Travel – Page 10 – A Traveling Fool

April 13, 2020

The Greek Islands of Symi & Chios

We left Rhodes at about 3pm, arriving at the island of Symi around 5pm. Symi is a mountainous island known for shipbuilding, sponges and a very tiny shrimp that is pan fried and eaten whole, shell and all. During the Trojan War, Symi fought on the side of Greece. It’s king, Nireus, was considered to have been the most handsome man in the Greek forces other than Achilles.

An optional dinner had been offered on Symi, but Chris, Barbara, Roberta, Maureen, Mark and I had all opted to dine on the ship instead. So, from arrival in the port of Symi to our dinner time of 7pm, we wandered around taking photos. It was such a beautiful town with colorful houses perched on the mountainsides. We each had a favorite or two picked out.

The next day we arrived at the island of Chios. Our first encounter with anything on Chios was with Mastik trees (I have a somewhat fuzzy photo of one here, taken while on a moving tour bus). Chios is famous for Mastik (or Mastic), which is used as a gum and as a sweetener in many foods, including Turkish Delight. It is also used to make a rather tasty liqueur.

Other than Mastik, Chios’ main claim to fame was as the birthplace of Homer. He was the author of both the Iliad and the Odyssey. Both of these works were long considered to be fictional, but in more recent years, archaeological discoveries have proven that some parts of them (such as the Trojan War) were based in fact.

Chios had a very big problem with pirates. They were raided regularly during both Byzantine and medieval times. Several towers were erected around the island to alert the inhabitants if pirates were spotted. It that happened, a fire was lit at the nearest tower. As the people manning other towers saw the fire, they lit one at their tower until all of the towers were lit and all of the inhabitants of Chios knew they were about to be raided.

Many of its villages were built and fortified specifically for protection against pirates. We visited two of those villages.

The first one was Mesta, which was built in the 12^th century during the Byzantine era. It was built as a maze with only one way in and one way out. The houses were built up against one another. Animals were housed on the bottom floor while the actual house was one flight up and accessible via a retractable ladder. Many of the streets were vaulted over with roof gardens at the top of the houses. People could travel from house to house over the roofs without ever going down into the street.

The village had a small Byzantine church called the Church of Palois Taxiarchis. Taxiarches are archangels (such as Gabriel and Michael). The photo I have included here is a wee bit fuzzy since I was taking it in a somewhat dark indoor space without a flash and didn’t hold the camera still enough. A lot of these old places will allow flashless photography, which my camera allows nicely. But sometimes I just need to take more time on getting the photo.

Mesta also had a newer church they call the New Taxiarchis (or Big Taxiarchis), which was built in the 1800s and is quite ornate. It is also very well lit. No shaky photos there. This church was just off of the Village Square in the center of town. It had been built where the central tower of the town once stood. I thought that Mesta was really a cool town – very cosy. I am definitely not the only one as it is still quite inhabited and vibrant. Mastik and tourism are its main sources of revenue.

We next drove along the West Coast of the island and could see several of the pirate alarm towers along the way. We also passed or drove through many medieval villages. We were heading for Anavatos.

Anavatos was built high on the top of a rocky precipice and blended in so well with its surroundings that it was difficult to see it. It was also built in the Byzantine era.

Chios is very close to Turkey, which made it very susceptible to raids from Turkey as well as from pirates. When the Ottomans took over in Turkey, it was only a matter of time before they would take a look at nearby Chios and decide they needed to conquer it as well.

After the Ottomans took over, they allowed Chios a certain amount of autonomy due to the importance of Mastik. This was up until the Greek War of Independence in 1822. Chios’ close proximity to Turkey made it the perfect target for the Ottomans to make an example of what happens when you mess with them. Over several months, roughly 40,000 Turkish troops arrived in Chios. They were ordered to kill all males over twelve, all women over forty, and all babies under three. All others were enslaved.

In Anavatos, the decision was made by much of the population to take their own lives rather than be brutally massacred or enslaved. Those who didn’t commit suicide were slaughtered. Here and there someone has moved in (at least for the tourist season – there was a café and a little shop) but, for the most part, it is quite literally a ghost town.

Next time – Return to Athens

April 5, 2020

The Island of Rhodes

I have been fortunate to visit the sites of five out of the original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Only one, the Great Pyramid of Giza, still exists. It was so cool to be able to touch it and even climb on part of it. Also in Egypt, I have been shown where the Lighthouse of Alexandria once stood. There is a fort there now built with some of the stone blocks from the lighthouse.

At Ephesus in Turkey, I saw the few remains of the Temple of Artemis in 2011. During this 2014 tour of Greece and the Greek Islands, I saw where the Statue of Zeus used to be at the Temple of Zeus in Olympia.

At Rhodes, we were shown the entrance to the harbor where it was believed the Colossus of Rhodes once stood. It was a statue of the Greek sun god Helios that was erected in 280 BC and stood about 108 feet high. But nobody knows for certain if it stood on the side of the harbor, or straddled the entrance. It collapsed during a 228 BC earthquake. However it was standing, it wasn’t standing long.

It was said that it snapped at the knees and fell over onto the ground. The Oracle at Delphi told the Rhodesians something that made them feel they had offended Helios by building it, so they decided not to rebuild. It is said that the remains of the statue lay on the ground for over 800 years.

Since the remains fell over onto the ground, and since building it straddling the harbor would not have been too likely (since the harbor would have had to have been closed while building), and since it was made of bronze which would most likely have collapsed under its own weight if built with its legs spread apart, most of the experts don’t think it straddled the harbor. Although its location is still being debated, a fairly prominent possibly is where the Fortress of St Nicholas currently sits. The very large, circular platform on which it sits is much older than the fortress (which is 14^th century). Also this site would have allowed the statue to lie on the ground without blocking the harbor.

We passed the harbor entrance on our way out of town. Instead of touring the medieval old city, we set off for Philerimos . We would tour the old, walled city of Rhodes later.

Philerimos (or Filerimos) was once the ancient city of Ialysos, which dates back to the 3^rd millennium BC and was one of the Rhodesian cities that participated in the Trojan War. Ruins of ancient temples to Zeus and Athena lie just outside of a church of the Order of the Knights of Saint John Hospitaller (14^th century). A monastery belonging to the same order stands on the other side of the church. We toured the church and the monastery.

