If someone were to put a blindfold on your eyes and take you by the hand, slowly making their way through the sounds of the night crickets, through the thick and warm summer night, under the forest of scents and salty sea foam….

And while being under this seduction, the sea invites you into its embrace like sensual lovers whose thighs smell of carnations…

And when you feel the creak of golden grain sand under your feet, still warm from the sun, you would know: I’m in Bibinje, a place that is entangled in tradition and song, enraptured in the charm of flowers, scents and tastes, a place where you can’t say no to the joys of living.

 

WHY COME TO BIBINJE?

A hard and difficult history created Bibinje to be exactly as it should be: unbreakable and gentle at the same time, as well as seductive and protective.  History flows through Bibinje, it breathes like nowhere else, it seeps through the stone walls and streets of the Royal Točinja and ancient Bibanum.

Even in the 1^st century, an ancient villa was being built at the Lipauska site. Imagine your night as your feet are dipped in the sea as you stand on the walls of an ancient villa and as you touch the same rocks and stones that the Romans touched hundreds of years before you. Hold a glass of red wine in your hand, from the labor-bearing fruits of the Bibinje winegrowers, shrouded by the cloak of the night, while the silver stars shine over you. Taste the wine; let it slide down your throat enticingly, exchange glances with the stars, breathe in the night…

Seven beaches emerge from Neptune’s embrace, which form the coast of Bibinje: from the pebble Punta Rožica in Staro selo (the old village), the beach Škaljica that is connected to Šulterova vala, Karaban Bay which leads to the Two Bridges and pearly Lipauska with its clear sea and sandy bottom, making it ideal for children, and endless sunsets.

Marina Dalmacija that spreads over 70,000 square meters is another undeniable tourist asset. With 1400 berths, top service, and above all – safety, the marina is a real catch for boaters from all over the world.

At the end of July, on Taline, the indented promenade, the senses of smell and taste are awakened in all of the guests. The Kogo of Bibinje begins. Only there, only then, only once a year, visitors are offered the opportunity to taste Bibinje. The Bibinje that has emerged from history.  The difficult past of fishermen and farmers has created dishes of specific flavors. Firstly black rolled pasta with cuttlefish. All of the masters of food preparation from Bibinje then gather during the Dalmatian evening twilight while the orange sun goes out over the sea and prepare manestrun (stewlike soup). Every kogo turns around, each of them have an undiscovered secret in their meal, each of them jealously guard the recipe that his/her mother passed down to them, and that her mother passed down to her and so on for hundreds of years. This is a unique opportunity to taste the same dish that was prepared and served so many years ago and that fed all of Bibinje.

And just about ten days after Kogo, here comes Bibinjski gušti (traditional gastro event). The romantic Taline become a stage once again. For three days all guests become slaves to taste and smell. The best dishes of the Zadar region are prepared. There is song and dance, the soft voices of the A cappella groups leads us into the mysterious and deep night, the best wines are tasted. Enthralled by the beauty, enriched with life and time, you do not want it to end, you want it to last…

Bibinje has another speciality – the Bibinje bean, whose seeds have almost disappeared. The bean is searched for and paid for with ounces of gold, because there is none, because it has been forgotten in a time that no longer exists. Some beans from Bibinje a little olive oil, potatoes and fish…

What is Bibinje without the voices that intertwine with the sun, with the sea, with life? Trg na Sri sela (the Middle of the Village Square). The setting sun that tickles ones face, the tired mistral wind, dying down with the coming of the night. Dalmatia is the voices of male baritones and female altos that history has created for hundreds of years. Nothing is accidental here. For decades, since 1977, “Raspivano Bibinje” has been held in Bibinje, which is a gathering of a cappella groups. These a cappella groups sing unaccompanied by instruments. Otherwise, their singing would not reach the hearts of humans, lives, and destinies. The immense power of these voices spreading through the night changes lives, they inhabit us, and they live and feel because they are living beings that grow there, where it is only possible for them to grow – in the hearts of those who listen to them.

Saint Roch or Rocco is the feast in Bibinje. The heavenly protector of Bibinje is celebrated on August 16^th in the heart of the summer. The martyr died when he was only 33 years old. In the same way that some people await the New Year, the people of Bibinje await Saint Rocco: with fireworks, by procession through the town and once again by embracing joy and the celebration of life.

– However, not everything is about pleasure; the people of Bibinje also organize the Bibinje Summer Run:  running through the town, because of the town, and for the town…  

The day is dawning, the morning light is awakening new lives, a child rubs his dreamy eyes on Lipauska beach, the sea is smooth and supple, still tired from the tingles of last night. The sun is being born…. Yes, the joys of living, yes Bibinje….