Greece and Turkey were once at the epicenter of great empires:  places where armies converged in vicious battles, legends were born and died, and great societies prospered and withered.  Today, the Aegean region is still littered with relics of these once mighty civilizations, and we are here to experience the history of these ancient cultures and to sample the contemporary flavors of today ….

GREECE

The Acropolis is an ancient citadel on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens.  Mainly dedicated to the goddess Athena, patron of the city, the Acropolis contains the remains of several buildings of architectural, religious, and historical significance.  It has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  There is evidence that this hilltop was inhabited as early as 5000 BC, but it was Pericles in the fifth century BC who coordinated the construction of the site's most important structures.  

 

The Propylaea is the grand entryway leading worshipers from the temporal world into the spiritual atmosphere of the sanctuary.  The Propylaea has an outer and inner facade of six Doric columns, which created five entryways on both sides of the building.  Inner columns were added to help support the massive roof.  






The Erechtheum is said to be the tomb of a legendary king of Athens.  The covered Porch of the Maidens had five graceful stone maidens, called Carytids, servings as columns to support the roof.  One of the maidens was hauled off to the British Museum in the early 1800s; concrete replicas  now appear in place of the originals.  

 

The Temple of the Athena Nike (Athena of Victory) is an elegant white marble Ionic temple, built in 424 BC.  Here Athena was worshiped for bringing the Athenians victory (“nike”) over the Persians and the Spartans. 

The Parthenon is a magnificent temple dedicated to the goddess Athena and stands as a crowning achievement of Greek civilization’s golden age.  It is the most important religious shrine here and the largest Doric temple ever completed in Greece – wide enough and tall enough to house a 40-foot-high statue of Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess of Athens.  Most of it was built in nine years (447- 438 BC), at an extravagant cost. 

 

In spite of its size, 17 columns on each side and 8 at each end, the Parthenon appears light and airy.  This is because the architect was a magician of optical illusions - each column is slightly thicker in the middle, making the entire column appear straight and graceful. 

Today the Parthenon is almost covered with scaffolding, cranes and modern construction materials.  These are part of an ongoing renovation project to save what’s left of the Parthenon from the modern menaces of acid rain and pollution.  The project began in 1984, which means they’ve been at it more than twice as long as it took to build the structure in the first place.  Our guide expressed no confidence that it will ever be “finished.”  (Note: there is a full-scale replica open to visitors in Nashville, Tennessee - no scaffolding there.)

Other views of the Acropolis:

Just to the side of the Acropolis is Mars Hill, also known as Areopagus.  This slippery, windswept hill is the place where the Apostle Paul, the first great Christian missionary, preached to the Athenians.  Although the Athenians were famously open-minded, Paul encountered a skeptical audience and moved on to Corinth and a better reception.   

Views from the Acropolis: 

The remaining columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus are visible to the south.  Begun in the sixth century BC, it was finished until the time of the Roman emperor Hadrian, 700 years later.  It was the biggest temple in all of Greece, with 104 Corinthian columns, housing a 40-foot seated statue of Zeus. 

The scant remains of the 17,000-seat Theater of Dionysus – which hosted great productions during the Golden Age, lie at the foot of the Acropolis.  Nearby is the grand Odeon of Herodes Atticus; this 5,000 seat amphitheater was mainly used for musical performances.  During Roman times, these two structures were connected by a long covered walkway. 

 

Around the Acropolis:

The neighborhood at the foot of the Acropolis is known as The Plaka – our hotel was located here, amidst all manner of restaurants, souvenir shops, a few museums, and assorted Greek and Roman ruins.  The Plaka’s narrow, winding streets are a bit confusing, but it’s hard to get lost with a monument the size of the Acropolis looming overhead. 

 

 

On the northern slope of the Acropolis is the neighborhood of Anafiotika, a typical example of island architecture right in the heart of Athens. In the mid-1800s, masons from the tiny island of Anafi settled in Greece’s capital, which was then being adorned with impressive new buildings.  In addition to working on the king’s palace, they created this tiny neighborhood for themselves right below the city’s most famous monuments. Today, it’s a splendid place to experience the peacefulness of another time, away from all the bustle of city life. 

On the opposite side of the Acropolis, there are ruins and churches scattered all over the hillsides.  The Philopappos Monument dates to Roman times, while the charming Church of Saint Dimitrios Loumbardiaris was built in the ninth century. 

 

A bit further away is the Olympic Stadium, built for the first modern Olympic Games – all made of white marble.   We also caught a glimpse of the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. 

Cape Sounion is the southernmost point of Attica, the central part of Greece that includes Athens and surrounding areas.  It is surely the windiest spot in all of Greece; it was here that the Athenians built the Temple of Poseidon was built on the high cliffs in the mid-fifth-century BC.    Very little remains of the entryway or the covered arcade that protected worshipers from the weather, but the 15 sun-bleached Doric columns stand out against the blue Mediterranean sky.

 

 

An hour's drive west of Athens, the Peloponnese is the large peninsula that hangs from the rest of the Greek mainland by the narrow Isthmus of Corinth. The coastline is beautiful, with cliffs soaring over blue water – much fish farming is done in this region.  The mountainous landscape of the Peloponnese is dotted with the ruins of ancient palaces and temples, frescoed churches, and countless medieval hilltop castles built by the Crusaders and the Venetians. 

The Corinth Canal was built by French engineers between 1881 and 1893, using dynamite to blast through 285 feet of sheer rock to create a 4-mile-long, 90-feet-wide passageway between the Ionian Sea and the Aegean Sea.  The canal revolutionized shipping in the Mediterranean:  the journey from Italy to Athens was shortened by 200 miles.   Although it took modern technology to build the canal, the idea was an old one.  Several Roman emperors, including Caligula and Nero, had tried and failed to dig a canal using slave labor.   

Epidauros is best known today for productions of classical Greek theater held each summer in its beautifully restored amphitheater.  The Theater of Epidauros was built in the fourth century and seats some 14,000 spectators.  Unlike many ancient buildings, this structure was not pillaged for building blocks in antiquity and is extremely well preserved. 

To the ancient Greeks, this place was home to the most renowned center of healing arts in this part of the world.  The Sanctuary of Aesclepius at Epidauros was built in the  fifth-century B.C. to honor the god of healing.  Worshipers would come here for a miracle cure and remain for a longer period to rest, exercise, go to the theater, take mineral baths, and diet – then depart, probably healthier than when they arrived.  The Sanctuary has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 

Nearby is a 6000-seat stadium that was used for the Festival of Aesclepius every four years (like other ancient Greek athletic competitions). 

The small Archaeological Museum here contains stone tablets that document hospital rules and successful cases, as well as columns and carvings that were part of the sanctuary’s main temple.  It also contains a large number of headless statues of gods who were invoked in the healing process.  Early Christians did their best to behead or destroy pagan images. 

 

Nafplion is a city of Venetian fortresses around an ancient harbor.  High on the hill above town is the Palamidi Fortress, with the Akronafplia Fortress just below. 

 

Offshore is the little fortress island known as Bourtzi, built by the Venetians in the fifteenth century to protect the harbor.    We had a great view of the Bourtzi from our hotel balcony.   

 

Life in Nafplion revolves around the Square of the Friends of the Greeks, a space named for the French soldiers who died while fighting for Greek independence in 1821.  The memorial obelisk shows brothers in arms – Greeks and French. 

The Church of Saint Mary Above All Saints dates from the fifteenth century; just a few years ago, they peeled back and then re-applied all the plaster.  It shines white against the dazzling blue sky. 

