A few random pictures from Greece

click these to enlarge. A picture we took that turned out colored like a 1960's postcard


On the beach at Naxos yesterday before we sailed to Athens


The dome and stone set in masonry walls of the tiny (no longer used) St. Giorgio's Greek Orthodox church at Hilka


Some of the very intact female statuary recovered from Knossos


some of my favorite faces from the fallen friezes at Afrodesia


Colum with an old still at the Citron shop in Hilka (msp?). Let me publicly apologize to Colum because I just discovered that I have frequently been writing his name as Column! You don't know how many columns I've looked at in the last month!


Love and Mercy,

Jack in Athens, July 15th, 2008 (two days to go...).

Poem: Sailing To Athens

1.

In a pale grey fog,
I see the ghosts
Of ancient Helleniki mariners

Sailing phantom steamships, sloops,
Prams, dories, catamarans, dinghies,
Trawlers, purse-seiners, frigates and tugboats

Across the cerulean blue sea,
Trawling for the fish
That are phantoms now too.

2.

Wine, saffron, ruby-red, pale lemon;
Emerals peppers, rocket, and capers;
Pink carpusi, crystal white Ouzo;

Cheeses in every tint
From snow white to ivory,
Cream, tan, grey, and muted gold.

3.

Gifts of olive oil, wine, raki, ouzo,
Apricots, plums, cake, ice cream,
Citron, carpusi, sorbet, wildflowers,

More caprusi, poetry, more ouzo, and songs
Sung on the street
Direct from the heart.

4.

I leave with a song in my heart
And knowing whatever we sing, eat, play,
Drink, wear, smoke, worship, or dream,

They're all just people
Like you and me.
Amen. Selah. Namaste.
---o0o---

Changes I've noticed in Greece, Part 1, or, I miss the old Retsina

St. Francis of Assisi outside his church in Rhodes - click to enlarge


I don't have much time to do this--the Germans are patiently watching me, and of course, they can read this too, since they sit five feet behind me. OK, I am uploading this off the USB stick, and hope I edited it when I wrote it (I don't remember!).

Changes in Europe in general - I won't focus on how very expensive it is here. Unlike our last trip, we've seen very few Americans. It is very pricy in Europe right now, even in lower cost destinations like Turkey and Greece.



Jack outside a console club in Rhodes...the consoles are Game Cube, PS/2, and XBox

The E.U. seems like the biggest change, and it really feels like the destinies of most of the EU countries are now even more strongly interlinked than ever before. The common currency in particular seems both an aspirational thing and a burden. I kind of miss Drachmas.

Retsina - When we were in Greece in 1982, almost al the restsina you drank came from a wooden barrel, often served in a ceramic or copper pitcher. We have had a lot of retsina on this trip, but none so far has come from the barrel (at least directly). It is almost always served in 500 ML bottles (a regular bottle of wine is 750 ML). It is still pretty cheap. Back then it was about $1.00 a bottle. Now, it is more like 2-3 Euros for the 500 ML size ($3 to $4.50 USD). I kind of miss some of that barrel retsina, since once in a while you’d get some heavily resinated wine. Now, it is resinated, but not too much. I miss that more over the top version, unsurprisingly—who wants subtle? Claire seems to like Retsina, but Column does not…in fact he coined the name Wine-Sol for it.

English - Since this was my first trip to Turkey. I don’t know how their English was way back when. But I thought they spoke a surprising amount this time around. Even though we’ve seen very few Americans on this trip, and not all that many Aussies or Brits, English is spoken much more in Greece than before. Not so much as anaccomodation to language-weak Americans, but as the mutual language between Euro-language speakers. It is common to see, say, a German, a Greek, A japanese and a Dutch person speaking English...their one common language.

If signs plaques, or posters are translated, they are almost always in both Greek and English. Museums in particular follow this convention. In Greece, street signs are often now transliterated. When I was here before, you had to at least learn the Greek alphabet to get around.

The American Presidency - Some things never change. When we were here in 1982, the Europeans did not at all like our President, Ronald Reagan. In 2008, they really really do not like our President, George Bush. Our landlord laughingly made the cut his throat sign about Bush when she asked us what we thought about Mr. Bush. He has not made anything easier for anyone here, and most of these countries—part of the “coalition”—lost boys in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Greeks in particular seem fond of “America.” As far as I can tell, mainly because there is a large Greek community in America, and almost all of them have an uncle, cousin, aunt, or brother living in the United States. Or maybe it’s because of Telly Savalas. More on the changes later. Love, Jack
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Naxos - 37 hours and our final island hop before Athens

The tiny and no longer used St. Giogrios' in a village on Naxos - click to enlarge.

