We arrive early in the morning but the ship ahead of us in the port was having problems so we were delayed going on our excursions. Of course, we did not know that until we were already up, dressed, and headed to breakfast prepared for the excursion. We had been warned that we should have rain around noon and that we about the time we were to start back to the ship. So with cameras and all the related items including raincoats, we found that the ship was still out to sea instead of almost docked. The city is interesting. The castle was at the port and high on the hill was a large Monastery with another medieval castle above that. This city is definitely a place we would like to visit again. It is a bit hard to wrap my head around but by Italian standards these are not even old being from the 1300s medieval times. They can all be toured and have museums. Betty was going on a scenic and city drive which it turns out she was not very happy with in the end. Shawna and I got on a bus to Pompeii. Never thought that would be something I could say. The drive from the port to Pompeii involved a stop that carves and sells Cameos. They had a demonstration by an artist. Palazzo del Corallo has been carving Corals and Cameos for 100 years. Shawna bought a small cameo. The other purpose was to access a bathroom as there is very limited access at Pompeii. We were dropped off just a short walk from the entrance to the site. It was a gas station and next door was an RV park. So camping is right across the street from Pompeii entrance. The campgrounds here are for “caravans” which is the European version of an RV. It’s not the size of the RV’s but driving it in Italy that concerns me. They are crazy drivers. We parked across the road in a lot that was a short walk to the Archaeological site entrance. Our bus was divided in two groups and our guide was named Anna. She was very knowledgeable and answered all our questions. We did a tour of Pompeii. WOW! It was very interesting and at times a bit more strenuous than expected. It was good that Betty did not go on our tour. We were also lucky that it did not rain because the stones would have become very slick. History Warning: Pompeii was first settled around 600 BC. The city grew quickly and by 79 AD the city was an estimated population of 11,000 and wealthy. It was a port city with many wealthy merchants. Many theaters, temples, homes, restaurants, .... But in 79 AD that all suddenly came to a sudden end when Vesuvius erupted sending ash and pumice to cover the city. Both Pompeii and Herculaneum were buried under 12 to 20 ft of volcanic ash and pumice. The lesser known Herculaneum is differently worth the a tour according to Cousin Paulette. Back to the eruption. For two days near the end of November 79 AD the volcano erupted. On the first day Pumice rained down first which allowed most to escape with much of the wealth was removed. Sometime before sunrise on the second day pyroclastic flows started which killed everyone still in the city. As far as has been determined so far just over 1000 people were buried in the flow. All died suddenly suffocating in the extreme heat then immediately buried incasing their bodies leaving a nearly perfect mold of the body in the last moment of death. By the end the city was gone and even the coastline was expanded. Some excavations were done but most were just to rob the city of stone, statues, and what little wealth that remained. It is speculated that most of the Pompeii was left undisturbed because gold and silver melted and was difficult to find in the ash making digging unprofitable. Back to today. It was a busy day to visit the site. Pompeii is amazing. You literally walk in the roads and paths of Pompeii. Walk into and around theaters, homes, stores, and even a brothel. The walls were the original walls. Many that had the “plaster” with color still showing. Everything was just as it was after Vesuvius covered the city with ash. Mosaics on floors. Marble seats, ponds, walls, columns, and even fountains. They looked like no time had passed at all. Our first stop was a large area for events. All around the outside were 2 or 3 story tall structures where people could sit to enjoy events presented in the center area, purchase snacks and meals. This was primary for small competitions and religious events. Next, we walked by one of the many theaters. Being at the stage area, we could see where the actors would enter to perform. The doorways are too short for me. The Pompeii version of a fast food restaurant was so obvious to everyone. The holes used to hold large bowls of food both heated and cooled by water. It was difficult to just walk knowing that 2,000 yeas ago this was a thriving city and we were literally walking where they did in their time. They did have poop flowing down what are now clean roads but same stones in the same roads. All but one plaster cast are in the Pompeii museum but one woman in her last moment is frozen for us to see in a room where she was found. The detail that was captured was surprising. The folds of her clothes and even hair were easily seen. Along the roads were small homes, restaurants, and shops. Interior of the city block was where the wealthily lived away from the noise of the road and the smell. We walked into a home where the name of the owner is known. The rooms surrounded a large courtyard and inner courtyard. There was a private water cistern, marble pool/pond, and some mosaics. A brothel was in a narrow alley. Inside above each doorway to a room with a large stone platform (bed) were paintings of the type of “attention” the person would get in that room. VERY explicitly shown. The reason pictures were needed was that many did not speak the same language. The guide then told us that the upstairs rooms were for multiple people participating together at the same time. I am trying to be as careful as possible as some of our younger relatives read the blog. The builders were very smart and imbedded reflective rock into the roads to make walking at night easier. The city was supplied water with lead pipes. Many can still be found. We now know that lead is a horrible choice for drinking water pipe. Fountains were placed throughout the city. More mosaic which were entrances to wealthy homes. Even the sidewalks were originally paved with scrap mosaic rock. We then walked down the main road to the large area which was easily multiple acres surrounded by the remains of temples. The front of each with columns and words carved above. Pompeii is far too large for us to tour in the time we had available so we really want to return and tour on our own someday. Back to the ship to have lunch with Betty and relax. Tonight, we have another dance and music stage show. Step One Dance Company: Musicology – look them up it’s very good.