Nafplion was home of the beginnings of modern Greece.  For several years after the Greek War of Independence (1821-1828), this was Greece’s first capital.  The palace of young King Otto burned down, but the old mosque where Greece’s first parliament met still stands off Constitution Square.   

Mycenae is best known as the literary setting for the tragedies of its king, Agamemnon, and his unhappy family.  It was Agamemnon who led the Greeks from Mycenae to Troy, where they fought for 10 years to reclaim fair Helen (the wife of Agamemnon’s brother, the “face that launched a thousand ships”), from her seducer, the Trojan prince Paris. 

Mycenae was one of the earliest civilizations in the Greek world; its magnificent ruins have been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Archaeologists have found tombs, parts of palaces and aqueducts, and other relics mentioned by Homer, thus confirming that Homer's writings had been based on fact.  

Mycenae's Acropolis is best known for its Lion Gate, built about 1250 B.C.  The gate once closed by two bronze and wooden doors and is capped by an 18-ton lintel supporting the famous lions with their front paws perched on pedestals.  (Their heads are missing)

Just inside the Lion Gate is the Royal Cemetery, with six “shaft” graves, so named because these kings were buried standing up.  These graves contained many important Greek artifacts, including the famous gold face Mask of Agamemnon. 

At the top of the Acropolis, there are a few remnants of the Grand Palace, which included a throne room, a great court, and a reception hall. This large room, with its central fireplace (under the tin roof), is said to be the place where Agamemnon and his allies planned the siege of Troy. 

Behind the Acropolis is the rear gate of the fortress.  This was the escape route used by Orestes after he had killed his mother to avenge his father Agamemnon’s death by her hand. 

To one side is another gate to the walled city.  It opens onto a seemingly endless landscape of olive trees, backed by mountains still sporting a bit of snow on top. 

 

Down the hill a bit is the Treasury of Atreus, also known as the Tomb of Agamemnon.  Mycenae’s royalty were buried in massive beehive-shaped underground chambers, which replaced shaft graves beginning in the fifteenth century BC.   The entryway itself is 100 feet long and 20 feet wide; the walls rise at a diagonal up to the entrance, giving the illusion of being swallowed up as you enter.  The lintel over the doorway is 26 X 16 X 3 feet, weighing about 120 tons.  One wonders how they built this thing. 

 

The pottery of the Mycenaean civilization (1550-1050 BC) was heavily influenced by the earlier Minoans based on Crete, but achieved its own distinctive decorative style.  Today, several pottery centers are re-creating Mycenaean pottery by using the same types of clay and paints used centuries ago.

 

Ancient Olympia was the most important religious and athletic center in ancient Greece.  For 12 centuries, it was the site of the Olympic Games held every four years to honor the god Zeus.  The entire Greek world observed a truce to allow athletes and spectators to make their way to the games.  Archaeologists are still at work at this UNESCO World Heritage Site, uncovering history with no end in sight. 

The main path into the sanctuary is called the Sacred Way.  It leads into a wide field scattered with ruins of temples, altars, and housing for athletes.  The landscape here is dominated by columns of varying heights - these are the remains of the gymnasium and the palestra.  The gymnasium was a big courtyard surrounded by four arcades; athletes trained here for field events such as the sprint, discus, and javelin.  The smaller palestra was used by athletes to train for smaller-scale events such as wrestling, boxing, and long jump.  

 

Farther along the Sacred Way is a ruined red brick building that was once the workshop of the sculptor Pheidias, who created the 40-foot status of Zeus that once stood in the temple across the street.  The workshop was built with the same dimensions as the temple’s inner room so that Pheidias could create the statue with the setting in mind. 

Near the workshop is a large, rubble-strewn field with dozens of waist-high Ionic capitals.  This was the site of the massive Leonidaion, a luxury hotel with 145 rooms (and private baths) built in the fourth century BC to house dignitaries during the games. 

The Games were held to honor Zeus, and the massive Temple of Zeus was the center of ancient Olympia, both physically and symbolically.  It was the first and one of the biggest of the Golden Age temples – only a bit smaller than the Parthenon.  It once had an amazing 34 stocky columns, one of which was re-erected in honor of the 2004 Olympic Games.  Built around 456 B.C., the entire temple was decorated in gold, red and blue paint; inside stood an enormous gold-and-ivory statue of Zeus, seated on an ivory-and-ebony throne.  The statue, which was 43 feet high, was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. 

 

In spite of the importance of this structure, its columns were not made of marble, but of cheaper local limestone.  Look closely and you can see the seashell fossils in the porous and not very durable rock.  Most of the temple was made of this limestone and then covered with a marble-powder stucco to make it glisten as brightly as pure marble. 

 The nearby Temple of Hera is smaller and much older.  With its three standing columns, it is the oldest structure here, built around 600 BC.  Inside, a large statue of Hera once sat on a throne, with Zeus standing beside here.   Directly in front of the temple is the rectangular foundation of what was once the Altar of Hera.  These stones provide a bridge across thousands of years, linking the original Olympics to today’s modern Games.  This is where athletes light the ceremonial Olympic torch to begin the long relay to the next city to host the Games – a distance of over 6000 miles to the 2016 Summer Games in Rio.

 

Directly behind Hera’s temple is the Philippeion, a circular structure with three slender columns still standing.  Philip of Macedon built this monument to mark his triumph over the Greeks; inside stood statues of Philip and his family, including the man who would bring Greece its next phase of glory – Alexander the Great.

The Olympic Stadium was connected to the temple are by a vaulted stone passageway.  Built around 200 BC, this tunnel had niches along the walls that served as equipment lockers.  Athletes psyched themselves up for the big contest by shouting as they ran through the tunnel, emerging into the stadium to the roar of the crowd.

The Olympic Stadium was a holy place for the ancient Greeks, as this is where sporting activities dedicated to Zeus were held. The track was surrounded by grassy banks on all sides, and on the southern slope there was a stone platform, on which the judges sat. The stadium could hold 50,000 spectators.

Many of Olympia’s greatest works of art and artifacts are now displayed in the Archeological Museum, where history almost comes to life.  One of the most impressive exhibits contains statues from the east pediment of the Temple of Zeus.  Olympic victors stood beneath this pediment to receive their olive wreaths. 

This statue of victory known as Nike of Paeonius once stood atop a triangular pedestal next to the Temple of Zeus.  Victory holds her billowing robe in her outstretched left hand and a palm leaf in her right as she floats down from Mount Olympus.  The whole monument was once about 35 feet tall, rising above the courtyard where Olympic winners were crowned. 

Hermes of Praxiteles is a seven-foot-tall statue that was discovered in the Temple of Hera.  It is a rare original by the great sculptor whose works influenced generations of Greek and Roman sculptors, who made countless copies of his original pieces. 

The green, battered helmet is the Bronze Helmet of Miltiades.  In 490 BC, when the outnumbered Greeks defeated a huge force of invading Persians, the good news was carried to Athens by a runner who raced 26 miles from Marathon to Athens.  He announced,  “Hurrah, we won,” and dropped dead on the spot.  This legend inspired the 26-mile race called the marathon, created for the first modern Olympic Games held in Athens in 1896. 

After a full morning hiking around the Sanctuary of Olympia, we headed into the modern town for a nice meal in the shade of a spreading plane tree.  What a relief!

Our hotel was not in the town, but high on a hill in the tiny village of Drouva, which consisted of a cluster of houses, a small store, a school, and a church and cemetery overlooking the valley beyond.  There’s no doubt about the importance of olives here – it seems that every available space is planted in olive trees. 

