Athens

When I was a child I can recall reading every bit of fiction set in ancient Egypt and Greece that I could find. I loved Greek mythology and at one time could just about name all of the Greek Gods and Goddesses and I knew their stories as well. I have always wanted to see the pyramids in Egypt and the Acropolis in Athens. Political climates being what they are, the pyramids will have to remain on my "wish" list for a while longer, but Athens was on our cruise itinerary and I could hardly wait to get there! We booked a private tour with our friends, the Pittman's, so we boarded our mini bus and set off.

First stop: Olympic Stadium!

Government Building - Susie and I were especially interested in the uniform!

NOT the Parthenon, but another ancient structure that we could see in the distance.

We climbed up the hill to the acropolis. THIS is the Parthenon! Extensive work is being done
to restore and stabilize the building. As you can see, it's massive. Dedicated to the Goddess Athena,
the patron deity of Athens, construction began in 447 B.C. 

An interesting anecdote: In the mid-1400's when Greece was part of the Ottoman
Empire, the Parthenon was turned into a mosque for a brief time.

It was also used to store munitions and was ignited by the Venetians. As you can imagine,
the ensuing explosion did significant damage. A British Earl removed some of the surviving
statues which can now be found in the British Museum in London.

Erechtheum - This Temple is also on the Acropolis, along with several other structures.
This temple has one side dedicated to Athena and the other to Poseidon.

We walked down from the Acropolis through the Agora (market) and found a great restaurant for lunch.

The people in this cafe could not have been nicer! They just kept bringing us more
and more wonderful Greek food!

We have had a wonderful time on our cruise! Scott and I disembarked in Venice where we caught a train to Milan, then changed trains and went to Tirano, Italy. Our goal: to board the Bernina Express train through the Alps to Switzerland. We made it and the story and photos are a subject for our next post!

Santorini: Pyrgos and Oia

Fresh out of college, career recently launched, Scott spent the 4 months before our wedding working hard and saving money. We were able to have a wonderful honeymoon on the island of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. If someone had told me then that we would spend our 35th wedding anniversary on the beautiful island of Santorini I would never have believed them! But that's exactly what we did!

The island of Santorini is actually part of a large volcanic caldera. The most recent volcanic eruption took place in the 1950's however there are still places where steam is escaping from the ground, evidence that the volcano is only "sleeping". Earthquakes are also not uncommon here. Luckily, we did not experience any earthquakes nor volcanic eruptions. We had an absolutely gorgeous day to explore the island. Our boat was a bit large to dock, so we were tendered over to a small port. The towns are perched atop cliffs varying in height up to about 900 feet, so getting up the cliff face to the towns is a bit intimidating. We had booked a short guided tour, so we went by bus. Other options include going up by foot or by the donkeys  for which Santorini is famous. We did see some, but we did not ride them.

We toured the town of Pyrgos which is more typical of the towns dotting the small islands in this archipelago. After our tour of Pyrgos we enjoyed a Greek snack and then headed to Oia, the town we all think of as "Santorini" and the town pictured in all of the tourism photos. We walked the streets, did some shopping, and enjoyed a great Greek lunch.

The entire town is built into and along the top of the cliff side. 

We saw a lot of different bell towers, mainly on Greek Orthodox churches. Each one seemed
unique, and all were quite pretty.

The church bell towers are just beautiful here!

Lots of shopping here!

Our boat!

Spending October 7, 2013 in Santorini was quite a treat! 

I wonder what I can come up with for next year?….

Rhodes and Bodrum

Our cruise ship made 2 stops near the coast of Turkey. Rhodes is actually a Greek Island, but lies far to the east of the mainland of Greece. It has been part of both Italy and Turkey, but was given to Greece in 1947. In the 1940's this tiny island had a population of about 2000 citizens who were Jewish. Hitler's Gestapo rounded up most of the people and sent them to extermination camps. About 200 Turkish Jews and about 150 Greek Jews survived. We visited 2 places in Rhodes: an archaeological site near Lindos, and the medieval city of Rhodes.
Archaeological site near Lindos:

Then we went to the old medieval city of Rhodes.

Rhodes Castle

Inside the castle walls

Lots of shops and restaurants!

Outside the castle, along the water, vendors were set up off the front of boats. This one was selling all sorts of shells and sponges. 

Bodrum is a resort town along the coast of Turkey. Our boat docked on a cold and windy day. We had booked a tour of a castle and then a boat cruise with lunch.

Bodrum Harbour - There were lots and lots of amazing party boats here!

We visited Bodrum Castle and had this view of a minaret from along one of the walls.

More views from the castle walls.

A "wishing wall" inside the castle in Bodrum.

There's something familiar about this statue!

On board our boat! Overhead were various sorts of sprinklers to spray guests to keep them cool in the hot sun.

No need for that today! It's freezing! And quite windy as well!

We found a cove to anchor in for lunch. You can see we weren't the only ones looking for somewhere sheltered from the wind!

