Split

The North Winds blow at odd places, but our local guide said they bring good luck so to make a wish. I am learning to be careful what I wish for, because I might just get it!

So the highlight of Split was certainly Diocletian´s Palace! Diocletian was a Roman emperor who was born near Split. He joined the Roman military and made his way up the ranks. He assassinated his predecessor, so there you go. Diocletian was the first Roman emperor to retire, and he had his palace built to be both a luxury palace and military fortress. He was the emperor who the one who divided the empire among for emperors, which may or may not have been the beginning of the end of the Roman Empire. His palace was quite amazing.

He was not very popular. For example, he wanted a bust made of himself so he offered gold to the artist who made the best bust. What he did not say was that he was going to chop off the hands of the artists who made busts he did not like. So about 100 artists last their hands before he found one he liked.

He also hated Christians, and he had them killed in masses. It is very ironic that Constantine, his successor, legalized Christianity and made it the official religion of the empire.

Diocletian´s wife and daughter converted to Christianity, and he had them killed, which made people hate him even more. So, when he died, things did not go as he planned.

Looters came and built homes on the top floor of his palace. The descendents of those people still live in those homes today though many of them are falling apart. Keep in mind the palace is 1700 years old. They also took his body from the mausoleum he had built for himself and throw his body in the sea. They also turned his mausoleum into the Cathedral of St. Dominus. His Jupiter Temple was turned into St. John´s Baptistery.

Parts of seasons four and five of Game of Thrones were filmed in the city. I was in the room of the scene of Game of Thrones were Daenerys locked her dragons. It was cool! I enjoyed the palace as well as the Cathedral, which has some really cool doors, the Baptistery, and the Crypt. The Crypt has a statue of Saint Lucia. There are papers with prayers and letters of thanks, so I added a letter of thanks. There was also a note written in a foreign language that had a pink pin, one that would be used for a cloth diaper. It made me wonder about the person who left that letter. Was the letter a letter of thanks for the safe arrival of a little girl after years of trying? Was it a letter asking for a child? Whatever, a special prayer for whoever wrote the letter.

Our local guide said that some of the older people are having a hard time adjusting to capitalism and miss communism. I suppose because things were more guaranteed. I must say I find the communist architecture I have seen here and in Poland very depressing and without character.

I also went to their tiny Jewish Ghetto. The synagogue, which is the third-oldest practicing synagogue in Europe, was closed. I tend to try to find the Jewish Ghettos when I travel. I remember in Venice and Ostia Antica how far I had to walk to get to them. The Jewish population in Split came from Portugal and Spain during the reigns of Isabella of Castille and Ferdinand of Aragon and the Spanish Inquisition.

I also really enjoyed their market. It was very alive and bustling. Probably the most bustling and lively I have seen. Their seaside pedestrian promenade was also nice as well as a couple of squares I came across.

Oh, and there is a statue of Bishop Gregory of Nin whose toe you rub and make a wish. One person called it rubbish, I called it fun.