One of my favorite parts of the visit, involved the peacocks. There were a very large number of them. It was mating season, so they had a lot to say. The males were especially noisy and aggressive. We had to keep our eyes open as to where they were the entire time. They were large and could be fallen over or bump into you, especially when they flew by.

I have a photo of a gorgeous male who posed for me (I did not zoom in; he was that close), followed by another who was spreading his tail feathers. As I was taking that photo, another flew right past me, brushing me with his tail feathers as he did so. I took a photo of him sitting up in a tree.

On our way back to the city of Rhodes (both the city and island have the same name), we passed a Hellenistic (5^th – 3^rd centuries BC) Temple of Apollo on the Acropolis of Rhodes. It was on the other side of the tour bus, so I couldn’t get a decent photo. But I have included a fuzzy one that shows it still had three columns standing.

In 1306 – 1310, as the Byzantine period ended, the Order of St John Hospitaller took over the island. They went on a building spree, most of which still stands, including the Fortress of the Order of St John and the Palace of the Grand Master.

They withstood attacks by the Sultan of Egypt and an Ottoman siege, but finally fell to the 100,000 strong (to 7,000 knights) of Suleiman the Magnificent during a six month siege. The Ottomans retained control for roughly 400 years. They didn’t destroy what the knights had built. They just moved in. The Order of St John made their new headquarters in Malta.

We entered the largest medieval town in Europe (population of about 6,000) through the Gate d’Amboise. We viewed a number of fortifications on our way to the Palace of the Grand Master, also known as the Kastello (the castle).

The building was originally built by the Byzantines in the 7^th century AD and greatly enlarged by the Hospitallers. In 1856, there was a large ammunition explosion in part of the Palace that destroyed a portion of the first floor. Once the Italians took over, the Palace was renovated and used as a holiday residence first by the King of Italy and later by Benito Mussolini.

The Palace was very large. Several mosaic floors had been taken from their origins on the Greek island of Kos (which was also under the control of the Hospitallers) and re-laid in the Palace. There is one from the 2^nd century BC of Medusa. I took a photo and have included it here.

After we left the Palace, we headed back towards the harbor down the Street of the Knights. This was where the knights themselves lived. There were seven inns – one for each of the seven countries from which the knights originated. They are all still in great shape. The most spectacular of them all is the one built for the French knights, to which the majority of the group belonged. This inn was built in 1492 and was being used at a French Consulate as of 2014.

Once we reached the main square, we had a little free time before heading back to the ship. I chose to get ice cream (no surprise there) and sit and do some people watching.

Next time – the Islands of Symi & Chios

March 29, 2020

Crete, the Minoans, the Labyrinth and the Minotaur

As mentioned in my last post, in addition to Akrotiri, another potential candidate for Atlantis has been Knossos on Crete. They were hit by an enormous tsunami when Thera erupted in roughly 1600 BC. There are numerous myths and legends associated with Knossos as well.

Our ship docked at Aghios Nikolaos on Crete. We were then driven to Knossos. Although the site had people living there as early as 7000 BC, it was when the Minoans built Knossos at about 2000 BC that it really began to flourish. By 1700 BC, it was a major city with a population of around 100,000.

There is evidence that Knossos still existed after the volcanic eruption and tsunami, but was not repopulated by the Minoans. The Mycenaeans moved in and took it over. The city ended up being totally destroyed in roughly 1300 BC. It isn’t clear as to why or by whom it was destroyed. But it does appear to have been set on fire by somebody.

The Palace is the main part that has been excavated and where we concentrated our exploration. We also concentrated on the Minoan period of habitation. This was where most of the myths and legends came into play.

King Minos, in Greek mythology, had Daedalus (the father of Icarus) construct a labyrinth in his palace to contain the Minotaur. The Minotaur was a man with the head of a bull which had been created when his mother (Minos’ queen, Pasiphae, as part of a curse placed upon her by Poseidon) mated with a magical white bull.

Because he was ticked off with Athens (King Minos didn’t seem to get along well with too many mortals or immortals) he had seven young men and seven young women from Athens sacrificed to the Minotaur every year. On one of those occasions, his daughter, Ariadne, assisted Theseus (one of the young men sent by Athens to be eaten by the Minotaur) in his quest to kill the Minotaur. She provided him with a ball of string so he could find his way back through the labyrinth. Theseus was successful in his quest and he and Ariadne ran off together (though some stories say he abandoned her once they escaped).

No actual labyrinth has ever been found. But some people speculate that the entire palace was Homer’s labyrinth. It is enormous and sprawling with hundreds of rooms, stairways, corridors and numerous levels.

In the far right of the first photo I have included with this post, you can see a double-bladed axe incised in one of the blocks of stone. This is called a labrys and is considered to be a symbol of a labyrinth. This symbol is carved on many blocks of stone all over the Palace at Knossos.

As for the Minotaur, the Minoans worshiped the bull. There are frescoes involving bulls in the Palace, including a large, charging bull near the North Entrance. A very famous fresco is in the room above the throne room of a man flipping over a bull while two women assist. Photos of both are included here.

Minoan columns were created from Cyprus trees, which were inverted to keep them from sprouting. This made the columns wider at the top than at the bottom – the opposite of Greek stone columns. Minoan columns were mostly painted red and mounted on round bases with round pillow-like capitals.

The throne room contained the original alabaster throne. Nobody is certain whether the throne was for a king or a priest or a priestess. Many think that the seat of the throne was clearly made for a female backside, so the priestess idea has become the leader.

I couldn’t get terribly close to it, but I personally didn’t see how the seat was made for a female instead of a male. It frankly looked uncomfortable for either gender. The flowing artwork on the walls featuring griffins has also been considered to be feminine.

When you look at the way humans were depicted in all of the frescoes, they all had the same hairdos and were dressed in just a little something around their waists, covering their buttocks and genitals. The only distinction between genders being that women were portrayed as milky white while men were portrayed as more of a dark red. All of the frescoes, whatever the subject, were colorful with undulating, curved lines. In short – feminine.