 

For more than 1000 years, Delphi was the site of the most important oracle of ancient Greece, believed to be the mouthpiece of Apollo himself. Pilgrims came from near and far to ask the oracle’s advice on affairs of state, as well as small personal matters.    The ancient Greeks believed that Delphi, on the slopes of Mount Parnassus, was the center of the world.  UNESCO has designated Delphi as a World Heritage Site.   

The Sanctuary of Apollo is approached on the marble Sacred Way, walked by pilgrims and other visitors for thousands of years.  The road runs uphill past the remains of Roman stoas, many of which belonged to professional guides who led Roman visitors around the site to show them the marvels of sculpture and architecture and historic monuments.  Here, too, is where souvenirs were sold – little statuettes of Apollo and other symbols of the shrine.  

 

Here is an omphalos stone, a bellybutton stone, the emblem of the shrine of at Delphi.  It is believed to mark the center of the world, the bellybutton of mother earth.  According to Greek mythology, this is the spot to where when Zeus released his two sacred eagles from the ends of the earth and told them to meet in the middle of the world – to fly toward each other until they met at the center.  This was the spot, and Zeus set the sacred stone here to mark the middle of his world. 

Further along the path, there are war monuments and treasuries of different Greek city-states on either side.  The cities built these small, temple-like buildings to impress their neighbors and to leave treasures, offerings, artworks dedicated to the god Apollo.  The Treasury of the Athenians has been reconstructed, with a hymn to the sun god (Helios) that was engraved in ancient times. 

 

The massive Temple of Apollo was built in the sixth century B.C., after an earlier one was destroyed.  In antiquity, the Pythia (priestess) gave voice to Apollo’s oracles from a room deep within the temple.   Here she would sit on a tripod – suspended between heaven and earth – chewing sacred laurel leaves and breathing the vapors rising from a chasm until she went into a trance and spoke in tongues, her words were famously hard to interpret.  When King Croesus asked whether he should go to war with his Persian neighbors, the oracle told him “Invade and you will destroy a great empire.”  Croesus invaded and destroyed a great empire: his own.

 

Delphi was also the site of the Pythian Games, the second most famous festival in Greece (after the Olympics).  These games commemorated Apollo’s triumph over the snaky Python.  Because Apollo was the god of music, the Pythian Games had more artistic contests than the Olympics.  Every four years, the Theater, which seated 5000 spectators, was alive with flute and lyre contests, dances, and plays.

Farther up the hill is the fourth-century Stadium, which was used for chariot races and other events of the Pythian Games. The stadium and the theater are used now in summer for the Festival of Delphi. 

 

Pictures can’t do justice to the beauty of this place.  Its builders knew something about site selection – the setting and the views are magnificent.  Though most of the sanctuary is in ruins, there’s no doubt this was – and still is – a sacred place.

Outside of the Sanctuary of Apollo and down the hill lies the Sanctuary of Athena, the goddess of wisdom who shared the honors at Delphi with Apollo.  The ruins here are more fragmentary, but it is easy to spot the outline of the fourth century B.C. gymnasium and the fourth century A.D. circular tholos.  There are three graceful Doric columns standing at the tholos, but no one knows why it was built or what went on inside.  The oracle does keep its secrets …

 

The Delphi Museum contains many beautiful examples of gifts that were sent to Delphi as well as sculpture that adorned the buildings.  Displays range from a fourth-century marble egg symbolizing Delphi’s position as the center (or navel) of the earth to the magnificent fifth-century Charioteer of Delphi, a huge bronze statue that was once part of a group that included a four-horse chariot. 

 


After a long day at Delphi, our next stop was Arachova, a small town on the slopes of Mount Parnassus.  The town is sprawled over a hillside, with the Church of Ayios Georgios, the Ayios Nikolas Bell Tower, and the Monastery of Ossius Loukas near the top of the hill.  

 
In wintertime, this is a ski resort; in summer, it’s a good base for visiting the nearby site of Delphi, as well as a great place to relax and wander.  We loved the roadside shrines, the colorful crafts, the interesting shops and churches – and of course, the narrow streets and hills to climb.

 

 

Back at our hotel, we had a cooking lesson.  Joyce and Betsy put together the moussaka, while Jo and Dawn (aka Lucy and Ethel) stirred up a big pan of spanakopita.  Dennis and Bob mixed up the tzatziki sauce, and sampled some ouzo laced with cucumber juice.  The cooks did a fine job – not much left over.

 

 

Meteora is the epitome of Greek Orthodox religion and Byzantine art.  Here the Monasteries of Meteora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, are perched on seemingly inaccessible pinnacles of rock a thousand feet above the valley floor.    It’s easy to see why some sources list Meteora as one of the wonders of the world.  The earliest religious community was established here in the tenth century, when monks began to build hermitages atop these pinnacles of time-worn stone.  This location seemed to be as removed from earthly distractions as possible, but by the 12th century, these small religious cells began to attract followers from all over the Byzantine world.  By the 14th century, Meteora had 24 monasteries and was a prestigious community of religious learning, art and wealth.  Today, four of these have survived essentially as museum pieces, while two others function as religious outposts, with a handful of monks and/or nuns. 

 

The Holy Monastery of the Grand Meteoron is the highest, largest and oldest of the six remaining monasteries of the Meteora.  It was built of massive rocks on the highest peak (1,360 feet) in the 14th century.  The church here is built in the form of a Greek cross inscribed on a square, topped by a 12-sided dome.  There are beautiful frescoes, a spooky ossuary, and a shady courtyard that almost makes one think this might be a nice place to live.  Almost.

 

 

 

Varlaam Monastery was named for the monk who first built a tiny chapel on this rocky promontory in the 14th century.   It was continuously occupied by monks (about 35 at a time) throughout the 16th century, after which it began to decline. Steps were first carved into the rock in the early 19th century and have been altered several times since.  Today, Varlaam is occupied by seven monks and can be accessed by a narrow bridge from the main road.

Founded in the 16th century, the Rousannou Monastery occupies a lower rock than the others and is reached by a bridge from the road.  Its location is nevertheless quite dramatic, with the rock dropping off sharply on all sides.  It is occupied by a small community of nine nuns.

The 14th century Monastery of Saint Nikolas is noted for its unique construction and splendid frescoes.  It was abandoned by 1900, but was renovated and now priests of the nearby town of Kalambaka open the monastery to tourists every summer. Today, one very old monk still lives here. 

Made famous by James Bond (“For Your Eyes Only”), the Holy Trinity Monastery is probably the most dramatically positioned monastery of the Meteora. It is perched atop a slender pinnacle with snow-capped mountains in the distance.  Since it is accessible only by 140 steep steps, it is also one of the most peaceful monasteries as well.

Saint Stephen's Monastery was founded around 1400 and is now a nunnery. Although less spectacular than the others, it is by far the easiest to visit.  It is currently inhabited by 28 nuns.

Down in the town of Kalambaka, we visited an icon-painting workshop.  For Eastern Orthodox Christians, icons are an essential part of worship.  Their mysticism makes them special – the icons seem simple at first, but with further study, you see that they have much deeper meaning.  This is an art form most appropriate to the mystical setting of the 14th-century hermit caves nearby. 







Showing us the priest’s palette and desk, our guide explained that the paints are all natural materials such as egg tempera, which is a blend of egg yolk and vinegar. They are then gilded with 24 karat gold leaf.  In order to create the halos, the artist sometimes uses pure silver. 












Inside the shop, the walls were covered with images, including many variations on Mary and Baby Jesus.     

