Days 7,8 - Greece (an overview) and Delphi

Greece!

Days 7,8

On Day 7 we're going to get up onboard and arrive in Greece. In many ways, Greek culture is the foundation of what we know as our culture, Western Culture. This small European country of 10 million or so people seems a little less European than Italy; you sense the link with the East here, in the food, the music, the rhythm of the language. Known in Greek as Ellas, Greece has charmed people for thousands of years, and will hopefully charm us as well.

Greece is basically a peninsula with many smaller peninsulas attached, as well as hundreds of islands of all sizes. It's easy to see how the sea has shaped Greece. The largest of the peninsulas of Greece is the Peloponnese, the land mass in the southwest of the country.
The ancient city of Corinth serves as a crossroads between the Peloponnese and the mainland. The main rival to Ancient Athens, Sparta, a militaristic city, is also on the Peloponnese. Athens, the capital and largest city, is east of the Peloponnese on a much smaller peninsula, Attica. Thessolonica, the second largest city, is in the north. The Aegean Sea, which contains most of the Greek islands, separates Greece from Turkey. (More on the Aegean in my next blog - the cruise.)

The port of Patras is on the northern coast of this peninsula. It is here we will begin our journey.

We will meet a new bus driver and get on a new bus for the Greek portion of our adventure.

But first, I'd like to talk a little about some aspects of Greek culture I think you may find interesting.

Greek Food

Greek food, along with Italian, are two of my favorite cuisines. The both epitomize what "Mediterranean" food is. Greek food relies heavily on olive oil, breads, fish, meats, cheeses, and vegetables. Ingredients tend to be very fresh. But what is "Greek Food"? You will form that opinion yourself but, as teenagers on a budget, you will gravitate toward the typical, easy, and cheap. The "hamburger" of Greece is souvlaki. (This comes from the word souvla, which is a "skewer." and is pronounced soov-LAH-kee) The Greek put meat on skewers and roast it, then put them in a pita bread with salad vegetables and creamy dressing. There you have it. The other sandwich food, gyro (should be pronounced HEE-roh) is eaten similarly to souvlaki, but the meat is roast on a large vertically rotating spit and sliced off. You will see this all over Greece.

There you have it - lunch!

Souvlaki can also be enjoyed in a more "civilized" fashion on a plate in a restaurant with a Greek salad.

Speaking of salads - Greek salads are awesome! They are made very simply and usually consist of tomatoes, olives, onions, feta cheese, and cucumbers with an olive oil and vinager dressing over top. They are very refreshing in the summer. (And HEALTHY!)

Greece offers somewhat more exotic foods. Stuffed grape leaves are a delicacy that you should not miss. The grape leaves (dolmades) are filled with a rice-meat mixture and steamed. These make a nice appetizer.




Another excellent Greek "finger food" is spanikopita. These are basically cheese and spinach turnovers. Try them!

There is so much I could write about Greek food, but I think it would be better to direct you to this website that has quite a few different pages about aspects of Greek dining. Check out especially the pages on "What to expect," "Types of Restaurants," "Greek Foods: the Basics," and "Souvlaki."

http://greecefoods.com

Greek Dance

Greeks are very emotive, expressive people and it is not uncommon to see Greeks dancing in public. Traditional dances are everywhere - we will see some them at our "Greek Night" in Athens. Most dances are danced either in a line or in a circle, with arms either intertwined or over the shoulders. The Hassapiko is considered the Pan-Hellenic (or "All-Greek") dance. Perhaps one of the most famous dances is the syrtaki (also known as "Zorba's Dance"). It really isn't such an old dance, as it was developed for the 1963 movie with Anthony Quinn, who played the role of the life-loving Zorba. The main feature of this dance is that it starts slowly and then speeds up.

I would invite you to visit this website that has steps and music for some of the most common Greek dances. At our party in May, we may try to dance one of them, how about that!

http://www.btinternet.com/~argyros.argyrou/dances/Dances.htm

Greek Language

The Greek language is the oldest of all of the major modern European languages. Some form of Greek has been spoken for over 3000 years. It is the first alphabetic language that used vowels. Actually, both the Latin alphabet (what English and other languages uses) and the Cyrillic alphabet (what Russian and some other Slavic languages uses) is based on Greek. If you are ever in a fraternity, sorority, or honor society in college, your organization will use Greek letters to identify itself. Many letters are similar to ours, but others you will learn.