Across from the throne room was what appeared to be a ritual bath to the original archaeologists. But later archaeologists had determined that, since there isn’t any kind of a drain, it was more likely an aquarium. I photographed it from a floor above, so the opening you see to the right in the photo is into the throne room.

To the south of the throne room was where several snake goddesses were found. Most were broken into pieces, but two were in good enough shape to be repaired and put on exhibit in the Heraklion Museum.

One of my favorite parts of the Palace was the Queen’s Hall with its dolphin frescoes and the nearby Hall of the Double Axes. This was a double indoor/outdoor chamber that also contained a throne. This throne was not original, however, but a replica. It looks very similar to the throne in the throne room despite the idea that this room was supposed to have been the king’s.

We headed out by the North Entrance, taking a good look at the drainage system as we went. I know. Exciting stuff, right? But a drainage system dating back roughly 4,000 years to a time when hardly any other civilization had one is actually pretty interesting.

In nearby Heraklion, I spent some time in Plateia Venizelou Square with a Venetian fountain and an old Venetian church. The archaeological museum was by the Venetian wall and a bit of a walk from the square. But it was back towards where the bus would be picking us up.

We went back to the ship to have lunch. Mark and I had gyros by the pool and then went back to shore for the afternoon. It was a beautiful day to be on the island of Crete.

Next time – the Island of Rhodes

March 22, 2020

Thera (Santorini) and Atlantis

Santorini is the fairy tale island that you always see in the posters for Greece – white washed buildings with bright blue roofs clinging to the cliffs. Santorini is actually a volcano and the cliffs are the rim of the caldera.

Originally (and still officially) called Thera (or Thira), the island erupted in about 1600 – 1500 BC at the height of the Minoan civilization. It was one of the greatest volcanic explosions known in history. Its massive eruption was thought to have likely been a direct cause of the end of the Minoan civilization and is considered to possibly be what was behind Plato’s story of Atlantis.

Although currently classified as a dormant volcano, Thera has had a certain amount of activity happening under water. It has also pushed up a volcanic island in the middle of the caldera (which broke the surface in the 1700s). This island, Nea Kameni, has erupted three times in the 20^th century – the last time in 1950 – and Santorini experienced a nasty earthquake in 1956. The current active crater on Nea Kameni gives off steam and carbon dioxide. In 2012, Nea Kameni pushed itself up even further, giving off a few tremors as it did so.

As for Atlantis, there has long been two main candidates – Knossos on Crete and Akrotiri on Santorini. Both were Minoan. While Crete experienced an enormous tsunami, Akrotiri was buried under volcanic ash, much like Pompeii.

Akrotiri can be traced as far back as the fifth millennium BC. By the third millennium BC, it had grown enormously into an important trade route. The streets were paved and included an extensive drainage system. They had hot and cold running water, high quality pottery and jewelry. Other arts and crafts also flourished. They were considered to be quite sophisticated. All of this ended with the eruption of Thera.

Many scientific studies of Akrotiri’s seismological, volcanic and archaeological evidence has led more and more people to believe that it could match Plato’s description. Since I am fascinated by ancient civilizations, I was very interested in seeing Akrotiri. An excursion was offered, but not enough people wanted to go. So it was canceled and those of us that were interested were left with seeing some of the items from the excavation in a museum in the town of Fira.

The port at Santorini was much too small for even a smaller cruise ship like ours. So our ship parked itself next to Nea Kameni and we went down to the 2^nd deck to climb onboard a tender to take to the harbor at Ormos Anthinios. There we met a bus that zig-zagged its way up the side of the caldera and drove past Fira on its way to Oia.

Oia is the town on all of the posters and postcards. It is quite beautiful as well as somewhat disturbing for someone who is not a fan of heights. You can see what I mean when you look at the photos.

Although it was in existence prior to Venetian rule (starting in 1207), there doesn’t seem to be much known about Oia prior to that date. It has always clung to the cliffs of the rim of the caldera. For a time, it was a fishing village. The 1956 earthquake heavily damaged several of the buildings and the population fell to slightly over 300 people. But, with the rise in tourism, it has since risen to roughly 1,500.

After taking a look at the lovely Church of Panagia on the town square, we walked all the way to the end of the island to the remains of the fort. Then we sauntered back at our own pace, taking tons of photos along the way. It was a very hot day, so I stopped for ice cream part of the way back, sitting in the air conditioning by a window inside of the café and watching other tourists go by.

There really isn’t much there other than the village itself and how photogenic it is. It truly is a photographer’s paradise. It is tough to take a bad picture. There is also just the one main pedestrian only street, so if you don’t venture too far from it, it is also difficult to get lost.

From Oia, we traveled back to Fira where he had free time to do what we wanted and get back to the ship on our own, making sure that we knew when the last tender was leaving. I started my time at the museum that contained some of the items excavated from Akrotiri – the Museum of Prehistoric Thera. They had some frescoes transported along with their walls, plus pottery, and such items as incense burners.

Once I had finished with the museum, I climbed back up to the town square and sat down, looking out at the beautiful water, to contemplate what I wanted to do next. Did I want to try to join some of the others from our group for a large and leisurely lunch there, or return to the ship and have a free (already included in the price of the cruise) and equally leisurely lunch there.

Some of the other members of group came by and asked me what I planned to do. Some of them were feeling cheap (or should I say “frugal”) too, so we climbed to the top of Fira to get the cable car down to the old harbor at Skala Fira. Then we took the tender back to the ship and had lunch on the outside terrace on Deck #5. After lunch, we continued to sit in the shade on that terrace and stare at Santorini while the other folks from our ship sat on a terrace at Fira, staring down at our ship.

Next time – Crete, the Minoans, the Labyrinth and the Minotaur.

March 15, 2020

Istanbul, Ephesus and an Earthquake

Our first two days on the cruise consisted of stops at Istanbul and Kasudasi (Ephesus) in Turkey. Although I had been on a two week tour of Turkey which included time in both cities just a few years earlier, I was looking forward to returning. I had really enjoyed Turkey when I was there before. It was a great country with friendly people, an amazing history, and some fascinating things to see and do that were quite unique.