Leaving the mountains, we made our way to Piraeus, the main port of Athens.  Piraeus is a city in its own right, but it is hard to tell where Athens ends and Piraeus begins.  Piraeus prides itself on being rough and tough – a stronghold of communism, street-slang songs of political protest, and the workplaces of a profusion of prostitutes.  Happily, none of this was particularly obvious as we boarded our ship and sailed off into the sunset.  The M/V Artemis was ranked #1 in Conde Nast Travelers' "Top 20 Small Cruise Ships in the World" most recent Readers' Poll.  Built, owned, operated and staffed by Grand Circle Cruise Line, this 4-star vessel has only 26 cabins, but comes with lots of amenities, a super crew, and entertainers who came onboard while we were in port.  

 

 The next leg of our adventure is the islands known as the Cyclades, a rugged chain of islands southeast of mainland Greece.   When most people think of the Greek Isles, they are thinking of this ring of islands, with villages of dazzling white houses that look from a distance like so many sugar cubes. 

Our first stop was the island of Syros and its capital city of Ermoupolis.  The town, which owes its name to Hermes, the god of trade, was founded in 1821 and grew to become the busiest port in Greece, as well as an important ship-building center. 

           

The economic prosperity of the past can still be seen in its old mansions, marble paved streets, grandiose marble squares, imposing churches, monuments, statues and well preserved neoclassical buildings. The town has been called “Little Milan” and the “Duchess of the Aegean.”   

 

Miaouli Square is one of the most beautiful squares in Greece, with its tall palm trees that shadow small coffee shops and restaurants.  One side of the square is flanked by the Town Hall, which was completed in 1898.  It is the most grandiose of all the neoclassical mansions in Syros. 

The Apollon Theatre on nearby Vardaki Square is a miniature of the famous La Scala of Milan and once housed many famous artists who presented Italian operas. Today it is used by local theater and music groups. 

Still farther up the hill is the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Nikolas, built in the mid-1800s to honor the patron saint of Ermoupolis.  

 

Up higher yet, it seems that this hill goes on forever.  We finally arrived at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Resurrection, built in 1870 on top of Vrodado Hill.

 

Facing the Orthodox settlement of Vrodado is yet another hill, the highest point in the city and the home of the Catholic Cathedral of Saint George and the Capuchin Monastery of Saint John.  






We settled for the view from a distance partly because we were tired of climbing hills, but also because we wanted to enjoy just walking around the town with its stone walls, narrow streets, wooden balconies, arches and arcades.     

 

Near the harbor (where it’s flat), the Central Market on Syros is a place worth visiting. It’s a loud and lively Greek market, with fresh fish, local farm products, and traditional crafts.   

 

 

Mykonos is the best known and most popular of the islands.  Its initial appeal was its handsome Cycladic architecture - and the willingness of many homeowners to rent their houses to visitors.  First came the jet-setters, including Aristotle and Jackie Onassiss, as well as many mainland Greeks who opened shops and restaurants.   

 

The iconic Mykonos windmills stand on a hill overlooking the area known as Little Venice.  Most of the windmills face north to catch the island's strongest winds over the largest part of the year. There are 16 windmills around Mykonos; most of them were built by the Venetians in the 1500s for milling wheat.   

 

Chora, the capital and main town, is a jumble of some 400 churches, chapels, and shrines, white sugar-cube houses, blue doors and domes, and brilliant red and pink bougainvillea.  The warren of narrow streets was meant to defy the wind and confuse the pirates who plagued the islands in the 18^th and 19th century.  They still confuse visitors who quickly got lost among the tavernas, shops, and homes.    

 

 

 

Delos was the mythical birthplace of Apollo, god of truth and light, and his twin sister Artemis, the moon goddess.  The ancient Greeks considered this to be the holiest of sanctuaries, a place set apart, with different rules than those of neighboring islands.  For example, in ancient times, people were not allowed to die or be born on this sacred island.  Today, no one is allowed to spend the night.  The island is an open-air archaeology museum, covered with ancient ruins, mosaics, and wildflowers.  Excavations began in the late 1800s and continue today.   

   

  

 


One of the most remarkable sites on the island is the Terrace of the Lions, where five of the original nine white marble beasts (circa 7th-century B.C.) remain.  We saw another one at the entrance to the Arsenal in Venice; Greece is still trying to get it back.    

 

 The Sacred Lake was nearby. The lake was drained in the 1920s because of malaria, but in its heyday, it was home to the sacred swans and geese of Apollo. It also watered the nearby palm tree commemorating the sacred palm Leto clung to while giving birth to Apollo.  Today the lake is marked by green shrubs that cover the old lake bed.    

Temples are everywhere.  Most of them honor Apollo and Artemis, but other gods were recognized as well. 

 

 

 

The so-called Maritime Quarter, near the Sacred Harbor, is a hillside covered with ruins of Roman houses.  Some of them contained quite remarkable mosaics and frescoes.   

 

 

 

Naxos is the largest of the islands in the Cyclades, and the Portara is the largest thing on the island - it's certainly the first thing you see approaching the island.  The Portara is a marble gate standing on top of a small islet connected to the Town of Naxos by a narrow passage. The gate is all that remains from a 6th century BC temple of Apollo.

 



The Venetians ruled this island from 1207 until 1566; the influence of Venetian architecture is seen in the fortress (Kastro) and the fortified towers dotting the hillsides. 

 

 

Naxos Town has many stone buildings, paved paths and arches that were constructed by the Venetians in medieval times.  Today many of the old buildings have been turned into boutique hotels, studios, shops, cultural venues and cafes.  Churches and Byzantine chapels are numerous; many of them contain beautiful frescoes dating from the 9th to the 13th centuries.  There’s even a replica of one of the famous Lions of Naxos, created to honor Apollo on the island of Delos. 

 

Wandering around town also gave us a chance to try some local delicacies – a unique citron liqueur, some rare types of cheeses, and sun-dried, barbecue octopus – it looks better in a picture than on a plate. 

There are many old stone and marble footpaths that cross the island and connect mountain villages, Venetian towers, ancient sites and secluded beaches.  One morning hike here led us past ancient olive trees, vineyards, tiny shrines, and an artichoke farm. 

 

 

We hiked to an ancient  marble quarry of Naxos, where half-finished statues and blocks of marble were slid down on ramps from the quarry for transportation to the mainland or other islands.   The half-finished, colossal statue of Apollo and numerous remains of marble works can be seen at the quarry today.  Archeologists think that this giant statue, which dates from 600 BC, was intended for the temple overlooking the harbor. 

The inland villages are a world apart from Naxos Town.  In the village of Filoti, we enjoyed a home-hosted dinner that highlighted the self-sufficiency of these mountain people.  Everything from start to finish was home-grown and/or home-made … and delicious.  Entertainment was provided by our hosts’ youngest child, Evangelica.    

 


 

Santorini is a crescent-shaped remnant of an island that was blown apart in 157 B.C. by a volcano that still steams and hisses today.  The Minoan colony of Akrotiri was buried by volcanic ash; many scholars believe that this volcanic destruction gave birth to the myth of the lost continent of Atlantis.  

 

The Museum of Prehistoric Thira houses archaeological finds from Akrotiri, as well as other parts of the island.  The collections include ceramics, sculptures, jewelry, wall paintings, and ritual objects.   

 

 


The main town of Fira is home to the Orthodox Metropolitan Cathedral, which can be seen from many parts of the island.  It was built in 1827 and was renovated after an earthquake in 1956.

Nearby is the Boutari Winery, one of the oldest wine producers in all Greece.  Surrounded by grape vines, we enjoyed tasting some excellent varieties – Nychteri, Santorini, and Abeliastos.    