Greek is not an "easy" language to get into deeply, but I would highly encourage you to do two things while preparing for this trip. 1. Learn the alphabet and how to sound out words. There will be signs and place names all around you in Greece and it would be good to know how to say them. 2. Learn some basic phrases. (I will greet your day in Greece with kalimera! (kah-lee-MEH-rah), which means "Buon giorno" in Greek!) Learn to count at least to 20 or 30; learn the days of the week; and especially, learn BASIC TOURIST GREEK. (Things such as "Where is...?" "How much...?" "I want that." "I don't like it." "Please" "Thank you" "How are you?" or just "Hey!") I will give you a handout later of Greek phrases and place names. In the meantime, learn the sounds of the letters of the Greek alphabet from this website.

http://www.greek-language.com/alphabet/

Day 7,8 - Delphi

We're on our Greek tour bus. We cross over onto Mainland Greece and head east toward Athens. About halfway there we come to what the Ancient Greeks called the "Center of the World" - Mount Parnassus. This 8,000 foot-plus mountain, which today sports two ski resorts, was considered holy in ancient times.

It was considered home of Apollo, the most multi-faceted god of the Greeks. He was the god of light and reason as well as healing and medicine. He was considered the "Sun-God." He was also the leader of the Muses, nine females who embodied the arts and who inspired the creative process. One speaks today of "listening" to one's "muse" when trying to be creative. They and others, including the winged-horse Pegasus, inhabited Parnassus. The other "holy" mountain of Ancient Greece, Mt. Olympus, was said to be the home of Zeus. Just as there were the Olympic Games in Olympus every four years in ancient times, the second most famous festival in Greece, the Pythian Games, were celebrated every four years in Apollo's honor. Because Apollo was god of music and the arts, the Pythian Games at Delphi had more artistic contests than the Olympic Games.

The most important aspect of Mount Parnassus in the ancient world was the Oracle of Delphi. Delphi is a spot high on the side of Mount Parnassus where an "oracle" resided. An oracle is a woman who can give wise counsel and tell the future. The "oracle" at Delphi was said to receive her insight and inspiration from Apollo, although the oracle dated back earlier, when she was the earthly repesentation of Gaia, the Earth-goddess. Leaders from all over Greece and beyond would come to Delphi for advice on tough decisions, such as whether to go to war or to expand and found new colonies. Individuals would also come to the Oracle to try to get wise advice about personal problems. The was an impressive Temple of Apollo at Delphi where the Oracle, named Pythia, would receive the pneuma or spirit, of Apollo. She alone would enter into the Adyton, an inaccessible "inner sanctum" of the temple where a spring was located. The Oracle of Delphi received visitors there from as early as the 800s B.C. until the year 393 A.D. when a late Christian Roman Emperor, Theodosius, ordered all pagan temples to cease operation.

We will probably head to our hotel in Delphi first. Delphi is located up high with great views of the valley below.

The first evening we will have a chance to eat Greek for the first time and walk around and explore the town.

The next day is when we will go to the ancient archeological site. We will see the remains of the Temple of Apollo. Though there is an outdoor theater and various other buildings here, the Temple of Apollo is the centerpiece.

In literary and artistic circles throughout history, Parnassus has come to be a metaphor for artistic and creative inspiration. Indeed, the most famous quarter of Paris, France, high on a hill, is called Montparnasse, traditionally where artists and writers in Paris have lived and worked. Maybe we too, standing in the fresh mountain air of Greece, will be inspired to create something!

Days 5,6 - Capri-Sorrento-Pompeii

Off to Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii!


After several days of experiencing not only the hustle and bustle of two modern cities, Florence and Rome, we feel the deep sense of history in both of those places. We head on next to the sunny South and experience some of the beauty of the Mediterranean.

There is history here too. Just as we "Northerners" like to get away to the beaches and palm trees of our South for vacation, so too did the Ancient Romans. The Naples area is where they headed. Actually, Naples (Napoli in Italian) is a large, hectic city full of life and noise. We will basically drive past it and visit some exciting places just to the south of it.

First will be the ruggedly beautiful rocky island of Capri. (la isola de Capri) Make sure you pronounce it with an accent on the FIRST syllable in Italian - KAH-pree. This gem of an island has been a mecca for the rich since Roman times and it's easy to see why. It's villages sit above steep rocky cliffs with gorgeous views of the sea. It's tranquil and breathtaking.
We will take a ferry boat out to the island.

The views from high up on Capri can be awe-inspiring.