I had the option of signing up for tours of my choice or just hanging out in each place on my own. We had set sail for Istanbul as soon as we left Lavion and arrived shortly after breakfast. I had signed up for a tour that included Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia.

When I had been in Istanbul (formerly Constantinople and, even earlier, Byzantium) the last time, I had been quite ill by the time we were touring those locations. They had also been experiencing a monsoon-like rain while we were at Topkapi Palace which greatly limited my getting around that particular location. This time, the tour began at the Palace.

On my previous visit, I had spent the majority of my time in the harem. I had never seen a harem before and doubted strongly that I would ever get the opportunity to tour one again. This one was famous, enormous, and had been in use from the 15^th century to the early 20^th century. So, armed with a map showing roughly 90 rooms (out of what is believed to be about 400 rooms total) open to the public, I had explored every inch of it that I could. As wonderful as it was to see, I didn’t have much time left to see much else other than the area with the Sacred Relics.

This time, I headed straight for the Imperial Treasury. One of the prize pieces in the treasury was the Topkapi Dagger. This dagger had been made in 1747 by the Sultan Mahmud I for the Shah of Persia. But the Shah was murdered before he could receive his present, so the dagger stayed at the Palace. It was featured in the film Topkapi during which a heist of the dagger took place.

There is also an enormous diamond called the Spoonmaker’s Diamond. Nobody knows the origins of the diamond, but there have been several legends put forth regarding who may have owned and why they parted with it.

The collection holds several more pieces of jewelry, solid gold candlesticks encrusted with diamonds, the throne of Mahmud I (layered with emeralds and pearls), various weapons decorated with jewels, and the right hand and forearm of John the Baptist encased in gold.

With all of the pieces of him that seem to be on display around the world, I wonder how much of John the Baptist could be left in the tomb that was supposedly his in Egypt. This is one of three alleged right hand and forearms of John in existence and the number of heads claimed by different places as his is staggering.

On my previous visit, I had gone into the part of the Palace containing the Sacred Relics. Most of them had to do with Muhammad, but there was also a room that contained what were reported to be Abraham’s Pot, Joseph’s Turban, Moses’ Staff, and David’s Sword.

This time I didn’t have nearly as much time at Topkapi as during the previous visit, so I wandered around the different courtyards and spent a little time sitting out on the terrace that overlooked the Bosphorus before I needed to rejoin the rest of the group for lunch.

After lunch, we sort of waved at the Hippodrome as we went by on our way to the Blue Mosque. We didn’t stay there long either. But the interior with its tiles and domes is the main thing to see.

Onwards to Hagia Sophia with which I had fallen madly in love when I was last in Istanbul. Built in 532-537 AD over an earlier 4^th century church, the building survived many earthquakes over the centuries and the Ottomans as well. Instead of destroying the church, the Ottomans simply covered up the mosaics and turned it into a mosque. Now that the building is a museum, the mosaics have been uncovered and they are glorious.

This trip, we didn’t have any free time in Hagia Sophia to be able to go exploring on our own, so I didn’t get to go up the ramp to the gallery. Instead of stairs, the building still has its original 1500 year old ramps to enable movement from floor to floor. I had really felt like I was traveling back in time with those ancient ramps and felt sad that I didn’t have the time to revisit them or the wonderful mosaics in the gallery.

One of my dream trips would be to return to Istanbul, spend a lot of time at the Hagia Sophia and maybe tour the harem again. Then take the Orient Express from Istanbul to Venice, spending some time in Venice before heading home.

From Hagia Sophia, we continued to the Grand Bazaar. I would have preferred to stay at Hagia Sophia, but…. It was not nearly as crowded or higgledy-piggledy as the one in Cairo had been. It was more shops than stalls. I had really loaded myself up with Turkish tchotchkes on my prior trip. So, other than a small package of pistachio Turkish Delight, I refrained.

Our little group of seven sat together at dinner again. Then we went to the show. It was a rock’n’roll show which might have been why we missed the earthquake. Honestly, there was a 6.9 magnitude (severe) earthquake in the Aegean between Greece and Turkey at roughly 9:30pm. Canakkale (where ancient Troy was located) suffered quite a bit of damage and a couple hundred injuries. There were buildings destroyed and people injured all over Greece and Turkey (and even some in Bulgaria).

We were heading to the Dardanelles from the Sea of Marmara when it struck. Maybe it was the fact that we were on a ship and/or that we were not yet out in the Aegean itself that lessened the impact of the initial earthquake and its several aftershocks (one of which was 5.3 and struck around midnight).

I think it was just a matter of timing. Had it hit right as we came out of the Dardanelles into the Aegean at Canakkale, it could have been very unpleasant, especially if there had been a Tsunami associated with it.

We weren’t docking at Kasudasi until around 3pm, so we could sleep late and do shipboard activities until then. Not wanting to disturb anybody, I didn’t knock on any doors for breakfast. But Mark caught up with me at the stairs (we were only one deck away from where they did the breakfast and lunch buffets), so we had breakfast together. He ran off to the casino and I headed for a Greek cooking demonstration. We were able to sample the foods they cooked and they gave us recipes so we could make the dishes at home.

At lunch time, out by the pool, they made a seafood dish with mussels, shrimp, crab, rice, various vegetables and some spices in a giant wok. It was delicious. Although I watched them make it, I haven’t been able to completely duplicate it (likely because I didn’t necessarily recognize what all the vegetables and spices were).

We arrived in Kasudasi at 3:30pm. I had signed up for the tour of Ephesus and the Virgin Mary’s house. This was where the Apostle John had brought Mary to live after Jesus entrusted her to his care. She had a tiny stone house way up on a mountain near Ephesus. We visited there first. I really liked the atmosphere of the place. It was very serene and peaceful.

Then it was Ephesus. I had been there before too and thought it was one of the coolest ancient Greek/Roman cities I had ever seen (originally built in the 10^th century BC). When I had been there before, Trajan’s Fountain had been in scaffolding for some restoration. It was done this time and I could see it in all its glory.