 

The wine was good, but THE most famous place in all Santorini is the tiny town of Oia, which sits atop thousand-foot-high cliffs over the indigo waters of the partially sunken volcanic caldera.  Oia is a traditional village with charming houses in narrow streets, blue domed churches, and sun-bathed verandas. It’s like walking around in a postcard.

 

 

Amorgas is an island that boasts natural beauty, traditional architecture and wonderful beaches.   We were happy just wandering around the port, watching the fishing boats and exploring the back streets near the harbor.  

 

 

The most famous sight of Amorgos is the Monastery of Hozoviotissa, constructed on the slopes of a rock with breathtaking view to the sea. This monastery was built in the 11th century; it is about 1000 feet above sea level, which translates to 400 steps to reach the front door.  If that wasn’t enough, we (i.e., women) had to wear skirts to visit the monastery and no photos were allowed inside.   

 

 

Chora is the main village on the island of Amorgos, with a central street snaking past whitewashed houses, ancient marble stones incorporated into the walls of modern homes—and very few tourists.   Great place to wander.

 

 

 

 

Surrounding the town are acres and acres of vineyards and olive groves.  A lot of work went into creating all those terraces.  

Patmos is the northernmost of the islands of the Dodecanese, a string of 12 large islands (and hundreds of small ones) near the coast of Turkey.  As early as the 5^th century, Patmos was nicknamed “the Jerusalem of the Aegean,” a holy island where the Book of Revelation was penned.  This is where St. John the Divine  spent several years in exile, living in a cave and composing the Apocalypse, or the Book of Revelation.  From that time on, the island has been regarded as hallowed ground, re-consecrated through the centuries by the erection of more than 300 churches (one for every 10 residents).  The historic town center, with the Monastery of St. John and the Cave of the Apocalypse, has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

The Cave of the Apocalypse is said to be the place where St. John lived during his exile and where dictated his revelations, which has come down as the Book of the Apocalypse, or Revelation, the last book of the Bible.  The cave is now encased within a sanctuary, which is in turn encircled by a convent.  The cave is a bit dark , but exquisitely decorated.    

 

The medieval Monastery of Saint John the Theologian was built to withstand pirates, and it looks more like a fortress than a house of prayer.   Inside, it’s a charming place, with arches and bell towers and flowers galore.  No sign of the 15 monks who live here.

 

The Chapel here has frescoes dating from the 12th century as well as a treasury filled with Byzantine art and other valuables.  (Sorry no photos allowed inside)   

The view from the monastery is even better than from the cave - in one direction is the port (with Artemis awaiting our return); in another there are several windmills.  

 

Outside the monastery, there are plenty of vendors to make your visit a memorable one – get your icons, worry beads, candles, and incense burners right here. 

 

TURKEY

Our cruise ended at the Turkish port town of Kusadasi, gateway to Ephesus.  Ephesus is one of the best-preserved ancient cities on the Mediterranean, unmatched by any archaeological site anywhere in terms of sheer magnitude. It was once a wealthy port city of the Greco-Roman era, ideally situated between the Near East and the Mediterranean ports of the West.  By the sixth century BC, it was a prosperous place, entering its golden age during the Roman era, when Caesar Augustus declared Ephesus the capital of the province of Asia Minor.  St. Paul arrived in 53 A.D. and gained enough followers to establish the first Christian church of Ephesus.  A backlash against the new religion arose from jewelers who had a lucrative business selling silver statues of Artemis, the patron goddess of Ephesus.  In spite of these early difficulties, Christianity spread quickly in Ephesus and eventually supplanted the worship of Artemis.   

Most of the surviving ruins of Ephesus belong to the Roman period, with the notable exception of the city wall built by the Greeks to protect the town from invaders.  The site of Ephesus contains many reconstructed monuments, the work of some overzealous archaeologists.  This caused a delay of 20+ years in Ephesus being listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

The Odeon seated 1500 people and served dual capacities – as an arena for small performances, particularly musical ones, and as a meeting place for the Senate. 

 

Leading down from the Odeon through town, the Sacred Way was also known as the Marble Road.  It is lined with broken columns and bases of monuments – must have been quite a spectacle in its prime.  

The Temple of Domitian is the first structure in Ephesus known to be dedicated to an emperor. It was built on a high and wide terrace, on vaulted foundations. The northern side of the terrace was two stories high, reached by stairs.  

 

This relief of the flying Nike found in Domitian Square used to be situated at the corners where the arch joins the pillars with Corinthian capitals.  

The nearby Pollio Fountain once had a wide and high arch supporting a triangular pediment.  Water fell into a small pool through an opening in one wall.  

Trajan’s Fountain was built around 104 A.D.  It was constructed to honor the Emperor Trajan, whose statue of Trajan stood in the central niche on the facade overlooking the pool.  The pool was surrounded by columns and statues.  

The Temple of Hadrian is well-preserved and quite beautiful.  It was dedicated to the Emperor Hadrian, who came from Athens to visit the city in 128 A.D.  The facade of the temple has four Corinthian columns supporting a curved arch, in the middle of which contains a relief of Tyche, patron goddess of the city.  

The Baths of Scholastica were originally a three-storied structure, but the upper two stories have collapsed.  The baths include a dressing room with ten cabins, the cold room with a pool, the warm room to relax, and the hot room with its sophisticated heating system.  The second floor was used for massage and scrubbing as a therapy.  Hanging out at the baths to socialize and discuss the topics of the day was an important part of Roman culture.  

 



The latrines were adjacent to the baths and were the public toilets of the city.  They were built in the first century AD, and there was an entrance fee to use them.  The toilets were aligned along the walls and covered with a wooden roof.  There was an open pool in the center and a drainage system under the toilets. 

 

At the foot of the hill stands the Library of Celsus, built in 144-177 AD.  The library was built to store 12,000 scrolls and to serve as a mausoleum for the Roman Senator Celsus, who is buried in a crypt beneath the library.  The interior of the library was destroyed by an earthquake in 262 A.D. and the façade by another earthquake in the tenth or eleventh century A.D.  It lay in ruins for centuries, until the façade was re-erected by archaeologists between 1970 and 1978. 

To the right of the library is the Gate of Mazeus and Mythridates.   The gate with three passage ways was built in 40 A.D by the slaves Mazeus and Mythridates for their emperor, Augustus, who gave them their freedom. 

The Theater at Ephesus held 24,000 people and offered a as well.  St. Paul preached here.   

 

It is believed that the evangelist Saint John spent his last years in Ephesus and was buried here. Three hundred years after his death, a small chapel was constructed over the grave.   The chapel was transformed into the Basilica of Saint John during the reign of Emperor Justinian (527 -565 AD). Its construction of stone and brick is extremely rare among the architecture of its time. The basilica was built in the shape of a cross, was covered with marble and featured six domes. 

 

 

The Tomb of Saint John was under the central dome that was held up by the four columns at the corners.

The Baptistery is north of the nave and has an unusual keyhole shape.

Rampart walls around the church were constructed for protection from the Arabian attacks in the 7th - 8th centuries AD.  The castle and basilica are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The Temple of Artemis was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.   It was built in a flat area which has over the centuries turned into a swamp. During Ephesus’ heyday in 356 B.C., the temple was four times the size of the Parthenon in Athens, with a forest of 127 marble columns supported a 60-foot roof. In the 3^rd century A.D., Goth invaders from Northern Europe ransacked the temple; hundreds of columns and statues disappeared over the centuries until today, all that remains is the temple’s foundation and one lonely column. 