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Today is a day at sea. We passed through the area between Italy mainland and Sicily. When we started through I noticed that Messina was the town we would pass and immediately thought of “Much Ado About Nothing”. Wow, Italy! Because of our problem in Kotor we have a bit of extra time before we are to arrive in Naples. The captain came on and said that we would detour a little to pass the Volcanic island of Stromboli. Guess what they are famous for?! Anyway, we will pass around the island in hopes of seeing lava. Cool! The island is pretty unmistakable as it rises 3000 feet out of the sea. In “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (1864) by Jules Verne, at the conclusion of the novel they are ejected from Stromboli. In some of the movie versions, it was usually Vesuvius as it is a more famous volcano. Another case of screen writers thinking they know better than the original authors. The island is only 5 square miles in size but almost all of that is uninhabited. Only the land right at the shore is used. The population is around 500 people. These people live in the constant knowledge that the volcano could kill them at any moment. The volcano has been constantly erupting for thousands of years but major events are rare. The island if visible both day and night and is distinctive in shape so it has been called the Lighthouse of the Mediterranean. When ancient sailors saw this island in the distance they knew where they were and where to go. If you look at some of the pictures you can see where the last flow occurred in 2019. If this had been down a different flank of the volcano it would have covered the town. I tried to get lava but all we got was some smoke and ash plumes. The view was pretty amazing. We could not see any lava but there was plenty of smoke and ash. Our problem was just at the time we arrived at the volcano we were at the Mixology Class. The “classes” include 4 drinks and WOW are they heavy pours. Tonight is Dressy so Suit and Tie for me and nice dresses for the ladies. Later we will be entertained by the music group Cantare and their show tonight is called Timeless. Again, Wow! They are great. It is the one show that Betty will stay up late to see.
Off to bed. Well, that was a bust. The weather was significant as we came in between the mountains that make a channel to Kotor. The wind started to increase. This is a very narrow passage at under 1000 feet across. I went up to get coffee at 10 Forward (the Crow's Nest) and the view ahead looks like a dead-end. As we approached the narrow passage, it became clear how we would get into the bay. We were only one of several cruise ships that were turned away. Even a small expedition ship gave up and headed back out. Later the captain would tell us that the wind got to over 50 knots. That would be unsafe to dock or even anchor and tender into port. As a result, we turned and started back out to the Mediterranean. Kotor is a town in Montenegro. Not a place I ever even thought of visiting. Sadly, we won't be visiting on this trip. It may have been nice to visit the towns and villages in the area. They look quaint. As we headed out, we passed several Cold War Yugoslavia Sub bases built in the 1970s. They were cut into the mountain to be almost impossible to see or attack. A cover could be swung over the entrance that looked like the rocks and plants of the rest of the shoreline. The design was based on tunnels Hitler's subs used in WWII. Think of the scene from the first Indian Jones movie. Instead of a port visit, this turned into a sea day so we relaxed on ship and had a nice lunch in main dinning. Tonight the comedian Geoff Boyz performed again. He was OK but the Captain is actually funnier. The entire crew takes their lead from the Captain. He has a great sense of humor which even goes to competing with others by wearing crazy socks.