For about three years, the Apostle Paul had lived in a dwelling that had been just behind the Library of Celsus — an exquisitely beautiful building down at the end of the steeply sloping street we took down into the town from the Agora and past the Odeon from the entrance. It was in Ephesus where we began to hear about the earthquake of the night before. It had been felt quite strongly there.

On my prior trip I had begun to run out of time by the time I got to the theatre. This time I made it a priority. It had an estimated seating capacity of 25,000 and is thought to have been the largest theatre in the classical world. It certainly seemed to me to be the largest I had ever seen. Paul preached at the theatre. He got around quite a bit before he got arrested, hauled off to Rome and ultimately beheaded.

On our way back to the ship, we stopped off at a carpet place. We were given a delicious tea and shown loads and loads of carpets. Did I resist? Not 100%. I ended up buying a very intricately woven small wall hanging. I figured that it went well with the curved Turkish dagger I purchased on my earlier trip to Turkey.

We didn’t arrive back at the ship until shortly after 9pm and went to a dinner buffet that was open until 10pm. Slept very well for another night. The gentle rocking that sometimes happens on a ship was working its magic on me.

Next time – Thera (Santorini) and Atlantis

March 8, 2020

Agamemnon and Mycenae

As with most of Greece, there is a lot of myth mixed with history when it comes to Mycenae. Mycenae was supposedly founded by Perseus, the slayer of Medusa (the woman with snakes for hair that would turn a person to stone if they gazed upon her face). He married Andromeda (after freeing her from the rock to which she was chained after her mother ticked off Poseidon) and founded the Mycenaean dynasty. Its heyday was roughly from 1510 to 1250 BC but the entire period from 1600 to 1100 BC in Greek history is termed as Mycenaean.

We began our visit with a large, circular tomb known as the Treasury of Atreus. Although named after Atreus (and sometimes even Agamemnon) the tomb dates back to an earlier age.

Atreus was the father of Agamemnon and Menelaus. Menelaus became the King of Sparta and husband of Helen of Troy. We all know about how Helen ran off with (or was kidnapped by) Paris and started the whole Trojan War. Agamemnon was King of Mycenae by that time and vowed to help his brother get his wife back.

After commanding the entire Greek forces against the Trojans, Agamemnon returned home to Mycenae only to be murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra’s lover. In the Mycenae Museum, we could see a replica of what has been referred to as the Mask of Agamemnon (the original was in Athens). It was found on the face of a body unearthed in one of the tombs surrounding Mycenae. The archeologist at the time figured it had to belong to Agamemnon. But more recently, it has been dated to about 300 years before the Trojan War, so too old to have belonged to Agamemnon. Several other artifacts from in and around Mycenae are also in the museum.

Once again, it was necessary to climb a mountain. In the photo I have of Mycenae from before I began to make my way up, you can see the tiny figures of the people who were snaking their way up switchback trails to the top. The main entrance (and you had to climb a ways to get to it) was the Lion Gate. It was erected in the 13^th century BC.

The area in front of the gate narrowed in order to limit the number of people who could enter at once. The gate was quite massive. The walls were referred to as “Cyclopean”. This was because the blocks of stone used to build them were so enormous that many felt only the race of giants known as the Cyclops could have built them.

Grave Circle A (which was discovered first) dates to the 16^th century BC, while Circle B is the older and dates to the 17^th – 16^th centuries. Both Grave Circles contained shaft graves. It was in Circle A that the mask originally believed to have been Agamemnon’s was discovered. The artifacts from Circle A showed a greater wealth than those from Circle B. After Circle A, the kings were buried in tholos (round) tombs like the Treasury of Atreus.

Although the tomb of Clytemnestra has been found, no tomb of Agamemnon has turned up as of yet. Since he was murdered by Clytemnestra’s lover at her behest, it could be that Agamemnon’s body was simply disposed of to get it out of the way. Could be a topic for “Expedition Unknown” to investigate.

The Palace was at the top of the acropolis. Not much was there, just the low remains of a few walls. I could tell, however, that it had been a pretty large building.

The view of the area below was quite commanding. The site has shown evidence of continuous occupation since roughly 5000 BC.

I sat down on a large boulder at the very top, caught my breath, drank some water, looked around and rested a while before starting down the other side. Everyone else shot past me and down the other side quickly. I seemed to be the only one interested in savoring the experience. Granted, it was a very hot day. But I had on my Tilley hat (the kind the archaeologists use) and loads of sun screen plus cotton (not synthetic) clothing. So I was fine.

A relatively short walk down from the Palace, I came across a cistern. This was enclosed within the citadel walls. I went part of the way down the ancient steps into the cistern. It was very cool and pleasant down there, but I was also totally alone, so not too interested in disappearing and not being discovered until the next archaeological dig.

I came back up and headed for the North Gate. This was the back door to the citadel. It once had a double wooden door with a sliding bolt to lock it. Shortly before taking a path back around to the Lion Gate, I came across the remains of what looked like had been a pretty large, wealthy home called the House of the Columns. I also came across smaller artist workshops.

The next location on our journey was the small town of Epidavros. It was believed to have been the birthplace of Apollo’s son, Askepios, who was a healer. It became the most celebrated healing center in the classical world.

We visited its largely intact 14,000 seat theatre. The acoustics were amazing. A match stuck center stage could be clearly heard from any seat in the theatre. The construction of the theatre in limestone (instead of the more frequently used marble) was thought to mute the murmur of the crowd (low-frequency sound) while amplifying the high-frequency sounds onstage. It is still used for theatrical performance and occasional acoustic concerts.

Heading back towards Athens, we crossed the Corinthian Canal. It was quite narrow.

That night we had an optional dinner with loads of Greek food, Greek music and Greek dancing. Then we had a few hours of sleep before heading for our cruise ship at Lavion.

The ship was a small one by usual cruise standards – 800 passengers. Mark, Maureen, Chris and I all had our rooms in a line. We had each gotten a single outside cabin with a lovely, large window. Barbara and Roberta were in a shared room not too far from the rest of us. We could easily meet up before heading off somewhere.