We arrived on Naxos after a stunnning two-hour sailing across the Aegean, right past the Santorini volcano, covered with dark lava scree. It was a massive cattle call getting on the boat, but I raced ahead of the family, sidestepping all the maddening roller-carts, and snagged a table and chairs on the very top deck, in the open air. It was a great ride past dozens of islands. We arrived on Naxos at about 7:00 pm. Naxos is a gorgeous, less hectic island than Rhodes or Santorini. We mainly just chilled out, wrote, swam a little, and had some drinks.

Keelin and Jack on our one night in Santorini/Thira - click to enlarge

Our landlord, Irena. proprietor of Irena II Pensione was sweet, and greeted us with ice cream bars, compliments on our family, and asking us about our Presidente. Then she laughed and made the throat cumming pantomime as we let her know we were glad he would soon be out of office. Like many Greeks and Turks, she seemed to feel warmly about America(ns).

We rented a car today and drove out to an extremely remote and windy beach and enjoyed our last beach day of the trip. I wrote a poem. We watched dozens of parasailers, kites, etc., in the brisk winds. I collected a few rocks.

Our two little friends who thought we'd come to feed them -click to enlarge

On our way home we stopped by one unmarked ruin, an old monastery, and at an old "plant" that makes Citron liqueur, Raki, Ouzo and some other distilled goodies. Then we walked through some alleys and fields and visited St. Giorgio's, an old Greek Orthodox Church that is extremely intact. I don't know if it's been restored or not. And I am blanking on the name of the village--something that has been happening a lot...we've been so many places in the last four weeks, it's sometimes hard to remember!

We saw two adorable lambs, chickens, and figs, grapes, and artichokes growing in fields and yards. Then we drove back to Naxos Town (Chora).

Tomorrow morning, we sail to Piraeus, the port of Athens, for three days in that polluted, hectic, crazy city, to visit the great archaeological museum there, and of course, the Acropolis and Parthenon...definitely the most inspiring ruins I saw on my last visit to Greece.

As always. when I am on a computer at a hotel, two people are waiting, so I'll post the poem another time, and another article I wrote on changes in Greece.

---o0o---

26 Hours on Santorini

The Santorini Caldera at Sunset. Click to enlarge.



Santorini was once a very large volcano, but when it exploded, the core of the volcano sank to the bottom of the sea. What you see is the outer edge/rim of the volcano. Our hotel room was 100 meters from the edge of the former volcano. In Santorini, there is really no flatland, and all the towns and villages are built right into the side of the mountain (no troglodyte caves, 'though!).

We arrived here yesterday afternoon, and will depart for Naxos late this afternoon. Santorini is gorgeous, heavily touristed, and extremely congested due to the serpentatine paths and streets that thread their way through town (town, here meaning the town of Fira, or Thira, the Greek name for Santorini). Mostly we had wanted to come here to see the geological formations and the famous Caldera. Keelin has long weanted to come here to see the famous ruins--one of the finest in Greece--that has been closed for years now, and which we didn't figure out until the day we departed America.




Houses, resataurants, and streets on the stair-step hillside of Santorini. Click to enlarge.

We had an excellent dinner last night at Lithos, a taverna perched on the edge of the Caldera, with fantastic views, and a window on one of the best sunsets I've ever seen in my life. For dessert, they brought us a concoction of Ouzo and cherry juice. After that, we wandered through the narrow streets, did a little window shopping and went home. The youth attempted to go clubbing but were stopped at the door for an ID check Del could not pass (for the first time on the entire trip). I mentioned yesterday how many tourists come through here, both on ferries and cruise ships. And there is a lot of merch. for them to buy. There are probably more jewelry shops here than in all of Seattle. And ditto for fur stores. Fur stores? I don't know who buys furs when it is 100 degrees outside! But I do have a clue, since virtually every fur store we've seen in Rhodes and Santorini have bilingual signs in the window--not the usual English/Greek, but Russian Greek. Obviously the new upper and upper middle class Russians come through here too.

I am definitely starting to feel road burn on this trip, and long for some of the comforts back home. But not that much. I am not looking forward to out return in five days. Road burn aside, I could keep travelling another two months...

I was able to send two pics to the blog via my camera, but this internet cafe has no USB connection, so more photographs later...perhaps from Naxos. Also, there are four Germans sitting here tapping their feet, waiting to get on this fine Belnea computer, so it is time for me to sign off. But first I turn to them and say "Ich verstehe das nicht." Heh heh.
---o0o---

Poem: Rocks, flowers, and walls

Ruins at Knossos - click to enlarge

I sometimes see the faces of Turks and Greeks
Fog in bafflement
When a tourist snaps a photograph

Of a pile of shattered bricks
Or a hole in the ground.
I can almost channel their thoughts:

Don't you have your own
Rocks, flowers, and walls
In America, Holland, and France?

