Enjoy!!!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Warsaw
Before leaving Poland completely we did stay a few nights and visited Poland’s capital, Warsaw. After WWII Warsaw was nothing but rubble, since then, it is now a thriving city that is continuously doing construction and modernizing itself to the 21st century. Warsaw is vey much like most other European countries capitals; nevertheless we did enjoy touring the city. Warsaw has very much reconstructed itself and since its destruction they have rebuilt its Old Town to look as it once did. Just near the Old Town Square is St. John’s Cathedral which was also destroyed but has since been rebuilt and has an amazing array of stained glass windows. Roughly thirty minutes outside the heart of downtown is Warsaw’s “Palace of Versailles” called, Wilanow. Wilanow sits in the middle of this lush green garden and displays a tremendous amount of oil paintings and portraits as well as ritzy furniture. On our way back from Wilanow we stopped at Lazienki Park to visit Chopin’s Monument, amphitheater and Palac Lazienkowski. To late to tour inside, we did stroll around its grounds which are surrounded by water, trees and several peacocks. This palace is quite stunning as it sits on the water and is simply surrounded by the parks trees. With our few days in Warsaw behind us we boarded our overnight train to our last stop, Berlin, Germany.
Krakow
Our Visit to Krakow was wonderful yet challenging. Roughly 1.5 million people were murdered in the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz and Berkenau which sit just outside of Krakow. Seeing and hearing the horrifying actions the Nazis did just makes me sick to know how cruel and twisted humans can become. For example, day in and out the prisoners were told or read this fraise, “Arbeit Macht Frei”, (Work Shall Set You Free) which was not the case at all. The prisoners either worked to there death or were directly killed for being themselves. The Nazis took everything from personal possessions to human pride and Birkenau really conveyed this. Birkenau means swamp and that is exactly what the prisoners lived in, worked in and slept on. When the Nazi’s built Birkenau their goal was to increase the number of killings as well as diminish these pour souls to the worst conditions one could ever imagine. Visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau was emotionally challenging yet I am glad I went.
On a lighter note, we also visited Wieliczka Salt Mine and saw some of the most amazing sculpture works ever. Since 1996, Poland stopped excavating salt and instead turned this salt mine into a tourist attraction and that is exactly what it is. Aside from it being very touristy and theme park like, the carvings inside are well worth the visit. Inside the salt mine there are several carved statues and chapels, the most popular being St Kinga’s Chapel. The chapel is entirely carved from salt and all the walls have carvings of religious stories form the Bible. The most famous carving is a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” the carving is three dimensional and is nearly an exact replica. I am amazed at the expertise of these simple miners who spent nearly fifty years crafting this magnificent chapel.
As for what we did in Krakow we spent an afternoon touring several of Wawel's Castle chambers and the Wawel Cathedral. Just outside of the Stare Misatro (old town) is the old Jewish quarter with remnants of the ghetto walls the Jews were forced to live behind. And of course, nearly every block we walked down there was a church or two, so we popped our heads into a few of them. My most favorite being St. Mary’s Church, for its blue ceiling and gold stars as well as the 500 year old wooden altar.
On a lighter note, we also visited Wieliczka Salt Mine and saw some of the most amazing sculpture works ever. Since 1996, Poland stopped excavating salt and instead turned this salt mine into a tourist attraction and that is exactly what it is. Aside from it being very touristy and theme park like, the carvings inside are well worth the visit. Inside the salt mine there are several carved statues and chapels, the most popular being St Kinga’s Chapel. The chapel is entirely carved from salt and all the walls have carvings of religious stories form the Bible. The most famous carving is a copy of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper,” the carving is three dimensional and is nearly an exact replica. I am amazed at the expertise of these simple miners who spent nearly fifty years crafting this magnificent chapel.
As for what we did in Krakow we spent an afternoon touring several of Wawel's Castle chambers and the Wawel Cathedral. Just outside of the Stare Misatro (old town) is the old Jewish quarter with remnants of the ghetto walls the Jews were forced to live behind. And of course, nearly every block we walked down there was a church or two, so we popped our heads into a few of them. My most favorite being St. Mary’s Church, for its blue ceiling and gold stars as well as the 500 year old wooden altar.
Budapest
When traveling with dad a nice hotel is usually just around the corner and in this case a castle. Okay, so that may be a bit of an exaggeration since our hotel was built in and around the remains of an old 17th century Gothic chapel. This chapel, now the Hilton hotel, sits at the top of Castle Hill and is surrounded by the old castles walls. So the way I see it, I stayed in what felt like a castle and it was luxurious. We spent six days in Budapest visiting its main sights as well as driving to a few cities outside of Budapest.
Budapest is quite large and is divided up into two sides Buda and Pest and in between them is the Danube River. Since the weather was nice we thought a boat cruise down the river would be a good way to get our bearings and learn more about the city. After about an hour we stopped at Margit Island and took a stroll through this amazing car free park. Margit Island is named after King Bela IV’s daughter who became a nun after the King won his battle against the Mongols invasion in
1241. The King vowed to make his daughter a nun if God would help him defeat this battle. They of course came out undefeated and the King sent his daughter to this island where once sat a convent. The island is named after her and is now a big park for visitors and Hungarians to escape from the city and relax.
Although the boat cruise was nice there was still so much more to see so we joined a guided walking tour and explored the city sites. First stop, Heroes’ Square where 14 of Hungary’s most prominent figures stand. Just behind the square is Millenaris Park and from here we walked to Hungary’s Opera House, which is supposed to have the best acoustics ever. A walk through the Parliament building is a must and then of course we had to visit St. Stephen’s Basilica. St. Stephen is Hungary’s first King who was given his title and crown by the Roman Pope in exchange for converting his country to Roman Catholic. After our grand tour of Pest we hopped on a bus and head to visit Buda. Buda is most famous for its view of Pest, the skyline that will never change since a law was written that nothing can be taller then the Parliament and St. Stephen’s Basilica. After admiring the beautiful skyline we then walked the short distance back to our castle (hotel).
As I mentioned earlier we did do a small bit of sight seeing around Hungary. One day we drove to the town of Eger where we toured Eger Castle and wine tasted at the Valley of Beautiful Women. The castle was average but the wine was excellent. Eger produces a lot of Hungary’s red wines and in this valley sits roughly 200 cellars. Most of the cellars are all in a row so we simply went from one cellar to the next. Well not exactly, we only wine tasted at three of them but did walk away with eight bottles of wine. Another day we drove up and around the Danube Bend stopping in Szentendre and Esztergrom. Szentendre is a small town and there isn’t much to see but it was a nice break to stretch our legs. We simply walked around the town and along the river before we got back into our car and headed to St. Stephen’s birthplace, Esztergrom. Esztergrom is the birthplace of St. King Stephen, as well as, the first Royal Court of Hungary and Hungary’s largest cathedral. This neoclassical cathedral was built in the 11th century and is massive. It dominates the whole town and quite honestly is a bit excessive and goofy looking in comparison to the rest of town but hey, they are proud of it. Across the river from Esztergrom is the country of Slovakia and before realizing it we drove across Maria Valeria Bridge and saw a sign welcoming us to Slovakia. Completely shocked, we did a little drive around town, took pictures of Esztergrom and then drove back over the bridge to Hungary and head back to Budapest.
Budapest is quite large and is divided up into two sides Buda and Pest and in between them is the Danube River. Since the weather was nice we thought a boat cruise down the river would be a good way to get our bearings and learn more about the city. After about an hour we stopped at Margit Island and took a stroll through this amazing car free park. Margit Island is named after King Bela IV’s daughter who became a nun after the King won his battle against the Mongols invasion in
1241. The King vowed to make his daughter a nun if God would help him defeat this battle. They of course came out undefeated and the King sent his daughter to this island where once sat a convent. The island is named after her and is now a big park for visitors and Hungarians to escape from the city and relax.
Although the boat cruise was nice there was still so much more to see so we joined a guided walking tour and explored the city sites. First stop, Heroes’ Square where 14 of Hungary’s most prominent figures stand. Just behind the square is Millenaris Park and from here we walked to Hungary’s Opera House, which is supposed to have the best acoustics ever. A walk through the Parliament building is a must and then of course we had to visit St. Stephen’s Basilica. St. Stephen is Hungary’s first King who was given his title and crown by the Roman Pope in exchange for converting his country to Roman Catholic. After our grand tour of Pest we hopped on a bus and head to visit Buda. Buda is most famous for its view of Pest, the skyline that will never change since a law was written that nothing can be taller then the Parliament and St. Stephen’s Basilica. After admiring the beautiful skyline we then walked the short distance back to our castle (hotel).
As I mentioned earlier we did do a small bit of sight seeing around Hungary. One day we drove to the town of Eger where we toured Eger Castle and wine tasted at the Valley of Beautiful Women. The castle was average but the wine was excellent. Eger produces a lot of Hungary’s red wines and in this valley sits roughly 200 cellars. Most of the cellars are all in a row so we simply went from one cellar to the next. Well not exactly, we only wine tasted at three of them but did walk away with eight bottles of wine. Another day we drove up and around the Danube Bend stopping in Szentendre and Esztergrom. Szentendre is a small town and there isn’t much to see but it was a nice break to stretch our legs. We simply walked around the town and along the river before we got back into our car and headed to St. Stephen’s birthplace, Esztergrom. Esztergrom is the birthplace of St. King Stephen, as well as, the first Royal Court of Hungary and Hungary’s largest cathedral. This neoclassical cathedral was built in the 11th century and is massive. It dominates the whole town and quite honestly is a bit excessive and goofy looking in comparison to the rest of town but hey, they are proud of it. Across the river from Esztergrom is the country of Slovakia and before realizing it we drove across Maria Valeria Bridge and saw a sign welcoming us to Slovakia. Completely shocked, we did a little drive around town, took pictures of Esztergrom and then drove back over the bridge to Hungary and head back to Budapest.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Road Trip to Venice
While we were walking around Piran, a small seaside town in Slovenia, the idea of Venice, Italy got brought up. I mentioned that Venice is one place I have never been to in Italy but would love to go. Dad then shared with me that when he was a teenager his father took him to Europe and one of the places they visited was Venice. So that evening we looked into possible day boats we could take, but sadly none were going during the middle of the week. Since we still had the car we thought why not drive to Italy, which ended up working out great because it was only about a two hour drive. I was stoked to finally see the famous city of Venice, plus I would get to indulge in the most delicious gelato ever.
Venice is composed of 118 islands and is connected to the mainland by a bridge which cars, trains, buses, bikes and pedestrians cross daily. At the heart of Venice is the famous Piazza San Marco and it is here where my dad stayed several years ago. Before arriving to Piazza San Marco we took Venice’s water bus to the main square. The boat took us all along the Canal Grande and as we cruised along we watched the little islands go by us. It is so amazing to see how all of Venice’s islands are connected by pedestrian bridges. Once we arrived to the main square we took a walk around, peaked in some shops, sipped a delicious Italian espresso, ate a double cone of gelato (serving #1), and then took in the sites.
First on the list was the Basilica Di San Marco, which is really the heart of the square. The outside of the church is comprised of big symmetrical arches, tall statues of saints and vibrant yet detailed mosaics; it sort of reminded me of the Vatican. Inside the church are the remains of St. Mark, as well as beautiful gold mosaics from the 13th and 16th centuries. The décor and the amount of gold is just mind blowing, I have never seen so much gold mosaic work in my life. One might think it was all a bit excessive but in all honesty it’s absolutely beautiful. Adjoined to the Basilica is Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace). It was once the home of Venice’s mayor, but has been turned into a museum. The palace is huge and we spent a long time touring around. Some of our favorites are the columns they had on display as we first walked in. I realize this may sound strange, but each of the columns is uniquely sculpted with different themes. For example, on had different faces of women, another was of a variety of fruit baskets and so on. After we looked at all the unique columns we strolled around the square before we headed upstairs to tour the rooms. Wow, were there a lot of rooms to visit, it’s a good thing the path is set up in one direction otherwise I’m sure we would have missed several of the rooms. In almost every room there are big oil paintings, beautifully crafted wood pieces and decretive, if not painted ceilings. Two rooms we liked best are the map room and the room of four doors. The map room has two big vintage globes and then the walls were covered in old paintings and murals of a map. We took several minutes admiring the mapped walls and pointing out various countries and cities that currently exist or no longer exist; my favorite was seeing Constantinople. In the room of four doors there are paintings of biblical judgments all over the ceiling. Plus, each of the doorways is covered in beautiful green/cream marble. The smooth marble doorways clash with the dark oaky wood of the room, yet it gives the room a sense of strength and boldness. Just as you finish touring the rooms the path leads you to the Bridge of Sighs which is were all the prisoners lived. If I remember correctly, there are three maybe four levels of cells and it was fun to walk through all of them. All of the rooms have a very cold feel to them, some had graffiti left in them and the doors to enter the rooms are really small. I had to bend over to go inside; I bet it was a way to keep them from escaping really fast.
After we had finished touring the palace we rested our legs by having an early dinner at one of the restaurants off the main square. The food is nothing to rave about but the atmosphere was nice, the weather was perfect and it was a good end to the day. Just before heading back to the car, we wandered through more of the back streets of Venice walking over the bridges where we saw hand crafted gondolas go by and of course, popped into one of the many gelato shops for a double coned gelato (serving #2), yummy in my tummy!!!
Venice is composed of 118 islands and is connected to the mainland by a bridge which cars, trains, buses, bikes and pedestrians cross daily. At the heart of Venice is the famous Piazza San Marco and it is here where my dad stayed several years ago. Before arriving to Piazza San Marco we took Venice’s water bus to the main square. The boat took us all along the Canal Grande and as we cruised along we watched the little islands go by us. It is so amazing to see how all of Venice’s islands are connected by pedestrian bridges. Once we arrived to the main square we took a walk around, peaked in some shops, sipped a delicious Italian espresso, ate a double cone of gelato (serving #1), and then took in the sites.
First on the list was the Basilica Di San Marco, which is really the heart of the square. The outside of the church is comprised of big symmetrical arches, tall statues of saints and vibrant yet detailed mosaics; it sort of reminded me of the Vatican. Inside the church are the remains of St. Mark, as well as beautiful gold mosaics from the 13th and 16th centuries. The décor and the amount of gold is just mind blowing, I have never seen so much gold mosaic work in my life. One might think it was all a bit excessive but in all honesty it’s absolutely beautiful. Adjoined to the Basilica is Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace). It was once the home of Venice’s mayor, but has been turned into a museum. The palace is huge and we spent a long time touring around. Some of our favorites are the columns they had on display as we first walked in. I realize this may sound strange, but each of the columns is uniquely sculpted with different themes. For example, on had different faces of women, another was of a variety of fruit baskets and so on. After we looked at all the unique columns we strolled around the square before we headed upstairs to tour the rooms. Wow, were there a lot of rooms to visit, it’s a good thing the path is set up in one direction otherwise I’m sure we would have missed several of the rooms. In almost every room there are big oil paintings, beautifully crafted wood pieces and decretive, if not painted ceilings. Two rooms we liked best are the map room and the room of four doors. The map room has two big vintage globes and then the walls were covered in old paintings and murals of a map. We took several minutes admiring the mapped walls and pointing out various countries and cities that currently exist or no longer exist; my favorite was seeing Constantinople. In the room of four doors there are paintings of biblical judgments all over the ceiling. Plus, each of the doorways is covered in beautiful green/cream marble. The smooth marble doorways clash with the dark oaky wood of the room, yet it gives the room a sense of strength and boldness. Just as you finish touring the rooms the path leads you to the Bridge of Sighs which is were all the prisoners lived. If I remember correctly, there are three maybe four levels of cells and it was fun to walk through all of them. All of the rooms have a very cold feel to them, some had graffiti left in them and the doors to enter the rooms are really small. I had to bend over to go inside; I bet it was a way to keep them from escaping really fast.
After we had finished touring the palace we rested our legs by having an early dinner at one of the restaurants off the main square. The food is nothing to rave about but the atmosphere was nice, the weather was perfect and it was a good end to the day. Just before heading back to the car, we wandered through more of the back streets of Venice walking over the bridges where we saw hand crafted gondolas go by and of course, popped into one of the many gelato shops for a double coned gelato (serving #2), yummy in my tummy!!!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Caves, Castles, and Cemeteries, Oh My
In every town, city, or National Park there is a cave or castle and often times both to visit here in Slovenia. Our first visit was to Postojna Caves and Predjama Castle. Postojna Cave is Slovenia’s largest cave and was discovered when a man fell into the cave. This man survived and ever since it has been a big tourist attraction. Before entering the cave we boarded a train that drove us in about 2 kilometers and then from there we walked around to various parts. The downfall about this cave is that it’s set up a bi like an amusement park; think Disneyland’s Matterhorn. The upside to this cave is the amount of stalactites and stalagmites it has inside, never have I seen so many. Immediately, as we entered the cave via train we started to see stalactites/mites everywhere, in all different shapes, colors and sizes. The colors we saw were either pink for calcium, white for iron or black for magnesium. My favorite rock formation was the translucent “curtain” formations or as I liked to call them “bacon strips” because they were the color pink and white and looked like bacon. Another favorite is the “spaghetti” room, all over the ceiling there are little thin white stalactites hanging down, imagine a chef throwing a big bowl of spaghetti to the ceiling to see if it would stick. After about an hour or so of walking through only 20% of the cave the guide lead us back to the train for our ride out. From here we drove just down the road to Predjama Castle which is burrowed into the side of a mountain. This castle, like the cave, has its up’s and down’s, the down part is the fake 16th century décor and folk manikins. Setting this aside, what I did love about this castle is the free range to roam around and while doing this you see the various stages of growth this castle under went. The castle was first constructed in the 12th century and was built inside of the mountain and then in the 16th century it expanded outside of the mountain and left it with a distinct Renaissance flair. Underneath the castle there is a cave but since we just came from Postojna we opted to skip it.