We had the early seating for dinner that night at 6:30pm. We were seated together. After dinner, we decided to try the show, so we went to the early seating of that too. It was much better than I had anticipated and we all had a good time. Afterwards, I fell into bed and slept like a baby.

Next time – cruising to Istanbul & Ephesus and an earthquake

March 1, 2020

Olympia & Nauplia

After we arrived at our hotel in Olympia and had dinner, we were treated to some Ouzo. I only took a little sip to be polite as I had tried it before and knew it had a strong licorice taste to it. I don’t like licorice. Our Tour Director noticed and I was soon treated with a glass of Metaxa instead. It was like an orange flavored cognac. Very tasty.

Our hotel at Olympia was easy walking distance to the ruins of ancient Olympia which once consisted of over 70 temples plus monuments, treasuries, altars and statues. It was also about the only place on this trip where no mountains needed to be climbed to get to it. It is said that the site had been occupied as early as 1500 BC with evidence that an earlier version of the Temple of Zeus existed by 1000 BC.

The Temple of Zeus once contained a ginormous statue of Zeus made out of gold and ivory, said to be 43 feet high. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Good ole Theodosius II had the temple destroyed in 426 AD (several years after he had the Temple of Apollo at Delphi destroyed). Nobody seems to know what happened to the statue of Zeus. Not much was left of the temple except for its base.

Olympia suffered numerous earthquakes and floods after that until it had pretty much been buried under alluvial deposits of mud. In 1766, the ancient site was pinpointed, but it wasn’t until some French men decided to go digging around there in about 1826, that the remains of the Temple of Zeus were discovered.

Our group walked on over after breakfast. I felt excited to be able to see where the ancient Olympic Games had taken place from the 8^th century BC (776 BC) to the 4^th century AD. There were numerous sporting events held around Greece in other places, such as the Pythian Games and Panhellenic Games to name just a couple. But the Olympics ended up being the greatest because of their worldwide revival in the late 19^th century.

Upon arriving at the archeological site, we first encountered the gymnasium. This was a training facility for sports. The word “gymnasium” was taken from “gymnos” which meant “naked”. Only adult males were allowed in the facility. Athletic competitions back then were in the nude. Again, only adult males were allowed to participate or attend.

The Palaestra was a portion of the gymnasium where athletes practiced wrestling, boxing and jumping. In Olympia, one of the areas of the building appears to have been a bowling alley. This is based on it being quite similar to a place in Pompeii that still had the heavy balls used there.

Then we came across the remains of the Temple of Zeus, which come from a version of the temple that was built in the 5^th century BC (and was the version with the colossal statue of Zeus).

One of my favorites was the Temple of Hera. It was built in the 6^th century BC and was the oldest temple at Olympia. It also has three very beautiful columns standing that caught the light quite nicely when I was photographing it. Whenever the Olympic Games are being held, the Olympic flame is ignited using a parabolic mirror to focus the rays of the sun in front of the location of the altar in the Temple of Hera at Olympia.

The Nymphaeum was kind of like an ancient water park. Traditionally, this was where the nymphs dwelled. It was an area (often a grotto) full of pools and fountains. The one at Olympia isn’t that much to look at now, but I included a photo of it anyway. One can imagine the cascades and spouts of water.

This was next to the Philippeion, which was the only temple dedicated to a human at Olympia. The human was Philip of Macedon – Alexander the Great’s father. He had statues of himself and his family (including Alexander) erected inside of the circular building. They, like the statue of Zeus, were made from gold and ivory.

An outdoor corridor led to an archway. On the other side of the archway was the original Olympic stadium. Once I went through the arch, I was amazed to find that the stadium consisted of a dirt track area with gently sloping grass on each side for the spectators to gather and watch. I have to admit to being disappointed. But that was the way this stadium always was – just dirt and grass.

In the museum were several statues and friezes. A couple of the statues were fairly famous. One was the Nike of Paionios. She was found near the Temple of Zeus. Another was Hermes and the Infant Dionysos. They had been inside of the Temple of Hera. we could take as many photos as we wanted, so I snapped several.

After lunch we left for Nauplia, passing the walls of the town where the Cyclops was said to have been from. At Nauplia, we checked into the hotel then walked down to the waterfront to take a boat out to a small fortress on an island. The island fortress of Bourtzi looked like a submarine, which was interesting since submarines didn’t exist at the time it was built or for several hundreds of years after.

We were the only people at the fort at the time and we explored it all the way to the flag on top. It had a lot of interesting corners and some beautiful bougainvillea climbing the walls. We took the boat back and had dinner at an outdoor restaurant from which we could see the crusader fortress on the mountain above. We had stuffed tomatoes, Greek salad, lamb and potatoes, and some ice cream with some very sweet cake. We also each had a carafe of wine to ourselves. Mine was a very tasty rosé.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel the long way through town. Not sure if our tour director led us that way so we could see more of the town, or so we would sober up a bit before we reached the hotel.

Next time – Mycenae, home of Agamemnon.

February 23, 2020

Delphi, Apollo & the Oracle

The origins of Delphi are found in the mists of myth. Several myths are involved. One says that Zeus released a couple of eagles, one from the east and one from the west to see where they would meet. Pythos (later Delphi) was the spot. So it was declared the “belly button” or center of the world. The belly button stone can still be seen.

Another myth was that Apollo, while still a toddler, slayed a python (serpent or dragon) that served Gaia, the Earth Mother. He then took Pythos over, renamed it Delphi, and had a temple created there that he considered to be his main home. Whenever he wasn’t there (usually for a period of time in the winter), his pal Dionysius hung out in his place.

Ancient Delphi’s location is on one of the slopes of Mount Parnassus. The location is quite amazing and its rediscovery was equally amazing. When the Ottomans took over in the 1400s, Delphi had already been abandoned for roughly a thousand years, after having been shut down by the Roman Emperor Theodosius I in 381 during the persecution of the pagans. It was during the time of the Ottomans in the late 15^th or 16^th century, however, that Delphi was built over and became the village of Kastri.

