The Alca

Among the ancient and endless obfuscation of Balkan history, there is a tradition which this summer I might get to see.

The Alca is a tournament between horseriders in full armor, picking a ring off with their lance from a rope suspending it in the air (rather like gauchos in Argentina). The difference here being the weight of centuries-old armor. The exact dates I need to work on...

What I do know is that a few thousand croats (along with some Venetian commanders) went up against a force of some tens of thousands of Ottomans (numbers vary from side to side but the ballpark is the same). It was a hopeless situation for the outnumbered Balkan force until some of the Venetian commanders secretly poisoned the river upstream from the Ottoman camp the night before the battle.

The next day, having informed the rest of their army, the Balkans charged at the depleted Turks to a stunning victory.

At the tournament there is one horse without a rider. It represents the Ottomans.