contemporary flair to the medieval #Castle of Krujë within which it is located.

A large #relief of Skanderbeg and his brave soldiers confronts the visitors upon entering the museum. This massive sculpture reflects symbolic moments of the countless wars led by the national hero. Many of the museum’s visual art pieces portray Skanderbeg in his various roles as statesman, warrior, and battle commander. The pavilions store documents, original bibliographies, and reproductions which recount the history of Albania during the 15th century.

The museum shows the life and history of the Albanian principalities. The chronological #exhibition takes visitors through ceramic, bronze, iron, and copper objects as well as original icons and swords of the period. Beautiful #Byzantine-style frescoes cover the museum walls. These images depict Skanderbeg’s return to Krujë and glorify the unification of the once-divided Albanian principalities.
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Sources:
https://www.intoalbania.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/

#Diocletian considered one of Rome’s greatest #emperors, ruled from 284 to 305. His reign stabilized the empire and marks the end of the Imperial Crisis. After 21 years of political career Diocletian decided to abdicate and settled down near the Adriatic Sea.
 
In #Croatia, at the very heart of #Dalmatia, Diocletian created a special point on the map – the future city of #Split. The residence Diocletian built for himself was beyond comparison in his time. The palace was a massive structure and contains not only the palace itself but also buildings for housing the military garrison. The Emperor had a wish to enter his palace on a ship, without leaving the deck, so the lower tier of Diocletian’s #palace once was covered with water, and the ship of the Emperor was usually slowly passing between the columns and stopping among the vaulted rooms of the lower tier. The windows in the lower rooms are located near the ceiling – in case the water rises. During the ages, the sea receded, and a city emerged around the palace.
 
Today, the ruins of Diocletian’s palace are some of the most imposing Roman ruins, and certainly the main attraction of the city of Split, Croatia. For its unique past, the Old town of Split is included in the #UNESCO World Heritage List.
 
Although Diocletian spent just 10 years of his life there, his Palace survived many centuries and is still visited today. If you’d like to feel the echo of its antient glory, explore Split in your next jurney!
 
Sources:
http://www.diocletianspalace.org/
https://croatia.hr/
https://en.wikipedia.org

One of the most important archaeological discoveries of XX century are the excavations in the village of #Vergina, Northern Greece – former capital of the antient #Kingdom of #Macedon called Aigai. The excavations include several tombs which are protected by #UNESCO. The Royal Tomb of Philip II of Macedon is undoubtedly one of the most impressive ones with enormous worldwide impact.
 
The funeral of #Philip II in 336 BC was performed, as imposed by tradition, in the capital Aigai. It was the most lavish funeral ceremony held in #Greece. In a monumental death chamber, laid on an elaborate gold and ivory deathbed wearing his precious golden oak wreath, the king was surrendered to the funeral pyre. His son #Alexander became the king of Macedon. An army leader and a legislator, Philip, the hero, descended to his eternal residence, which was reached by a ramp and was in the form of an underground barrel-vaulted building with two chambers and a monumental facade. The concept of the “Macedonian tomb”, similar to the platonic concept of the leaders’ burial in an ideal state, interweaves a palace and a temple. The portraits of the two kings, father and son, are depicted in the hunting scene of the tomb’s facade, as well as on the gold deathbed in the chamber.
Philip’s Thracian wife, Meda, was buried with him in the tomb’s antechamber.
 
The imposing protective installation covering the royal burial cluster of Philip houses an exhibition of the #artefacts once touched by kings and people that took part in the sacred ritual of the heroic royal transit to the world of eternity. At the same time, the visitors of Vergina have a unique chance to admire the whole spectrum of ancient Greek #art in the late Classical times (architecture, painting, artistic metalwork, weaponry, jewellery).
 
Sources:
http://www.aigai.gr/
http://www.visitgreece.gr/
http://www.historyofmacedonia.org