We walked from our ship toward the old part of town. Along the way were money exchange booths easily accessible from the port along the vendor-lined sidewalks on the way to the old city. We decided to exchange 20 Euro for 146 Kuna and see how far we could go on that.
First stop: Diocletian’s palace with plenty of vendors lined up inside and out.
Just behind the cathedral, we purchased a combo ticket to enter the cathedral (below, left) baptistry (right) and crypt (below the cathedral). The building directly in front is an entryway for more of the palace buildings.
This is a closeup of the sphinx that sits close to the cathedral. 
It cost extra K and energy to climb the bell tower, so we opted out.
Diocletian’s real name was Gaius Aurelius Valerus, and he was the Roman emperor from 284-316. His palace was built in approximately ten years at the later part of the third century. Diocletian constructed the mausoleum out of massive stones and the columns were looted from Greek and Egyptian temples. This emperor tried to eradicate all Christians during his lifetime, but a few years later his mausoleum was converted into a Catholic cathedral.
The bones of many Christian martyrs now rest in Diocletian’s tomb. 
People have come to pay their respects to those martyrs, rather than the emperor, for over 1300 years now. In the crypt, there are prayers written on scraps of anything and placed at the foot of a replica of a saint.
Across from the cathedral is a temple to Jupiter. I think this skinny statue is Jupiter? 
The temple was converted into a baptistry called the baptistry of John the Baptist. I’m assuming they baptized by immersion as there is plenty of room in this baptistry.
It is amazing to me that this palace built in the third century has been in constant use since then. There are shops, apartments, residences, businesses, cafes, churches, etc., within the palace.
We enjoyed meandering through the narrow passageways. 
I found a perfect ornament that looks like a necktie in one of the shops. Supposedly Split is well-known for men’s neckties. We also stopped at a cafe within the palace compound for a drink . Hubby ordered Coke, and I ordered Pipi which tasted like carbonated orange Pixi sticks – similar to Fanta orange, only sweeter. 
While there, we used their restroom and caught up on emails with the complimentary wifi.
We purchased a postcard with postage from a vendor, and I took a few minutes to write a little something and address it to myself. I love getting postcards from my travels!
Exiting the palace area from the north took us past the statue of Grgur Ninski, (Also known as Gregory of Nin). He was the one who argued to have sermons preached in Croatian instead of Latin – so people could actually understand what was being preached. Sounds like a good idea to me. Superstition says to rub his big toe for luck. I decided that putting my hand where thousands of unwashed hands have been before me might not be so lucky. 
When I looked back at our exit, I noticed costumed, “Romans.” They allowed photos with them for a fee. (By the way, I wasn’t taking a picture of the, “Romans” and avoiding paying them. My intention was to just take a photo of the North Entrance to the palace, and some Romans happened to be there.”) 
On to the modern section of the city. I say modern, but even these, “modern” buildings are hundreds of years old. Notice the fountain spraying from the building to a “funnel” within the walkway. Ever held a thumb over the end of a garden hose to spray the water? This fountain reminded me of that.
We found a mailbox mounted to the side of a hotel,
and then strolled back toward the ship. Since we still had some cash, gelato was calling to me from an outdoor cafe within sight of the ship.
Such an inexpensive, yet enjoyable way to spend the day.
Next port: Solerno, Italy and the Island of Capri.