Greece & Turkey 1997
We left Minnesota on Monday September 22 at 10:15 am and arrive in Athens via Newark and Rome on Tuesday the 23 at 12:05 pm. The trip required 26 hours on the clock. We had lost eight hours and it really required eighteen hours of travel. Following is our the course our ship the Marco Polo travelled. In addition we had a side trip by bus from Athens to Delphi which was well worthwhile. Our itinerary follows:
Athens
The primary site in Athens is the Akropolis. The term basically refers to the highest point in the city. The Akropolis in Athens however is unique. It is a monument to Periclean Athens and was in its prime around 500 BC. In the arial via below of the Akropolis the primay feature in the middle is the Parthenon. Closer to you is the Erechtheion. At the right on the Akropolis are the Propylaia, temple of Athena Nike. Behind these monuments of the edge of the Akropolis you can see the Odeion of Herodes Atticus where cultural events continue to be held after 2,500 years. The Akropolis was very well preserved for over 2,000 years from the days of Pericleas. Unfortunately about 300 years ago during a war this was a depot for munitions including lots of gun powder. It was exploded during the war. Construction is under way to restore this treasure of the world.
The Akropolis at night
Not a bad picture considering it was taken with a simple little camera sitting on a rock using the timed shutter and whatever exposure it picked. You can see the speakers for the sound and light show in the foreground. The show was interesting but not up to Disney standards. You can actually see the lights on the Akropolis from many places in the city and not pay a dime.
Gate to Akropolis and Temple of Athena Nike
We didn't seem to have a real good picture of this spot, so the image is a post card. Despite being at this spot in late September there were many people on the spot. The temple to Athena originally had a statue of her without wings. It was believed that if she flew away they would be defeated. Someone eventually stole her anyway. You know the rest. The Atheneons were dominated by others for centuries.
Parthenon with Jeff & DeAnn Werner
Temple Erechtheion
Odeion of Herodes Atticus
Can you imagine watching a play or listening to an orchestra in this theater of the ancient Greeks.
View from Akropolis of mountain with Church of St. George
The Akropolis may have been the highest point in ancient Athens, but the city has grown and encompased a higher mountain. There is an undergroud tram to take you to the top where you can enjoy the view and worship in the Church of St. George at the top.
The Belltower at the Church of St. George
Stan and DeAnn with the belltower outside of St. George's church at the highest point of Athens. I guess this would be modern Acropolis.
The Hilton, our hotel, from St. George's church
In case your wondering we took a cab to the point we could get on the tram to the top. We walked back. When we got back we decided we wanted to try a restaurant we passed most of the way back up the mountain. We walked back so we got our excercise anyway.
Hadrien's Arch
A remnant of Roman occupation as I recall from the tour guide.
Temple Zeus, Akropolis is in the background
The Olympion or Temple of Olympian Zeus, the largest temple in Greece.
Perhaps this view from the Akropolis along with the previous closeup of the massive columns will provide some perspective of how large this temple once was.
Dinner at the Harbor
Just in case you are wondering, "Did Shirley ever let the poor guy relax?" the answer is yes a few times. Here we are at the boat harbor having dinner with some of the people from our ship. This was largely a pleasure boat harbor with the Yacht Club on a hill across the water.
Now on to:
This statue in the museum at Delphi is the only remaining bronze statue at Delphi. The mountainside at Delphi once had about 2,000 statues. There were atheletic events at Delphi. Athletes that won three years in a row were given the right to have a statue. This was a charioteer. Later the Roman Emperor had 500 of the statues brought to Rome. It is believed he hoped that the statues from this holy place would help save a sick relative.
The Marco Polo
Stan & Shirley with Captain Roland Andersson
Shirley is the one in the middle. In case you are wondering the Captain is on the left and Stan is on the right.
On that note we will end the travelog
If you have comments or suggestions, email me at bormann@wavefront.com
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