Since we still had the car and had driven it across the Croatia-Slovenia boarder we did the similar thing as we did in Croatia. We stayed at Hudicevec Farm which was our base and from there drove to the different towns/cities we wanted to visit. With the first cave visit being such a success we thought to visit Skocjan Cave. Skocjan Cave is nothing like Postojna cave; first it is a lot less touristy and has less stalactites/mites. Nevertheless our tour through Skocjan was very unique and different then most of the caves I have been in before. First we walked about 15 min. before arriving to the cave, then walked nearly 90 min. through both the dry and wet parts of the cave and finally took a funicular to the top. In the beginning we walked through the dry cave which consist of stalactites/mites and collapse ceilings (when rock falls during an earthquake). In the second half we saw the Reka-Velka River cut right through the cave and create a series of cascades, waterfalls and lakes. Walking through the wet part was fascinating, especially since for most of it we were walking above and along the river so we could really see all the sinkholes, lakes and falls. For the afternoon we headed to the town of Piran and as usual sat in the square, visited the cathedral and strolled along the harbor. Since it"s right on the Adriatic Sea, fish is very popular and we had lunch at this wonderful local run fish restaurant. Dad ordered the fried fish which came with fried calamari and shrimp and I had a local fish simmered in white wine. All the food was so fresh and absolutely delicious but dad’s calamari and shrimp was the best I have ever had in my life.
Of all the days spent in Slovenia our drive through the Julian Alps was my favorite. We started our driving tour along the stunningly turquoise Soca River till we arrived in Kobarid, the town where Hemmingway drove an ambulance truck during WWI and picked up dead and wounded bodies (Did you know this?). It is this town in which Hemmingway writes about in his novel “Farewell to Arms.” In Kobarid’s backyard sits the famous Soca Front, where a lot of WWI took place. Kobarid has dedicated a Museum explaining the history of the front and all the tragedy that occurred there. Since most of our planned route passed old WWI remnants we felt a tour around the museum would be a good way to start the day. The museum is divided into rooms; winter conditions, day to day activities, stories and pictures of tragedies, Kobarid’s history in the war and much, much more. Over all, the Museum is relatively small but there is so much to see plus a video to watch, we spent nearly two hours absorbing it all in. Continuing on our drive we drove past a WWI fort, a WWI cemetery and then stopped to take a peak in St. Joseph’s church. Much of it is covered in scaffolding but what is unique about this church is it is covered in patriotic symbolism that dates back to WWII. For example, it’s painted in red, white and blue (Yugoslavia’s colors); the ceiling has a painting of St Michael with Yugoslavia’s three WWII enemies at his feet: eagle, wolf and serpent; and on the walls are Slavic saints verses Catholic. Behind the church is a cemetery and one part of it is solely dedicated to the military. Just beyond the church is the start of Vrsic Pass which is in Triglav National Park and is the start of our 50 switchbacks, each one being numbered. Along the pass we drove through the “Valley of the Cemeteries,” (#49)crossed over Soca River, (#26-28) saw old abandon checkpoints as well as WWI debris,(#22) admired the mountain vista, (#15)took pictures of the nearly 10 foot snow still standing, (#8) hiked up to a cute Russian Orthodox Chapel and before getting back into the car I took a photo of the cobble stone road (the road we were driving on) which was built by the Russians in WWI. With the pass behind us and evening time quickly approaching we quickly headed to Lake Bled. Since it was getting dark we opted to drive around the lake, instead of walking, before we sat down for dinner. After our warm pizza and cold beer we headed for the highway which took us home.
Four days in and just a few to remain we felt it was time to visit Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana. The best thing about Ljubljana is that it’s dominantly a pedestrian city. It is so easy to walk around this capitol and there are so many pedestrian walkways, one would really not need a car, and this is werid to say for a capitol that doesn’t have a lot of public transportation. Anyway, once we arrived in Ljubljana we headed straight to Ljubljanica River to see and walk across the Triple Bridge, Ugly Duckling Bridge, Cobbler’s Bridge and finally the Dragon Bridge. Once we finished crossing all the bridges we made our way to Ljubljana’s castle (lame), but before we arrived we stopped and admired St. Nicholas’s Cathedrals and strolled through Riverside Market. St. Nicholas’s Cathedral has these two amazingly intricate bronze doors as well as some beautiful golden alters. Just behind the church is the market with tones of fresh produce and flowers, everything looked and smelled amazing. From here we took the funicular up to the castle where we were completely let down and unimpressed by what we saw. The only perk to visiting the castle was the panoramic view it has of the city. After our quick tour around the castle we sat and had lunch by the river and then headed to Slovenia’s famous architects house, Joze Plecnik. Plecnik was originally born in Ljubljana and although he moved away for his studies, he did eventually return to Ljubljana and lived till his death in 1957. Many of Ljubljana’s famous sights have Plecnik’s architectural touch to them, he left his mark everywhere. For example, the Triple Bridge was originally a single bridge but Plecnik added two pedestrian bridges, one on each side, and now it is the Triple Bridge. Plecnik also put his touch in the Universities Library, the Riverside Market, in Zale Cemetery, a few churches, and many other places, such as his own house. Plecnik designed one side of his house to be round so two of the rooms inside are in the shape of a circle. Although Plecnik is not well known, the pieces of work I did happen to see I liked and I found him a very clever man.
The day had come for us to head back to Zagreb, Croatia and return the car before we caught our evening train to Budapest, Hungary. Since we had the morning free we thought one more visit to yet again another castle would be a good end before we continued our travels north. We visited the 13th century Trakoscan castle that is surrounded by forest and at the bottom of the castle is a big lake. Trokoscan Castle has a fairy tale look to it, with its bright white walls that stand on top of this hill and green trees surrounding it. Much of what we saw in the rooms are the castles original décor and nearly all the rooms are open for touring. The kitchen is my favorite room, it’s separated from the rest of the rooms and in the center is a big old fashion fire oven and stove. Plus, hanging on the walls were old pots, pans and utensil that look much different then the ones we use today. Overall, Trokoscan Castle is one of my favorite castles I have visited. From here we drove to Zagreb, returned the car, and headed to the train station. With fifteen minutes till the train is expected to leave we make it to the platform and have a look around because no where could we see the train. Dad goes to check the platform number again and assures me we are in the right spot but of course, with it now being the time to depart, we ask a train worker and he says the train has already left. What? Excuse Me? How can this be? Well come to find out the platform we needed was about a mile down (a bit of an exaggeration) and since we didn’t know this we missed the train. To make us feel a bit better a local guy missed the train, making the same mistake we had. With little option, we had to stay the night and take the following train which left at 5 am, this one we did not miss.
Since we still had the car and had driven it across the Croatia-Slovenia boarder we did the similar thing as we did in Croatia. We stayed at Hudicevec Farm which was our base and from there drove to the different towns/cities we wanted to visit. With the first cave visit being such a success we thought to visit Skocjan Cave. Skocjan Cave is nothing like Postojna cave; first it is a lot less touristy and has less stalactites/mites. Nevertheless our tour through Skocjan was very unique and different then most of the caves I have been in before. First we walked about 15 min. before arriving to the cave, then walked nearly 90 min. through both the dry and wet parts of the cave and finally took a funicular to the top. In the beginning we walked through the dry cave which consist of stalactites/mites and collapse ceilings (when rock falls during an earthquake). In the second half we saw the Reka-Velka River cut right through the cave and create a series of cascades, waterfalls and lakes. Walking through the wet part was fascinating, especially since for most of it we were walking above and along the river so we could really see all the sinkholes, lakes and falls. For the afternoon we headed to the town of Piran and as usual sat in the square, visited the cathedral and strolled along the harbor. Since it"s right on the Adriatic Sea, fish is very popular and we had lunch at this wonderful local run fish restaurant. Dad ordered the fried fish which came with fried calamari and shrimp and I had a local fish simmered in white wine. All the food was so fresh and absolutely delicious but dad’s calamari and shrimp was the best I have ever had in my life.
Of all the days spent in Slovenia our drive through the Julian Alps was my favorite. We started our driving tour along the stunningly turquoise Soca River till we arrived in Kobarid, the town where Hemmingway drove an ambulance truck during WWI and picked up dead and wounded bodies (Did you know this?). It is this town in which Hemmingway writes about in his novel “Farewell to Arms.” In Kobarid’s backyard sits the famous Soca Front, where a lot of WWI took place. Kobarid has dedicated a Museum explaining the history of the front and all the tragedy that occurred there. Since most of our planned route passed old WWI remnants we felt a tour around the museum would be a good way to start the day. The museum is divided into rooms; winter conditions, day to day activities, stories and pictures of tragedies, Kobarid’s history in the war and much, much more. Over all, the Museum is relatively small but there is so much to see plus a video to watch, we spent nearly two hours absorbing it all in. Continuing on our drive we drove past a WWI fort, a WWI cemetery and then stopped to take a peak in St. Joseph’s church. Much of it is covered in scaffolding but what is unique about this church is it is covered in patriotic symbolism that dates back to WWII. For example, it’s painted in red, white and blue (Yugoslavia’s colors); the ceiling has a painting of St Michael with Yugoslavia’s three WWII enemies at his feet: eagle, wolf and serpent; and on the walls are Slavic saints verses Catholic. Behind the church is a cemetery and one part of it is solely dedicated to the military. Just beyond the church is the start of Vrsic Pass which is in Triglav National Park and is the start of our 50 switchbacks, each one being numbered. Along the pass we drove through the “Valley of the Cemeteries,” (#49)crossed over Soca River, (#26-28) saw old abandon checkpoints as well as WWI debris,(#22) admired the mountain vista, (#15)took pictures of the nearly 10 foot snow still standing, (#8) hiked up to a cute Russian Orthodox Chapel and before getting back into the car I took a photo of the cobble stone road (the road we were driving on) which was built by the Russians in WWI. With the pass behind us and evening time quickly approaching we quickly headed to Lake Bled. Since it was getting dark we opted to drive around the lake, instead of walking, before we sat down for dinner. After our warm pizza and cold beer we headed for the highway which took us home.
Four days in and just a few to remain we felt it was time to visit Slovenia’s capital, Ljubljana. The best thing about Ljubljana is that it’s dominantly a pedestrian city. It is so easy to walk around this capitol and there are so many pedestrian walkways, one would really not need a car, and this is werid to say for a capitol that doesn’t have a lot of public transportation. Anyway, once we arrived in Ljubljana we headed straight to Ljubljanica River to see and walk across the Triple Bridge, Ugly Duckling Bridge, Cobbler’s Bridge and finally the Dragon Bridge. Once we finished crossing all the bridges we made our way to Ljubljana’s castle (lame), but before we arrived we stopped and admired St. Nicholas’s Cathedrals and strolled through Riverside Market. St. Nicholas’s Cathedral has these two amazingly intricate bronze doors as well as some beautiful golden alters. Just behind the church is the market with tones of fresh produce and flowers, everything looked and smelled amazing. From here we took the funicular up to the castle where we were completely let down and unimpressed by what we saw. The only perk to visiting the castle was the panoramic view it has of the city. After our quick tour around the castle we sat and had lunch by the river and then headed to Slovenia’s famous architects house, Joze Plecnik. Plecnik was originally born in Ljubljana and although he moved away for his studies, he did eventually return to Ljubljana and lived till his death in 1957. Many of Ljubljana’s famous sights have Plecnik’s architectural touch to them, he left his mark everywhere. For example, the Triple Bridge was originally a single bridge but Plecnik added two pedestrian bridges, one on each side, and now it is the Triple Bridge. Plecnik also put his touch in the Universities Library, the Riverside Market, in Zale Cemetery, a few churches, and many other places, such as his own house. Plecnik designed one side of his house to be round so two of the rooms inside are in the shape of a circle. Although Plecnik is not well known, the pieces of work I did happen to see I liked and I found him a very clever man.
The day had come for us to head back to Zagreb, Croatia and return the car before we caught our evening train to Budapest, Hungary. Since we had the morning free we thought one more visit to yet again another castle would be a good end before we continued our travels north. We visited the 13th century Trakoscan castle that is surrounded by forest and at the bottom of the castle is a big lake. Trokoscan Castle has a fairy tale look to it, with its bright white walls that stand on top of this hill and green trees surrounding it. Much of what we saw in the rooms are the castles original décor and nearly all the rooms are open for touring. The kitchen is my favorite room, it’s separated from the rest of the rooms and in the center is a big old fashion fire oven and stove. Plus, hanging on the walls were old pots, pans and utensil that look much different then the ones we use today. Overall, Trokoscan Castle is one of my favorite castles I have visited. From here we drove to Zagreb, returned the car, and headed to the train station. With fifteen minutes till the train is expected to leave we make it to the platform and have a look around because no where could we see the train. Dad goes to check the platform number again and assures me we are in the right spot but of course, with it now being the time to depart, we ask a train worker and he says the train has already left. What? Excuse Me? How can this be? Well come to find out the platform we needed was about a mile down (a bit of an exaggeration) and since we didn’t know this we missed the train. To make us feel a bit better a local guy missed the train, making the same mistake we had. With little option, we had to stay the night and take the following train which left at 5 am, this one we did not miss.
Croatia
With a few days of BH under our belt, a love for Eastern Europe has already started to bloom and our next stop was to Zagreb, Croatia. Our time in BH was short and our train ride to Zagreb, Croatia was long but it’s all good because Croatia is beautiful. For the first few days we walked around Zagreb, which is the capitol. One of our favorite sights is the Church of St. Mark for its colorful tile roof, it dates back to 1880 and depicts two coats of arms. As we walked up to St. Marks we walked under the Stone Gate which has been turned into a chapel. The focal point is a painting of Mary that happened to survive a fire and around it are lit candles plus benches for people to pray. Although it was strange to see and walk through, it felt like a real church it just happens to be in the middle of this main path. Another favorite spot or site was the Burglars’ Tower which was once a watchtower and at the top sits an old cannon; they fire the cannon everyday at noon. While all the sites were interesting to see my favorite was the red tents or should I say the market. Just off of the main square is the big open air market which is covered with red tents and people are selling all kinds of fresh fruits, vegetables, and fish. :) Plus, they had beautiful flowers for sell as well as flowers and herbs to plant in your garden. Underground is the poultry market, where they sell cheeses, meats, bread, wine, and sauerkraut, oh what a wonderful smell!!! The market was amazing and we went back a few times and picked up several items; strawberries, carrots, radishes, a tomato, bread, two kinds of cheese (goat and sheep), salami and of course a cheep 1L bottle of barreled white wine. We were set for a few picnic lunches or light dinners.
Croatia is primarily known for its Dalmatian Coast but sadly we didn’t spend any time there and instead toured the NW which is called Istria. Since we had a car, we stayed in a little beach town called Opatija and from there ventured out to different cities. Our first visit was to a town called Rovinj where we wondered the cobble stone streets. In the heart of town there are no cars since the streets are more like lanes and as we walked through them we walked under various arches which connect the houses. This town was once very crowded and since its right on the water, space became limited so the only way to grow was to build up. Rovinj is also a fisherman’s town, so for lunch we indulged in some local fish and it was delicious. Just as we finished eating it started to rain so we ended up having a coffee to kill time as the rain passed and then dashed to our car before the next rain clouds rolled in.
For our last day in Croatia before we headed into Slovenia we did an all day road trip through most of Istria. We first drove along the west coast and passed through Vrsar, Porec, Novigrad and then on to Brtonigla where we stopped for lunch. From there we started our drive inland and drove through Buje, Groznjan, Krasica, Motovun, Buzet, Roc, and Hum and then finally made our way back home, Opatija. Well, I realize I mentioned a lot of towns but most of them we really only drove through, but a few of them we did stop in for a quick tour around. One of our favorites was Motovun, mostly because of all the wine and truffle shops. Truffles are found all around this area and are popularly used in there traditional cooking. Since I am not familiar with truffles I went for the wine and liquors, Dad on the other hand picked up two bottles of brandy. One is flavored with mistletoe and honey (disgusting) the other was walnut flavored (better) but my favorite was the cherry brandy or liquor (yummy). I went for the cherry and a bottle of white wine since it’s what they mostly grow. Another favorite town was Hum, and to get to this town we drove along Glagolitic Lane, a suggestion by expert travel Rick Steves. Apparently, Glagolitic Lane commemorates a ninth century alphabet which was once used for written Croatian. Along the drive we saw monuments that had Glagolitic characters. At one time it looked as though we drove past Stonehenge in Enlgand, but really they were just stones with different characters on them. At the end of this lane we arrived in Hum where we walked around the whole town in about ten minutes. The population of Hum consists of 16 people, so says the guidebook and is probably the smallest town in the world. Even though it’s small it has great character because it sits on top of a hill over looking the valley, plus it has the Glagolitic Alphabet in writing all over the place. From Hum our drive home was supposed to be easy, or so I thought, but of course we got a bit off the beaten track and ended up driving through a few more small towns, if you could call them that, before we finally found the highway which took us home. Anxious to be out of the car, I was nevertheless thrilled over the success of our day, and really enjoyed seeing the countryside. There are definite perks to having a car!!!
Croatia is primarily known for its Dalmatian Coast but sadly we didn’t spend any time there and instead toured the NW which is called Istria. Since we had a car, we stayed in a little beach town called Opatija and from there ventured out to different cities. Our first visit was to a town called Rovinj where we wondered the cobble stone streets. In the heart of town there are no cars since the streets are more like lanes and as we walked through them we walked under various arches which connect the houses. This town was once very crowded and since its right on the water, space became limited so the only way to grow was to build up. Rovinj is also a fisherman’s town, so for lunch we indulged in some local fish and it was delicious. Just as we finished eating it started to rain so we ended up having a coffee to kill time as the rain passed and then dashed to our car before the next rain clouds rolled in.