Atop that one column is a stork’s nest.  Fitting perhaps, since Artemis was the goddess of fertility.  

While in Ephesus, we stopped to visit the Yuksel Carpet Weaving Center, a government subsidized co-op that employs women from nearby villages and teaches them how to make Turkish carpets the old-fashioned way. It’s a dying trade since one standard-sized carpet takes months to complete. 

 

We learned about the whole carpet-making process including how the silk is harvested by silkworms that feed on mulberry trees. After 42 days, they can extract the cocoons, which will produce about 1 mile of silk.

 

The store was huge, boasting over 10,000 carpets. We saw many different styles as the staff rolled out carpet after carpet.  We came home with only pictures, but several members of our group made purchases that will last a lifetime!

 

Istanbul was the capital of one of the world’s greatest empires for over 1,500 years; today it is a buzzing modern city. Like the rest of Turkey, it is a place where you cannot avoid religion- every morning is announced by the Muslim call to prayer, broadcast over megaphones mounted on mosque minarets.  Seemingly everywhere you look you will see a minaret and dome of a mosque.  There is no doubt that Turkey is a Muslim country, but it is one where people embrace religious tradition as well as the vision of a progressive, secular republic.  Co-existence IS possible.

According to legend, Istanbul was established in the seventh century B.C at the mouth of the Bosphorus River.  The settlement known as Byzantium was captured and absorbed into the Roman Empire in 196 A.D.  In 326 A.D., along came Constantine the Great and his new city called Constantinople, which he filled with the treasures of the ancient world, a mixture of classic paganism and the more recent Christianity.  What remains of the original city is found in the historic city center along the riverfront; it was here that we spent most of our time.

The Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent is known for its graceful minarets, stained glass windows and excellent acoustics; it is the largest and perhaps most beautiful of all the many mosques in Istanbul.  Sitting high on a hill, with its unmistakable silhouette, it is the city’s most identifiable landmark, which is just what the builder had in mind.  Suleiman I, the greatest, richest and most powerful of the Ottoman sultans, created this monument to himself between 1550 and 1557, and was buried there (together with his favorite wife). 

 

Apart from the main mosque with the prayer hall and courtyard, the mosque complex also includes a caravanserai, a public kitchen which serves food to the poor, a hospital, a Qur'an school and a bath-house. 

 

As non-Muslim visitors, we were restricted to the courtyard and the outer edge of the prayer hall.  We were required to remove our shoes and women were required to wear a head scarf.   

 

Here we learned about the five tenets of Islam.  (1) Declaration of faith: There is no god worthy of worship except God and Muhammed is his messenger.  (2) Centrality of prayer in daily life:  Obligatory prayers are performed five times a day and are a direct link between the worshiper and God.  (3) Charity as a necessity:  All things belong to God and our possessions are purified by setting aside a proportion for those in need.  (4) Fasting as self-purification:  Every year in the month of Ramadan, all Muslims fast from first light until sundown, abstaining from food, drink and sexual relations.  (5) Annual pilgrimage to Mecca: All who are physically and financially able are obligated to travel to Mecca to participate in the ritual prayers for God’s forgiveness. 

Next stop was the Hagia Sophia, the Church of Holy Wisdom, the major Byzantine building still standing in Istanbul.  It is perhaps the most spectacular sight in the city and is said to be one of the finest architectural creations in the world.  The first church was built by Constantine, the second by the Emperor Theodosius – both were destroyed by fire.   The third (current) structure was dedicated in 536 A.D. during the reign of the Emperor Justinian and was the architectural wonder of its time.  It has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

The present structure is square in shape and topped by a dome that has inspired architectural design for 1500 years.  Inside, thin marble panels absorbed and reflected the light of thousands of candles and lamps, which illuminated the entire building so well that it was used as a lighthouse. 

 

When Justinian built the Hagia Sophia, he filled it with decorative mosaics, and later emperors added even more.  Most were destroyed by the Iconoclasts between 729 and 843 A.D., and the mosaics in the church today postdate that period.  After the Muslim conquest of the city, the Hagia Sophia became a mosque and the mosaics were covered by whitewash.  Luckily, this action served to preserve the mosaics, which were re-discovered in the 1930s when Ataturk converted the building into a national museum. 

 

Just across the fountain from the Hagia Sophia is the Blue Mosque, the most famous mosque in the old city.  It is an imposing structure, built by the architect Mehmet Aga to show the world that his talent outstripped the architects of the Hagia Sophia and as a tribute to the superiority of Islam.  It still maintains that symbolism for many Muslims.  The mosque is impressive for size alone – the complex includes a religious school, hospital, caravansary, and soup kitchen.  Its six minarets created a stir, as this was as many as the great mosque in Mecca; the Sultan had to donate an extra minaret to Mecca to quiet the fuss.   

The day of our visit fell on a holiday; the mosque was crowded with worshipers and not open to tourists.  The faithful prepared to enter the mosque by cleansing themselves a fountains outside the walled compound.  

 

The Hippodrome was initially built by the Romans, but it was Constantine who established the area – with a crowd capacity of over 100,000 – as the public center of his city.  There are three important monuments left in the Hippodrome.  The Obelisk of Pharaoh Thutmose was brought by Constantine from Egypt during his general plunder of portable monuments of the ancient world.  The Serpentine Column, three intertwined snakes, stood originally in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.  The Column of Constantine was erected here in 940 A.D.  It was made of purple porphyry and covered with bronze plates which were hauled off to Venice by the Crusaders.   

 

Topkapi Palace was built by Mehmet the Conqueror in the mid-1400s.  It became the nerve-center of the far-flung Ottoman Empire when Mehmet’s great-grandson, Suleyman the Magnificent, decided to consolidate the seat of the government with his royal residence, including his harem.  Every new sultan elaborated on the building according to need and today the palace, is a huge collection of buildings, gardens and green spaces.  Topkapi Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

At one time, over 50,000 people lived and worked on the palace grounds, a veritable city within a city.  It contained dormitories for various guards, craftsmen and gardeners, all wearing their own distinctive garb for easy identification.  There were mosques and baths, even a zoo for keeping live gifts from foreign rulers.

The Imperial Gate is the main entrance to the palace erected in 1478; it leads to the First Courtyard where the Janissaries, the Praetorian Guards of the Ottomans, were once headquartered.   

 

Just inside this first gate is the Church of St. Eirene, the oldest Byzantine church in Istanbul.  The original structure, dedicated in 360 A.D., was the cathedral of Constantinople until Hagia Sophia was built.  The church was never converted to a mosque; it was used as an armory and now is a venue for concerts.    

The second gate, built by Suleyman the Magnificent in 1524, is known as the Gate of Salutations.  This is the entrance to the Second Courtyard, which as renowned for its cypress trees, fountains, peacocks, gazelles and tranquility designed to create impression of calm.   

The third gate, the Gate of Felicity leads to the Throne Room and the Treasury, home to the Ottomans’ obscene accumulation of jewels and precious metals.  Security is tight for this display, which includes bejeweled daggers, ivory book covers, huge slabs of emeralds, and the 84-carat Spoonmaker’s Diamond, fifth largest in the world.    

 

The Harem is also reached from the second courtyard.  There were over 300 rooms, half of which were cramped cubicles for the lesser eunuchs, servants and concubines.  Rooms increase in size and opulence approaching the chambers of favorite concubines and legal wives, of there could be four.  Daily life in the Harem was not so much a den of unfettered sex and iniquity, as it was a squalling racket of crying babies, competitive mothers, and harassed servants.   

The Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world, as well as one of the oldest, dating to the 15^th century.  It is a busy place, with 5000 shops stretched along miles of narrow, twisting passageways; it is a mini-city that sprawls across 65 streets and 50 acres. Everything from carpets to leather jackets, antiques, silver, icons, spices, and gold is for sale.  We’ve seen our share of markets around the world, but nothing compares to this for a great place to get  hopelessly lost. 

 

 


We said farewell to Istanbul with dinner at a place fittingly named the “Panoramic Restaurant.”   Here we enjoyed nighttime views of the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.   

 

Leaving Istanbul, we headed into central Turkey to visit Cappadocia and its magical rock formations.  Volcanic eruptions created this surreal landscape;  lava flows were sculpted by wind and rain into winding valleys with curvy cliff faces, minarets, cones, spires, rocky pinnacles, and pointy ‘fairy chimneys,’ some as high as five-story buildings.   

Ancient inhabitants of Cappadocia hollowed out the volcanic cones and cliffs to create cave dwellings that are still in use today.  Cappadocia has been home to a dozen different civilizations, including the early Christians who arrived in the 4th century and sculpted domed churches from the rock, complete with vaulted ceilings, columns and pews, and fascinating artwork. 

Our first stop was the Pasabag Valley, which is filled with amazing pillars and other rock formations in the middle of a vineyard.  The name of the place which means “Pacha’s Vineyard” - the area is now protected as a national park, but the family still has vineyards and orchards here. 

 

Pasabag Valley contains some of the most striking fairy chimneys in Cappadocia, with twin and even triple rock caps.  The mushroom-like columns with conical lids seem to spring up from the valley floor.  Some of them split into smaller cones in their upper sections, and it was here than monks and hermits once hid.  The hermits of Cappadocia distanced themselves from the world by cutting into fairy chimneys rather than living on top of columns. They hollowed out the chimneys from bottom to top creating rooms at 25 to 50 feet high.

 

As the outer walls have caved in or fallen off, we could see how some of the cave rooms were used as pigeon houses (dovecots).  Farmers used these cave pigeon houses to collect the droppings of pigeons; this provided them with an excellent natural fertilizer for the orchards and vineyards.   Pretty clever folks, these cavemen. 

 

Pasabag Valley also gave us our first taste of Turkish fast food as we stopped by a roadside stand for gozleme and apple tea.  Gozleme is a layered pastry filled with spinach, cheese, potatoes and parsley and cooked on a flat grill.  Delicious! 

 

Kaymaklı is a city dug deep into the soft volcanic rock.  It is the largest of over one hundred underground cities in the area, though only a few are open to visitors.  It is estimated that around 3,500 people once lived here.  Kaymakli has been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.






Built in the 2^nd century A.D., under a hill known as the Citadel of Kaymaklı, the city has 8 underground levels made up of low, narrow, sloping passageways. The city is arranged around ventilation shafts which bring in air. Early inhabitants lived underground as protection against the heat and the marauding tribes that regularly plundered the area.  Huge stones were rolled in front of openings to protect against invaders.

 

We explored the first four of the city’s 8 levels (the lower four are in total darkness and we forgot to bring bread crumbs and flashlights).  The first level was meant for stables, the second level had a church and some living areas, and the third level was kitchens and storage. Current inhabitants of the nearby town still use parts of the underground city for storage, stables and cellars.

 

Kaymakli had a surprisingly sophisticated city of streets, living spaces, and plazas that still contain remnants of everyday life – from storage jars to wine presses.  There are hundreds of rooms, narrow sloping passageways between kitchens with enameled food storage areas, water cisterns, stables, living spaces. 

 

The Goreme Open-Air Museum, another of Turkey's UNESCO World Heritage Sites, is a wonderful collection of rock-cut churches, chapels, nunneries and monasteries.  It was first established an as important Byzantine monastic settlement and later (17th century) was known as a famous pilgrimage site.    

 

 

 

Indoor photography here was challenging at best, and pictures of the old frescoes are forbidden.  So … these two postcards illustrate some of the amazing art found here.   These are from the Dark Church, which dates to the end of the 12th century; it takes its name from the fact that it had very few windows.  This lack of light preserved the vivid color of the frescoes inside.  

 

Our second day in Cappadocia started very, very early – we were up before the sun to enjoy a hot-air balloon ride over this remarkable landscape.  

 

We did get some nice views of caves and secluded little farms, but there were so many balloons in the air that it seemed more like a balloon festival than a sight-seeing trip.

 

 

Can't complain - it's always fun to float high above the scenery, and we did have a totally spectacular view of Mount Ericiyes, one of the highest peaks in Turkey, part of the Taurus Mountain Range. 

 Cappadocia has been a center for pottery for over 3000 years, thanks to the Kizilirmak River, or “Red River,” that runs through the old town of Avanos.  It is from this river that the reddish-brown clay is harvested, and then used to make vases, jugs, ashtrays, figurines, plates, and other traditional pieces. 

 

We visited Chez Galip Pottery, with its cave gallery and its history of six generations of master potters and artists. 

 

The demonstration of the pottery wheel was worth the trip – he made it look so easy.

 

Next stop was the village of Uchisar, where we had no trouble finding the start of the Pigeon River Valley Trail for a three-mile hike to the town of Goreme.  Most of the trail passed through undeveloped land or farmland, but as we reached Goreme we could see evidence of locals using caves for homes, stables and storage. 

 

 

Lunch was gozleme again – this looks easy, but don’t think we’ll be making this at home … sure do wish we had a Turkish restaurant in Columbia.

Next stop was the market in Nevishir.  This is a recent attempt by the local government to bring the farmers into one central location instead of their usual practice of blocking streets and sidewalks all over town.    It’s been slow to catch on, but there were plenty of colorful goods and produce for us to enjoy.

 

Heading back to our hotel, we stopped at a roadside viewpoint, the official name of which is long-gone from memory.  Our guide told us that this hollowed out fairy chimney, complete with steps carved in the rock face, is known as the newlywed nomads with mother-in-law.  

 

A good night’s rest and we’re off on another hike through wonderland.  This morning’s walk took us from Kizilsukur to Cavusin, a relatively short hike along the Red River Valley – with lots of caves and other distractions to explore.  

 

 

 

Cavusin is an old Greek settlement.  Many of the rock structures are falling and residents have been mostly relocated to nearby houses.  The old town and the new town run together and it is clear that some folks are still living in caves or houses attached to caves.  Old habits die hard.    

 

The old Cavusin Church is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site encompassing the Rock Sites of Cappadocia.    This is an extraordinary 1,000-year-old church that is carved into the rock face and known for its ancient artworks  and intricate network of tunnels leading to carved rooms spread across three stories.  

 

Lunch in Cavusin was notable for the food (Turkish ravioli) and the buggy ride, but especially for the views from our rooftop restaurant.  On the distant hillside, we could barely see one of the rock sculptures done by Australian artist Andrew Rogers. 

 

After lunch we headed south, giving us another fine view of Mt. Erciyes (13,000 feet), the same mountain we saw at sunrise from the hot air balloon.  

Our destination was the Soganli Valley, which has many rock churches built between the 9th and 13th centuries.  Although this is officially part of the Goreme National Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site), it is not commercialized and we had the place to ourselves.    

 

Though much of the color has faded from the frescoes, it is still amazing to see the arches and altars and niches and benches carved from solid stone. 

 

This area was not just a bunch of churches carved in the rocks; it was once a thriving community, with family dwellings on/in every hillside.  As the soft rock deteriorated, walls collapsed and living here became unsafe.  Now the townsfolk live in government-subsidized little boxes, and the caves are used for pigeon houses or for storage. 