We moved the clocks forward an hour this morning but I still woke up by 6am. I left Shawna sleeping and was off for coffee and having breakfast with Betty. Later I went back to the cabin to bring Shawna coffee. Today, Shawna and Paulette attended a beer tasting. Betty was off to play mahjong. In the afternoon, we went to a Mixology class. Tonight's show on main-stage is ‘Cantare All In’ 4 men who harmonize singing. Wow!
Today, we visit Mykonos and Delos. Today, we arrived at the port at Mykonos for our tour of the Delos Archeological site. Once off the ship, we get on a Sea Bus to the town. Greek towns are so pretty. From there we get on a large ferry to the island of Delos which they pronounce as Theos. Delos was the religious site for Apollo god of light and his twin brother the god of music. This was a huge city in its day. Massive temples, homes, shops, restaurants, theaters, stadiums for competitions. Temples, or what is left of them, were everywhere. All of the buildings were completed hundreds of years BC. Over the centuries the island was stripped of much of the stone to use to build homes on Mykonos. It was easier to haul walls of temples than to cut new stone. So that pretty town was built from pieces of the temples of Delos. We actually walked the roads and pathways built over 2500 years ago. Between homes, shops, temples, … The temples were impressive in there day. Huge structures. Large statues. One which was about 30 feet tall. All are just the base and foundations of the original structures. Even with all the stripping of stone and carvings there are several impressive remnants. At one point Betty and Shawna sat on a marble bench that was over 2500 years old. It is amazing that so long ago people built these and every famous Greek and Roman walked these streets. From Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, Alexander the great, Julius Caesar, everyone who was anyone came to Delos to be seen and pray. It is hard to wrap my head around the thought of knowing we walked on the same streets they walked. We passed one of the remaining fresh water pools. Built in around 400BC and still here holding water. As the tour continued we moved higher on the island. We were able to tour one the last remaining courtyards of a wealthy family. The original mosaic is still in place. This was placed several hundred years before Christ was born. Amazing! The walls of the city were covered in marble, plaster, and color. These were a people who enjoyed bright colors. Over the many years the plaster has fallen. The paint has faded and lost it's color. More floor mosaics. The remains of one of the many theaters was part of the tour. They loved theater and had their own entertainer celebrities. The Delos theater was completed in 230 BC and seated 6500. Of course with that many gathered for performances that would last all day, there was a need for water. The theater had an enormous cistern over 80 feet long, 20 feet deep, and over 10 feet deep. Back to the ship just in time for All Aboard. We were on the last boat leaving Delos and only just made it on board before the first warning blast of the ships horn. I thought I would throw in some of the menus we have on ship. A quick shower and then off to the main dining room for a meal. More music. A couple of drinks. The main-stage to hear Julian Gargiulo “The pianist with the hair” Italian-American classical pianist. He was funny while playing. Amazing classical music. He reminded me of Victor Borga. Off to bed, it had been a long day.
We arrived in Turkey! After breakfast, we looked out over Istanbul. The port overlooks the north side of the city. Istanbul is a huge city that crosses between the European continent and the Asian continent. Between is the waterway that connects the Black Sea to the Mediterranean. We had decided not to take any excursions in Istanbul with the war in Israel and protests of the war. Instead we went out to shop in the stores right at the port. Of course they have massively inflated prices but it did not matter anyway since they were all high end stores. If you can think of it, they had a store. Louis Vuitton, Versace, Prada, Armani, Gucci, … We did not even step in. Just looked from the sidewalks. We did stop for something to drink. I had Turkish Coffee. Shawna had a Turkish Beer. The coffee is different. Kind of like an Espresso on top of fine ground coffee grounds in the bottom. Super strong. Betty and Paulette were tired and returned to the ship. Shawna and I took a walk though the shops outside of the port mall. Mosques are everywhere. We passed lots of police so never felt unsafe. There were lots of cafes and restaurants along with some shops. I knew we had found our store when we came up on one that had tacky socks hanging outside. You know, the kind with colorful prints of pictures or sayings. We found a snow globe for Betty and a magnet showing the city for us. As we started back to the ship there was a mural of Route 66. It was outside a restaurant specializing in "American" food. Soon after that was a call to prayer from the mosques. In the afternoon, we pulled away. The port is crowded and boats all trying to stay out of the way. Back on ship to eat lunch, relax, hot tub, shower, dress up for the formal night in the dining room, stop for a drink in the Ocean bar, dinner (very nice), a show at the Main-stage, Shawna and I finished up the night with music at the piano bar, Rolling Stone Lounge, and a short walk on deck. We really enjoyed dancing in the Rolling Stone Lounge, Whew! Vacations can be exhausting.