For our last day in Croatia before we headed into Slovenia we did an all day road trip through most of Istria. We first drove along the west coast and passed through Vrsar, Porec, Novigrad and then on to Brtonigla where we stopped for lunch. From there we started our drive inland and drove through Buje, Groznjan, Krasica, Motovun, Buzet, Roc, and Hum and then finally made our way back home, Opatija. Well, I realize I mentioned a lot of towns but most of them we really only drove through, but a few of them we did stop in for a quick tour around. One of our favorites was Motovun, mostly because of all the wine and truffle shops. Truffles are found all around this area and are popularly used in there traditional cooking. Since I am not familiar with truffles I went for the wine and liquors, Dad on the other hand picked up two bottles of brandy. One is flavored with mistletoe and honey (disgusting) the other was walnut flavored (better) but my favorite was the cherry brandy or liquor (yummy). I went for the cherry and a bottle of white wine since it’s what they mostly grow. Another favorite town was Hum, and to get to this town we drove along Glagolitic Lane, a suggestion by expert travel Rick Steves. Apparently, Glagolitic Lane commemorates a ninth century alphabet which was once used for written Croatian. Along the drive we saw monuments that had Glagolitic characters. At one time it looked as though we drove past Stonehenge in Enlgand, but really they were just stones with different characters on them. At the end of this lane we arrived in Hum where we walked around the whole town in about ten minutes. The population of Hum consists of 16 people, so says the guidebook and is probably the smallest town in the world. Even though it’s small it has great character because it sits on top of a hill over looking the valley, plus it has the Glagolitic Alphabet in writing all over the place. From Hum our drive home was supposed to be easy, or so I thought, but of course we got a bit off the beaten track and ended up driving through a few more small towns, if you could call them that, before we finally found the highway which took us home. Anxious to be out of the car, I was nevertheless thrilled over the success of our day, and really enjoyed seeing the countryside. There are definite perks to having a car!!!
Time to Pray
Although it was nice to be in a Christian country for the Easter holiday, I do have to confess that I missed hearing the call to prayer five times a day, it became music to my ears. For the past three months I have been in countries that practice the Muslim faith. Part of being a Muslim is praying five times a day; twice in the morning, once in the afternoon and twice in the evening. The way they are reminded is by having the call to prayer sung from the minarets. Once I left Turkey I thought for sure I was never going to hear the call to prayer again…well I was wrong. I arrived into Sarajevo where my Dad greeted me at the airport and although it was dark during our drive to the hotel I could still see all the minarets standing tall above the buildings. Shocked and unsure if what I was seeing was real I quickly read up on the many articles my Dad had brought as well as the travel books and it turns out roughly half the population is Muslim. Since it was late in the evening I missed the call to prayer but no worries I heard it at least four of the five times almost every day thereafter.
Aside from Bosnia & Herzegovina (BH) being dominantly Muslim I was also shocked to read through all its history. BH has suffered a lot and before I get into where and what all we did, here is a bit of history so you can understand them better. The Ottomans ruled Bosnia for five centuries, but before that it was ruled by the Romans, the Goths, the Slavs and finally the Ottomans took over; so already Bosnia is very diverse. After five century’s, around the late 1800’s, the Austro-Hungarian empire took over and stayed till 1918 when it then became part of Yugoslavia under the ruling of Tito. Well, just before this WWI broke out which started in Sarajevo at Princip’s Bridge when Serbian Nationalist Princip assassinated Emperor Franz Ferdinand and his wife. Once WWI was over Bosnia became apart of Yugoslavia and stayed a part of it until Tito’s death in 1980. Once Tito died, Yugoslavia started to crumble and each of the countries we have today (Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia, etc...) all started to claim independence. BH was one of the last because they knew that if they were to break off from Yugoslavia internal ethnic conflicts would eventually arise, and they were correct. War started to break out in 1991 and continued till 1995. On December 14, 1995 the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed and the war was over. The war in BH resulted in many deaths, many buildings were destroyed and a dramatic shift in population occurred.
Even though it is only fourteen years ago since the war ended one would think that BH would still be mourning and very little progression would have been made. It turns out this is not the case. Walking through the streets of Sarajevo I was amazed by how peaceful and happy everyone is. Most of the buildings have been refurbished and very little war damage remains. Sarajevo sits in this valley and in between this valley is the Miljacka River which runs right through Sarajevo splitting it into two parts. The river has several bridges and it is at the corner of Prinicp’s bridge where Franz Ferdinand was shot. Currently the building where the shooting happened has been turned into a WWI museum which explains the history of WWI in Sarajevo; sadly it was closed so we could not go in. Walking along the river was nice because you could see the buildings that have been restored and in between those were ones that still had bomb shelling scars. We also liked to walk through the central market called, Barscarsija, it is filled with bakeries, mosques, copper shops, restaurants, cafes, arts, crafts shop and many more. Barscarsija is covered in cobble stone streets and it really takes you back to the old times. Since it was the weekend most tourist attractions were closed so we spent most of our time roaming the cobble stone streets, watching the old communist tram go by and taking in all of Sarajevo and its history.
The day before leaving BH we took a day trip over to Mostar which represents the best and worst of the Yugoslavian years. Before the fall of Yugoslavia, Mostar was a mingling of cultures, but once they broke off from Yugoslavia all this peace turned into ethnic pride and war broke out amongst these ethnicities. Today, like Sarajevo, Mostar has moved past the war and has rebuilt its city. One of the most popular sights in Mostar is the Old Bridge. The Old Bridge dates back to the former Yugoslavia era but sadly during the war it tumbled into pieces due to all the bombings and crossfire. Once the war was over the city put great efforts into rebuilding the Old Bridge and today it stands strong over the Neretva River. Mostar is divided as well into two parts and so this bridge is very important to the people because now they can freely walk over it without the fear of being shot. During our walk through Mostar we crossed this bridge a few times to see different sites, one of our favorite sites we visited was an old Turkish home. The Biscevic Turkish House dates back to 1635, and has a mix of oriental and Mediterranean features. Although it’s been refurbished a bit the interior and décor is purely authentic and original, it was really unique to see. Just down the road from the house is a mosque and across from the mosque is an old park, however, today this park has been turned into a war cemetery for those who died in the war. We took a stroll through the cemetery and all of the graves dates were either 1993, 1994, or, 1995, it was really sad to see how many people died during the war. Before heading back to Sarajevo we stopped to have lunch by the Crooked Bridge, which happens to date back a decade before the Old Bridge. This bridge however, managed to survive through the war but sadly was destroyed by flooding. Nevertheless, they have rebuilt it and the restaurant we ate at was just across from it. Our visit to Mostar was a real treat and just gave a better understanding to BH’s history and cultural diversity. When looking out over the skyline we saw minarets sharing the space with church steeples. Plus, we heard church bells going off and the call to prayer all at the same time, nowhere else can one find this kind of music!
Aside from Bosnia & Herzegovina (BH) being dominantly Muslim I was also shocked to read through all its history. BH has suffered a lot and before I get into where and what all we did, here is a bit of history so you can understand them better. The Ottomans ruled Bosnia for five centuries, but before that it was ruled by the Romans, the Goths, the Slavs and finally the Ottomans took over; so already Bosnia is very diverse. After five century’s, around the late 1800’s, the Austro-Hungarian empire took over and stayed till 1918 when it then became part of Yugoslavia under the ruling of Tito. Well, just before this WWI broke out which started in Sarajevo at Princip’s Bridge when Serbian Nationalist Princip assassinated Emperor Franz Ferdinand and his wife. Once WWI was over Bosnia became apart of Yugoslavia and stayed a part of it until Tito’s death in 1980. Once Tito died, Yugoslavia started to crumble and each of the countries we have today (Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia, etc...) all started to claim independence. BH was one of the last because they knew that if they were to break off from Yugoslavia internal ethnic conflicts would eventually arise, and they were correct. War started to break out in 1991 and continued till 1995. On December 14, 1995 the Dayton Peace Agreement was signed and the war was over. The war in BH resulted in many deaths, many buildings were destroyed and a dramatic shift in population occurred.
Even though it is only fourteen years ago since the war ended one would think that BH would still be mourning and very little progression would have been made. It turns out this is not the case. Walking through the streets of Sarajevo I was amazed by how peaceful and happy everyone is. Most of the buildings have been refurbished and very little war damage remains. Sarajevo sits in this valley and in between this valley is the Miljacka River which runs right through Sarajevo splitting it into two parts. The river has several bridges and it is at the corner of Prinicp’s bridge where Franz Ferdinand was shot. Currently the building where the shooting happened has been turned into a WWI museum which explains the history of WWI in Sarajevo; sadly it was closed so we could not go in. Walking along the river was nice because you could see the buildings that have been restored and in between those were ones that still had bomb shelling scars. We also liked to walk through the central market called, Barscarsija, it is filled with bakeries, mosques, copper shops, restaurants, cafes, arts, crafts shop and many more. Barscarsija is covered in cobble stone streets and it really takes you back to the old times. Since it was the weekend most tourist attractions were closed so we spent most of our time roaming the cobble stone streets, watching the old communist tram go by and taking in all of Sarajevo and its history.
The day before leaving BH we took a day trip over to Mostar which represents the best and worst of the Yugoslavian years. Before the fall of Yugoslavia, Mostar was a mingling of cultures, but once they broke off from Yugoslavia all this peace turned into ethnic pride and war broke out amongst these ethnicities. Today, like Sarajevo, Mostar has moved past the war and has rebuilt its city. One of the most popular sights in Mostar is the Old Bridge. The Old Bridge dates back to the former Yugoslavia era but sadly during the war it tumbled into pieces due to all the bombings and crossfire. Once the war was over the city put great efforts into rebuilding the Old Bridge and today it stands strong over the Neretva River. Mostar is divided as well into two parts and so this bridge is very important to the people because now they can freely walk over it without the fear of being shot. During our walk through Mostar we crossed this bridge a few times to see different sites, one of our favorite sites we visited was an old Turkish home. The Biscevic Turkish House dates back to 1635, and has a mix of oriental and Mediterranean features. Although it’s been refurbished a bit the interior and décor is purely authentic and original, it was really unique to see. Just down the road from the house is a mosque and across from the mosque is an old park, however, today this park has been turned into a war cemetery for those who died in the war. We took a stroll through the cemetery and all of the graves dates were either 1993, 1994, or, 1995, it was really sad to see how many people died during the war. Before heading back to Sarajevo we stopped to have lunch by the Crooked Bridge, which happens to date back a decade before the Old Bridge. This bridge however, managed to survive through the war but sadly was destroyed by flooding. Nevertheless, they have rebuilt it and the restaurant we ate at was just across from it. Our visit to Mostar was a real treat and just gave a better understanding to BH’s history and cultural diversity. When looking out over the skyline we saw minarets sharing the space with church steeples. Plus, we heard church bells going off and the call to prayer all at the same time, nowhere else can one find this kind of music!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Good Friends, Bad Wine
After spending a relaxing week on the Island of Crete, both Alison and I were excited to head to Athens, Greece. This was our third trip to Athens but this time we had plans to stay for a few days and explore the city. Most people we had spoken to about Athens had very little compliments about it but none of this mattered because we were overjoyed about picking up our dear friend Melissa from the airport. While we were still in Istanbul we called Melissa to say hello and chat, well during our conversation I got the idea to suggest she come out and visit for a week or so. I quickly looked up flights and the price was good so I told her it would be a blast if she wanted to join us for the last leg of our trip in Greece. Three days after we spoke she sent us an email saying she bought her ticket and was flying out to meet us. Well the time had come and Alison and I went to the Athens airport and waited for her arrival.
Melissa arrived on the Greek Orthodox Good Friday and for the following three days we toured around Athens and took part in the Easter festivities. For most of you, you celebrated Easter the weekend before but for the Greek Orthodox they celebrate lent for 55 days verses the standard 40 that we acknowledge, so Easter happened to follow exactly a week later this year. For the Greeks, Easter is the most important holiday because it means Christ has risen. On the evening of Melissa’s arrival the people of Athens gathered together in Syntagma square and held a moving candle light procession through the streets of Athens. This similar event happens at around 11pm the following night, the night before Easter Day. Everyone heads to the Resurrection Mass and at midnight all lights are turned off to symbolize Christ’s passing and then within a few short minutes the candles are lit and Christ is resurrected. People spiral out into the streets, candles in hand, fireworks are set off and everyone returns home and enjoys a feast of Easter cooking’s and Greek dancing.
Aside from taking part in the Greek Easter festivities we did a small bit of sightseeing. Most things were closed do to the holidays but we did happen to make it to the Acropolis and the National Archeological Museum. If there is one thing we noticed about Greece it is a walking archaeological country. Everywhere you go there are ruins to walk through and archaeological museums to visit. A bit of history about Athens, it received its name from the Greek goddess Athena, whom planted an olive tree which symbolizes peace and prosperity. The Acropolis was built as a thank you to Athena and was inhabited till the late 6th centaury BC. The Acropolis has suffered a great deal of destruction by human actions as well as natural causes. Never the less, the Acropolis is regarded as Greece’s masterwork of classical Greek architecture and I would agree. Walking through we were taken back by the views from which we could see. The Acropolis is located at the top of this hill which is roughly in the center of Athens and all around the grounds we could see the big city of Athens below. The Acropolis consists of two theaters, Propylaia, Temple of Athena, Parthenon, Erechtheion and a few statues. Our favorite, as well as most others is the Parthenon, probably do to its grandness. It is architecturally constructed of 8 columns at either end and 17 on each side. The detail, shape and height of this temple just takes your breath away and makes you blink twice, it is definitely a site to see.
With the holidays over and only a few days left we spent our last few days on Santorini Island. Santorini is known for two things, its beautiful sunsets and its whitewashed homes, both of which we were able to see. Instead of staying in the capital we opted to stay in a town called Perissa which was right by the beach. For our first day we spent the afternoon lying out on the black beach, relaxing and enjoying the sun. It ended up being a good thing because the remaining days were windy and cloudy. We had booked an all day tour to visit the volcanic island Nea Kameni, swim in the hot springs and have lunch on Therasia Island, but due to extreme wind the tour was cancelled, so instead we rented a car and drove around the very small island. When I say small I mean it, it takes less then one hour to get from one end of the island to the other. We took the car around stopping at several wineries, towns and beaches. Since the three of us are big wine drinkers, we wine tasted at a few wineries but in all honesty wine is not Greece’s specialty, the wine was average (this is me being nice). Although the wine was average we still enjoyed ourselves. In between the wineries we stopped in Fira the capital and strolled through the whitewash streets, enjoyed a frappe (iced coffee), satisfied our tummies with a Gyro and then continued on our way to Oia. Oia is another big city but most popularly known for its sunsets. We drove down to the port and sat on the ledge where we watched the sun go down. Sadly it was a bit cloudy so we did not get to see the beautiful rays of orange, red and yellow which most sunsets have on a clear day. Unsatisfied by the sunset we drove back the following evening hoping it would be better, which it was but still not postcard perfect, oh well maybe next time.
With the wind gone by the next day we were able to make the tour. Our fist stop was to Nea Kameni volcano where we were given an explanation as to how Santornini Island was formed. Like most islands Santorini was formed do to volcanic rock. Nea Kameni is currently dormant but scientist say that lava still sits inside the volcano and the way they know this is the various hot springs that spill out by the shore side. After our hike down the volcano, the boat took us to one of the hot springs where a handful of people jumped in and swam around for a bit in the warm water. Us being slightly unprepared, partially do to thinking we were going to a hot springs facility we did not have our swim suits on and therefore did not go in. Although we could have changed on the boat, we were to lazy and plus we would have been freezing once we got out of the water so all together it did not look so appealing. Hungry and ready for lunch, we arrived at our third and final stop which was Thirasia Island. Thirasia was once joined to Santorini but during a volcanic eruption in 236 BC it separated and is now a queit little island. It’s much smaller than Santorini and there are just a few people who live on this island. After climbing several steps we reached the top where we sat over the cliff and had ourselves a nice picnic lunch.
For our last and final day on Santorini we took the car and drove around the island stopping at red beach and Boutari Wineries. We had passed this winery on the first day but opted to skip it for one reason or another. Well we passed by it again and thought to stop in and do one more wine tasting before we leave. It ended up being the best decision ever because the wine was good and this unlike the others resembled a proper winery. They had a list of all their wines; we were able to choose from roughly six wine tasting packages and were served by a knowledgeable employee. We spent a little over an hour there and walked out with four wine bottles. If I were to ever return to Santorini I would definitely stop in again and skip the rest. With a little wine in our tummies and wine in our hands we were ready to board our eight hour ferry back to Athens.
Good bye Greece, good bye friends, hello Eastern Europe!!!
Melissa arrived on the Greek Orthodox Good Friday and for the following three days we toured around Athens and took part in the Easter festivities. For most of you, you celebrated Easter the weekend before but for the Greek Orthodox they celebrate lent for 55 days verses the standard 40 that we acknowledge, so Easter happened to follow exactly a week later this year. For the Greeks, Easter is the most important holiday because it means Christ has risen. On the evening of Melissa’s arrival the people of Athens gathered together in Syntagma square and held a moving candle light procession through the streets of Athens. This similar event happens at around 11pm the following night, the night before Easter Day. Everyone heads to the Resurrection Mass and at midnight all lights are turned off to symbolize Christ’s passing and then within a few short minutes the candles are lit and Christ is resurrected. People spiral out into the streets, candles in hand, fireworks are set off and everyone returns home and enjoys a feast of Easter cooking’s and Greek dancing.
