Crete: Part II

During our second day in Crete, we took an hour bus ride to the south side of the island to a town called Gortyn to see the Minoan palace of Phaestos. The scenery was absolutely stunning on the way there. Just take a look yourself. It really can't get much better than that!

The Palace of Phaestos is quite magnificent itself. Though it's not as well known as Knossos, it's a much better archaeological site to visit, in my opinion, because most of it has been left the way it was found where as much of Knossos has been reconstructed. The problem with reconstruction is that most of archaeology is all based on guessing. Modern archaeologists have now determined that much of Sir Arthur Evans' reconstruction work on Knossos is inaccurate and, at times, kind of ridiculous.

In my opinion, I prefer as little reconstruction as possible. In some areas, where we are certain what something would have looked like, and the archaeological evidence is quite abundant and clear, than sure, why not, for the sake of providing to the public a better visual of what an ancient construction would have looked like in its time. Otherwise, I think reconstruction can oftentimes do more damage than good (especially in Sir Evans' case).

The dating of the Palace of Phaestos is pretty much identical to Knossos. Like Knossos, and every traditional Minoan palace, it has a main entrance way in the west, a large central courtyard, storage rooms, residences, king and queen chambers, shrines, a theater... the works. This was probably my favorite site we've been to thus far because you could pretty much walk around the entire site and touch everything where as in Knossos a lot of it was sectioned off with rope (probably because it's the most popular archaeological site to visit on Crete).

That same day, we also visited a Roman basilica in Gortyn which was also quite fantastic. The basilica included a Roman odeum around the back of it (basically a small theater) carved out of stone. It was so beautiful. All of these sites have such a haunting presence to them.

Afterwards, we had lunch at a local taverna in a town called Vorri. It was pretty much the only taverna in the entire town. It was family owned (like most tavernas here) and it was attached to the family's home. The food was extremely fresh and the people were very nice. I think we were their only customers that day.

At times, eating here can be a little difficult for me. I try to plan ahead as best as I can, though there have been times where I am not able to eat as much as the rest of the group. This was a 10 euro lunch and so we only had five options to choose from; fish was not one of them, thus I basically just had cooked green beans stewed with tomatoes and olive oil, and a small side salad of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion, black olives (the traditional Greek salate). Crete was a little difficult in terms of food only because we were staying in a hotel and didn't have the option of preparing our own meals like we do at our apartments in Athens. One night though, a group of us went out to dinner and had red fish soup. The fish was absolutely delicious. Overall, I've found the local food in Crete to be fantastic.

Our third day in Crete, we visited the Arkadi monastery in Arhanes, Crete. Although the monastery is out of context compared to what we are currently learning; it is a very well-known site and worth visiting if you are ever in Crete. The monastery is famous because in the early 19th century, when Crete was trying to gain independence from the Turks, the people of Arhanes found refuge in the monastery while the Ottomans were attacking the town and enslaving the Cretans. Legend says that 600 Cretans lodged themselves into one small section in the back of the monastery and had with them barrels of black powder, while the Turks were trying to break through the church gates. When the Turks finally reached the area in which the Cretans were hiding, the people set fire to the barrels, killing themselves and taking as many Turks with them as they could. Their skulls are kept in a glass case across the street from the monastery in a museum.

On a lighter note, there was the CUTEST, SOFTEST, FRIENDLIEST kitty at the monastery. He must have only been a year or two old because he was still quite small, and so playful. We named him Marshmellow ('shmellow for short). He followed us everywhere and kept rubbing up against our legs, begging for attention. Made me miss Crackers :'(

Afterwards, we had some free time at a coastal city in the northwest of Crete (I forget the name) about an hour from Arhanes. It was exactly what you imagine a Greek town to be like- beautiful, BLUE sea; small, white and neutral-colored adobe buildings with blue doors and windowpanes; narrow, stone-paved streets weaving throughout the middle of the town... I could go on. It was so charming and beautiful. We got coffee and sat on the pier and just looked out into the Aegean. Some (not myself) actually went for a swim (it was a little too cold for that in my opinion).

We've pretty much all have come to the consensus that if we ever were to live in Greece, we would all choose to live in Crete. We were sad to leave. It's much more picturesque than Athens. Nevertheless, we have some exciting excursions this week, including the Acropolis!

I just took a five-hour nap (after not really sleeping much on the 9 hour ferry ride from Crete back to Athens) and went for a two-hour run. It's raining a bit here. I'm pretty much spent but the plan is to go out to Gazi tonight (In Greece, Sunday is considered a party night; I told you Greeks were social beings). I could use a cup of FILTERED coffee though. Oh Starbucks, how I do miss your half-decaf, half-regular grande soy lates...

Crete: Part I

I. LOVE. IT. HERE.

Crete feels like a smaller version of Athens. You still have all the great shops, tavernas, specialty stores, farmers' and flea markets, but the streets are much smaller, narrower, and everything feels much more quaint and secure.

The 9 hour ferry ride was actually not so bad. I took something to help me fall asleep and I actually passed out. Unlike everyone else who didn't get much sleep, I actually got a full 7 hours before docking at 6 a.m. We dropped our luggage off at the hotel and had a quick breakfast before heading back out to Knossos, arguably the most well-known Bronze Age archaeological site in the Mediterranean.