In the 1700s, interest in Delphi began once folks realized that it had been a real place, not just a mythical location. But, in the early 1800s, when it became apparent that Kastri was built over the remains of Delphi and that the village would need to be removed to allow for any excavation, the villages decided they weren’t going anywhere. But, after a massive earthquake in the late 1800s, the villagers were offered new homes in another (but similar) area on Mount Parnassus, not far away. So the village was relocated and excavations began. Our tour group spent the night in a small hotel in the village, and then headed over to explore Delphi the following morning.

We entered through the Agora, which was the main gathering place. It didn’t take long before we found ourselves staring right at the belly button stone. It was an outie. Nearby were some bases where some of the statues had stood. The footprints of those statues could still be seen. Delphi had eventually taken over from Olympia as the main site of various athletic events that ultimately became the Olympics, so numerous athletic statues had originally lined the route up the mountain.

The remains of several treasuries came next as we wound our way up towards the Temple of Apollo. These were built by various city-states to hold their offerings to the gods – mainly Apollo. The Athenian Treasury had been mostly restored by the time of our visit in 2014.

A few steps from this treasury was the Sybil Rock. This was where the oracle who existed prior to Apollo’s temple sat and gave her prophecies. Delphi had been a center for oracles and prophecies from the days of Gaia and the Python. The Sybil oracle would go into a trance to give her prophecies much as the later oracle.

Once Apollo took over, a special room in the temple held the oracle, who sat on a tripod and breathed fumes coming up through a crack in the rock floor beneath her. These fumes were said to be emitted from the decaying body of the python slain by Apollo. The temple remains were from the sixth one built on the site and was completed in 320 BC. It was destroyed by zealous Christians in 390 AD. But the original foundation wall remained.

The Temple of Apollo was roped off and there were security people around so that tourists could not go up onto the remains of the temple floor. There was a fair amount of it missing, so I’m sure it would be dangerous to anyone who wasn’t really careful about what they were doing. But, boy did I want to go up there and check it out.

Our guide and I worked out the location where the oracle would have been from a spot above the theatre where we had a pretty decent view of the temple. My video camera could zoom in pretty close, but my photo camera not so much. That part of the floor was still there and had a very distinctive crack in it. The theatre dated to the 4^th century BC.

Further up Mount Parnassus, near the top, was the stadium where the various athletic games took place. The Pythian Games and the later Panhellenic Games were held every four years. The track and field sports took place in the stadium. It was quite a hike. Fortunately the trail zigged and zagged its way up gradually. So, with my cane and an occasional stop to catch my breath, I could make it.

The museum, back down on more level ground, not far from the entrance to Delphi itself, contained lots of statues, pieces of friezes and other artifacts found on site. I loved seeing some Corinthian helmets much like the replica I have on a bookcase in my living room at home.

Then there was The Charioteer (478 BC). I had seen photos of this statue in books my entire life. It is considered to be one of the greatest ancient Greek statues ever created. There I was taking my own photos of it. It survived because it was buried during an earthquake. Nobody knew it was there until it was found during excavations. It was life-sized and made out of bronze.

After lunch, we visited a tholos (a round temple), which is about a half mile from the main part of Delphi. Although there were other ruins there, the Temple of Athena Pronoia (built 380 to 370 BC) was the main site to see. It was gorgeous as was its setting.

The following morning, we drove along the Gulf of Corinth to get from western mainland Greece to the part of Greece called the Peloponnese over a bridge called the Nakpaktos. Just the other side of the bridge was Patras. Our destination was Olympia.

February 17, 2020

En Route to Meteora

After leaving Athens, we encountered Marathon 26 miles away. In 490 BC the heavily outnumbered Athenians beat the Persians at the Battle of Marathon just 10 years after the Persians wiped out 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians at Thermopylae. A runner was sent from Marathon to Athens to bring the news of victory. Legend is that he collapsed and died after delivering his message. If that was the case, it makes me wonder why anybody would decide to commemorate those 26 miles on a regular basis. During both the 1896 and 2004 Olympics, Marathon was the starting point for the men’s race and also for the women’s race in 2004. The photo I have included is the plain of Marathon where the battle took place. The burial mound there contains those who fell during an earlier battle there against the Persians.

We also passed Theva (sometimes called Thebes), which was where the story of Oedipus took place. Oedipus is the guy who blinded himself once he discovered that he had fulfilled a prophecy saying he would kill his father and marry his mother. Complicated little tale there. Nothing of the ancient times was still there, so not really anything of interest to photograph.

After lunch, we passed Thermopylae, where the Spartans faced the Persians. It is said that roughly 300 Spartans and 700 Thespians stood their ground at a narrow pass against 100,000 to 150,000 Persians. A very interesting film called 300 was made in 2007 starring Gerard Butler as the Spartan King Leonidas. More about that later when we actually made a stop at Thermopylae. Back in 480 BC, the terrain was totally different. The coastline was considered to be basically where the highway is now.

We also passed Mount Olympus and could see it clearly. This was the tallest mountain in Greece and considered to be the home of the ancient Greek gods and goddesses.

We continued on to Meteora to spend the night at a town called Kalambaka. I could see a convent (St Stephan) up on a rock formation from the balcony of my room. Had dinner with Kevin, Bronte, Barbara, Roberta and Chris.

The convents and monasteries were all built high up on rock formations back mainly in the 1500s in the part of Greece called Thessaly, which is near the border with Macedonia. Our first visit was to Convent Rousanou/St Barbara, built in 1560. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside and were only allowed in the church, which was completely covered with frescoes. Women had to wear skirts, so we were given material to tie around our waists as most of us weren’t wearing skirts. It had some lovely gardens.

At Monastery Varlaam across the way, we were allowed inside of the church, wine storage, museum and former hospital. We also had a great view of the convent from there. And yes, we walked all the way up and down the rock formations to get to them. Greece was my mountain tour. Everything was up or down a mountain – usually a very steep mountain. All together there are four monasteries and two convents still in existence out of the original twenty four.

The Holy Trinity Monastery is the most difficult to get to and was featured in the 1981 James Bond film For Your Eyes Only. Its setting was amazing. We went back down into the town to visit a place where icons were made before having lunch.

