May 2 - 4, 2024 - Part 1: BEGINNING OF GREECE AND TURKEY TRIP BY LAND AND SEA

From May 2nd through May 14th we were on a tour of Greece and Turkey both on land and on sea. Relaying the wonders of the trip and sharing photos in one blog will be far too long. I will post a blog in increments based on what transpired on various days. I hope you enjoy 

May 2 - 3: The Trip to Athens  

Kelly and I took a nine day tour of Greece and Turkey with our oldest daughter, Alexa, and our youngest daughter, Annie. The tour was six days on land and three days on the sea visiting Turkey and several Greek islands. The first leg of the trip for Alexa, Kelly, and I began with a morning flight out of St. Louis to Montreal. We drove to St. Louis, loaded Alexa's suitcase, and her friend, Aaron, dropped us off at the airport so we wouldn't have to pay for long-term parking. Annie flew from San Francisco to Istanbul, Turkey, thirteen hours, then on to Athens, another two hours.

Upon arriving at our gate at the airport we learned that we would be on Air Canada’s inaugural flight from St Louis to Montreal. There were TV cameras, the Mayor for a ribbon cutting, live music, and cake. Cool! Of course, with all the fanfare we took off forty-five minutes late. The trip was three hours long with a three hour layover before boarding a plane to Athens.

The flight to Athens was completely full. We were on a large aircraft with ten in a row - 450 passengers. We were seated toward the rear of the plane in row fifty-one. The good part was our seats were right next to the restroom, something appreciated on a nine-hour flight. We were to take off at 6:00 p.m. and arrive in Athens at noon the next day. It was a nine hour flight and we lost eight hours in time zone changes. 

After everyone was settled in their seats the pilot announced that they were working on the plane and we would have about an hour delay while repairs were made. After a total of three hours they got us off the plane advising that repairs could not be made. We were told to wait around the gate area for further announcements.  After about an hour it was announced that another plane would be flown in from Toronto and we would take off at 11:30 p.m. They gave everyone a voucher for dinner.  Before the new plane arrived they had to unload all of the food and all of the luggage from our original aircraft. I watched the plane and it could not leave the gate under its own power. They brought in a special tow vehicle which backed under the front wheels and hydraulically lifted them to move the plane away from the gate. 

We finally took off from Montreal at midnight. While this delay was unwelcome, I will give Air Canada good marks for finding us another plane and crew in Toronto so that we didn't have to spend the night in Montreal and miss the first day of our tour. 

Although stuffed in the seats like sardines, after watching a movie, I was able to sleep for a few hours. We landed in Athens at 4:00 p.m. We then had a forty-five minute taxi ride to our hotel, the "Athens Zafolia Hotel" near downtown Athens. At 6:00 p.m. we had a “Meet and Greet” with the tour guides, Sofia and Korinna, and the sixteen others on the tour. Our tour guide on land, Sofia, advised that we would be departing early every day to get to the sites before the large crowds. 

At the duty free area in Montreal we bought a bottle of whiskey for Kelly, Alexa and me, and a bottle of wine for Annie. After the meeting we went to the girls’ room, poured a drink, and headed up to the rooftop to check out the lounge area and pool. The pool was closed for repair but a seagull enjoyed it anyway.

The view of Athens was fabulous. It was windy and getting cold so we didn't stay long. Here are Alexa, Annie, Kelly, Mike on the rooftop with views of the downtown area. Soon after that to bed with jet lag.

There are no skyscrapers in Athens due to earthquakes. Six stories is the highest I counted. Almost all buildings have businesses on the first level and apartments above. The vast majority of people live in apartments. Only the very wealthy own homes in Greece. 

May 4: The Acropolis and Parthenon:

We had a nice breakfast at the hotel and left on the bus at 8:00 a.m. to see the Acropolis and the Parthenon. We immediately learned that the Acropolis is the name of the mountain and the Parthenon is the temple that sits on top. I didn't know the difference before. 

There is no way to get to the Parthenon other than walking up. Here is a picture from the park below as we get ready to make the climb of 512 feet. The Gateway Arch in St. Louis is 630 feet. For those who have seen it, you know we had a climb ahead of us. 

The climb looked daunting and we wondered if maybe it was more than we could handle. Our tour guide, Sofia, assured us she would go slowly and make several stops on the way up. The path up has many, many steps and landings all of which were made out of marble, thus potentially slippery. To make matters worse there are no handrails and the step risers were often close to twelve inches in height. In the U.S. the distance from one step to another is around eight and half inches. So, in addition to walking uphill and up steps, you had to lift your legs much higher for each step to hoist yourself up. My knees felt that strain. Sofia did a great job of getting us there. Even though we arrived early there were still tourists everywhere. Here is a picture of Alexa at our first "picture stop" getting close to the top.

This is another picture as we ascended. This marble column has been repaired with new marble stones which are the white sections. These stones are cut out of the same marble as the originals but have not been discolored over the centuries due to iron leaching out.

 

Continuing up there is a smaller temple built on top of a high marble wall. The steps and all structures were built out of marble.

Once at the top you are overwhelmed at the sheer size and complexity of the Parthenon and other buildings on the plateau. 

This picture shows the carytatids, sculpted female figures serving as an architectural support taking the place of columns or pillars supporting a roof on her head. They are named after the women from the town of Caryae who were doomed to forever labor for supporting the Persians.