Our first full day on the ship. Breakfast. A meeting/Q&A on Istanbul. Lunch. Shawna was having her facial at the spa. After she finished at the spa, we changed into swimsuits and relaxed in one of the hot tubs by the main pool and watched as we came into Istanbul. We pulled in to dock and the Nieuw Statendam was already here. All together, there are three cruise ships in the port. Dinner tonight at the Canaletto was very nice. Plenty of food. Shrimp, lamb shank, ribs, pasta and meat and desert. Next was a local entertainment group that had two belly dancers. Fun. I am so shy and reserved that I got up and danced with one of the dancers for a few seconds. Betty was done after that and headed back to her room. Paulette, Shawna and I went to the Ocean Bar for a drink. The main stage had a Scottish comedian, Geoff Boyz, who was good, not the best we have heard, but pretty good. Off to bed as Shawna had an early morning Spa appointment.
We plan to all go ashore to shop about 10am but have to be back aboard by 4pm for sail away.
Cruise Day, well this afternoon anyway.
Up for breakfast at 7am with our great view of the Acropolis from the roof top patio. We packed up by 11am so we can be out of the room before checkout.
The hotel held our bags so we could go out one last time in Athens. The first stop was the Ilias Lalaounis Jewelry Museum just a couple of blocks away. So much ornate gold jewelry. Some amazing pieces many that were very, very large.
Next, we stopped at a local sandwich shop to have lunch.
Back to the hotel to wait for our car that would take us to the port.
Wow, driving in Athens is crazy. The drive to the port was disturbing but our driver navigated all the crazing driving of this city. Scooters and motorcycles pass between cars on the lane lines. For that matter, most drivers see the lanes are just suggestions. As you can imagine, if those driving laws don’t really matter speed limits are ignored completely.
We were too busy hanging on to take pictures or video of the drive to the Port of Piraeus.
Our boarding time was supposed to be 2:30pm. We arrived just before 2pm. Passports and boarding pass in our hands. These were check in the parking lot where we dropped off our luggage. Then they were checked by the cruise line. Lastly ,several security checks, security scans, and passport scanned for exit by Greek custom agents before we walked on to the dock. We finally boarded the ship and started unpacking.
We got onboard and found out that the ship is equipped with Starlink! Great! There are dishes on both sides of the ship. That should make for much better internet access than on a normal cruise.
Time to wonder around the ship and find out what this one will be like.
While familiarizing ourselves to the ship, we ended up in the Crow's Nest found on the front of the ship at the 10th floor which I refer to as "Ten Forward".
For Star Trek fans that will make sense as it is essentially a drinks and coffee bar with areas to relax. This ship has something else very different. A big Lego model of the ship.
We ended the night with our first introduction to the Rolling Stone Lounge band that we would enjoy for the cruise.