Aside from taking part in the Greek Easter festivities we did a small bit of sightseeing. Most things were closed do to the holidays but we did happen to make it to the Acropolis and the National Archeological Museum. If there is one thing we noticed about Greece it is a walking archaeological country. Everywhere you go there are ruins to walk through and archaeological museums to visit. A bit of history about Athens, it received its name from the Greek goddess Athena, whom planted an olive tree which symbolizes peace and prosperity. The Acropolis was built as a thank you to Athena and was inhabited till the late 6th centaury BC. The Acropolis has suffered a great deal of destruction by human actions as well as natural causes. Never the less, the Acropolis is regarded as Greece’s masterwork of classical Greek architecture and I would agree. Walking through we were taken back by the views from which we could see. The Acropolis is located at the top of this hill which is roughly in the center of Athens and all around the grounds we could see the big city of Athens below. The Acropolis consists of two theaters, Propylaia, Temple of Athena, Parthenon, Erechtheion and a few statues. Our favorite, as well as most others is the Parthenon, probably do to its grandness. It is architecturally constructed of 8 columns at either end and 17 on each side. The detail, shape and height of this temple just takes your breath away and makes you blink twice, it is definitely a site to see.
With the holidays over and only a few days left we spent our last few days on Santorini Island. Santorini is known for two things, its beautiful sunsets and its whitewashed homes, both of which we were able to see. Instead of staying in the capital we opted to stay in a town called Perissa which was right by the beach. For our first day we spent the afternoon lying out on the black beach, relaxing and enjoying the sun. It ended up being a good thing because the remaining days were windy and cloudy. We had booked an all day tour to visit the volcanic island Nea Kameni, swim in the hot springs and have lunch on Therasia Island, but due to extreme wind the tour was cancelled, so instead we rented a car and drove around the very small island. When I say small I mean it, it takes less then one hour to get from one end of the island to the other. We took the car around stopping at several wineries, towns and beaches. Since the three of us are big wine drinkers, we wine tasted at a few wineries but in all honesty wine is not Greece’s specialty, the wine was average (this is me being nice). Although the wine was average we still enjoyed ourselves. In between the wineries we stopped in Fira the capital and strolled through the whitewash streets, enjoyed a frappe (iced coffee), satisfied our tummies with a Gyro and then continued on our way to Oia. Oia is another big city but most popularly known for its sunsets. We drove down to the port and sat on the ledge where we watched the sun go down. Sadly it was a bit cloudy so we did not get to see the beautiful rays of orange, red and yellow which most sunsets have on a clear day. Unsatisfied by the sunset we drove back the following evening hoping it would be better, which it was but still not postcard perfect, oh well maybe next time.
With the wind gone by the next day we were able to make the tour. Our fist stop was to Nea Kameni volcano where we were given an explanation as to how Santornini Island was formed. Like most islands Santorini was formed do to volcanic rock. Nea Kameni is currently dormant but scientist say that lava still sits inside the volcano and the way they know this is the various hot springs that spill out by the shore side. After our hike down the volcano, the boat took us to one of the hot springs where a handful of people jumped in and swam around for a bit in the warm water. Us being slightly unprepared, partially do to thinking we were going to a hot springs facility we did not have our swim suits on and therefore did not go in. Although we could have changed on the boat, we were to lazy and plus we would have been freezing once we got out of the water so all together it did not look so appealing. Hungry and ready for lunch, we arrived at our third and final stop which was Thirasia Island. Thirasia was once joined to Santorini but during a volcanic eruption in 236 BC it separated and is now a queit little island. It’s much smaller than Santorini and there are just a few people who live on this island. After climbing several steps we reached the top where we sat over the cliff and had ourselves a nice picnic lunch.
For our last and final day on Santorini we took the car and drove around the island stopping at red beach and Boutari Wineries. We had passed this winery on the first day but opted to skip it for one reason or another. Well we passed by it again and thought to stop in and do one more wine tasting before we leave. It ended up being the best decision ever because the wine was good and this unlike the others resembled a proper winery. They had a list of all their wines; we were able to choose from roughly six wine tasting packages and were served by a knowledgeable employee. We spent a little over an hour there and walked out with four wine bottles. If I were to ever return to Santorini I would definitely stop in again and skip the rest. With a little wine in our tummies and wine in our hands we were ready to board our eight hour ferry back to Athens.
Good bye Greece, good bye friends, hello Eastern Europe!!!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Crete (Never Neverland)
Our week in Crete was the prefect balance of sight seeing and beach relaxation. After confusion at a train station in the Peloponnese region of Greece, which resulted in a mix-up of our final destination, we ended up back in Athens. We decided not to waste money backtracking and instead to head to the port to check out the ferry times to different islands. The Crete ferry was leaving in an hour and half, so we chose that ferry. We had planned on going to Crete a little later in our travels, but it turned out to be a wonderful experience and we couldn't have planned it better if we had actually tried!
Crete is the largest island in Greece, as well as being the most southern point in all of Europe. Our overnight ferry took us to the port in the town of Iraklion, which is located in the central region of the island. The first thing you notice when you get off the ferry is the massive city walls which border the island. The walls are 15m thick and were used to protect the island from being attacked. The walls, along with the Venetian fortress, withstood a 22-year siege, before finally falling to the Ottomans. Toriann and I spent a good amount of time at the fortress exploring and taking in the beautiful scenery of the Mediterranean Sea. Part of Crete's history also includes being under Turkish rule for a period, and during this time they built a minaret, where the call of prayer was sent out from. Today, the minaret is the only standing evidence in the fortress or the town that it was ever had any Islamic influence. After our time in the fortress, we spent the remainder of the first day in Iraklion walking through the small streets lined with shops and cafes filled with people. We made an observation that no matter what time or day of the week there were always locals sitting in cafes drinking frappes. We are not sure where or when anyone works in the country of Greece! We made our way back to the center of the city where there Platia Venizelou (Lion Fountain) is located. This fountain became our favorite place to sit and enjoy food while people watching.
Our second day in Iraklion we went to the much talked about Knossos, the largest Minoan palace. Knossos is the second most visited place in Greece after the Acropolis. Knossos dates back to as early as 7th millennium BC and perhaps even earlier. Over a century ago Knossos only existed in mythology, being the legendary sight of King Minos. When the palace was discovered in the late 1800’s it was seen as one of the most amazing tales of modern archeology. Sir Arthur Evans completed the excavation of Knossos in the early 1900’s and even recreated part of Knossos himself. Evans self recreation of the Palace has been a debate by fellow archeologist to this day. The reconstructions are identified by being painted bold colors amongst the natural colors of the ruins. We felt these colored columns took away from authenticity of the rest of the ruins. Even the frescos were removed and replaced with replicas of the original. Despite Evans’s reconstruction of the Palace, it is still an impressive 1,500 room Minoan palace located on top of a hill.
After the palace we were trying to decide if we should go wine tasting or to the aquarium, so we let the bus make our choice, whichever bus came first we would go there. The aquarium bus came first and it turned out to be the highlight of Iraklion! The aquarium had a wide assortment of colorful fish and we spent hours learning all the names of the fish. Toriann’s knowledge of fish and sea creatures has grown from all her diving experiences on the trip and this gave her an excellent chance to show off her new knowledge. It also gave me a chance to hear more details of some of her and Heather’s diving experiences. The highlight of the aquarium was the seahorse exhibit, where they showed a video of male seahorses giving birth. The seahorse looks as though it is sneezing and then 1000’s of baby seahorses come out of him. This repeats several times and it is one of the funniest things we have ever seen, it made Toriann and I laugh for days afterwards.
While in Iraklion we met a girl who had just arrived from a little town in southern Crete called Plakias, who said we HAD to go there. We had read about in our book, but it seemed like it was going to cost too much to go there and back, so we decided against it. Well, after spending a few hours talking with our new friend, we decided to check out of our hostel a night earlier than expected and head down to the town of Plakias. The first person we encountered off the bus in Plakias assured us we would never want to leave this town and after a few hours there we started to understand what the man was talking about! The town is right on the water and the population includes locals and people from all over the world who have come to Plakias once and decided to move there forever. We nicknamed it Never Neverland, because it seemed like no one had any responsibilities and no one ever grew up. I can say without a doubt that it was the most idyllic, beautiful town I have ever spent time in. Toriann and I spent most of our days resting on the beach working on our tans and eating Greek food, our favorite being grilled feta. We met some great people at the hostel who we spent our evenings with at the local restaurants and of course Joe's Bar, where we learned traditional Greek dancing.
Toriann and I decided one of our days had to consist of something else rather than simply lying on the beach. A group of people from the hostel who had cars were going to a nearby village to do a little exploring and Toriann decided to join them. They walked around the village and saw the oldest tree in Crete. I thought it would be nice to experience one of the many hikes that Plakias had to offer and opted to decline the car trip to the village to go on a hike. I ended up getting in a little over my head with the hike. I was told it was a two hour hike each way to the top of this mountain, which seemed easy enough. Well the hike was definitely not like the hikes I take in Seattle where there are clear paths and other hikers. It turned out to be an 8 hour adventure and involved very minimal trails and no other hikers in sight. The majority of the hike involved climbing up rocks, which is something I often get scared at doing. I had a great hiking partner who reassured me I could climb the rocks all the way to the top. However, about halfway up I realized I was going to have to climb down these rocks and had a small moment of panic. Again, my hiking partner reassured me I would be fine and thus we continued on. We finally made it to the top and the view was amazing! The way back down proved not to be as fearful as I had anticipated and minus our detour of not finding the road right away, the journey down went great.
We only had half of the next day available before we had to head to the bus to catch our ferry so we of course spent our last hours lying on the beach in what we now referred to as "our spot." After saying goodbye to Plakias we were on our way to Athens to pick up our friend Melissa from the airport to spend our final week in Greece together.
Crete is the largest island in Greece, as well as being the most southern point in all of Europe. Our overnight ferry took us to the port in the town of Iraklion, which is located in the central region of the island. The first thing you notice when you get off the ferry is the massive city walls which border the island. The walls are 15m thick and were used to protect the island from being attacked. The walls, along with the Venetian fortress, withstood a 22-year siege, before finally falling to the Ottomans. Toriann and I spent a good amount of time at the fortress exploring and taking in the beautiful scenery of the Mediterranean Sea. Part of Crete's history also includes being under Turkish rule for a period, and during this time they built a minaret, where the call of prayer was sent out from. Today, the minaret is the only standing evidence in the fortress or the town that it was ever had any Islamic influence. After our time in the fortress, we spent the remainder of the first day in Iraklion walking through the small streets lined with shops and cafes filled with people. We made an observation that no matter what time or day of the week there were always locals sitting in cafes drinking frappes. We are not sure where or when anyone works in the country of Greece! We made our way back to the center of the city where there Platia Venizelou (Lion Fountain) is located. This fountain became our favorite place to sit and enjoy food while people watching.
Our second day in Iraklion we went to the much talked about Knossos, the largest Minoan palace. Knossos is the second most visited place in Greece after the Acropolis. Knossos dates back to as early as 7th millennium BC and perhaps even earlier. Over a century ago Knossos only existed in mythology, being the legendary sight of King Minos. When the palace was discovered in the late 1800’s it was seen as one of the most amazing tales of modern archeology. Sir Arthur Evans completed the excavation of Knossos in the early 1900’s and even recreated part of Knossos himself. Evans self recreation of the Palace has been a debate by fellow archeologist to this day. The reconstructions are identified by being painted bold colors amongst the natural colors of the ruins. We felt these colored columns took away from authenticity of the rest of the ruins. Even the frescos were removed and replaced with replicas of the original. Despite Evans’s reconstruction of the Palace, it is still an impressive 1,500 room Minoan palace located on top of a hill.
After the palace we were trying to decide if we should go wine tasting or to the aquarium, so we let the bus make our choice, whichever bus came first we would go there. The aquarium bus came first and it turned out to be the highlight of Iraklion! The aquarium had a wide assortment of colorful fish and we spent hours learning all the names of the fish. Toriann’s knowledge of fish and sea creatures has grown from all her diving experiences on the trip and this gave her an excellent chance to show off her new knowledge. It also gave me a chance to hear more details of some of her and Heather’s diving experiences. The highlight of the aquarium was the seahorse exhibit, where they showed a video of male seahorses giving birth. The seahorse looks as though it is sneezing and then 1000’s of baby seahorses come out of him. This repeats several times and it is one of the funniest things we have ever seen, it made Toriann and I laugh for days afterwards.
While in Iraklion we met a girl who had just arrived from a little town in southern Crete called Plakias, who said we HAD to go there. We had read about in our book, but it seemed like it was going to cost too much to go there and back, so we decided against it. Well, after spending a few hours talking with our new friend, we decided to check out of our hostel a night earlier than expected and head down to the town of Plakias. The first person we encountered off the bus in Plakias assured us we would never want to leave this town and after a few hours there we started to understand what the man was talking about! The town is right on the water and the population includes locals and people from all over the world who have come to Plakias once and decided to move there forever. We nicknamed it Never Neverland, because it seemed like no one had any responsibilities and no one ever grew up. I can say without a doubt that it was the most idyllic, beautiful town I have ever spent time in. Toriann and I spent most of our days resting on the beach working on our tans and eating Greek food, our favorite being grilled feta. We met some great people at the hostel who we spent our evenings with at the local restaurants and of course Joe's Bar, where we learned traditional Greek dancing.
Toriann and I decided one of our days had to consist of something else rather than simply lying on the beach. A group of people from the hostel who had cars were going to a nearby village to do a little exploring and Toriann decided to join them. They walked around the village and saw the oldest tree in Crete. I thought it would be nice to experience one of the many hikes that Plakias had to offer and opted to decline the car trip to the village to go on a hike. I ended up getting in a little over my head with the hike. I was told it was a two hour hike each way to the top of this mountain, which seemed easy enough. Well the hike was definitely not like the hikes I take in Seattle where there are clear paths and other hikers. It turned out to be an 8 hour adventure and involved very minimal trails and no other hikers in sight. The majority of the hike involved climbing up rocks, which is something I often get scared at doing. I had a great hiking partner who reassured me I could climb the rocks all the way to the top. However, about halfway up I realized I was going to have to climb down these rocks and had a small moment of panic. Again, my hiking partner reassured me I would be fine and thus we continued on. We finally made it to the top and the view was amazing! The way back down proved not to be as fearful as I had anticipated and minus our detour of not finding the road right away, the journey down went great.
We only had half of the next day available before we had to head to the bus to catch our ferry so we of course spent our last hours lying on the beach in what we now referred to as "our spot." After saying goodbye to Plakias we were on our way to Athens to pick up our friend Melissa from the airport to spend our final week in Greece together.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Thessaloniki, Meteora and More
Welcome to Greece, the birth place of Greek mythology, democracy, the Olympics and much much more. Alison and I safely arrived into Greece, via our overnight train from Istanbul to Thessaloniki. Knowing ahead of time that Thessaloniki is Greece's most expensive and metropolitan city we opted to stay for the day and then catch an evening train to Kalambanka. Thessaloniki is a big city but with a little pre-planning it can be seen in just a few short hours. First we needed to get our grounding and what better way to do that then following the LP's suggested walking tour. The walking tour had us start at the top of this hill where there is a castle and a viewing platform. As we gazed out over Thessaloniki we took in as much as possible knowing our time here was precious. Following the tour we stopped and admired the architecture of the churches, took pictures of old ruins, visited some national buildings and ended at Thessalonikis most beloved landmark, the White Tower. The irony of the White Tower is that it was actually covered in blood. In 1826 Ottoman Sultan Muhmad II ordered that all Islamicised Christian boys who were disloyal to Islam were to be massacred here. Once the Greeks regained power in 1913 they had the tower whitewashed as a way to cover up the dark memories of which occurred there. Taken back by this awful truth we sat by the water side and just took some time to reflect and relax our legs. After our rest we walked over to the port to have a look around and also visited the Thessaloniki Museum of Photography. The Museum was in between exhibitions so it wasn't completely filled of works but what we did see was great. The museum has decided to hold pieces for each of the four elements. The works will be up for a year and the one they were currently wraping up was on water. All of the pieces gave a unique perspective of water but one of our favorites was the over flowing kitchen sink. With a bit of time left we walked the streets a bit more and picked up some food and drinks to enjoy on our train ride.
Their is really only one reason for why people travel to Kalambanka and that is to visit Meteora. Meteora is this extraordinary place for its massive pinnacles of smooth rock and at the top sit these architecturally crafted monasteries. There are 24 monasteries which have been built at the top of these pinnacles but only 6 of them are currently active and can be visited. Of the six monasteries we saw five of them, walked past four and visited two. We would have liked to have seen all six but since we had only our two legs to get us around and visiting hours being limited we simply couldn't manage doing it all. The two monasteries we did visit are called Moni Megalou Meteorou and Moni Varlaam. The first one built on the highest rock, 613m above sea level, and was founded by St. Athanasios in the 14th century. The Moni has a 12 sided central dome and holds a series of frescoes depicting the persecutions of Christians by the Romans. The second one is near by and quite a bit smaller but had a small museum of late byzantine frescos. The views from these Monis is absolutely amazing and to think that they were built between the 11th and 14th century is just amazing. It is claimed that the monis were reached by climbing removable ladders, that's just crazy.
From Kalambaka we backtracked a bit to a town called Vergina so we could visit the Royal Tombs. Vergina is apparently the legendary burial site of the Macedonian kings and happens to be where Phillip II was assassinated during his daughter, Cleopatra's wedding. The Royal Tombs were not discovered until 1977, and inside lay four individual tombs. The two most famous tombs are the one of Phillip II and the second being of Alexander IV, son of Alexander the Great. It is believed that inside Phillip II's tomb also lay the skeleton of Cleopatra. Either way its grand to think that it could be possible. Aside from the possibility that maybe Cleopatra was buried here I was shocked at how preserved the tombs were. They still had such vibrant colors and the building structure is still in good form.
