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| Me on Patmos |
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| Mykanos |
The Greek Islands are far more beautiful than pictures can show and far more beautiful than I had imagined. The mainland is very green and mountainous. We began our journey with a four day cruise, as I mentioned Friday. After Mykanos and Patmos, we visited Crete, Rhodes, and Santorini.
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| coming up to Santorini |
The photo on the right was taken from a small ferry, which was the only way one can get to Santorini from the cruise ship. We didn't know there were two ports on the island, one that goes to Ia, which has all the white buildings with blue domes, and the other side of the island, which is beautiful as well, but not what you usually see on the postcards. This was our first few of Santorini from the ferry.
Some say Santorini is the remains of the lost city of Atlantis. I tend to believe it. It is mystical and magical. The photo here shows the caldera formed from the volcanic eruption that is believed to have caused the demise of Atlantis.
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| Quite the sunset, don't you think? |
One of the things Santorini is known for are its beautiful sunsets. What do you think?
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| Athena's Temple in Lindos on Rhodes |
We had an entire day to visit the island of Rhodes, unlike the other island stops, where we only had a few hours. We did an excursion off the ship, which included a bus ride to the city of Lindos. Here you can see the remains of Athena's temple. I have always been fascinated by the Greek Pantheon, which engendered a deep interest in Gods and Goddesses of many other cultures as well. This trip enabled me to see
where much of that began.
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| Palace of Knossos |
The island of Crete is located in the center of the eastern Mediterranean at the crossroads of Africa, Asia, and Europe. It is one of the largest islands in the Mediterranean sea. Crete's biggest modern town is Heraklion.The inhabitants of ancient Crete were the Minoans and we had the opportunity to visit a ruin called the Knossos Palace. In order to get there, we had to debark the cruise ship, find the local bus, make sure it went to Knossos, and make sure we knew where to catch it coming back so we could get back to the ship on time. It was an adventure, to say the least.
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| Frescoes in Knossos Palace |
According to Wikapedia,the Minoans had developed significant naval power and for many centuries lived in contact with all the major civilizations of the time without being threatened by external forces. Their commercial contact with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia undeniably influenced their own culture, and the Minoan civilization in turn appeared as the forerunner of the Greek civilization. The Minoans are credited as the first European civilization. Archaeological evidence reveals habitation since the 7th millennium BC. After the 5th millennium BC we find the first evidence of hand-made ceramic pottery which marks the beginning of the civilization Evans, the famed archaeologist who excavated Knossos, named "Minoan" after the legendary king Minos.
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur was a creature who was part man and part bull who lived at the center of a labyrinth. King Minos of Crete had received advice from the oracle at Delphi (which we also visited and you will see more of in later posts) and thus ordered Daedalus and his son, Icarus, to built the maze-like structure. The Minotaur was eventually killed by Theseus, an Athenian hero. Minos had required that seven Athenian young men and seven virgins be sent every ninth year to be devoured by the Minotaur.
Here is a bit from Wikapedia about that.
When the third sacrifice approached, Theseus volunteered to slay the monster. He promised to his father, Aegeus, that he would put up a white sail on his journey back home if he was successful and would have the crew put up black sails if he was killed. In Crete, both Minos' daughters, Ariadne and Phaedra fell madly in love with Theseus. Ariadne, the elder, helped him navigate the labyrinth. In most accounts she gave him a ball of thread, allowing him to retrace his path. Theseus killed the Minotaur with the sword of Aegeus and led the other Athenians back out of the labyrinth. On the way home, Theseus abandoned Ariadne on the island of Naxos, and continued with Phaedra, his future wife. He neglected, however, to put up the white sail. King Aegeus, from his lookout on Cape Sounion, saw the black-sailed ship approach and, presuming his son dead, threw himself into the sea that is since named after him, thus committing suicide.[13] This act secured the throne for Theseus.
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When the cruise finished, we headed back to Athens. One of the most fascinating sites there was this ancient Roman Agora. Here you can see what's left of Hadrian's library.
More tomorrow...
Blessings,
Karen
That night, we were invited to the home of a man who had been a foreign exchange student in my husband's hometown in Texas. His wife made several traditional Turkish dishes and it was a lovely way to begin our Turkish adventure.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey enacted some of his most important deeds here. One is not allowed to take photographs inside the Palace, so here are some pictures, courtesy of Wikapedia.