Greece has been working to rebuild the Parthenon for decades. It is in such a state of disrepair, not only from the centuries that have gone by since it was built in 447 B.C., but also because it was blown up by the Persians when they invaded. Archaeologists have inventoried 2,000,000 stones on the plateau that were part of the Parthenon and other buildings. Here are a couple of pictures of the stones. Again, the white stones in the columns are new marble stones.

It is hard to comprehend but the Parthenon was built in just NINE years. It took an additional SIX years to adorn the outside with reliefs and statuary. An absolutely amazing feat. It is known that they had help from the Egyptians on how to move the stones up the mountain and how to get them in place. While they have been working on reconstructing the Parthenon for decades, it is estimated it will take another twenty-five years to finish it, even using our modern equipment. We were there on a Sunday so they weren't working but this gives you an idea of what is taking place on the inside right now.

Here are a few pictures to give you a perspective of the size and complexity of the Parthenon.

Here is a picture of the caryatids - the iconic guardians of the temple of Athena.  The originals are in the museum.  They represent the women of Caryae and were doomed to hard labor because their town sided with the Persians when they invaded Greece.

The Acropolis is the second highest mountain in Athens. It was chosen for the temple over the highest mountain because its top is a plateau making it easier to build. All of the open areas of the plateau are marble jutting up everywhere and quite uneven. It was certainly a little treacherous to walk on. You had to watch your every step. You can see in this picture the walking surface other than the concrete sidewalk guiding you there. I assume it was like this when built which had to make it more difficult for the workers. 

It is hard for me to imagine how they built all of this on top of a mountain with no modern tools or machinery. Just the labor to get the marble up on top is more than I can wrap my head around, much less building it in nine years. 

Here are a couple of pictures of the stadium built on one side of the plateau. It seats thousands. They believe it was mostly used for Gladiatorial Games.  

Here are some pictures from the ground near the Acropolis Museum to give you  a sense of the magnitude of the complex.

After walking back down (slowly) we walked to the Acropolis Museum. In the museum artifacts are kept for preservation. Reproductions will be used where needed in the reconstruction of the Parthenon. The museum was built over a section of ancient ruins in the city, which is the situation about everywhere in Athens. Part of the museum entrance walkway has a glass floor so you can see the ancient ruins below. After visiting the museum we were able to walk through the ruins.  In 447 B.C. they had running water, plumbing, baths, latrines, etc., just like any modern city. Amazing.

The artifacts in the museum were fascinating. The museum not only houses thousands of objects from the buildings but also items from every day life back when the Parthenon was built.  Here are the original caryatids, sculpted female figures serving as an architectural support taking the place of a column or pillar supporting an entablature on her head. 

Here is a picture of them on the temple.

An interesting thing our guide pointed out was that most of the statuary prior to the Persian invasion in 490 B.C. had smiling faces.  After the invasion the smiles disappeared. 

A doorway. Notice all the intricate carvings on the stones around the opening.

The objects of everyday life also fascinated me. They were so ornate and well-crafted. Here are two different heaters/stoves each about two feet tall.

Here are examples of toys for the children and every day household items.

There was an interesting display of how they used different minerals to make different colors for their pottery and decorative painting.  They mixed them with honey.

These models depicted how the Acropolis looked with different buildings over the centuries from the final layout to the beginning of the project. Again amazing.

The Acropolis Museum was built the same size as the Parthenon to give you a sense of its size since you can't walk through it. The original reliefs that adorned the top of the Parthenon are displayed on all sides of the museum walls just as they were on the Parthenon in 447 B.C.

After our tour of the museum we were on our own for the rest of the day. We caught a cab to the downtown Athens square. On a corner of the square there was an interesting small, old church built in the Middle ages.

The religion of the Greeks is Greek Orthodox, a Christian religion very much like Roman Catholic. The leader of the Greek Orthodox church is the Patriarch. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church is the Pope. The major dogma difference is that the Greek Orthodox believe the Holy Spirit is one with God the Father while Roman Catholics believe the Holy Spirit is one with God the Father and Jesus. 

Their churches are quite different from Roman Catholic. They are divided into three sections. The public section, open to anyone, the middle section, where believers sit, and the altar area where Mass is said. The Mass is said behind the iconostasis (icon wall) which has three openings for viewing. The wall represents the threshold into the most holy space. The Greek Orthodox do not have statues as they are thought to recall idolatry. While the icon wall is decorated with paintings of the most holy figures, the rest of the churches are quite ornate, full of paintings, carvings, chandeliers, incense burners, etc. Here are a couple of pictures of the inside this small church.  

While the Roman Catholic Church has Holy Water available to bless yourself upon entering the church, the Greek Orthodox Church has pictures of icons under glass like the one below that you kiss upon entering. 

After visiting the church we walked through the shop areas off the square. There were hundreds of shops and displays all along the streets. Here is a display of soaps shaped like penises in various colors to catch your fancy. Everything from expensive jewelry to key chain souvenirs can be found everywhere.

After strolling around we sought out a restaurant for lunch which was recommended by our tour guide where we could order genuine Greek food at a reasonable price. It had a great view of the Acropolis. Everything was delicious and reasonably priced. I couldn't begin to remember the names of the items we ordered. They charged for water so we all had a beer. LOL

As we walked around a different area after lunch we came upon a very small old Medieval church with a completely different vibe but still very ornate with painted dome and walls.

There are literally thousands of churches in Greece. Many are small chapels built by people with money who asked for favors from God and, upon them being granted, built a church or chapel to express their gratitude. They dot the countryside everywhere.

After walking down the narrow streets checking out more shops we caught a cab back to our hotel. We had a night cap and called it a day. Jet lag was kicking in.