Content with our decision to backtrack, yet anxious to get to Peloponnese region we took a night train to Athens. Thinking we were going to have seats on the night train we thought traveling through the night would be a good way of not wasting time or money. Well the idea back fired once we boarded the fully packed train and then were told by the train conductor that we had no actual seat reservations. Exhausted and not mentally prepared to stand on a train for six hours, we coped quite well. Eager to find something to do to pass the time we thought why not engage in a broken English conversation with the Greek boys standing around us. The idea turned out to be entertaining and funny. There were five guys, four were on military holiday and the other one was originally from Albania but had moved to Greece for work. All of them were very nice and before we knew it we were in Athens. Well the time didn't quite pass that quickly but overall the train ride did go by and we survived the sleepless night of standing on a train. Once we arrived we decided it best to continue our travels and ride three more trains before we finally arrived in Olympia.
Exhausted from traveling, our first day or half of day in Olympia was spent sleeping and recovering. The town is very touristy yet ironically lacked tourist especially backpackers, we were the only backpackers in our hostel. For our one and only full day we spent our time exploring the Museum of the Olympic Games, the Archeological Museum, and toured through Ancient Olympia. It was suggested by the handy dandy LP to first visit the museums so we could get a better visual of what Ancient Olympia looked like. The historical museum is probably one of the best museums we visited, it gave short but detailed information on how the Olympics began, the events which took place, and people who attended. One observation we both noticed and thought interesting was how not only currently but as well as then the games bring this unspoken peace treaty among every human being. After our visit we walked over to Ancient Olympia and toured through the archeological museum. There is very little information but displays several statues, part of the Temple of Zeus, and holds several pediments. Now that we had a good imaginative visual of Ancient Olympia we went and explored the Olympic grounds. Wow, was it amazing, one of the best things we have seen so far. With the lack of tourist we simply walked around visiting the sites and enjoyed the peace and quite. The first thing we saw was the gymnasium which was built inn 2nd century BC. Pheidias' workshop is where the Statue of Zeus was sculpted and is whom the games were held for but sadly it was destroyed like most everything here. In AD 426 Theodosius II decided to have the temples be destroyed for the games and festivals held here were considered pagan. Prior to him ruled Theodosius I in AD 394 and during his rule he simply put an end to the games and it is from this date to the year 1896 no Olympic games were held. Both of us were shocked to read how current the Olympic games were reinstated. As we continued walking the grounds we saw the Temple of Zeus where one of the columns was restored and re-erected for the Athens 2004 Olympic games. We sat in the stadium and envisioned the runners sprinting the 120m track. And the coolest thing we saw was Hera's Altar which is where the lighting of the Olympic flame takes place. The lighting signifies the official beginning of the games. Being there and seeing where the Olympics began gave me a new found appreciation for the games. The Olympic games is really the only time where people from all parts of the world come together in peace.
Their is really only one reason for why people travel to Kalambanka and that is to visit Meteora. Meteora is this extraordinary place for its massive pinnacles of smooth rock and at the top sit these architecturally crafted monasteries. There are 24 monasteries which have been built at the top of these pinnacles but only 6 of them are currently active and can be visited. Of the six monasteries we saw five of them, walked past four and visited two. We would have liked to have seen all six but since we had only our two legs to get us around and visiting hours being limited we simply couldn't manage doing it all. The two monasteries we did visit are called Moni Megalou Meteorou and Moni Varlaam. The first one built on the highest rock, 613m above sea level, and was founded by St. Athanasios in the 14th century. The Moni has a 12 sided central dome and holds a series of frescoes depicting the persecutions of Christians by the Romans. The second one is near by and quite a bit smaller but had a small museum of late byzantine frescos. The views from these Monis is absolutely amazing and to think that they were built between the 11th and 14th century is just amazing. It is claimed that the monis were reached by climbing removable ladders, that's just crazy.
From Kalambaka we backtracked a bit to a town called Vergina so we could visit the Royal Tombs. Vergina is apparently the legendary burial site of the Macedonian kings and happens to be where Phillip II was assassinated during his daughter, Cleopatra's wedding. The Royal Tombs were not discovered until 1977, and inside lay four individual tombs. The two most famous tombs are the one of Phillip II and the second being of Alexander IV, son of Alexander the Great. It is believed that inside Phillip II's tomb also lay the skeleton of Cleopatra. Either way its grand to think that it could be possible. Aside from the possibility that maybe Cleopatra was buried here I was shocked at how preserved the tombs were. They still had such vibrant colors and the building structure is still in good form.
Content with our decision to backtrack, yet anxious to get to Peloponnese region we took a night train to Athens. Thinking we were going to have seats on the night train we thought traveling through the night would be a good way of not wasting time or money. Well the idea back fired once we boarded the fully packed train and then were told by the train conductor that we had no actual seat reservations. Exhausted and not mentally prepared to stand on a train for six hours, we coped quite well. Eager to find something to do to pass the time we thought why not engage in a broken English conversation with the Greek boys standing around us. The idea turned out to be entertaining and funny. There were five guys, four were on military holiday and the other one was originally from Albania but had moved to Greece for work. All of them were very nice and before we knew it we were in Athens. Well the time didn't quite pass that quickly but overall the train ride did go by and we survived the sleepless night of standing on a train. Once we arrived we decided it best to continue our travels and ride three more trains before we finally arrived in Olympia.
Exhausted from traveling, our first day or half of day in Olympia was spent sleeping and recovering. The town is very touristy yet ironically lacked tourist especially backpackers, we were the only backpackers in our hostel. For our one and only full day we spent our time exploring the Museum of the Olympic Games, the Archeological Museum, and toured through Ancient Olympia. It was suggested by the handy dandy LP to first visit the museums so we could get a better visual of what Ancient Olympia looked like. The historical museum is probably one of the best museums we visited, it gave short but detailed information on how the Olympics began, the events which took place, and people who attended. One observation we both noticed and thought interesting was how not only currently but as well as then the games bring this unspoken peace treaty among every human being. After our visit we walked over to Ancient Olympia and toured through the archeological museum. There is very little information but displays several statues, part of the Temple of Zeus, and holds several pediments. Now that we had a good imaginative visual of Ancient Olympia we went and explored the Olympic grounds. Wow, was it amazing, one of the best things we have seen so far. With the lack of tourist we simply walked around visiting the sites and enjoyed the peace and quite. The first thing we saw was the gymnasium which was built inn 2nd century BC. Pheidias' workshop is where the Statue of Zeus was sculpted and is whom the games were held for but sadly it was destroyed like most everything here. In AD 426 Theodosius II decided to have the temples be destroyed for the games and festivals held here were considered pagan. Prior to him ruled Theodosius I in AD 394 and during his rule he simply put an end to the games and it is from this date to the year 1896 no Olympic games were held. Both of us were shocked to read how current the Olympic games were reinstated. As we continued walking the grounds we saw the Temple of Zeus where one of the columns was restored and re-erected for the Athens 2004 Olympic games. We sat in the stadium and envisioned the runners sprinting the 120m track. And the coolest thing we saw was Hera's Altar which is where the lighting of the Olympic flame takes place. The lighting signifies the official beginning of the games. Being there and seeing where the Olympics began gave me a new found appreciation for the games. The Olympic games is really the only time where people from all parts of the world come together in peace.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
in sum....
Its been a little 2 weeks since I returned to the good ol US of A and a week since returning to home sweet home Seattle. Since I got sick as soon as I landed in Seattle, I have had some quality bonding time with my house and some time to contemplate the past 8 months. The first thing I have realized since being home is I have been so, so blessed to have been given this oppurtonity to explore the world. As much as I tried to appreciate every moment and soak in all that we were experiencing, we did, saw, met so many things, people, cultures, foods, challenges, etc...I think it was impossible. Being home, being still, surronded by loved ones, familiarity, I continue to appreciate the experiences more and more each day.
I am so thankful to all the people that befriended us although we were strangers, took us in as family, fed us, gave us directions, made us laugh, or in any other way enriched our trip. God blessed us greatly with the people we encountered along the way and our trip would not have been the same without friends met on the road...John, Sam, Louise, Claudia, Olivia, Mattias, Craig, Nick, Charlotte, Brad, Simon, Eric, Kasin, Michael, Nanda, Chris, Rafi, Tino, Judd, Jess, Katie, Boris and the Solvian group, Louis, Rachels roommates, Ken, Dino, Ben, Carl, Grant, Luke, Susie, Talita, Mel, Rick and friends, John and Brendan, Ben, Jeremy and Jen, Dave and Sam, Sam, Jennifer, G and Sara, the wedding party boys, Ladislas, Janet, Ben and Katie, Medo, the south African group, Mike, Mai, Julian, Ismet, Chris...just to name a few off the top of my head.
Traveling was exciting, rewarding, challenging, frustrating, and amazing! Above all else, I am so grateful for Toriann, her friendship, faithfulness, bravery, sense of direction, ability to laugh, have 'what to do with my life' talks, and most of all, her ability to dance the night away! We literally spent 24/7 together for almost 8 months and are better friends for it. She taught me so much and there is noone else I would rather have as a travel partner. Thank you T for being amazing and inspiring me to leave the norm and have a small adventure!! I love you so much!
The top quesiton I get at home now is 'what was your favorite experience...if you could pick one?' Well, its impossible to pick one, but sorting through my 1000s of photos I have thought of a lot of little favorites...
Favorite...
breakfast...Tofu omelette in Guatemala
food overall...India, everywhere!
hostel....Paradiso in Nelson, NZ and Big Apple in Istanbul, Turkey
hostel group...Big Apple
boat trip...Pirate ship in Galagagos
dive instructor...Vikas in the Andaman Islands
Christmas day experience...talking on skype to friends and family!
hike...Inca trail to Machu Piccu
monkey...Billy in Panama
sloth...Tember in Panama :)
bed...the bed in Tinos house in Peru!!
randomness...frog concert in Ecuador
surprise...meeting Luke!
commute...walking to the Mother Theresa house at 6 am in Kolkata
Random act of kindness...some guy rescuing my shoe from a river bed after stepping in a hole in the bridge
heart check moment...Mother Theresa house volunteering, playing with the kids in Panama City at Rachels work
wine...New Zealand whites!
new skills...scuba diving, driving on the left side of the road, driving mopeds (ok Toriann only really gets that one!)
and of course....
Least Favorite, but often memoriable...
hike...Picaya Volcano in Guatemala
flight...Buenos Aires to Auckland...14 hours, one movie, one meal???
bug spray...'Jungle Juice' from El Valle, Panama...containing over 1000 ingrediants, but really just makes the dead bugs stick to your legs!
bed...cardboard mattresses all over India or having ants in the bed in the Andamans
bathroom...maybe Lukes in London after getting stuck in it for an hour while home alone, or any of the bathrooms on the trains in India
bus ride..."VIP" overnight bus from Vang Vieng to Luang Probang...we so got ripped off!, rode for 14 hours with 1/2 a seat, a box at my feet and a tire next to me.
I could go on, but those are just a few of the highlights I can think of right now...T, you can add to them!!
Thank you to our families and friends that supported us from afar. Thank you for being excited for us, holding in your anxieties, and sharing our stories! We could not have done it without you guys, you are the BEST!
So, as Toriann continues on with her travels (currently with Alison), I am at home, going back to my old job at Harborview, re connecting with friends, learning how to have a long distance relationship from home, getting back into shape, and figuring out what is the next step for me in life. Its more overwhelming and scary than anything we ever encountered traveling, but I know that one day at a time I will find my way.
I am so thankful to all the people that befriended us although we were strangers, took us in as family, fed us, gave us directions, made us laugh, or in any other way enriched our trip. God blessed us greatly with the people we encountered along the way and our trip would not have been the same without friends met on the road...John, Sam, Louise, Claudia, Olivia, Mattias, Craig, Nick, Charlotte, Brad, Simon, Eric, Kasin, Michael, Nanda, Chris, Rafi, Tino, Judd, Jess, Katie, Boris and the Solvian group, Louis, Rachels roommates, Ken, Dino, Ben, Carl, Grant, Luke, Susie, Talita, Mel, Rick and friends, John and Brendan, Ben, Jeremy and Jen, Dave and Sam, Sam, Jennifer, G and Sara, the wedding party boys, Ladislas, Janet, Ben and Katie, Medo, the south African group, Mike, Mai, Julian, Ismet, Chris...just to name a few off the top of my head.
Traveling was exciting, rewarding, challenging, frustrating, and amazing! Above all else, I am so grateful for Toriann, her friendship, faithfulness, bravery, sense of direction, ability to laugh, have 'what to do with my life' talks, and most of all, her ability to dance the night away! We literally spent 24/7 together for almost 8 months and are better friends for it. She taught me so much and there is noone else I would rather have as a travel partner. Thank you T for being amazing and inspiring me to leave the norm and have a small adventure!! I love you so much!
The top quesiton I get at home now is 'what was your favorite experience...if you could pick one?' Well, its impossible to pick one, but sorting through my 1000s of photos I have thought of a lot of little favorites...
Favorite...
breakfast...Tofu omelette in Guatemala
food overall...India, everywhere!
hostel....Paradiso in Nelson, NZ and Big Apple in Istanbul, Turkey
hostel group...Big Apple
boat trip...Pirate ship in Galagagos
dive instructor...Vikas in the Andaman Islands
Christmas day experience...talking on skype to friends and family!
hike...Inca trail to Machu Piccu
monkey...Billy in Panama
sloth...Tember in Panama :)
bed...the bed in Tinos house in Peru!!
randomness...frog concert in Ecuador
surprise...meeting Luke!
commute...walking to the Mother Theresa house at 6 am in Kolkata
Random act of kindness...some guy rescuing my shoe from a river bed after stepping in a hole in the bridge
heart check moment...Mother Theresa house volunteering, playing with the kids in Panama City at Rachels work
wine...New Zealand whites!
new skills...scuba diving, driving on the left side of the road, driving mopeds (ok Toriann only really gets that one!)
and of course....
Least Favorite, but often memoriable...
hike...Picaya Volcano in Guatemala
flight...Buenos Aires to Auckland...14 hours, one movie, one meal???
bug spray...'Jungle Juice' from El Valle, Panama...containing over 1000 ingrediants, but really just makes the dead bugs stick to your legs!
bed...cardboard mattresses all over India or having ants in the bed in the Andamans
bathroom...maybe Lukes in London after getting stuck in it for an hour while home alone, or any of the bathrooms on the trains in India
bus ride..."VIP" overnight bus from Vang Vieng to Luang Probang...we so got ripped off!, rode for 14 hours with 1/2 a seat, a box at my feet and a tire next to me.
I could go on, but those are just a few of the highlights I can think of right now...T, you can add to them!!
Thank you to our families and friends that supported us from afar. Thank you for being excited for us, holding in your anxieties, and sharing our stories! We could not have done it without you guys, you are the BEST!
So, as Toriann continues on with her travels (currently with Alison), I am at home, going back to my old job at Harborview, re connecting with friends, learning how to have a long distance relationship from home, getting back into shape, and figuring out what is the next step for me in life. Its more overwhelming and scary than anything we ever encountered traveling, but I know that one day at a time I will find my way.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Cappadoica and Ephesus
After a sad good bye to Heather, Toriann and I were off on our first adventure together to the city of Goreme in the Cappadocia region. This was particularly exciting for me because it meant leaving the Continent of Europe and going to Asia, a Continent I had not yet traveled to! We arrived in Goreme in the morning to be greeted with cold and rainy weather, which neither of us was entirely prepared for. Feeling ambitious and eager to see the sights, we decided to join a tour group right away! We had a very knowledgeable and entertaining tour guy lead us around the Cappadocia region, which was an astonishing sight, and had us continually saying "this is incredible." The Cappadocia region is made up of soft volcanic rock that had been sculpted into pillars, columns and amazing shapes by years of water and erosion. The pliable rock was then further shaped by humans over the years, resulting in stunning caves and underground cities. These underground cities were used first by Greek and Armenian Christians hermits in the 4th century, making it a safe place to hide. Even after the region of Cappadocia was conquered by the Muslims in the 11th century, the Christians were still left mostly undisturbed. One of the remarkable aspects of the underground cities were just how large they were. Even more, they were all built by the inhabitants themselves, not by slaves, which was fairly unheard of for this time period. The underground cities consisted of tunnels, living quarters for humans and animals, wine cellars, bakeries, and ventilation shafts. Not only does the region of Cappadocia have underground cities, but also whole cities were built above ground as well, including the Valley of Ihlara, which was used by the Byzantine monks 1000 years ago. The Valley has dozens of Chapels and Churches carved into the rocks, which the locals call "fairy chimneys," because they look like chimneys. After our all day tour in the cold and rain and rumors of snow the next day we quickly decided we had seen the main sights of the region and it was time to go to Selcuk (Ephesus).
After two nights of overnight buses, and Toriann feeling a bit under the weather, we arrived in Selcuk and spent the morning sleeping. After a good rest we were excited to explore the sunny town. It was a small, but very lively town. The weekend we were there happened to be the weekend of local elections in Turkey. On Saturday there were parades and rallies all throughout the town in support of this event. Through talking with the locals we found out that just about everyone who has an opportunity to vote takes advantage of their right and does so. We found this very admirable, considering it was only local elections, and not even a national election. This is such a contrast to low voter turnout in the US, especially for local elections.
Seeing the ruins of Ephesus were again an incredible sight, it gave us a glimpse of what it would have been like in the Roman times. Ancient Ephesus began being constructed as early as 3BC and continued to expand through the 6th century AD. The ancient town of Ephesus consisted of gymnasiums, churches, libraries, temples, gates, extensive streets, and a great theatre that could hold up to 25,000 people. Ephesus also holds many monuments dedicated to ancient gods and goddess, kings, and the 4 Apostles. We spent an afternoon walking around this eye stricking historical sight and even enjoyed a picnic lunch in the great theater. After our weekend in Selcuk it was time to head back to Istanbul to spend a few more days seeing the city and then off to Greece!