Did you really come this far,
This 12,000 miles
To take pictures of a dog?
---o0o---

Arrival in Santorini, Greece

The Santorini Caldera. What looks like an island out in the water is the volcano.

We arrived on Santorini after a two hour hydrofoil boat ride from the port of Heraklion. This incredible island has been through plenty, including a volcanic explosion that scientists say is the greatest explosion to ever rock the earth. That explosion blew a hold right out of the middle of the once around island...the hole is called the caldera.

In 1956, the island was leveled by an earthquake and virtually everything here was built since then.



It is heavily touristed, mainly with cruise ships docking for a few hours. Right now, it is 5 PM and the boats have departed, leaving only the residents and the tourists staying overnight.

Tomorrow we depart for the Island of Naxos, another two hour ferry ride away.
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Sitia, Crete, and Minoan ruins at Kato Zarkis

a cemetary in a village in the mountains near Kato Zarkis - click to enlarge

Another view...of family tombs at a roadside church - click to enlarge

Yesterday, we drove from our aparment in Sitia about an hour along the rugged, twisting, coastline, up and down steep, rocky hills, to another Minoan Palace. The palace at Kato Zakris is roughly 4,000 years old, and was probably destroyed by the cataclysmic volcanic explosion from Santorini/Thira in 1650 B.C. The volcanic explosion is said to have been the strongest ever on earth.

Zakris is an extensive ruins, far less reconstructed than the one at Knossos. Two nights from now, we will be staying on the very rim of the caldera formed on Santorini when the volcano exploded and blew a gigantic hole in the middle of the island. The hole—a calderas--filled with seawater. Our hotel in Thira is 30 meters from the edge of the caldera. That volcanic blast wiped out most of the Minoan civilizations along the Aegean.

Click to enlarge. Jack and Keelin Curran at the Minoan Palace at Kato Zarkis

We are currently staying in Setia, Crete, a little-touristed, sleepy, 8,000 person town, lined with great beaches (including an almost deserted one right near our apartment). It’s great swimming here, in the 90 degree water. . .the same temperature as the air. The water is very clean, and the Aegean here is bright blue. The beaches are lined with fantastic round pebbles in reds, greens, greys, ivory, white, and agate. I’ve picked up a few handfuls for my now extensive collection of rocks from North Africa, Central Oregon, Puget Sound, Canada, Montana, Idaho, California, the Oregon coast, Turkey, Cape Cod, and the San Juan Islands.

The Central courtyard at the palace at Kato Zakris - click to enlarge

I’ve noticed on this trip that I have not experienced ruin- or museum-fatigue. In fact, on the odd days when we haven’t visited an ancient site, I actually miss them. I keep trying to get Column to write a counterpoint on the ruins. At times he’s clearly felt like “we’re travelling two hours to look at another rubble heap of columns, bricks, stones, and broken statuary?!”

If we didn't have enough museums and ruins for the day, we stopped at an old Greek Orthodox Monastery on the way home for half an hour and inspected many Ikon paintings and old engravings and manuscripts. It was interesting to see how deteriorated the paintings had become since they were painted five centuries ago...when you remember that we have been looking at incredibly intact frescoes and cave paintings on this trip up to 3,500 years older (see, for example the earlier post on the caves and churches of Cappodocia).

Perhaps the most interesting exhibit--for me at least--were the displays of blunderbusses, rifles, pistols and ammunition from wars in the 1800s, World War I and World War II, when the brothers put down their devotions and scholarly pursuits to take up arms and defend Greece, their Monastery and Church against various maurading hordes. . .up to and including the Nazis (who, as you may know, savaged Crete during World War II).

Finally, in the bay at Zakris, sits a listing, rusting freighter thay may or may not be abandoned. I wrote a poem about the freighter, which I will post next.

---o0o---

The Incredible Minoan Ruins at Knossos, Crete

4/5 of the family at Knossos. The other 20% were taking the photo. Click to enlarge.

We visited the impressive Knossos ruins, just outside Heraklion, Crete, about half an hour after landing on our turbo prop flight from Rhodes. This is my second visit here, and it’s still as impressive as I found in 1982.

