Archeological Overload

Katakolon Greece, (Near Olympia Greece) 23 May
2007

On Tuesday, we had another "do it on your own" style land excursion day. We
skipped the pricey cruise tour and did it on our own. It was simple - a 3/4
mile walk to the metro from the ship, then a $2 metro ride right to the base of
the Acropolis.

The Parthenon - on Acropolis hill in Athens. (see picture) This is one of the
world's most impressive show places for the incredible architecture of the
ancient world. This structure built by the Greeks more than 2400 years ago,
stayed pretty much intact until the 1600's when an explosion from gunpowder
stored there by the Turks, pretty much toppled the structure. Later Lord Elgin,
scored another one for the Brits by "stealing" the frescoes or reliefs from the
inside of the building. They have since been on permanent display in the
British Museum. Restoration of the structure was performed in the early 1900's,
incorrectly and in 2002 a new renovation was begun to restore it correctly. Thus
the scaffolding and cranes in the picture. Seems everywhere I go, I get the
scaffolding on the beautiful buildings!!

It's an impressive structure, huge columns laid in alignment. The building faces
east-west as all temples were constructed in those times were. The columns of
marble, were made up of stacked column sections, with lead poured down the
center to keep them in alignment. Earthquakes seemed the only menace to this
form of construction which heavily relied on gravity.

We toured the buildings on the Acropolis, including an impressive museum with
artifacts collected from the area around the acropolis. Many objects greater
than 2500 years old. Our 100 year old buildings back home pale in comparison to
all this. Amazing.

After the tour of Acropolis, we went down the hill north of the Acropolis, found
the Plaka or old town area of Athens. There was a permanent flea market with
some great shopping. We also found the old Roman Agoura (market square). I
found the "Tower of the Winds", an ancient Greek sundial, one of the oldest in
existence.

Today, Wednesday 23 May, we arrived at Katakolon Greece and took a tour of the
original site of the Olympics. An impressive, serene, peaceful tree covered
area inland from this Coastal town. Here the Ancient Greeks first started the 5
day games, some 2500 years ago, and built an impressive site. Almost all of it
has collapsed from earthquakes and wear, but the museum with its relics from
the grounds helps you reconstruct the past. The main stadium where the
clothes-free Greek men competed is still there. The length, one stadia is the
distance Hercules paced out 192 steps. The Temple of Hercules, on site there,
originally housed the statue of Hercules, one of the 7 wonders of the world. It
was stolen by the Christians and moved to Constantinople, or ancient Istanbul.
Tour fact: Guess where the concept of the eternal flame started?? by Hitler
just before WWII !! This was a great tour. Now I'm into Archeological
overload!!

Tomorrow we are off to the Greek Island of Corfu. Then on to Venice.

I'll be back with you here in a few days
Yours in Travel
Bill

The Parthanon on the Acropolis, Athens Greece

The Parthanon on the Acropolis, Athens Greece, originally uploaded by Bill Wilson.

Ephesus-2 The Grand Library at Ephesus - Incredible

Ephesus-2 The Grand Library at Ephesus - Incredible, originally uploaded by Bill Wilson.

Mykonos, The Little Venice Section

Mykonos, The Little Venice Section, originally uploaded by Bill Wilson.

Ephesus - An Incredible Ancient City

Ephesus - An Incredible Ancient City, originally uploaded by Bill Wilson.

Pompeii Man - Plaster cast of man who died in eruption

Pompeii Man - Plaster cast of man who died in eruption, originally uploaded by Bill Wilson.

Pompeii Forum

Pompeii Forum, originally uploaded by Bill Wilson.

Historical Sites- Over 2000 to 2700 years Old

Hi all, Monday 21 May 2007 Mykonos, Greece

Wow, how do I catch up. Wednesday last, in Florence. Way too short, all we had was literally 5 hours to visit one of the most impressive cities in Italy. This is a 'come back' city. Saw Statue of David by Michelangelo, then walked this amazing city, the Duomo, the old bridge over the river built in 1360.. Yikes, no time to explore this amazing place.

Thursday it was on to Naples. We hopped a local train, about 1/2 hour and a thousand stops down to the city of Pompeii. A beautiful day out, a bit warm but nice for touring.
Pompeii was built over time starting several hundred years BC. By Roman times, it was a city of wealth..then in 60AD... bam!!!, Mt Vesuvius, looming close in the background, exploded and buried the city. So fast many people were trapped in their homes, quickly overcome by the ashes and explosion.

It was discovered in 17th century and had to be literally dug out revealing a snapshot in time of what life was like then. Beautiful paintings on walls, intricate frescoes and mosaics on the floors.
We got a special tour from a construction worker working on the renovation of one room. He held his finger to his mouth..shhhhh... he let us in the site he was working on, not open to the public. Beautiful place, incredible paintings on the walls over 2500 years old. He was of course after some lunch money..a small tip was well worth the private tour. Also here was one of the oldest examples of a Roman stadium. We stood where lions were slain by gladiators..wow

An express train back, and taxi to the ship..our home away from home, and off in the sunset.

On Sunday we had one of the best experiences of the trip. We toured the ancient city of Ephesus in Turkey (Google it, check it out!) Just amazing mix of 3 major civilizations all in one place. And so well preserved because it had been flooded by an ancient river covering it in 40 or 50 feet of mud until the 1700's when it was discovered. Ephesus was the center of Greek society in this region, then later occupied by the Romans, then the Byzantines. There is stark evidence of all types of architecture, Greek Ionian column capitals, Roman Corinthian and then mixed ones for the later years. You can touch Greek writing on the marble dating over 2000 years. And a huge library building. Much of what you see has been restored and rebuilt by Turkish funding over the last several hundred years. Renovation/restoration is still continuing. An amazing place.
I'll post pictures in next few days. Our private guide, Onur, took us to the site, to a Turkish rug factory and home for a typical Turkish lunch in the country. We finished up at the museum where objects from the site were displayed.

Today we are in Mykonos, the upscale Greek Island that has been the playground over the years of the rich and famous. We took the city bus out to the local beach (beautiful, complete with nude sunbathers :) )
This is beautiful place, weather is outstanding an no wind!!

We will head for Athens tomorrow, and hope to visit the Acropolis and other sites in town.

We are off for now, see you in a few days.