After two nights of overnight buses, and Toriann feeling a bit under the weather, we arrived in Selcuk and spent the morning sleeping. After a good rest we were excited to explore the sunny town. It was a small, but very lively town. The weekend we were there happened to be the weekend of local elections in Turkey. On Saturday there were parades and rallies all throughout the town in support of this event. Through talking with the locals we found out that just about everyone who has an opportunity to vote takes advantage of their right and does so. We found this very admirable, considering it was only local elections, and not even a national election. This is such a contrast to low voter turnout in the US, especially for local elections.
Seeing the ruins of Ephesus were again an incredible sight, it gave us a glimpse of what it would have been like in the Roman times. Ancient Ephesus began being constructed as early as 3BC and continued to expand through the 6th century AD. The ancient town of Ephesus consisted of gymnasiums, churches, libraries, temples, gates, extensive streets, and a great theatre that could hold up to 25,000 people. Ephesus also holds many monuments dedicated to ancient gods and goddess, kings, and the 4 Apostles. We spent an afternoon walking around this eye stricking historical sight and even enjoyed a picnic lunch in the great theater. After our weekend in Selcuk it was time to head back to Istanbul to spend a few more days seeing the city and then off to Greece!
Istanbul
Well the time has come and it is so hard to believe since it feels like it was just two or three months ago when Heather and I were packing our belongings and saying good bye to friends and family. These past eight months have been amazing and it is sad to have to say good bye to Heather because the idea of her leaving is like having one of my limbs cut off. From the moment we left on August 9t to present day we have been by each others side and have witnessed the best and the worst yet still remain each others best traveling partner and friend. For our farewell last week we spent our time exploring Istanbul, Turkey. Heather and I had about five days together before the arrival of our good friend Alison. Instead of our usual quick sightseeing visits and our country hopping we felt it best to settle in to our last continent, Europe, together and just relax. Our last week together turned out to be one of the best weeks of our whole trip; we couldn’t have planned it better. Free from the stress of moving and traveling we settled into our hostel, ended up establishing a great group of friends and simply just hung out as if we were at home. With the aniticpation of Alison's arrivla Heather and I explored the city by foot to get our groundings and then once Alison came we visited Istanbuls monumental sights.
Istanbul is massive and there is a ton to see and do. It happens to be the only city that sits in two continents, Europe and Asia. Most of our time was spent in Sultanhmet which sits on the Europe side and is where most of Istanbul’s major sites are. During our time here we visited Topkapi Palace where the Ottoman sultans lived till the 19th century. Down the cobble stone street from the palace is Istanbul Archaeology Museum which holds a wide collection of Greek and Roman statuary. We marveled at the Aya Sofya for it is one of the world’s greatest architectural achievements. When translated it means "church of holy wisdom" and was originally built to be a church but was later converted to a mosque when the Ottomans concurred the Byzantine empire. Across from the Aya Sofia is the Blue Mosque which ironically is much more striking. It looks like a palace you would see in a Disney movie with its six slender minarets and several domes. Nearby is the Basilica Cistern which was built during the Byzantine to hold water underground. To escape from Europe we took a boat cruise down the Bosphorus river and crossed over the Asia side. The cruise is such a great way to see Istanbul from a panoramic perspective, plus you can see several monumental sights and take pictures of them. With Turkey being Heathers last country before returning home, shopping was a must. We strolled through the grand bazaar as well as the spice market and picked up some scarves, backgammon boards, spices and Turkish delights. With most of the sights visited and shopping completed we had to treat ourselves to a Turkish bath. Turkey is known for their hamams and after eight months of traveling a good scrub was necessary. So the three of us spent an evening at a hamam and had ourselves scrubbed down, massaged and splashed with warm water, it was grand.
Istanbul is massive and there is a ton to see and do. It happens to be the only city that sits in two continents, Europe and Asia. Most of our time was spent in Sultanhmet which sits on the Europe side and is where most of Istanbul’s major sites are. During our time here we visited Topkapi Palace where the Ottoman sultans lived till the 19th century. Down the cobble stone street from the palace is Istanbul Archaeology Museum which holds a wide collection of Greek and Roman statuary. We marveled at the Aya Sofya for it is one of the world’s greatest architectural achievements. When translated it means "church of holy wisdom" and was originally built to be a church but was later converted to a mosque when the Ottomans concurred the Byzantine empire. Across from the Aya Sofia is the Blue Mosque which ironically is much more striking. It looks like a palace you would see in a Disney movie with its six slender minarets and several domes. Nearby is the Basilica Cistern which was built during the Byzantine to hold water underground. To escape from Europe we took a boat cruise down the Bosphorus river and crossed over the Asia side. The cruise is such a great way to see Istanbul from a panoramic perspective, plus you can see several monumental sights and take pictures of them. With Turkey being Heathers last country before returning home, shopping was a must. We strolled through the grand bazaar as well as the spice market and picked up some scarves, backgammon boards, spices and Turkish delights. With most of the sights visited and shopping completed we had to treat ourselves to a Turkish bath. Turkey is known for their hamams and after eight months of traveling a good scrub was necessary. So the three of us spent an evening at a hamam and had ourselves scrubbed down, massaged and splashed with warm water, it was grand.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Rose Stone City of Petra
With just a few days to see Jordan, we had to stop and see the beautiful rose stone city of Petra. Petra was built in the 3rd century BC by the Nabataeans. The Nabataeans are one of the most gifted people in history, who carved palaces, temples, tombs and stables from the sand stone cliffs. The Nabataeans were an ancient Arab tribes who originally came from the Arabian Peninsula and are known to be the most open tribal group to outside cultural influences. During our visit we were able to discern the influences of the Graeco-Roman, Egyptian, Mesopotamian and local styles on each of the carved monuments. Petra, however, was gradually abandoned, and after the 14th century it was completely disserted until a Swiss traveler named Johann Ludwig Burckhardt rediscovered it in 1812. Disguised as a Bedouin nomad, he snuck into the land of Petra to discover the eighth ancient wonder of the world.
It is said that one could spend up to a week walking through Petra, but with our time crunch we only spent two days sightseeing Petra. But we made the most of our two days. We had traveled to Jordan with our friend Mike (North Carolina) whom we had met in Jerusalem. Since he had a flight to catch out if Amman at 2am and ours was at 4am on the same day, we all decided to travel together to Petra and then to Amman.
Our first day we managed to spend almost 12 hours absorbing the sights of Petra. You enter into Petra through a long (1200 mts), narrow gorge of stunningly beautiful cliffs. The gorge is filled with typical Petraen features, as it was once used as the main bazaar of Petra. It is a great introduction of what is to come. At the end of the gorge, you are greeted by the famous Al-Khazheh, the Treasury of Petra. It is dazzling, with such unique architecture, immense size and the natural surrounding beauty. The treasury was used in one of the Indiana Jones film, and standing in front of it, you feel like Indiana is going to jump out of the doorway. From the treasury, we climbed up the cliffs to get a birds eye view and were led by a Bedouin nomad to the high place of sacrifice. We would have never found it on our own, but he led us up a hard, but enjoyable climb. The view was breathtaking-immense desert, the Roman Theater, and the royal tombs sitting in front, carved into the massive sides of the mountains. Descending down the mountain, we stopped at multiple tombs, the colonnaded street, and the temple of the winged lion. These were all great, but they just happened to be on the way to the second most famous site of Petra-the monastery. Up 800 stairs cut into the side of the Ad-Deir Mountain was exhausting after being at Petra all day, but entirely worth it! The monastery, Ad-dier is also huge in size and equally as beautiful as the treasury. The design is a bit simpler, but the architecture and the fact that is built into the cliffs is simply astounding in itself. They are not sure whether it was a tomb or temple, or both, but either way the monastery served as a processional route at the end of the ancient pilgrimage route. During Byzantine times, the monastery was converted and used a church.
Petra had been recommended to us from all over the world, and we are glad that we made the stop in Jordan to see it. It was equally or better than the site in Egypt, and much more off the beaten track. You can make a day trip from Israel or Egypt to see Petra, but it is such a long trip and your time is so limited to see it, so we would definitely recommend if you are that close, take the time to come spend at least a whole day. It is worth it! Our second day, since we had seen the most famous sites already, we took it easy and were able to relax and go back to the places we liked the most.
Our stay in Jordan was short. Other than Petra, we only saw the rest of the country in the car. The desert of Wadi Rum was beautiful though, and the capital city of Amman was very modern and diverse. The Jordanian people were friendly, if not overly anxious about what you thought about them and their business. The men, similar to Egypt and India, seemed to be everywhere and always offering advice and compliments, whether it was wanted or not. I decided a long time ago that I miss being with women. It is so much harder to connect with women, one to find them, and two to get them to open up to a foreigner. The man working at our hotel was constantly telling us to 'smile!, it doesn’t cost anything (a line we have heard often and really annoys us). Its only American women that don’t smile' He was not really interested in having a discussion about the culture differences between Americans and Jordanians, but I would have loved to walk down the street with him and try to find a Jordanian women that was smiling.
It is said that one could spend up to a week walking through Petra, but with our time crunch we only spent two days sightseeing Petra. But we made the most of our two days. We had traveled to Jordan with our friend Mike (North Carolina) whom we had met in Jerusalem. Since he had a flight to catch out if Amman at 2am and ours was at 4am on the same day, we all decided to travel together to Petra and then to Amman.
Our first day we managed to spend almost 12 hours absorbing the sights of Petra. You enter into Petra through a long (1200 mts), narrow gorge of stunningly beautiful cliffs. The gorge is filled with typical Petraen features, as it was once used as the main bazaar of Petra. It is a great introduction of what is to come. At the end of the gorge, you are greeted by the famous Al-Khazheh, the Treasury of Petra. It is dazzling, with such unique architecture, immense size and the natural surrounding beauty. The treasury was used in one of the Indiana Jones film, and standing in front of it, you feel like Indiana is going to jump out of the doorway. From the treasury, we climbed up the cliffs to get a birds eye view and were led by a Bedouin nomad to the high place of sacrifice. We would have never found it on our own, but he led us up a hard, but enjoyable climb. The view was breathtaking-immense desert, the Roman Theater, and the royal tombs sitting in front, carved into the massive sides of the mountains. Descending down the mountain, we stopped at multiple tombs, the colonnaded street, and the temple of the winged lion. These were all great, but they just happened to be on the way to the second most famous site of Petra-the monastery. Up 800 stairs cut into the side of the Ad-Deir Mountain was exhausting after being at Petra all day, but entirely worth it! The monastery, Ad-dier is also huge in size and equally as beautiful as the treasury. The design is a bit simpler, but the architecture and the fact that is built into the cliffs is simply astounding in itself. They are not sure whether it was a tomb or temple, or both, but either way the monastery served as a processional route at the end of the ancient pilgrimage route. During Byzantine times, the monastery was converted and used a church.
Petra had been recommended to us from all over the world, and we are glad that we made the stop in Jordan to see it. It was equally or better than the site in Egypt, and much more off the beaten track. You can make a day trip from Israel or Egypt to see Petra, but it is such a long trip and your time is so limited to see it, so we would definitely recommend if you are that close, take the time to come spend at least a whole day. It is worth it! Our second day, since we had seen the most famous sites already, we took it easy and were able to relax and go back to the places we liked the most.
Our stay in Jordan was short. Other than Petra, we only saw the rest of the country in the car. The desert of Wadi Rum was beautiful though, and the capital city of Amman was very modern and diverse. The Jordanian people were friendly, if not overly anxious about what you thought about them and their business. The men, similar to Egypt and India, seemed to be everywhere and always offering advice and compliments, whether it was wanted or not. I decided a long time ago that I miss being with women. It is so much harder to connect with women, one to find them, and two to get them to open up to a foreigner. The man working at our hotel was constantly telling us to 'smile!, it doesn’t cost anything (a line we have heard often and really annoys us). Its only American women that don’t smile' He was not really interested in having a discussion about the culture differences between Americans and Jordanians, but I would have loved to walk down the street with him and try to find a Jordanian women that was smiling.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Come as a guest, leave as a friend!
Toriann and I have learned over and over again that, even if we plan out our next move, it rarely plays out how we plan. We had planned to skip Israel for lack of time, but after learning more about the border crossings and the ferry to Jordan (which is notoriously unreliable), we decided a stop in Jerusalem was definitely doable. And although it was a short stop, we are so glad that we went.
Jerusalem is an amazing city, filled with the history, holiness, beauty and contradictions. Considered to be full of the most holy places for Jews, Muslims and Christians, Jerusalem holds so much to see and experience. The walls of old Jerusalem surround the old city, which is divided into the Armenian, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim quarters. We stayed in the Armenian quarter at Petra hostel. The hostel was average, but our stay there was awesome due to the 50 or so South Africans camping on the roof. The group is starting out a year of traveling in which they volunteer and work wherever they are needed all over the world. The people were some of the kindest we have met on the road and they took us in as one of their own, inviting us to singing sessions on the street, ice cream and coffee runs, and hanging out on the roof. We were so blessed by them and wish them the best on their year long adventure!
Our first day in Jerusalem, we left the old city and ventured into Bethlehem. Gong to Bethlehem requires crossing through the security fence that divides Israel and the Palestinian territory. The wall was originally built to stop Palestinian weapons smugglers and suicide bombers but has cut through farm lands and neighborhoods and drastically changed life for those that live in the vicinity. The mood of the people in Bethlehem was felt immediately after crossing the fence. Our cab driver shared a bit about the constraints of living as a Palestine in Bethlehem and asked desperately to take us to the Dead Sea because the only way he could go was to bring tourists in his cab. He otherwise was not allowed and could not afford to leave the West Bank.
Anyway, while in Bethlehem we visited the Shepherd’s fields where the Shepherd’s were the first to receive the good news. We then went to where Jesus was raised for the first two years of his life before finishing at the Church of the Nativity, where it is believed that Jesus was born. After crossing back over the ´fence´ we headed across town to the immense Holocaust museum Yad Vashem in the New City. The museum was so well down and full of the heart breaking stories of the Holocaust. I was so struck with how long things were turning bad before the world started noticing and acting to stop it. The history, both ancient and recent of Israel is so complicated, full of hurt, conflict, and turmoil. It was a lot to take in, but the museum was well worth the 3 hours we spent there.
Our next day in Jerusalem we did a walking tour through the walls of the Old City. The Old City has 4 quarters, Armenian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim. Within the walls are the Haram ash-Sharıff (the Temple Mount where the Arc of the Covenant was supposedly kept), the Western ´wailing´ wall- the only remnants of Judaism’s holiest shrine, Via Dolorosa (the way of the cross), the Church of the Holy Sepulcre (where Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Coptic Christians believe Jesus was crucified) and so many other religious and historical sites. It is impossible to name them all, even to see them all.
We saw the Old City on Friday, which is the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath. In the evening we headed down to the Western Wall to see the Hasidic Jews do their prayers. It was an amazing sight, like nothing I have ever seen before. The people gather around the wall, chanting their prayers, leaning towards the wall-men on one side and women on the other. The Jewish day of rest, called Shabbat, is from Friday afternoon until sunset on Saturday. The city, other than the Christian and Muslim quarters of the Old City, shuts down-no restaurants, public transportation, shops, etc. So although we were planning to leave Saturday, the Shabbat made that impossible and we stayed for another day in Jerusalem.
Saturday we walked up to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus took on the sin of the world in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Church of All Nations stands. The Mount of Olives is just outside the walls of the Old City and if you walk up the mountain side, the view of the city is stunning. The next stop was the Garden Tomb, also just outside the Old City. The Garden tomb is the place where Protestants believe the crucifixion and resurrection occurred. After seeing those last two spots, we embraced the day of rest and had a nap before heading to a Messianic Jewish church service. The service was very contemporary, not at all what we were expecting, but all the same it was amazing. There was a definite spirit of freedom that seemed to be present and I loved worshipping in Hebrew. The congregation was so mixed and filled with people from all over the world that had come to Israel for some reason or another.
Our time in Israel was fascinating, challenging-spiritually, politically, emotionally, and also rewarding. I think we met some of the best people in Jerusalem that we have met on the road so far as well as seeing some of the significant sites of Christianity. We have traveled through the lands of the origins of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and now Christianity.
Jerusalem is an amazing city, filled with the history, holiness, beauty and contradictions. Considered to be full of the most holy places for Jews, Muslims and Christians, Jerusalem holds so much to see and experience. The walls of old Jerusalem surround the old city, which is divided into the Armenian, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim quarters. We stayed in the Armenian quarter at Petra hostel. The hostel was average, but our stay there was awesome due to the 50 or so South Africans camping on the roof. The group is starting out a year of traveling in which they volunteer and work wherever they are needed all over the world. The people were some of the kindest we have met on the road and they took us in as one of their own, inviting us to singing sessions on the street, ice cream and coffee runs, and hanging out on the roof. We were so blessed by them and wish them the best on their year long adventure!
Our first day in Jerusalem, we left the old city and ventured into Bethlehem. Gong to Bethlehem requires crossing through the security fence that divides Israel and the Palestinian territory. The wall was originally built to stop Palestinian weapons smugglers and suicide bombers but has cut through farm lands and neighborhoods and drastically changed life for those that live in the vicinity. The mood of the people in Bethlehem was felt immediately after crossing the fence. Our cab driver shared a bit about the constraints of living as a Palestine in Bethlehem and asked desperately to take us to the Dead Sea because the only way he could go was to bring tourists in his cab. He otherwise was not allowed and could not afford to leave the West Bank.
Anyway, while in Bethlehem we visited the Shepherd’s fields where the Shepherd’s were the first to receive the good news. We then went to where Jesus was raised for the first two years of his life before finishing at the Church of the Nativity, where it is believed that Jesus was born. After crossing back over the ´fence´ we headed across town to the immense Holocaust museum Yad Vashem in the New City. The museum was so well down and full of the heart breaking stories of the Holocaust. I was so struck with how long things were turning bad before the world started noticing and acting to stop it. The history, both ancient and recent of Israel is so complicated, full of hurt, conflict, and turmoil. It was a lot to take in, but the museum was well worth the 3 hours we spent there.