The famous dolphin Fresco at Knossos. Circa about the 15th Century B.C. - click to enlarge

Although the controversial archaeologist Arthur Evans took some liberties in his reconstruction (but not his excavations), in some ways these are the most impressive ruins of all, and give you a better picture of what once existed there. Some other archeologists strongly disagree with his theories on Minoan culture and life at the palace. And, in particular, people object to his use of reinforced concrete (and other “non-native”) materials to bridge the gaps (of missing timbers, slabs, or tiles) and actually recreate entire rooms and series of rooms and chambers. They also object to his use of copies of frescoes, thrones, and friezes (that he took away and placed in places like the Heraklion Archaeological museum). On the other hand, unlike other British raiders, he left the booty right here in Greece, instead of hauling it back to the British Museum.

Jack's drawing of the famous Minotaur at Knossos - click to enlarge

Seeing even copies of the 4,000 year old frescoes in place is incredible, and puts the palace in great context, unlike the extensive ruins at, say Afrodesia or Ephesus. If you want to see the originals, you visit the Heraklion Museum…just like you don’t see Michaelangelo’s David outdoors, but a copy. It’s not that radical a concept…if you visit ruins and museums a lot, you well know that most Roman and Greek statuary is hidden away in museums, not exposed at their native site.

part of the reconctructed ruins at Knossos - click to enlarge

People do respect much of Evans’ theory and work, but a small group violently object. . .and it’s not hard to see their point either. Evans was brilliant, so sure I don’t begrudge him a few crackpot theories or taking certain liberties. In my booklet, it was all worth it.

another famous fresco at Knossos (or, rather, a copy--the originals are in the stellar museum at Heraklion). Click to enlarge.

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The Island of Rhodes, Greece

The fortress of the Knights of Malta

Rhodes was an interesting and fairly frantic stop on our trip (we were there two nights). Aside from the convergance of tour buses on some archaeological sites, this was by far the most touristy part of our trip so far. There weren't many Americans in Rhodes, but there were thousands of Danes, Germans, Brits, Swedes, Italians, and Greek tourists as well. The beach was crowded and intense. There were a fair number of topless sunbathers, most of them 65 year old Dutch women.

The tourist part of the new town is predicatably garish and crowded. The old town--inside the old Knights of Malta fortress was also heavily touristed, but the fortress was so incredible, you lived with it. For a short period of time, The Knights ruled Rhodes, with seven Garrisions that each spoke a different language. They controlled politics and trade until the Sultan Suleyman sent them packing and claimed the Island for his own empire. The fortress is an incredible stone affair, with a moat that is unbelievably deep and wide. I'd never really toured castles much, so I don't think I'd seen a moat before. Wow. I'll put in a picture of it.

Aside from the fortress and fortification walls, Rhodes has the remnants of an Acropolis, and a heavily reconstructed theatre and stadium. We walked up the hill one night on our way to dinner to check out these ruins (even some of the kids have become ruins buffs by now).

After that, we went to a local place our landlord had recommended for the best chicken and potatoes in Rhodes...in the form of the ubiquitous "gyro." It was great...so great, we went back the next night. In addition to being the cheapest food on our trip, it was a real treat for us on Rhodes, because it was absolutely not a tourist joint. Fortunately, our waiter spoke great English and steered us through ordering. She was also a fan of America in general (as many Greeks seem to be...excepting any love for our President), and asked us lots of questions, and expressed a desire to visit the US soon. And she was incredibly beautiful...appropos of nothing at all.

After two days in Rhodes, we were ready to depart on a turbo-prop for Crete. It was great to be back in Greece, and it was everything I remembered. The retsina, the great salads, and most of all the exuberant and warm Greek people (Hellenikis)...it was nice to renew our acquantance. We flew to Heraklion, Crete, stopped at the ruins at Knossos, and drove a winding mountain pass along the coastline to Sitia, a coastal town with virtually no tourists. We have an apartment here, a block from the beach. That is most welcome because the temperature is hovering in the low 100s. The water is warm, the waves gentle, and there are some great ruins to explore, both in town, and in Zakros (where the second largest Minoan palace is being excavated).

Tomorrow afternoon, we depart Sitia for Santorini, a/k/a Thira, to see that amazing geography for one day and night. Then, we take another boat, and head to Naxon, another small island, and the next to last stop on our trip (Athens is the last). More soon...



Claire's friend, who lives in the hotel courtyard, with her mom and seven siblings - click to enlarge


The moat at the Knights of Malta fortress - click to enlarge

Backpacks on, the Brummet-Curran clan get ready to depart the Island of Rhodes for the Island of Crete via turbo-prop airplane

Ruins at the Acropolis of Rhodes

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In Setia, Crete, Greece

We departed Rhodes yesterday, via a 45 minute turbo prop jet flight, and have no arrived in an 8,000 person village on the island of Crete, Setia.