Up for breakfast at 7am. It was very nice with a slight variation on the choices Today, we plan to visit the Acropolis Museum. It is a bit of a walk from the hotel but worth every step. The museum is extensive and almost exclusively on the Parthenon. There were some representations of what the structures on the Acropolis looked like before being dismantled or blown up. Yes, long ago, an explosion destroyed part of the Parthenon. What person thinks "Hey this looks like a great place to make into an arms depot"? Well, someone did. The buildings are impressive now but when first completed they were amazing. The largest amount of surviving artifacts from the Acropolis are found here. Of course not including those stolen by other countries. Massive numbers of sculpture, carvings, jars, bowls, .... are on display. More sculptures. I was surprised by the details carved and still remaining today. Hair and clothing was made as realistic as possible. Many of which the faces were damaged by Christians to deface anything against the church. An area is dedicated to the Porch of the Maidens sculptures that were originally supports for the porch at the tomb of Erechtheus. The ones on the Acropolis are replicas. The London Museum has the others that survived but they will not return them to Athens. Yes, a bit of a sore point with me. If Athens had anything stolen from London, the UK would be demanding its return. Almost an entire floor of the museum is dedicated to the carvings that originally were around the top of the Parthenon. This is laid out to the same dimensions of the Parthenon. Again except for the pieces that are now in London. I know I keep bring this up but Really?! Return them already. Several gold coins were found during excavation's. After several hours, we left the upper floors of the museum to go under the museum. When the museum was being prepared for construction, a large ancient site was found. Not surprising as almost everything in Athens is over an ancient building, shop, or even temple. If everything was uncovered almost the entire city would be an archeological site and no one would have a business or home here. In this case, beneath the museum is a mansion. A very wealthy homeowner with portions built from 200 AD and newer buildings from 300 AD. Yes, the entire structure is over 1700 years old. As time passed, the buildings were dismantled and all but the low walls and floors were removed for new buildings. As I have said before ALL of Athens is built using stone, mostly marble, taken from ancient buildings. There were several baths and preparation rooms. In that day, a person would come to a room then change out of street clothes before entering the bath. Next into a warm room to allow the body to adjust in preparation to move to the hot room for a steam bath or dip in a heated pool. Afterwards, they would return back with a stop for a massage and be rubbed down with scented oils. Finally, the cold room to dip in a cool pool before drying and changing. The baths had a floor supported on short poles. This allowed heated air to flow from a fire under the hot pool. Under most conditions, males and females did not bathe together but select times were designated for each sex. Of course, there needs to be some sort of latrine (toilet). There were several holes on benches, of marble, over a trench that with water running through to carry away waste. After the museum, we went down a block to another great Greek restaurant. The food was great. Betty had Stuffed Cabbage Rolls, Shawna had Shrimp in a sauce and rice along with a dark Greek beer. I had pork Gyro which comes here as some pita bread slices, meat piled up, cucumber sauce… basically dissembled. After that, we did a bit of tourist shopping. Betty needed some socks and we bought a magnet of the Acropolis. At the end of the pedestrian street full of shops, we found Hadrian's Arch which was built in 132 AD. That was over 1800 years ago. The Pentelic marble gateway has Corinthian columns and is named for an Roman emperor Hadrian. In the past, a street passed under the arch. After a bit of a walk, we got to the remains of Zeus Temple. As some point the largest temple in Greece was broken down to boil the columns to make quicklime for concrete. Crazy to us but remember to the Romans it was not old yet and not a Roman god. The area around the temple had baths and other structures. It was a difficult to get a picture that did the baths justice. A bit more of a walk and we were at the stadium for the first modern Olympics. 1863?? The audio tour was great and gave a good explanation of the history. The small museum had many of the torches used. The two thrones are for the King and Queen of Greece. Betty was very tired so we walked back to the hotel and she stayed to rest. Shawna and I walked back to the Ancient Agora on the North side of the Acropolis. Well to the north. At least a mile walk. This is known as the birthplace of the concept of democracy. This restored building was the where philosophies and governance was discussed. One result was the concept of democracy. Some amazing renderings of the original Agora along with the building. Lots of great statues and pottery. A child's potty. Some jewelry was found on the site. After leaving the museum, we walked around the grounds seeing many of the foundations of what were huge buildings all long gone and dismantled for building materials for the city. Even so, there are several examples of carvings that originally decorated them. Across the park, a single temple still stands which was completed in 415 BC. That's over 2400 years old. The whole idea of OLD is very different here. It was a temple to Hephaestus, the Greek god of artisans, blacksmiths, carpenters, craftsmen, fire, metallurgy, metalworking, sculpture and volcanoes. That's a lot of things to be "god" of isn't it? The temple does show damage from fires which burned away the roof and earthquakes which shifted blocks. Catholic church which was built 1000 AD by demolishing some of the buildings that originally stood here. Yes, the church is over 1000 years old. So compared to the temple above, this is a new building. It was closed when we were there so we could not see the interior. We did find a few flowers and some parrots. Yes, wild parrots. As we walked out of the Agora, the path out was the original Panathenaic Way. This was the road to the Acropolis and used for thousands of years. Our final views of the Agora were great. Exhausted, we walked back to the hotel but stopped off for some sandwiches and a frozen fruit (strawberry) smoothy for Betty. We all went up to the roof for our last night time view of the Acropolis from the hotel. Shawna went down stairs to the bar and came back with a bottle of wine she shared with Betty and a liquor make from grapes for me (strong stuff).