After lunch we returned to Thermopylae so we could take some photos of the area and of the monuments dedicated to King Leonidas and the Spartans who sacrificed their lives there. The Spartans knew they were outnumbered and didn’t stand a chance of winning, but believed they could rally the rest of Greece to join the fight against the Persians if they could just hold them off for a while with courage and dignity. They did. They held them off for three days until they were betrayed and the Persians were shown a back trail by which they could surround and slaughter their enemy.

We were let off of the tour coach on the right side of the highway. This is where the modern monuments to the Spartans and the Thespians are located. This was also where the sea was back in 480 BC. On the left side of the road was where the battle itself took place.

There is a monument at the top of Kolonos Hill (the burial mound of the Spartans). This dates from the 1950s, replacing a much earlier monument. There has been some sort of monument there since the time of the battle. To climb up there, knowing that the remains of the Spartans were beneath my feet was quite something.

Back across the road, I read the English translations of all of the monuments and took several photos of the statue of Leonidas. My favorite is the one taken from behind where he is facing the mountains and where the pass would have been.

Next time – one of my favorite places in the world, Delphi.

February 9, 2020

Athens

In early May of 2014, I took a 16 day trip to Greece – the first eight days would be on the mainland and the last eight would be on a cruise of the Aegean. The tour would start and end in Athens.

Athens is one of the world’s oldest cities with evidence of human habitation dating back as far as somewhere between the 11^th and 7^th centuries BC and recorded history spanning 3,400 years. Named for the goddess Athena, classical Athens was a very powerful city-state. Eventually it became the leading city of all Greece.

Once I arrived in Athens, I was picked up by a driver at the airport. When we got to central Athens, the traffic was insane and the driver continually crossed himself as he drove. On the one hand, it was humorous, but on the other it was necessary. To keep from having multiple mini heart attacks, I kept my eyes on the driver and off of what the other drivers were doing. I also said several prayers.

Due to various delays in flights on the way, I didn’t get to the hotel (which was near the Acropolis) until a quarter to 6pm with the tour group meet and greet at 6pm. I basically just got into the room and opened my cases for the contents to breathe before I headed back downstairs.

Met Kathleen, Leslie and John during the gathering and Ivy and Heather after. All six of us walked to a nearby grocers to get some bottled water and snacks for dinner so we could spend our time getting ready for the following day and then get a good sleep. We wanted to be fully awake for our day in Athens.

We began our tour at a former palace (built in 1843) which became the Hellenic Parliament in 1934. In the square in from of the parliament is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The tomb is guarded by the elite Presidential Guard. I love their uniforms, so I managed to shoot a quick photo out of the window of the tour coach.

The Academy of Arts & Sciences looks like an ancient Greek temple. We also took a look at Athens University and the National Library. Then we swung by the Acropolis. We found that the site was not yet open for business, so we visited nearby Mars Hill instead.

Mars Hill is the Roman name for the Hill of Ares; Ares being the Greek god of war and Mars the Roman version. This was the location of Ares’ trial by the other gods for the murder of one of Poseidon’s sons. It was also where Paul preached about the “unknown God”. It still has its ancient, original stairs in addition to a more modern staircase at another part of the hill. It also has some great views of the city.

Also viewed from Mars Hill (known in Greek as Areopagus) is the ancient agora (marketplace) of Classic Athens. The agora is a very large area with bits and pieces of various buildings and memorials, including a mint, an Odeon (theatre) and several temples.

Before returning to the Acropolis, we visited the Panathenaic Stadium, which was originally built in roughly 330 BC for the Panathenaic Games, which took place every four years. It is the only stadium in the world built entirely in marble. It was largely abandoned after the rise of Christianity in the 4^th century AD and finally excavated in 1869. For the first modern Olympics in 1896, it was used for the opening and closing ceremonies and for four of the nine events. It continues to be used as a stadium and as the place in Greece where the Olympic torch is handed over to the hosting nation of the Olympic Games for that year.

When we could finally visit the Acropolis, we gathered at the part of the base from which we could see the Temple of Athena Nike (427 – 424 BC) looming over us from above. Instead of the main entrance, we went up a narrow road with steps here and there that rose up towards the Temple of Athena Nike. Nike means victorious.

I really liked coming up an ancient road and steps from the side of the Acropolis instead of the main entrance. It was a different experience and allowed us to see the Odeon of Herodes Atticus (161 BC) on our way up as we passed right next to it. We came off of the road just below the Temple of Athena Nike and so were able to enter through the Propylaia (the monumental gate, 437 – 432 BC). This gate controlled (and still controls) entrance to the Acropolis.

Evidence has been found of the existence of Mycenaean structures on the Acropolis in the late Bronze Age. Between then and when the current structures were built, numerous temples and other buildings were constructed.

From 460 to 430 BC, the Parthenon was constructed as a temple dedicated to Athena. It replaced an earlier temple that had been destroyed by the Persians in 480 BC. At the end of the 6^th century AD, it was converted to a Christian church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. During the Ottoman conquest in the 1460s, it was converted to a mosque. Its destruction came in 1687, when ammunition kept inside was ignited by Venetian bombardment during the Siege of the Acropolis. In the early 1800s, the Earl of Elgin carried much of the surviving sculptures away to Britain, supposedly with the permission of the ruling Ottomans. Restoration began in 1975.

Across the way was the Erectheion, built in 421 – 406 BC and dedicated to Athena and Poseidon. Mythology indicates that the structure enclosed both the mark in the rock made by Poseidon’s trident and the olive tree planted by Athena during the contest between them as to who would be the namesake of the city. A salt water well and tombs of some of the ancient kings were also on this site and enclosed within the building.

On the south side of the building is the Porch of the Caryatids. These are columns in the shape of women. Five of the six originals are in the Acropolis Museum while the sixth was taken by Lord Elgin to decorate his home. It was said that the remaining five, when they were still in place at the Erectheion, would wail at night because they missed their sister. Reproductions of all six Caryatids stand in place of the originals.

Over at the side where our hotel was located, we looked over the side to see our hotel, the Acropolis Museum, and the Theatre of Dionysius (6^th century BC) as well as some other ruins.

Next time — Marathon, Thebes, Mount Olympus, Meteora, and Thermopylae.