We had a great trip and now we’re back home. I’ve already posted the map for our travels in Turkey; now, here’s a map showing our travels in Greece in relation to Crete (the blue dot is on Hania in Crete). On mainland Greece, we traveled 534 miles in our rental car, flying into and … Continue reading
Our hike up to the Acropolis left us hungry and thirsty, so we headed back down to the touristy restaurant row area near the Roman ruins for an early dinner. We’ve noticed during our travels through Greece, especially here in Athens, that many of the shops are shuttered and closed, though the restaurants and tavernas … Continue reading
The Acropolis is a limestone bluff standing 300 feet above the surrounding city of Athens. It has supposedly been occupied since 5000 B.C., but really came into its own around 1500 B.C. during Mycenaean times when a cyclopean wall was built around it to fortify the top where there was a palace and a temple … Continue reading
We flew to Athens Saturday afternoon and checked into the Hotel Attalos, right in the heart of the city. On the roof of our hotel there was a bar with an excellent view of the Acropolis. The structure you see on the top of the Acropolis is the Parthenon (the flag in the foreground is … Continue reading
We like to mix up the days with sightseeing, relaxation and exercise, as the destination allows. After two days of hanging out on the beach at Mátala, it was time for some exertion, lest we turn into beach bums. One of the things that we had on our “to do” list for this trip was … Continue reading
We left Mátala on Thursday and drove back to the northern coast to Hania (a/k/a Chania or Xania), the second largest city in Crete. Hania gets major billing in the guidebooks as a great place to visit, but that says more about the guidebooks than it does about Hania. While the old harbor of Hania … Continue reading
We spent another afternoon at the beach in Mátala after our time at Phaistos and Kelly, Deanna and I swam out to a ledge and climbed up to visit the Roman tombs, there on the right in the picture below. Afterwards, Kelly swam farther out and climbed up on the outcropping in the middle of … Continue reading
It has been a real challenge driving in Greece; especially in Crete where my iPhone GPS app has had a tendency to prefer dirt roads over paved ones, so we haven’t been able to rely on it like we did in Turkey or England. For the most part, the roads and highways in Greece are … Continue reading
After Knossos, we drove south to see the other side of the island and stopped at a remote beach town called Mátala. It was the type of place we had hoped to find in Crete, so we decided to stay two nights. Mátala was immortalized in the song, “Carey,” by Joni Mitchell in her 1971 … Continue reading
Well, we were finally able to get to the Minoan ruins at Knossos yesterday. Unfortunately, because we had to make the hour and a half drive to the ruins from Rethymnon back through Heraklion, we weren’t able to beat the tour buses to the site and it was quite busy by the time we got … Continue reading
Yesterday was a double big day here in Greece: Father’s Day and national elections. We hiked up to a restaurant on top of the hill overlooking town for a celebratory Father’s Day dinner. After the sun set, we headed back to the hotel. As we walked down the street, the Greek national election returns were … Continue reading
After getting up early to beat the crowds to Knossos, the most impressive of the Minoan ruins in Crete, we were disappointed yet again by the site being closed. The excuse this time was the national election that has been so breathlessly anticipated by the financial press. Greece, including Crete, is a beautiful country; unfortunately, … Continue reading
We picked up Deanna, Kelly’s college roommate, at the Athens airport yesterday and then this morning the four of us flew out of that same airport for Heraklion in Crete. Deanna will be joining us for the rest of our travels in Greece, then she and Kelly will fly to Barcelona together while Dale and … Continue reading
Delphi was first inhabited in Mycanean times around 1500 B.C., but it started to flourish as a spiritual center in the 8th century B.C. when priests from Knossos in Crete brought the cult of Apollo to the site. Entering the sanctuary of Apollo at Delphi, we walked up the Sacred Way, winding our way through … Continue reading
After touring ancient Olympia yesterday, we drove for five hours to Delphi on the Greek mainland. The ancient Greeks considered Delphi to be the center of the world. It’s easy to see how they could have come to that conclusion, high atop the mountains. Here’s the view from our hotel room at the Hotel Acropole. … Continue reading
The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World no longer exist, except for a pyramid or two in Egypt. On this trip, we’ve seen where two of the seven previously stood: the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus; and the Statute of Zeus in Olympia. All that remains of the Temple of Artemis is a lone, reerected … Continue reading
Today, we visited the ancient sanctuary of Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic Games. The first known game, part of the Festival of Zeus, took place in 776 B.C. and had only one event: an approximately 200 meter long foot race. Other events, like wrestling and chariot racing, were added over time and the games … Continue reading
Epidavros was a healing center that flourished in the Peloponnese for 1,000 years, beginning in the 5th century B.C. In ancient times, it was known for its cult, dedicated to the Healing God, Asklepios (note the staff and serpent, the symbol for health organizations, even in modern day). Today, however, Epidavros is known primarily for … Continue reading
After visiting Epidavros yesterday morning, we had a four-hour drive across the mountainous interior of the Peloponnese. It was very scenic. At one point, we saw the strangest clouds: About halfway across, the road narrowed and climbed steeply, up to a village that was built nearly vertically into the mountainside: In the village, the road … Continue reading
The middle of the Peloponnesian Peninsula is only sparsely settled today, which is hard to imagine, given all the ancient Greek civilizations that have occupied this area. Most modern towns and cities seem to be coastal and we had read that one of the most interesting was the town of Nafplio or Nafplion or Navplio, … Continue reading
We seem to be continually traveling backwards in time on this trip. Yesterday, after the Corinth Canal, we visited the ruins of Mycenae, the capital of the Greek Mycenaean Civilization. The citadel of Mycenae was constructed in the mountains of the Peloponnese in phases, beginning in 1350 B.C. and ending around 1200 B.C. The Mycenaeans … Continue reading
Well, here we are on the other side of the Aegean Sea. We weren’t particular about our accommodations last night, simply looking for somewhere with A/C, a hot shower and comfortable beds, but it turned out we got a nice view, too, though we didn’t really know it until this morning. We started the day … Continue reading
We landed in Greece at the Athens airport and on our walk to get the rental car, we passed this sign. That’s how they spell “Coaches” here. It might not be quite so easy finding our way around in this country. We had an excellent lunch while waiting for Kelly to land: Greek Salad and … Continue reading
We’re checked into Orty Hotel next to the Izmir airport. Tomorrow we’ll meet Kelly in Athens and we’ll travel with her through Greece for the next two weeks, spending about half our time in Crete. Here in Turkey, we spent 5 days in Istanbul, flew to Cappadocia where we spent another 5 days, then took … Continue reading
It seems appropriate, on our last day of exploration in Turkey before heading to Greece tomorrow, that we would visit Priene, the finest example of Greek ruins in Turkey. Although a city called Priene is known to have existed as a member of the Greek Ionian League in this area as far back as the … Continue reading
The Road Less Traveled 