A green oasis in Split discovered by Nathalie Emmanuel and what she didn’t know

Several days ago actress Nathalie Emmanuel, perhaps better known as Missandei, Daenerys’ servant, from the American fantasy drama television series Game of Thrones, discovered one of the many little secrets, hidden in the Split’s ancient core.
Nathalie posted on her Instagram profile a picture of herself, simply sitting on the stone stairs, surrounded by old stone houses, outdoor clothes lines and the little green oasis.

This peculiar garden is placed in the heart of the city of Split and even though it’s not too hard to find, you could easily get lost in the vast maze of alleys of the ancient core.
The locals simply call it Vrtal, i.e. The garden, but not so long ago this little green oasis was a landfill site filled with old toilets, storage water heaters, etc.
Even though the local tenants are maintaining the only green area of Split’s core for more than 50 years now, nobody knows exactly who is responsible for this extraordinary landscape transformation, or better to say, at what point did the waste-yard become the green heart of Split and one of the most popular tourist attractions in the Diocletian’s Palace.

Furthermore, the garden has it own little secrets. Two interesting sculptural heads have been placed on the building facade opposite the garden courtyard – right across the actress; the Moor’s and the Sphinx head.

There are still speculations whether this so-called Sphinx head was just a part of a sculpture – a human figure of some ruler, or, on the other hand, perhaps a part of a sphinx with the human face portraying a ruler. Nevertheless, the locals embraced the idea that this Sphinx head was placed here for protection.
Even in the 20th ct. people of Split were still extremely superstitious. Lionesses or sphinxes were frequently associated with the Gorgon. Locals believed; if you look into the sphinx eyes you will be turned to stone; their mental commands are strong enough to force you to gaze into their eyes. Therefore, locals would usually cover their eyes or turn their heads away from the sphinx, out of fear.
Looking at the photo of the actress Nathalie Emmanuel, you could say that something caught her eye. We choose to believe that she resisted the power of petrifaction magic, probably completely unaware of this myth.