Off to bed. Up by 6am and on the roof top for the included breakfast at 7am. Very nice. Two people working to keep everything refilled and help anyone who asked. Not just a few rolls but a wide selection of meats, cheese, breads, scrambled eggs, sausage, yogurt, fruit with juicer to make fresh juice, … AND Coffee. Wow did we need the Coffee that is made to your preference. Real plates, flatware, cloth napkins... We were impressed. The view of the Acropolis was impressive. Watching the sun rise and strike the Parthenon was amazing. After breakfast, we were off to the Acropolis for our long walk to the top. Wow, impressive even with all the damage from so many years and people remodeling to different types of churches or just blowing it up. More on that in the history lesson. The walk up is pretty strenuous. It is a pretty tall hill. The stones for the walkway up are blocks of marble. Almost everything here is marble. Even the edges of roads, that we would have as concrete are made of marble. Everything here screams ancient. As we pass through the ticket area, we come to a huge theater. Odeon of Herodes Atticus was built before 150 BC and is still used today for performances. Originally, it had a roof but that was destroyed by a fire by in 267 AD. It was restored in the 1950's and seats 5000 people. Everyone from Frank Sinatra to Pavarotti to Elton John has performed here but more importantly for over 400 years it was used for performances by the Greeks and Romans. We could easily see our hotel from the Acropolis. We pass Mars Hill where Paul preached the Gospel. Walking up to the Acropolis where we find lots of steps and then through the portico. Warning: History Ahead... Lots and lots of history. First, we pass through a fortified gate, constructed in the Roman period in 280 AD. Above and below is what it looked like originally looked like prior to the Monument of Agrippa being built and Athena's Statue was still in place. Look to the bottom right of the above picture to see the Roman gate then. Below is what the Roman gates look like today. Next the Monument of Agrippa a 30 foot tall pedestal where there was a bronze of horses and a chariot then that was replaced by a bronze of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Each time the city was taken, it was replaced. When Agrippa defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra's forces in 31 BC that statue was removed and likely melted down. Now, it is an empty pedestal. Next is the original entrance to the Acropolis is Amazing! On the right side is the temple to Athena Nike and on the Left the Pinakotheke an area where worshippers could prepare or cleanse themselves before entering the sacred areas. It was completed around 400 BC. When you see bright white that is a repair or replacement for missing pieces that risk structural stability. The rest is original and over 2400 years old. WOW! Just think for a minute. These structures were hundreds of years old when Paul came to preach the Gospel on Mars hill just down from the Roman gate. The structures on the Acropolis have been robbed of material which was used for building material in the surrounding city. Yep, most of the original entrance is now part of buildings below the Acropolis. The entrance is impressive. Imagine this was your passage to the Acropolis. The south side of the entrance is a temple to Athena Nike. A very small temple by comparison with most others here. Just past that was a pedestal with a 30 foot tall bronze sculpture of Athena that was so big it could be seen from the sea. It was placed before 450BC. The base of the pedestal was 15 x 15 feet but its height is unknown but it was likely at least 15 tall making a cube but could have been taller. All that remains is the base, everything else was removed long ago. Only two of the original buildings beyond the entrance gates still exist. The Parthenon and Erechtheion with the Porch of the Caryatids. All the other temples were destroyed and most of the material was carted off. Over time there have many more. The Shrine of Athena and Hygeia. The old temple of Athena which stood behind her statue, the Sanctuary of Artemis, and the temple of Rome and Augustus. Our first close up view of the Parthenon was stunning. We decided to turn north to view the Erechtheion named after the demi-god Erechtheus. This building was completed in 406 BC. The west side was the entrance to the Shrine of Erechtheus and the East is a shrine to Athena. On the west side there is also a 100 year old olive tree which was planted to represent the "Sacred Olive Tree of Athena". A youngster compared to the building itself. Porch of the Maidens. The south porch was supposed to be over a crypt of Kekrop's. These maidens are exact replicas. The originals are in the museum to protect them from damage. We will see them later. Originally these were very detailed and painted. The east end a shrine to Athena now only a shell of a building. To the east of the Parthenon is the Greek flag. From that vantage point we could see many of the places we want to tour while we are