Thank goodness we are on our way back to Bodrum! Actually, the cruise would have been a blast if it wasn't so very cold and windy!

Ephesus

Our cruise ship made 2 stops in Turkey: one in Kusadasi, for Ephesus, and the other in Bodrum. In Kusadasi we joined our friends, the Pittman's, and our guide and set off through the countryside.

First stop, Mt. Koressos, and a home believed to be the final home of Mary, mother of Jesus. Our guide explained that, while no one can be sure beyond doubt, the home is of the right age and in the correct general location to be Mary's home. The general belief is that St. John brought Mary to this home after Jesus' death. The catholic church has not come out and said for certain that this is the home of Mary, but several popes have visited and blessed this home, now restored as a chapel. This site is considered holy by both Christians and Muslims. There is a spring running under the home and pilgrims come here to drink the water from the spring, believed to have healing properties.

Outside the house is a wishing wall. Pilgrims post prayers here.

After spending some time at the Home of the Virgin Mary we headed for Ephesus. Scott and I had been to Pompeii about a year earlier and often still talk about that incredible place. Ephesus was definitely another "wow" kind of place with much to see and consider. Originally a sea port, the actual city of Ephesus has moved several times over the centuries. These ruins stand on the most recent site of the city which was also, at one time, a sea port. The nearby Cayster River silted up the harbor over time though, and now the city lies about 5 kilometers from the Aegean Sea. We could certainly have spent several days exploring this beautiful area; there is a lot to see here! We only had a few hours though, which we thoroughly enjoyed. 

The Mazaeus and Mithridates Gate, built in the 4th century B.C. was the monumental entrance to the agora (the marketplace). It was built in honor of the Emperor Augustus and his family.

Ruins from the Temple of Domitian, built from 81-96 A.D.

It is amazing to think, first, that these columns were all carved by hand and, next, that they have survived for nearly two thousand years!

The Curetes Street. You can just make out the library at the end of this long street through Ephesus.

The Celsus Library. This building dates from about 125 A.D. At it's height it contained 12,000 roll books and included an auditorium where philosophers gave lectures. 

Interesting anecdote: the reading rooms in the Celsus library face east to make the best use of the morning light.

A relief of the goddess Victory Nike found on a city road. Is that a familiar "swoosh" I see in the folds of her dress? Yep, I think so!

This is the Grand Theater, containing about 22,500 seats and believed to be the largest in ancient Europe. This place was where gladiators fought with wild animals, hence the tall walls around the orchestra. This is also believed to be the place where Paul preached to the citizens of Ephesus, eventually landing him in jail. It was not the people who objected to the content of Paul's sermons, but the jewelers. They made their fortunes selling icons for the various gods worshipped at that time. They were worried that if the people converted to Christianity they would only worship one God and would no longer need many different icons.  They saw their incomes shrinking through the worship of a single God. They used their power and influence to have Paul arrested and jailed in hopes of continuing their flourishing trade in idols. 

Ephesus was an amazing city. The water needs of the people were met by one of the largest aqueduct systems in Europe. The city itself contained several temples, baths, and even public toilets. Excavations continue here, especially in the area of the terrace houses. We visited these marvelous structures and were amazed at how the people lived in these communities. 

The Temple of Artemis, considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, also stood near Ephesus. Sadly, all that remains is a single column and a few pieces of marble. We did visit the Basilica of St. John while we were here. 

The Apostle John spent a good deal of time in the area around Ephesus, including his final days. This basilica was constructed in the 6th century over the burial site of St. John.  

Our guide told us that, actually, John the Apostle's remains are not in this tomb. A little research has yielded a legend about the end days of the John. The legend states that on a designated Sunday, after preaching his lesson, John went into this church. A bright light shone and, when it dissipated, so did John. Pilgrims believed that the dust around this tomb contained the "breath" of John and so was miraculous. For a long time bottles of the dust were collected and distributed at this site. 

We had quite a busy morning and our guide informed us that it was finally time for lunch. Of course, we would have lunch at a place nearby where artisans and pupils worked creating traditional turkish handicrafts --- or rugs, in plain English. 

These girls were working on rugs as we walked up to the entrance. Each rug is made by hand following a specific pattern.

The gentlemen pulled out rug after rug after rug in an attempt to make a sale.

The rugs certainly were beautiful, but none of us bought today!

Lunch was a wonderful selection of Turkish foods served in a courtyard at the arts center. It was quite cold and windy, but we enjoyed our lunch anyway :). 

We had a fun day in Ephesus, and ended it by walking through the marketplace in Kusadsi. 

It is amazing to think that over the past 2 years we have walked in so many ancient cities. Ephesus is another of those ancient places. To think that we sat in the theatre where Paul, the Apostle, preached to the people of Ephesus! To walk the marble streets and gaze at the remaining buildings, columns and statues and to be inside the terrace houses and see the tiles and frescoes created so many thousands of years ago was an incredible experience!