A Stroll Through Time

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Day 23 - Fri. Oct. 14 - Port of call: Split, Croatia. Weather: Threat of rain in the morning and partly sunny in the afternoon - temperatures of 64°F/18°C



Split is Croatia’s second largest city and lies on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea and serves as a major connector to the nearby islands in the Adriatic and the Apennine Peninsula. The city enjoys a rich and lengthy history stretching back to the 6^th century B.C. The Greeks, the Romans and the Venetians all played important roles in the development of the city as an economic and strategic power in this region.



Today we opted to take what one could call a road well travelled and joined a walking tour through Diocletian’s Palace in the old section of the city. The Palace, the old castle market and the surrounding buildings were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.



The tour started on the dock, where our guide first issued audio headsets before leading us around the bay to the city center where we entered the Palace through what was once the Emperor’s private portal to the sea. The vaulted chambers behind the portal, referred to as “The Cellars” on the tour maps, had been filled with ancient rubbish and were only excavated in the late 1980’s revealing a great deal about how life in the Palace was organized during the Roman period.



Once we emerged from the lower area we were lead in a counter-clockwise route around the site, which consists of numerous tightly packed buildings separated by very narrow alleys all in a space of roughly four city blocks. We visited the Cathedral of St. Duje, which was originally the Emperor’s Mausoleum, the Temple of Jupiter, and viewed both the Golden and the Silver Gates. On one stop outside the Cathedral we were serenaded by a group of male singers with a cappella renditions of ethnic songs.



The tour ended back at the promenade overlooking the harbour where we returned our audio equipment to the guide before heading off for a coffee. John wanted to return to the main square to have some additional photos taken with two young men who were re-enactors dressed in uniforms portraying Roman soldiers. After the impromptu photo-shoot John and I did a little more walking around while the ladies did a little shopping. We met on the promenade and strolled back to the ship for lunch and an afternoon of relaxation.

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