Our next day in Jerusalem we did a walking tour through the walls of the Old City. The Old City has 4 quarters, Armenian, Christian, Jewish and Muslim. Within the walls are the Haram ash-Sharıff (the Temple Mount where the Arc of the Covenant was supposedly kept), the Western ´wailing´ wall- the only remnants of Judaism’s holiest shrine, Via Dolorosa (the way of the cross), the Church of the Holy Sepulcre (where Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Coptic Christians believe Jesus was crucified) and so many other religious and historical sites. It is impossible to name them all, even to see them all.
We saw the Old City on Friday, which is the beginning of the Jewish Sabbath. In the evening we headed down to the Western Wall to see the Hasidic Jews do their prayers. It was an amazing sight, like nothing I have ever seen before. The people gather around the wall, chanting their prayers, leaning towards the wall-men on one side and women on the other. The Jewish day of rest, called Shabbat, is from Friday afternoon until sunset on Saturday. The city, other than the Christian and Muslim quarters of the Old City, shuts down-no restaurants, public transportation, shops, etc. So although we were planning to leave Saturday, the Shabbat made that impossible and we stayed for another day in Jerusalem.
Saturday we walked up to the Mount of Olives, where Jesus took on the sin of the world in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the Church of All Nations stands. The Mount of Olives is just outside the walls of the Old City and if you walk up the mountain side, the view of the city is stunning. The next stop was the Garden Tomb, also just outside the Old City. The Garden tomb is the place where Protestants believe the crucifixion and resurrection occurred. After seeing those last two spots, we embraced the day of rest and had a nap before heading to a Messianic Jewish church service. The service was very contemporary, not at all what we were expecting, but all the same it was amazing. There was a definite spirit of freedom that seemed to be present and I loved worshipping in Hebrew. The congregation was so mixed and filled with people from all over the world that had come to Israel for some reason or another.
Our time in Israel was fascinating, challenging-spiritually, politically, emotionally, and also rewarding. I think we met some of the best people in Jerusalem that we have met on the road so far as well as seeing some of the significant sites of Christianity. We have traveled through the lands of the origins of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and now Christianity.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Dahab and the Red Sea
A brake was much needed after all the temples and street hassling. We were told by many people how great Dahab is for its diving and calm atmosphere, so we had long decided to end our Egypt travels in Dahab(located on the Sınaı pennısula). Expecting to only stay 2 or 3 days max we have ended up staying about 5 days. Since being here we have spent our days diving, relaxing at the restaurant lawn chairs, and hanging out with friends.
We did three diving trips-lighthouse, canyon and blue hole. Lighthouse is a site super close to our hostel and to be honest was pretty average for coral and fish. We were told to dive there because it’s a good and easy site to visit plus it’s a way for the dive masters to check our weights since there is so much salt in the red sea your buoyancy is higher. Although we were pretty unimpressed, it was still a fun dive and were lookıng foward to dıvıng at the other, more famous dıve sıtes.
The next day we drove about 15 minutes along the coast to canyon and blue hole. In the morning we dived at canyon which is a long narrow canyon ranging in depth from 18-50m. Most of the coral is dead because of all the tourism, but at the end of the dive we went down into this crack where we saw schools of fish. The canyon was impressive but would have been amazing to see it filled with coral, what a site that would have been. After a lunch break we suited up and walked into blue hole. This dive site is one of Dahab most famous site because of how incredibly blue the water is and how deep it goes, 160m. We started at the blue hole and continued along the cliff to the bells. Again, most of the coral is dead but the site and layout of the cliff is different then other dives.
Just before leaving Egypt, we spent our second to last night hiking up Mt. Sinai which stands 2285m above sea level. We left our hostel at about 10pm and drove two hours to the bottom of Mt. Sinai where we were greeted by a local guide. There are two paths which you can choose from to walk up Mt. Sinai. Our guide took us up Camels Path which is the longer route but much easier to walk in the night time. Although it is night time and very dark we were just two days short of the full moon so it was surprisingly bright out. The hike up takes about 2 hours but with several hours to kill before the sun rises we stopped at the little tea shops along the way and warmed our body’s in the warm huts. Just before arriving to the top, the camel’s path joined up with the Steps of Repentance and we had to walk up about 700 steps before arriving to the top. Once we made it to the top, Heather and I pulled out our sleeping bags and rented a wool blanket to keep ourselves warm. Cuddling trying to keep ourselves warm and out of the wind we rested for about at an hour and half till the sunrise. This hour and half was miserable, we were freezing and our toes were so cold they hurt to move. We started to ask ourselves why we choose to hike Mt. Sinai in the middle of the night, but once the sun started to rise we were so thankful we did. The sky was clear and the sunrise was brilliant, one of the best ones we have seen so far. It was awesome to ımagıne Moses receıvıng the 10 commandments at the top of thıs beautıful mountaın. After we greeted the sun, we gathered with the rest of the group and decided to take the Steps of Repentance down. This path is a bit shorter but tougher on the legs because there are 3750 steps down. These steps were built by a single monk in order to fulfill his pledge of penitence.
Once we arrived at the bottom we all piled back in the van and headed back to Dahab were I gather most everyone like us spent the day sleeping and recovering from our night hike. Although we only had a day or so left we simply relaxed, packed and prepared ourselves for our long travel day to Jerusalem, Israel.
We did three diving trips-lighthouse, canyon and blue hole. Lighthouse is a site super close to our hostel and to be honest was pretty average for coral and fish. We were told to dive there because it’s a good and easy site to visit plus it’s a way for the dive masters to check our weights since there is so much salt in the red sea your buoyancy is higher. Although we were pretty unimpressed, it was still a fun dive and were lookıng foward to dıvıng at the other, more famous dıve sıtes.
The next day we drove about 15 minutes along the coast to canyon and blue hole. In the morning we dived at canyon which is a long narrow canyon ranging in depth from 18-50m. Most of the coral is dead because of all the tourism, but at the end of the dive we went down into this crack where we saw schools of fish. The canyon was impressive but would have been amazing to see it filled with coral, what a site that would have been. After a lunch break we suited up and walked into blue hole. This dive site is one of Dahab most famous site because of how incredibly blue the water is and how deep it goes, 160m. We started at the blue hole and continued along the cliff to the bells. Again, most of the coral is dead but the site and layout of the cliff is different then other dives.
Just before leaving Egypt, we spent our second to last night hiking up Mt. Sinai which stands 2285m above sea level. We left our hostel at about 10pm and drove two hours to the bottom of Mt. Sinai where we were greeted by a local guide. There are two paths which you can choose from to walk up Mt. Sinai. Our guide took us up Camels Path which is the longer route but much easier to walk in the night time. Although it is night time and very dark we were just two days short of the full moon so it was surprisingly bright out. The hike up takes about 2 hours but with several hours to kill before the sun rises we stopped at the little tea shops along the way and warmed our body’s in the warm huts. Just before arriving to the top, the camel’s path joined up with the Steps of Repentance and we had to walk up about 700 steps before arriving to the top. Once we made it to the top, Heather and I pulled out our sleeping bags and rented a wool blanket to keep ourselves warm. Cuddling trying to keep ourselves warm and out of the wind we rested for about at an hour and half till the sunrise. This hour and half was miserable, we were freezing and our toes were so cold they hurt to move. We started to ask ourselves why we choose to hike Mt. Sinai in the middle of the night, but once the sun started to rise we were so thankful we did. The sky was clear and the sunrise was brilliant, one of the best ones we have seen so far. It was awesome to ımagıne Moses receıvıng the 10 commandments at the top of thıs beautıful mountaın. After we greeted the sun, we gathered with the rest of the group and decided to take the Steps of Repentance down. This path is a bit shorter but tougher on the legs because there are 3750 steps down. These steps were built by a single monk in order to fulfill his pledge of penitence.
Once we arrived at the bottom we all piled back in the van and headed back to Dahab were I gather most everyone like us spent the day sleeping and recovering from our night hike. Although we only had a day or so left we simply relaxed, packed and prepared ourselves for our long travel day to Jerusalem, Israel.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Temples, Temples and more Temples
Before leaving Cairo on our overnight train to Aswan we booked a 5 nights 6 days package tour which would take us to several temples, ride on the Felucca up the Nile and end in Luxor. Excited from just seeing the pyramids and the Egyptian Museum we were super pumped to visit all the famous temples down in the Nile valley.
Our first stop was to Aswan's famous High Dam, which was completed in 1971. The construction of the Dam created Lake Nasser which is the world's largest artificial lake. The construction of the Dam was not cheep or easy since during the building process they noticed the water level rising which then forced the Egyptian government to send out an international plea for financial help to move the surrounding temples to higher ground. The UN and individual governments responded to this plea by funding the $36 million relocation effort. The method which was used to relocate the temples was by simply cutting the temples into pieces and then moves them to higher ground. After learning this I don't know how beneficial it was to create the dam in the first place.
The fist temple we visited was Temple of Isis which was originally built on Philae Island but is now located on Agilkia Island. Isis is a goddess of healer of children and wife of Osiris. It is said that Isis found her husbands heart on Philae after he was dismembered. This thus makes it the most sacred of Isis' homes.
After our afternoon sight visits we joined our Italian friends Omar and Stephano to dinner where we indulged in some falafels, shish kebabs and Egyptian sweets (baklava my favorite). It was early to bed since we had to be up at 3:30 to head out to Abu Simbel which is 297km outside of Aswan and 50 km from the Sudanese boarder.
The great Temple of Abu Simbel is dedicated to the god Ra-Hurakhti and built by Ramses II. However by looking at it you would never guess because four 22m tall statues of Ramses II sit at the entrance of the temple and eight more stands inside. Ramses II also had a temple built for his wife Nefertari which is called Temple of Hathor. The temple is dedicated to Hathor the young goddess of fertility and sky. This temple is one of the only temples in Egypt dedicated to a woman.
With two nights down and three more to go we spent two of the three nights on a felucca. Our felucca ride did not go according to plan which was very disappointing and frustrating but on the upside though the people on the felucca were great. We had so much fun hanging out with Katie, Ben and Simon from England and Veronica from France. Our trip on the Felucca was supposed to take us to Elephant and Kithneer Island which is across the Nile from Aswan. From there we were supposed to sail down to Kom Ombo and have dinner and visit it in the morning. The next day we were expected to sail from Kom Ombo to Edfu and visit Edfu in the morning. Well lets just say we never made it to Kom Ombo by felucca but instead drove to Kom Ombo and then to Edfu and finally to Luxor.
Day one we sailed across the Nile and just sat and watched the sun go down while we asked ourselves why we were not moving. Oh that's because the wind was to strong and the Nile police would come and tell us to dock. B...S....!!!! Right as the sun was setting we sailed for about an hour and then docked till morning. For day two we sailed most of the day but not all the way to Kom Ombo because it's better for our sleep to dock a few km outside where it's quite. Annoyed and frustrated we were left with little to do but enjoy each others company. I however felt myself getting sick with chills and high fever just wanting to be off the felucca. Still feeling sick by day three on the felucca we packed our bags hailed a min bus and all crammed in with other frustrated felucca passengers and visited Kom Ombo and Edfu.
Kom Ombo still standing in its original spot unlike the other two is a series of temples. The temple dates back to the Middle Kingdom and several rulers such as Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy XIII and Caesar Augustus have contributed something to this temple. Various parts of the temple are dedicated to different gods or goddess.
In Edfu we visited the Temple of Horus, whom is the son of Isis and Osiris and is recognized for his hawk head and is known for the guard against evil. This temple took almost 200 years to construct and is one of the last great Egyptian monuments. Several religious festivals were healed in honor of Horus at this temple.
With Kom Ombo and Edfu down we had a fully packed day of temples and valleys in Luxor waiting for us the next day. Exhausted and still getting the chills and fevers we decided to spend two days in Luxor instead of one which ended up breaking up the long sight seeing day. Needing to rest and sleep we took it easy for the night and morning. By the afternoon I managed to get enough strength to visit Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple.
Karnak Temple is amazing with its intricacy and proportions of pillars. Every major period of Egypt's ancient history is represented in this temple. The temple holds several shrines which are dedicated to the sun god Amun and his family. Another interesting think about Karnak Temple is it still has ancient mud brick scaffoldings which were used to erect the massive walls.
Luxor Temple which is located about five blocks from our wonderful hostel called Oasis, the temple was built around 1380 BCE by Amenhotep III. Other significant pharaohs such as Ramses II to Tutankhamun made there mark as well. Luxor Temple was meant to serve as a love nest for the gods and many couples would spend 24 days and nights in the sanctuary. Currently a Muslim temple is being built inside Luxor Temple.
While visiting these temples we spent our time walking around with our friend Kate whom just finished volunteering with Peace Core in Namibia. Discussing how I was feeling she suggested I get tested for malaria to be on the safe side. Heather and I decided to stop by some pharmacies on the way home to pick up a malaria test kit but since malaria is not common here we were sent to the hospital. Luckily our travel agent friends had plans to meet us for coffee and instead volunteered to take us to the hospital. Our visit was short, brief and interesting, come to find out they don't have the test and sent us to a lab doctor. With Mindu and Ramez by our sides they knew where to go and settled it out for us. I had my blood drawn tested and was expected to return at 10:30pm for my results. Well come to find out I don't have malaria but instead have Pharaohs revenge (travelers diarrhea) from the food on the felucca. Mindu says it happens all the time and laughed at me for not telling him I had diarrhea. But since I had just come from India where malaria is very prominent I thought I had malaria because no one else was sick off the boat. Oh well, it made for a fun adventure and Heather was such a trooper and good care taker.
With east bank down we were left visiting the west bank where the Valley of Kings and Queens are plus the Temple of Hatchebsot and Clossi of Memonon. First stop Valley of Kings has roughly 64 known tombs which were buried in the valley. We visited three of the 64 tombs. First we saw Ramses IV tomb which was used as a Byzantine church. Inside the tomb we saw lots of Coptic graffiti plus paintings which come from the Book of the Dead and the Book of the Gates. Next we visited Ramses IX tomb which features gold figures against a deep blue background. Inside the tomb they found Ramses IX's sarcophagus in a pit beyond the corridor. Finally we ended with Ramses I and his tomb has one of the shortest corridors in the valley which is said to be a reflection of his short rule. Inside his tomb the walls were painted with scenes of Ramses playing with the gods.
Form the valley of Kings we went to the Temple of Hatshepsut which is built in a three tiered form and stands tall against the sheer limestone cliffs in the background. Hatshepsut is the only female ruler to obtain the title of pharaoh after the death of her husband Thutmose II. She is said to have dressed up as a drag at times, which we thought was interesting.
Next to follow was the Valley of Queens which holds the burial place for the wives of the pharaohs and there children. It holds roughly 30 tombs and we visited two, Tomb of Titi and Tomb of Amonherkhepeshef. Inside the Tomb of Amonherkhepeshef laid a desiccated fetus which was displayed in a small case. It was impressive to see it in its perfect fetus form and has been well preserved. Both tombs were similar to the kings yet a bit smaller.
Before returning home after a very long hot morning we stopped to take pictures of the two statues known as Colossi of Memnon. These two magnificently tall statues are the only two things which remain of the largest temple dedicated to Amenhotep III.
Feeling better yet exhausted from all the sites we sat and had lunch before we headed out into the bazaar to do a quick shopping trip. Our shopping trip was short and brief because our bus to Dahab a waited. These past six days have flown by, its amazing to think of all the temples we visited but they have all been unique and one of a kind. However our time in Dahab will be a good break from the ancient Egyptian ruins. Red Sea here we come!!!
Our first stop was to Aswan's famous High Dam, which was completed in 1971. The construction of the Dam created Lake Nasser which is the world's largest artificial lake. The construction of the Dam was not cheep or easy since during the building process they noticed the water level rising which then forced the Egyptian government to send out an international plea for financial help to move the surrounding temples to higher ground. The UN and individual governments responded to this plea by funding the $36 million relocation effort. The method which was used to relocate the temples was by simply cutting the temples into pieces and then moves them to higher ground. After learning this I don't know how beneficial it was to create the dam in the first place.
The fist temple we visited was Temple of Isis which was originally built on Philae Island but is now located on Agilkia Island. Isis is a goddess of healer of children and wife of Osiris. It is said that Isis found her husbands heart on Philae after he was dismembered. This thus makes it the most sacred of Isis' homes.
After our afternoon sight visits we joined our Italian friends Omar and Stephano to dinner where we indulged in some falafels, shish kebabs and Egyptian sweets (baklava my favorite). It was early to bed since we had to be up at 3:30 to head out to Abu Simbel which is 297km outside of Aswan and 50 km from the Sudanese boarder.
The great Temple of Abu Simbel is dedicated to the god Ra-Hurakhti and built by Ramses II. However by looking at it you would never guess because four 22m tall statues of Ramses II sit at the entrance of the temple and eight more stands inside. Ramses II also had a temple built for his wife Nefertari which is called Temple of Hathor. The temple is dedicated to Hathor the young goddess of fertility and sky. This temple is one of the only temples in Egypt dedicated to a woman.
With two nights down and three more to go we spent two of the three nights on a felucca. Our felucca ride did not go according to plan which was very disappointing and frustrating but on the upside though the people on the felucca were great. We had so much fun hanging out with Katie, Ben and Simon from England and Veronica from France. Our trip on the Felucca was supposed to take us to Elephant and Kithneer Island which is across the Nile from Aswan. From there we were supposed to sail down to Kom Ombo and have dinner and visit it in the morning. The next day we were expected to sail from Kom Ombo to Edfu and visit Edfu in the morning. Well lets just say we never made it to Kom Ombo by felucca but instead drove to Kom Ombo and then to Edfu and finally to Luxor.
