Split, Croatia

In 305 AD, Roman Emperor Diocletian built a massive walled palace on the Mediterranean Sea in the heart of what is now Split, Croatia. 

After the Roman's abandoned the palace, it remained empty until barbarians invaded the city. Residents of the area entered the walls of the palace for protection. From that time on, people have worked and resided in the basement and within the palace walls.

This was our view of Split from the landing dock:

The bell tower in the picture above is part of the cathedral of St. Duje. It was constructed in 1100 AD. We decided we wanted to climb up it and check out the view. This picture was taken near the entrance:

The bells:

The stairs were scary and only partially roped in. There were several areas we could have easily fallen. There is no way I would have taken my children up this tower. But the view was amazing. Here it is from halfway up the tower. You can see our cruise ship:

Here we are at the top:

This is the basement of Diocletian's palace, still in excellent condition. Many tourist shops are located here:

Much of the original architecture of the palace remains above ground as well. This is in the city center:

This enormous statue is of a medieval Croatian bishop name Gregory of Nin. He had the audacity to teach religious services in the Croatian language instead of just Latin. This was contrary to the wishes of the Pope, but interesting enough, his efforts greatly strengthened the church in Croatia:

Rubbing his toe is supposed to bring good luck:

During Roman rule, the building behind Erick was the Temple of Jupiter:

Once Christianity took over, they turned this temple into a baptistry and replaced the statue of Jupiter with this statue of John the Baptist:

We decided to leave the city walls and go for a walk along the sea-shore. The views were stunning:

Another view of our cruise ship (for mom):

This walk convinced Erick and me that we needed to bring the kids to Croatia for vacation: