Ours wasn't split-face, but we had a tumbled travertine backsplash in our previous home and loved it - no problem at all keeping it clean.

Now that I'm home I can show you a picture of our old backsplash.

Oh, seal it. Please. Maybe covering it with Plexi-glass.

The other thing to keep in mind is that with the irregular face, dirt settles on the top edges of the protruding stone. My sponge just tore when trying to clean mine. I ended up using scrubbing bubbles every so often, which stunk, but worked well. For the record, it's a Fab.U.Lous way to get soot off the face of brick fire places, too.

No pictures, but I wouldn't do anything that's got an irregular face, natural without sealing, or mortar or grout that will absorb tomato sauce. I don't fry, so I can only imagine the grease....

We have rough-faced quartzite behind our stove. I sealed it and have no trouble with keeping it clean. As a keep-it-simple-to-clean person, I'm surprised I chose this, but I have no regrets. Besides grouting it, which was a comparative nightmare. ;-)

We have a textured stone backsplash and love it. Lots of visual interest without being overwhelming. It is sealed, and we don't have problems keeping it clean.