Basically, there are two villages on Capri - the village of Capri, which is up hill from the little port, and Anacapri, which is higher up and a bit more budget-minded. We can take the funicular (inclined railway) up the steep hill from the Marina Grande to the village of Capri. Many of the shops may be pricey, (unless you just prefer window shopping) but we will have time for lunch and to walk around and check out the views. This might be a place you would want to splurge and have lunch in a place with a view.

Another big attraction of the Isle of Capri is the Blue Grotto. (la Grotta Azzura) a large cave at sea-level on the uninhabited northwest corner of the island. Tourists go in boats from the marina to go into this cave (unless the waves are too strong and make it unsafe). Inside there is a beautifully eerie blue light from the sunlight entering the entrance through the watrer. We will do this (weather permitting) at some time during our visit to Capri.

After Capri, we will head to the seaside city where our hotel is - Sorrento. Sorrento is a lovely port on the northern side of the Amalfi Peninsula. It has an old town with narrow medieval alleyways and is a nice place to walk around the port area. It is popular with tourists and so there is an abundance of shopping and eating establishments. Most of it sits on a rocky shelf with cliffs plunging down to the sea. Hopefully our hotel will have a view. In any case, there are views to be had walking around Sorrento.
Here is a photo of the marina grande in the old town.

After a good night's rest, we will travel back up around the curved Bay of Naples. The imposing shape of Mount Vesuvius can be seen. Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the European mainland. Its most famous eruption was in August of 79 A.D. when it destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but it has erupted 28 times since then. Not to worry - scientists monitor its seismic rumblings pretty carefully and local governments have elaborate evacuation plans. It was not so on the morning of August 24 , in 79 A.D.

Vesuvius blew its top, spewing a cloud of volcanic ash high into the air. Lava flowed down one side, burying the city of Herculaneum (Ercolano in Italian) thus making it pretty hard to excavate. Pompeii had a bit more time to escape and a number of people did get away. Many, however, did not, and we can still see their fossilized remains as they choked on hot ash raining down.

Because a well-known Roman writer, Pliny the Younger, was in the area, we have a very detailed eyewitness account (in Latin) of what he saw that morning.

Pliny the Younger was able to observe the great ash cloud and later talk with those who escaped. His account gives frightening detail of what happened to this beautiful city, which had just experienced an earthquake 17 years earlier and had rebuilt lavishly.

What we will see is perhaps the best-excavated city from antiquity. People started digging up Pompeii in 1748, and it was here that many techniques for the new science of archeology were developed. We will get a street map and have a guided tour, but also get some time to walk about. Take a bottle of water; it may be hot and there isn't water available in Pompeii.

From this map, you can see the relative size of Pompeii. At the lower right corner is the amphitheater and palestra, where wrestling was practiced. Right in the middle of town were the Stabian bath houses. These were privately owned and fancier than the Forum baths. There is a women's and a men's side. As with most Roman baths there was a hot steam bath (caldarie), warm baths (tepidarie) and cold baths (frigidarie). (Note: even in modern Italian, don't get confused by "C" and "F" on the water faucets - "C"=HOT. Caldo - Freddo.) Near the baths is another popular place that tourists visit, the brothel, the Lupanare (literally: dwelling of the she-wolves). Pompeii was rather a "sin city" at that time, with more than a few prostitutes working there. The brothel has rather graphic frescos painted by each bedstall, apparently advertising the specialties of the ladies. Throughout Pompeii there are frescos and mosaics that showed something of the inhabitants' lives, "Beware of dog" or political slogans. The House of the Vetti was owned by two brothers, whose rivalry is apparent on every wall.

As you walk these haunted streets, you can only imagine the panic as people left shops and meals and sought to escape.

Many did not. You can see many such plaster casts that archeologists have made of the impression that fallen Pompeiians made as they succumbed to the hot ash.

That these were real people comes home as you see such portraits as those below.

One can still see the amphitheater, where gladiators fought. (There is a rather large gladiators' barracks near the brothel.)

After Pompeii, we will have lunch and get on the bus and head across the peninsula to the province of Brindisi, on the "heel" of the boot. (in red on the map)

Here is a view of the ancient port of Brindisi. It has always been a gateway to the Eastern Mediterranean. The Roman general Pompey fled the armies of Julius Caesar here in the first century B.C. Medieval Crusaders used its port to sail to the Holy Land.

The shipping and ferry port dominates the waterfront of Brindisi.

Here we will board a large ferry for the overnight cruise through the Adriatic Sea and the Ionian islands, including the touristy island of Corfu and Ithaca, home of Ulysses.

We will arrive in a rather different land the next morning, Greece. The port of Patras awaits us!