 

We ended our trek at the village for Soganli for our daily dose of delicious apple tea.    In the town square we “visited” with a group of women who were making dolls in traditional dress – they are hoping to sell the dolls for a bit of extra income. 

 

Our last evening in Cappadocia was spent at the Sarihan Caravansary, an old roadside inn built in the 12th century.    Trade in medieval times was dependent on camel trains, which stopped by caravansary, which provided accommodation and other amenities for the merchants and stabling for their animals.  Inside the massive doorway was a courtyard surrounded by bedrooms, depots, bath house and bathrooms. Foreign as well as native traders could stay for up to three days.  All necessary services were provided: doctor, imam (prayer leader), depot officer, veterinarian, messenger, blacksmith, and cook.  Roads all over Turkey were dotted with caravansary built at a distance of 30-40 km apart – a one day camel trek.   

 

The Sarihan Caravansary was restored in 1990 and is now used for ceremonies of the Whirling Dervishes.  The Dervishes are members of the Sufi sect, a Muslim religious order that first appeared in the 12th century.   This sect believes that an ecstatic, trance-like state of universal love can be induced by the practice of whirling around and around, in the manner of all things in the universe.   Even for non-believers, the whirling ritual is a mesmerizing spectacle.

The ceremony is filled with symbols.  The Dervish’s camel-hair hat represents the tombstone of the ego; his wide, white skirt represents the ego's shroud. By removing his black cloak, he is spiritually reborn to the truth. At the beginning of the ritual dance, by holding his arms crosswise, the Dervish appears to represent the number one, thus testifying to God's unity. While whirling, his arms are open: his right arm is directed to the sky; his left hand is turned toward the earth. Revolving from right to left around the heart, the Dervish embraces all humanity with love and conveys God’s gift to those present for the ritual. 

The Ancient Hittite Kingdom flourished from about 1800 to 1200 BC, with a sophisticated administrative system that included a written language.  They expanded their territories into an empire which rivaled, and threatened, the established nation of Egypt.  They are mentioned in the Old Testament as adversaries of the Israelites.  Hattusas was the capital of the Hittite Empire; this once massive city and its impressive double city walls is a majestic setting high on a rocky summit.  It has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

Our first stop was at the rock shrine of Yazilikaya, the religious heart of the Hittite Kingdom as far back as about 1250 B.C.  There are two main chambers carved from the bedrock, their walls covered by reliefs of deities wearing long, conical caps.  The Hittites claimed to have 1,000 gods and goddesses, but a mere 63 were marching in this procession.  One of the figures hewn out of the rock is not a god, but a 12-foot-high image of the Hittite King Tudhaliya IV.

 

The entrances to the city are impressive even today; long ago they must have been a sight to behold.  The King’s Gate is decorated by a relief sculpture of a warrior measuring over 7 feet from the top of the helmet to the tip of the toe. The Lion Gate was named for the two matched lions carved from two arched stones. Back when the gate was in use, these stones arched in a parabola, with towers on either side. 

 

One of the most remarkable monuments here is the Yerkapi, a large oblong pyramid at the southern end of the city.  On top of the platform there was a line of walls with several towers and gateways decorated by sphinxes.   A large stairways leads up to the summit and a long narrow tunnel pierces it from side to side over a length of 230 feet. Archaeologists suggest that these two entrances, the small tunnel below and the 'Sphinx gateway' at the top, were built as very different means of access into the city.  The tunnel served as a functional direct route below, and the other upper gateway adorned with symbolism and ceremony was used for more ‘public’ access.

 

An outcrop of the hill overlooking the valley was the site of the Imperial Palace.  It is here that the majority of the 3,350 clay tablets from the emperors’ archives were found.  Thanks to them, this vanished civilization, virtually unknown 100 years ago, now a detailed written history.  Here also are the clearly preserved foundations of the Great Temple, which, in its day, may have been the largest building in the world, dedicated to the weather god, Hatti, and the sun goddess, Arinna.  It, too, has proven to be a rich source of cuneiform tablets, even a gold tablet engraved with the terms of a treaty. 

 

The square green stone in the temple is a mystery.  Some scholars think that it was some sort of altar, where priests poured wine or other libations to the gods.  Others maintain that it was a wedding gift to one of the Hittite kings from one of the Egyptian pharaohs.  Either way, it’s impressive.

From vantage points along the city wall, we had wonderful views of the city – our guide told us what we were seeing, but must admit that we were in information overload at this point.  Guess we will have to go again to remember all we saw and heard about this amazing civilization.   

 

 

Although the Hittite Empire vanished thousands of years ago, it has by no means been forgotten. The Museum of Old Anatolian Civilizations (in Ankara) displays relics and artifacts from the Paleolithic to Roman times, but is best known for its extensive collections of all things Hittite.  There were many wonders to see, but we especially like seeing engravings from the city walls and the surprisingly small cuneiform tablets that record so many aspects of the Hittite world.   

 

 

 

An enlarged copy of a cuneiform tablet found here hangs in the United Nations building in New York. This tablet is a peace treaty concluded between the Hittite king and the Egyptian pharaoh over 3000 years ago, suggesting to modern statesmen that treaties in search of peace are a tradition going back to the earliest civilizations. 

Our last stop in Turkey was Ankara, chosen by President Kemal Ataturk in 1923 to be the capital of the new Republic of Turkey.  Ankara was central geographically, and it was not associated in any way with the imperial power base of the hated Ottomans.  That is not to say that Ankara did not have a past; it is a very old city, founded in 2000 B.C, and there are Roman ruins scattered throughout the city. 

The City Walls were built in the mid-7th century.  Engraved around the top of the walls over one of the gates is an inscription in Byzantine Greek, quoting the Psalms: “Rejoice, Oh Zion.”  There are also Byzantine crosses above the windows; they were intended to work like charms against hostile Islamic invaders.  These efforts did not always prove effective, as the town was sacked several times by Arabs and other invaders.    

This is Old Town Ankara.  In Ottoman times, the Muslim population lived inside the walls and the non-Muslims, the bulk of the city merchants, lived around the edges.  Their houses had painted plaster walls and elaborate woodwork, some dating back to the 18th century. Nowadays many of them have been restored and turned into gift shops, coffee houses, and restaurants. 

 

Ankara Castle sits on a hill 3200 feet high, overlooking the city. It was probably built during the Hittite era, but has hosted several civilizations at various periods of history:   The outer castle had seven entrances and twenty observation towers.  

 

The Alaadin Mosque is an interesting little mosque inside the citadel walls.  It is lined with classical columns recycled from earlier Roman temples.  Though it has lost much of its original identity through various restorations, it is one of the earliest Muslim buildings in the city.  The inscription on the pulpit records that the Seljuk ruler, Mesut, built the mosque in 1178.

Near the south gate in the outer walls, there is a square in front of the 19th-century Clock Tower.  Off the square is a street that seems to have been transported from a country town:  many of the shops here belong to the wool and goatskin industry, a reminder that “Angora” – the old form of the city’s name – was a world-famous wool center.   

 

 

 

The Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk is the final resting place of the founder of modern Turkey.  It is built in a mixture of styles, partially recalling Hittite and ancient Anatolian architecture.   Each province of Turkey contributed stone for the mighty hall that contains Atatürk’s tomb.  His body, however, is not kept in the stone catafalque on display to visitors; it is buried in a chamber far below.  The museum here contains many of Ataturk’s personal items and artifacts such as his library, his uniforms, and his cars.  Atatürk was a hugely popular figure and is revered for being the creator of a new, fully independent country and for having prevailed in a struggle against Western imperialism.