in Athens. The museum, Zeus Temple remains, the original Olympic stadium... From here we could see that the city was built surrounding ancient sites scattered all around. Almost every building in the city is built ON an ancient site. Maybe someday those will be uncovered for future generations. We will visit many of these before we leave Athens. The walk around the Parthenon was great. Lots to see. We took in all we could. The Parthenon is under reconstruction and has been for many years. It is likely it will be for many more. The plan is to restore the west end and leave the rest as is with some protective work to avoid any further damage. The Parthenon was competed in 432 BC. So this building has been standing here for over 2,400 years. It was a treasury and the temple to Athena. The building it a rectangle and has a 23,000-square foot base. Steps surrounded the entire building. Around the outside were Doric columns each standing on a platform create a border. There were 46 outer columns and 19 inner columns which originally supported a wood roof. The interior was painted sky blue. Because of its size straight columns would have looked bent by perspective so instead they were sightly tapered. The result was that from the ground it looked perfectly symmetrical. The columns at the corners are larger than the other columns. The result is that the Parthenon contains no straight lines and no right angles but looks to be perfectly square from the ground. Originally inside the center stood a 40 foot tall statue to Athena and the carvings on the exterior were painted. In Nashville, there is a replica of the Parthenon with as close as they can imagine statue. There were many wars fought for Athens. The Romans took Greece. The Greeks took it back. The Christian Byzantines took the city and 1,000 years after it was built the Parthenon was converted to a Catholic church dedicated to the Virgin Mary. They damaged or destroyed almost every carving or sculpture. In the mid 1400's, the Muslim Ottoman Empire seized Athens and it was converted to a mosque. In 1687, the Turks sieged the city and the Ottomans converted the Acropolis to store ammo. When it was hit by a cannon ball, the explosion damaged the Parthenon. Over the next two hundred years much of the marble was removed and used as building material in the surrounding city. In 1803, many of the surviving sculptures were looted by Lord Elgin and taken to London and remain there to this day. We were able to see some of the work on the reconstruction, restoration, and stabilizing while we were touring. Much of the ground on the Acropolis is rubble. The remains of damage done over the years. Some is ornately carved and some simple wall material. All are documented and many have the original location identified for future placement. This will be the world's largest jigsaw puzzle ever assembled. As we came down, we took a wrong turn and missed the slopes and instead went out the exit. This means we did not see some of the small temples below the Acropolis. We walked back into town and had a very nice lunch. Traditional meals Moussaka, … After getting back to the room, Betty decided to rest she was very tired. Shawna and I walk around the outside of the Acropolis trying to get to the Ancient Agora. In the process we took a wrong turn but even then we saw so much. We missed our opportunity to go the the Ancient Agora an area to the north of the Acropolis with lots of Roman era buildings. The entrance is closed to entry at 4:30pm. We will try again tomorrow. We did pass the Gate of Athena and area had already closed. It is wild to my thinking that homes are right up against ancient ruins. As we walked passed several cafes Shawna was approached by a woman trying to sell flowers. She is actually trying to CON people out of their money. The tactic is to hand a flower to someone saying it is free then ask for money. If you don't give them what they want they yell at you until you do. So Shawna just put her hands down and refused to take the flower. The other tactic is by people with "hand made" (actually made in China) bracelets which they try to put on you then demand money. Of course, we are very careful of pickpockets which are usually present with these people. We walked passed several interesting sites on the way back to the hotel. The Sanctuary of Zeus. The Sanctuary of Pan. Fountain of Phyx. This is an interesting place. Homes, Restaurants, and stores intermixed with ancient sites that are as old as the time when the Apostles were here preaching the Gospel. Imagine you walk out of a cafe for lunch and right next to that is a old temple that is over 2,000 years old. Amazing but normal to the people living here. We get back to the hotel, check on Mom, and stop by the bar for some wine and a Coke to drink on the Patio. The labels were interesting. We loved our view while recovering from the day.
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AuthorWe are a couple who have started on a new adventure... Archives
January 2024
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