Day one we sailed across the Nile and just sat and watched the sun go down while we asked ourselves why we were not moving. Oh that's because the wind was to strong and the Nile police would come and tell us to dock. B...S....!!!! Right as the sun was setting we sailed for about an hour and then docked till morning. For day two we sailed most of the day but not all the way to Kom Ombo because it's better for our sleep to dock a few km outside where it's quite. Annoyed and frustrated we were left with little to do but enjoy each others company. I however felt myself getting sick with chills and high fever just wanting to be off the felucca. Still feeling sick by day three on the felucca we packed our bags hailed a min bus and all crammed in with other frustrated felucca passengers and visited Kom Ombo and Edfu.
Kom Ombo still standing in its original spot unlike the other two is a series of temples. The temple dates back to the Middle Kingdom and several rulers such as Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy XIII and Caesar Augustus have contributed something to this temple. Various parts of the temple are dedicated to different gods or goddess.
In Edfu we visited the Temple of Horus, whom is the son of Isis and Osiris and is recognized for his hawk head and is known for the guard against evil. This temple took almost 200 years to construct and is one of the last great Egyptian monuments. Several religious festivals were healed in honor of Horus at this temple.
With Kom Ombo and Edfu down we had a fully packed day of temples and valleys in Luxor waiting for us the next day. Exhausted and still getting the chills and fevers we decided to spend two days in Luxor instead of one which ended up breaking up the long sight seeing day. Needing to rest and sleep we took it easy for the night and morning. By the afternoon I managed to get enough strength to visit Karnak Temple and Luxor Temple.
Karnak Temple is amazing with its intricacy and proportions of pillars. Every major period of Egypt's ancient history is represented in this temple. The temple holds several shrines which are dedicated to the sun god Amun and his family. Another interesting think about Karnak Temple is it still has ancient mud brick scaffoldings which were used to erect the massive walls.
Luxor Temple which is located about five blocks from our wonderful hostel called Oasis, the temple was built around 1380 BCE by Amenhotep III. Other significant pharaohs such as Ramses II to Tutankhamun made there mark as well. Luxor Temple was meant to serve as a love nest for the gods and many couples would spend 24 days and nights in the sanctuary. Currently a Muslim temple is being built inside Luxor Temple.
While visiting these temples we spent our time walking around with our friend Kate whom just finished volunteering with Peace Core in Namibia. Discussing how I was feeling she suggested I get tested for malaria to be on the safe side. Heather and I decided to stop by some pharmacies on the way home to pick up a malaria test kit but since malaria is not common here we were sent to the hospital. Luckily our travel agent friends had plans to meet us for coffee and instead volunteered to take us to the hospital. Our visit was short, brief and interesting, come to find out they don't have the test and sent us to a lab doctor. With Mindu and Ramez by our sides they knew where to go and settled it out for us. I had my blood drawn tested and was expected to return at 10:30pm for my results. Well come to find out I don't have malaria but instead have Pharaohs revenge (travelers diarrhea) from the food on the felucca. Mindu says it happens all the time and laughed at me for not telling him I had diarrhea. But since I had just come from India where malaria is very prominent I thought I had malaria because no one else was sick off the boat. Oh well, it made for a fun adventure and Heather was such a trooper and good care taker.
With east bank down we were left visiting the west bank where the Valley of Kings and Queens are plus the Temple of Hatchebsot and Clossi of Memonon. First stop Valley of Kings has roughly 64 known tombs which were buried in the valley. We visited three of the 64 tombs. First we saw Ramses IV tomb which was used as a Byzantine church. Inside the tomb we saw lots of Coptic graffiti plus paintings which come from the Book of the Dead and the Book of the Gates. Next we visited Ramses IX tomb which features gold figures against a deep blue background. Inside the tomb they found Ramses IX's sarcophagus in a pit beyond the corridor. Finally we ended with Ramses I and his tomb has one of the shortest corridors in the valley which is said to be a reflection of his short rule. Inside his tomb the walls were painted with scenes of Ramses playing with the gods.
Form the valley of Kings we went to the Temple of Hatshepsut which is built in a three tiered form and stands tall against the sheer limestone cliffs in the background. Hatshepsut is the only female ruler to obtain the title of pharaoh after the death of her husband Thutmose II. She is said to have dressed up as a drag at times, which we thought was interesting.
Next to follow was the Valley of Queens which holds the burial place for the wives of the pharaohs and there children. It holds roughly 30 tombs and we visited two, Tomb of Titi and Tomb of Amonherkhepeshef. Inside the Tomb of Amonherkhepeshef laid a desiccated fetus which was displayed in a small case. It was impressive to see it in its perfect fetus form and has been well preserved. Both tombs were similar to the kings yet a bit smaller.
Before returning home after a very long hot morning we stopped to take pictures of the two statues known as Colossi of Memnon. These two magnificently tall statues are the only two things which remain of the largest temple dedicated to Amenhotep III.
Feeling better yet exhausted from all the sites we sat and had lunch before we headed out into the bazaar to do a quick shopping trip. Our shopping trip was short and brief because our bus to Dahab a waited. These past six days have flown by, its amazing to think of all the temples we visited but they have all been unique and one of a kind. However our time in Dahab will be a good break from the ancient Egyptian ruins. Red Sea here we come!!!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Cairo
I arrived at length at Cairo, mother of cities and seat of Pharaoh the tyrant, boundless in multitude of buildings, peerless in beauty and splendor, the meeting-place of comer and goer, the halting-place of feeble and mighty, whose throngs surge as waves of sea.
-Ibn Battuta, 14th Century globetrotter
Flying into Cairo, I was surprised by the vast desert that surronded the huge city. It was a bit shocking to be back on the road again, after a week in England, but was thrilled to see Toriann waiting for me outside of customs. We made our way to a taxi and somehow picked the one taxi driver that had a bone to pick with the security gaurd. After we threw our luggage in trunk, the security gaurd was practically in the car beating on the our driver. The driver was not phased though and drove away, leaving the gaurd, yelling, in the dust. Welcome to Egypt. :)
Honestly, I was so nervous to travel into Egypt. After the hectic, always hasseling, invading your space, crazy traffic of India, I thought Egypt would be even worse. And then two days before we were supposed to arrive, there was the bombing in the tourist market. But, so far, and not to jinx anything, Egypt has been a pleasant surprise. The men can still be assertive and foward, you still feel as if you are always being ripped off and everyone has a shop or expedition that they insist you must visit, but overall, our experience in Cairo was safe, pleasant and incredibly rich with amazing experiences.
Our first full day in Cairo, we arranged a private driver to take us to the great pyramids of Giza. We were driven straight to the 'Office of horse and camel to pyramids trip', where we met Mahmoud, a friendly Egyptian man who after much haggeling led us onto the pyramid grounds on Moses and MickeyMouse, our camels for the day. We spent about 3 hours wandering the huge area that surronds the 9 pyramids. There are 3 main pyramids, built for 3 pharaohs from the 4th dynasty-Cheops, Chephren, and Mycerinus. The three were a son-grandson trio who ruled in the 26th century BCE. The surronding six smaller pyramids were built for the wives and children of the pharoahs, and all 9 of the pyramids contain its own funery complex. When one of the rulers died, the mummified body was brought across the Nile by boat and placed to rest in the scared center of the pyramid. After taking in the immenseness of the pyramids, we climbed off Moses and Mickey, and entered into the largest of the pyrmids. It was largely disapointing, way too hot and claustraphobic, and steep. The small tunnel down into the pyramid led you to a small room, and then another tunnel back up into another small room. The rooms were all empty and although it was cool to be inside, that was about it. Everything from the pyramids had been removed and was now in the Egypt museum.
Next we rode to the nearby Sphinx. The Sphinx was so much smaller than I imagined, even though it is 80 mt long and 22 mt high. He looks pretty friendly, even with his missing nose and ear (which are in the British museum). The identity of the Sphinx is still debated, but Egyptian folklore says that he is half-human, half-tiger who protects the pyramids from theives....however, if that is his purpose, he seems to have done a pretty average job.
After completing our tour of the pyramids, we realized that riding a camel was not the most comfortable thing in the world, and realized we were both sore and stiff. But, no time to rest, we headed off with our driver to our next destination-Saqqara.
Saqqara is the home of the famous Step Pyramid of Zoser I. Built in 2630 BCE, it is the worlds oldest funerary momument and the inspiration for the pyramids. It was designed by the innovative architect Imhotep, who was not satisfied with a simple rectaungular design, but instead went with a stacked, layered look. The pyramid seemed to be under a lot of construction and about half of it was blocked off. Toriann and I decided to hike around to the back to take a look though and once out of sight of the gaurds was invited into the blocked off area by a local 'guide' He rushed us past the fence and down the stairs into the base of the pyramid (which is certainly not open for visitors!!) He then led us to see the statue of King Zoser I, hidden from visitor as well by construction barricades and a large stone with a small peep hole. It was amazing to see, so happy to break the rules, which we normally never do :), and see another side of Saqqara.
After Saqqara, we made our way back to the pyramids for a late lunch and then another camel ride to the top of a sandy hill to watch the sunset over the pyramids. It was a bit painful to get back on the camel, but we mastered the crazy camel gallop. Mahmoud, our friendly host, provided us with tea, sheesha, and a marriage propousal for Toriann, including 17 camels, 2 horses and 2 kilos of fruits. It was tempting for T, but since he already had 3 wives, she decided to say no...(she would rather have the first wife position). juuust kidding.
The next day we spent enjoying Cairo and the Egyptian museum. We had amazing coffee at one of Cairos famous coffee shops before spending a solid 3 or 4 hours in the museum. The museum is immense, one of the worlds greatest collection of artifacts, although the display is very average. According to Lonely Planet, the museum holds over 100k artifacts and if you spent 1 minute looking at each display, it would take you over nine months to work your way through the museum. Toriann and I loved the Tutankhaumans room and the jewelry rooms.
Our afternoon in Cairo was spent wondering around Islamic Cairo, visiting the Wikala mosques and the great bazaar of Khan al-Khalili.
Exhausted from walking so much of the city, we had a quick dinner at our favorite Fafafel place and headed to the train station for our overnight train to the south of Egypt-first stop Aswan.
-Ibn Battuta, 14th Century globetrotter
Flying into Cairo, I was surprised by the vast desert that surronded the huge city. It was a bit shocking to be back on the road again, after a week in England, but was thrilled to see Toriann waiting for me outside of customs. We made our way to a taxi and somehow picked the one taxi driver that had a bone to pick with the security gaurd. After we threw our luggage in trunk, the security gaurd was practically in the car beating on the our driver. The driver was not phased though and drove away, leaving the gaurd, yelling, in the dust. Welcome to Egypt. :)
Honestly, I was so nervous to travel into Egypt. After the hectic, always hasseling, invading your space, crazy traffic of India, I thought Egypt would be even worse. And then two days before we were supposed to arrive, there was the bombing in the tourist market. But, so far, and not to jinx anything, Egypt has been a pleasant surprise. The men can still be assertive and foward, you still feel as if you are always being ripped off and everyone has a shop or expedition that they insist you must visit, but overall, our experience in Cairo was safe, pleasant and incredibly rich with amazing experiences.
Our first full day in Cairo, we arranged a private driver to take us to the great pyramids of Giza. We were driven straight to the 'Office of horse and camel to pyramids trip', where we met Mahmoud, a friendly Egyptian man who after much haggeling led us onto the pyramid grounds on Moses and MickeyMouse, our camels for the day. We spent about 3 hours wandering the huge area that surronds the 9 pyramids. There are 3 main pyramids, built for 3 pharaohs from the 4th dynasty-Cheops, Chephren, and Mycerinus. The three were a son-grandson trio who ruled in the 26th century BCE. The surronding six smaller pyramids were built for the wives and children of the pharoahs, and all 9 of the pyramids contain its own funery complex. When one of the rulers died, the mummified body was brought across the Nile by boat and placed to rest in the scared center of the pyramid. After taking in the immenseness of the pyramids, we climbed off Moses and Mickey, and entered into the largest of the pyrmids. It was largely disapointing, way too hot and claustraphobic, and steep. The small tunnel down into the pyramid led you to a small room, and then another tunnel back up into another small room. The rooms were all empty and although it was cool to be inside, that was about it. Everything from the pyramids had been removed and was now in the Egypt museum.
Next we rode to the nearby Sphinx. The Sphinx was so much smaller than I imagined, even though it is 80 mt long and 22 mt high. He looks pretty friendly, even with his missing nose and ear (which are in the British museum). The identity of the Sphinx is still debated, but Egyptian folklore says that he is half-human, half-tiger who protects the pyramids from theives....however, if that is his purpose, he seems to have done a pretty average job.
After completing our tour of the pyramids, we realized that riding a camel was not the most comfortable thing in the world, and realized we were both sore and stiff. But, no time to rest, we headed off with our driver to our next destination-Saqqara.
Saqqara is the home of the famous Step Pyramid of Zoser I. Built in 2630 BCE, it is the worlds oldest funerary momument and the inspiration for the pyramids. It was designed by the innovative architect Imhotep, who was not satisfied with a simple rectaungular design, but instead went with a stacked, layered look. The pyramid seemed to be under a lot of construction and about half of it was blocked off. Toriann and I decided to hike around to the back to take a look though and once out of sight of the gaurds was invited into the blocked off area by a local 'guide' He rushed us past the fence and down the stairs into the base of the pyramid (which is certainly not open for visitors!!) He then led us to see the statue of King Zoser I, hidden from visitor as well by construction barricades and a large stone with a small peep hole. It was amazing to see, so happy to break the rules, which we normally never do :), and see another side of Saqqara.
After Saqqara, we made our way back to the pyramids for a late lunch and then another camel ride to the top of a sandy hill to watch the sunset over the pyramids. It was a bit painful to get back on the camel, but we mastered the crazy camel gallop. Mahmoud, our friendly host, provided us with tea, sheesha, and a marriage propousal for Toriann, including 17 camels, 2 horses and 2 kilos of fruits. It was tempting for T, but since he already had 3 wives, she decided to say no...(she would rather have the first wife position). juuust kidding.
The next day we spent enjoying Cairo and the Egyptian museum. We had amazing coffee at one of Cairos famous coffee shops before spending a solid 3 or 4 hours in the museum. The museum is immense, one of the worlds greatest collection of artifacts, although the display is very average. According to Lonely Planet, the museum holds over 100k artifacts and if you spent 1 minute looking at each display, it would take you over nine months to work your way through the museum. Toriann and I loved the Tutankhaumans room and the jewelry rooms.
Our afternoon in Cairo was spent wondering around Islamic Cairo, visiting the Wikala mosques and the great bazaar of Khan al-Khalili.
Exhausted from walking so much of the city, we had a quick dinner at our favorite Fafafel place and headed to the train station for our overnight train to the south of Egypt-first stop Aswan.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Good-bye India
In a few short hours I will be leaving India and I am sad to have to say good bye to this beautiful country. India happens to be the longs place Heather and I have stayed in and we have both really enjoyed our time here. India is unlike any country we have visited so far on this trip and we hope that through each of our blogs we have given you a better insight to the culture, people and life here. Either way, if by chance you have an interest at all about India I highly recommend seeing the movie “Slumdog Millionaire” as well as seeing or reading the book “The City of Joy.”
While we were in Kolkata we had the time to go and see “Slumdog Millionaire” and really enjoyed it. Its about a young man who goes on the TV show 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' and the story of his life unfolds through the questions he is asked. The movie takes place in Mumbai which happens to be where I am right now and about 55% of the people in Mumbai live in the slums. The movie is well directed and is absolutely wonderful. When it was over and time for us to leave Heather and I both felt that as we walked out of the theater we had actually just stepped into the movie. The movie gives a good visual to life as an Indian and plus I know its out in the theaters, so go and see it, I promise you will love it too.
I also recommend reading the book “The City of Joy” by, Dominique Lapierre. I'm currently only a few chapters in but I already feel as though I have a better sense of the peoples lives in Kolkata. As I have said before, Kolkata is one of my favorite places and while living on Sudder St. we were told by other backpackers to go and have a drink at the Farelan Hotel. Curious as to why, we learn that when the book was turned into a movie they filmed part of it at this hotel. Well of course we felt it honorary to be able to see where the movie was filmed and enjoy in a cold refreshment. So if you don't have the time to read the book see the movie, its supposed to be good. Plus, it has Patrick Swayze in it so if you are a fan of him you will for sure live it. Either way I hope you are enjoying the blogs and the next time you check we will be on a different continent, embracing new people, learning another religion, tasting different spices, and seeing ancient ruins.
While we were in Kolkata we had the time to go and see “Slumdog Millionaire” and really enjoyed it. Its about a young man who goes on the TV show 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire' and the story of his life unfolds through the questions he is asked. The movie takes place in Mumbai which happens to be where I am right now and about 55% of the people in Mumbai live in the slums. The movie is well directed and is absolutely wonderful. When it was over and time for us to leave Heather and I both felt that as we walked out of the theater we had actually just stepped into the movie. The movie gives a good visual to life as an Indian and plus I know its out in the theaters, so go and see it, I promise you will love it too.
I also recommend reading the book “The City of Joy” by, Dominique Lapierre. I'm currently only a few chapters in but I already feel as though I have a better sense of the peoples lives in Kolkata. As I have said before, Kolkata is one of my favorite places and while living on Sudder St. we were told by other backpackers to go and have a drink at the Farelan Hotel. Curious as to why, we learn that when the book was turned into a movie they filmed part of it at this hotel. Well of course we felt it honorary to be able to see where the movie was filmed and enjoy in a cold refreshment. So if you don't have the time to read the book see the movie, its supposed to be good. Plus, it has Patrick Swayze in it so if you are a fan of him you will for sure live it. Either way I hope you are enjoying the blogs and the next time you check we will be on a different continent, embracing new people, learning another religion, tasting different spices, and seeing ancient ruins.
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