We arrived at Heraklion--Hercules Town--and rented a beat up Hyundai and drove an extremely windy mountain road three hours across the island. But on the way, we did stop at the fantastic ruins of Knossos. I am in computer limbo right now, but will put up pictures when I get the chance.

I am sitting in an insane "Java Cafe" filled with thirty shouting teenagers and pre-teens, mostly playing World of Warcraft, Call of Duty 2, and downloading illegal movies and music on Limewire.

My laptop won't connect to their wireless, so I am typing on a greek keyboard and trying to get in touch with my office to deal with some weirdness.

But hey, that's part of vacation too, after all, for an Americaniki, isn't it?
---o0o---

On the move again,from Rhodes to Seteia, Crete

We're kind of in the phase of our trip like "If it's Tuesday, it must be Rome." After two days on the island of Rhodes, we are flying to Seteia on the island of Crete tomorrow afternoon. A lot of these flights are costing an incredible $3o USD (pretty amazing when you consider that gasoline, and presumably, kerosene (aka jet fuel) costs about $11 USD a gallon (quit your belly achin' America). When we refilled out rental car with 7 gallons, the tab was $75 USD.

The trip on the ground, in the air, and on the water so far::::::::::::::: fly Seattle--> to Calgary-->to London-->to Istanbul (stayed a week)--> fly to Izmir-->drive to Selcuk (stayed three days)-->Drive from Selcuk-->to Datca (stayed three days)-->Drive from Datca-->to Marmarise-->sail to Rhodes, Greece (stayed two days)-->fly to Seteia, Crete, Greece.

From Seteia, we will take a bus to Heraklion, Crete and visit the famous, awesome, and controversially reconstructed ruins at Knossos (where Icarus and Daedalus flew their ill fated mission) and the home of King Minos, anwhich Keelin and I visited previously in 1982. From Heraklion, we will sail to Naxos, and then to Santorini, and finally to Piraeus (which is the port for Athens). After a couple days in Athens visitd all the bull worshipping. After visiting the great ruins there, we will board a plane for home. Wah.
---o0o---

Datca, Turkey to Rhodes, Greece

The Isle of Rhodes


This morning we sailed from Datca, Turkey to the Island of Rhodes in Greece. It was a one hour boat ride across the sea.

This very minute I am sitting with Keelin at the cafe our hotel owner has outside the hotel. We are talking to him about the ruins of Greece...and he is expressing his anger and sadness that Turkey is not still part of Greece ("the part, not the east...that's the Kurds and others.").

I just asked him if other Greeks feel the same way. "No. Many are much more angry about this."


The castle of the Knights of Malta in Rhodes

It's nice to be back in Greece, after 26 years. Rhodes itself seems very European and Cosmopolitan, compared to mich of Turkey at least. In fact, Keelin and I are celebrating our return this afternoon (it's 5:30) with a glass of Retsina in the garden of our hotel. We were half our age when we came here last( a pre-honeymoon of sorts).

One thing that has definitely changed in Turkey is the money and the prices. When we were here in 1982, it was very very cheap. The currency was then based on the Greek drachma. They now use the Euro, and you can just imagine how the dollar is faring against the Euro. (a Euro is now worth about $1.60). More sticker shock. Since we got up at five AM, I spent much of the afternoon napping, and recovering from a touch of what you might call the Sultan's Revenge).

In case you're wondering about the Colossus of Rhodes (one of the "seven wonders of the world")...don't bother. Yes, this is where one of those seventh wonders was, but it no longer exists. It was destroyed in an earthquake fifty-four years after it was built. (According to the Wikipedia: "Media reports in 1989 initially suggested that large stones found on the seabed off the coast of Rhodes might have been the remains of the Colossus; however this theory was later shown to be without merit.

Another theory published in an article in 2008 by Ursula Vedder suggests that the Colossus was never in the port, but rather on a hill named Monte Smith, which overlooks the port area. The temple on top of Monte Smith has traditionally thought to have been devoted to Apollo, but according to Vedder, it would have been a Helios sanctuary. The enormous stone foundations at the temple site, the function of which is not definitively known by modern scholars, are proposed by Vedder to have been the supporting platform of the Colossus."
---o0o---

Arriving in Istanbul Thursday night

Our itinerary: Depart Seattle 3:00 pm Wednesday. Arrive Calgary 5:00. Wait for four hours. Fly to London overnight. Wait two hours. Fly to Istanbul, arriving 11:00 pm local time.

I'll write and send pictures when I can...
---o0o---

On the road to Turkey

click to enlarge

---o0o---