"Knossos Palace," as Sir Arthur Evans called it after purchasing the site and conducting a massive archaeological excavation there in 1900, is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site on Crete and was the first of several palaces to be excavated. The Minoans are the believed to be the earliest, organized civilization in Europe, appearing c. 2000 BC. The Minoans were a "palace-centered" civilization; there are palaces all over Crete from the Minoan period but none are as large and elaborate as Knossos.

They were believed to be a very peaceful society, adopting nature and animal motifs from Egypt as you'll see in some of the frescos. All of their wall paintings and pottery have a common marine and nature theme. You'll also see the bull-leaping again. But you never see any depictions of hunting nor war, leading us to believe that the Minoans were either non-militaristic or just simply chose not to display military themes in their artwork (unlike most other ancient cultures that succeed them). But most archaeologists believe the former.

All the palaces on Crete have these huge open courtyards in the center of the palace. In its time, Knossos Palace was multiple stories high with a total of 1,300 rooms. When looking at the plan of the palace from an aerial view, the palace looks very much like a labyrinth. The 6 acres of the palace included a theatre, a main entrance on each of its four cardinal faces, extensive storerooms (archaeologists call them "magazines"), workshops, and of course the large central courtyard.

There is a myth that goes with Knossos Palace and its labyrinth-like appearance. Legend says that the maze-like structure, home to King Minos of Crete, was designed as such to hold the Minotaur, a creature that was half-man and half-bull. According to legend, King Minos was a very powerful and ruthless ruler. Each year, he ordered men and women from Athens to be fed to the Minotaur, until the creature was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus (whom you may have already heard of).

Nevertheless, many of these palaces were destroyed and abandoned multiple times in the 15th century BC. Archaeologists believe that a volcanic eruption on the island of Thera (also known as Santorini) may have caused earthquakes on Crete which in effect destroyed the palaces and devastated cities, including Knossos, and were never rebuilt. The Minoan civilization disappeared after 1570 BC, perhaps due to this devastation.

The Mycenaean civilzation took over Crete during the decline of the Minoan civilization after the earthquakes and they reoccupied Knossos. Though we're not sure where the Mycenaean people originally came from (probably somewhere North of Crete), archaeologists believe they had previous contact with the Minoans because it is clear in their artwork, architecture and religious practices that Minoan culture had a heavy influence on Mycenaeans.

The Mycenaeans, on the other hand, were war-like people. Though they copied Minoan nature motifs, they also depicted war and hunting, and an abundance of armor and weaponry has been found in Mycenaean grave shafts. At their peak in 1400-1200 BC, the Mycenaeans were an extremely powerful civilization. They adopted the Minoan trade routes- importing ivory, copper, gold, tin, amber and exporting pottery, jewelry, weaponry and mercenaries.

As I said, they reoccupied Knossos Palace, rebuilt and heavily fortified it (suggesting that they were indeed concerned with warfare). Mysteriously, and for reasons archaeologists still have yet to determine, the Mycenaean civilization was wiped out after 1200 BC. There are many theories circulating the fall of the Mycenaean empire, including invasion from the Dorians (a barbaric Greek tribe from the North), internal arrest, or (my personal favorite) the "sea peoples."

According to ancient Egyptian scriptures, there was a gradual migration of people from the North just before 1200 whom they called the "sea peoples." The Egyptian pharaoh Ramses II recorded having gone to war with the "sea peoples" and there is evidence of widespread devastation across the Near East in 1200 from war.

Nevertheless, there was a huge decrease in population and the Greeks thus plunged into what we call the Dark Ages.


Take THAT Professor Sidebotham! :P

Funny Greek Quirks & "Traditions"

1. HOT WATER: In Greek homes, hot water does not circulate all the time. So when you want hot water to, say, shower- you have to turn on the hot water switch... and wait 30 minutes for the water to heat up and be transported to your room. Even then, the water only lasts about 5 minutes, if that, before it turns icy cold!
2. TOILETS: The plumbing system in Greece is really old. Basically, it sucks. They get blocked easily, so naturally one cannot deposit toilet paper or anything else besides excrement into the toilets. You have to throw them in a waste bin and thus take out your trash frequently.
3. LAUNDRY: Most Greeks wash their own laundry by hand and hang them to dry outside. This practice is exhausting for those who are not used to it and I do not wish it upon anyone.
4. DOGS: There are packs of dogs that are essentially wild and roam around central Athens. Each year, the government gathers all the dogs and they receive vaccinations, and those that need it are spayed/neutered. They get name tags and a collars to identify that they've been treated. Most of them are very friendly and tend to follow people who pet them (Americans). One followed me almost all the way home once.
5. EXERCISE: Greeks run. A lot. At the stadium where I got to run, there are an average of about 15 people at any given time running. Practically every Greek man can also do pull-ups and chin-ups, regardless of age.
6. FAUCETS: Most Greek faucets are set high on the wall, about 18-24 inches above the lip of the sink. This is obnoxious. Water splashes everywhere and when you try to wash anything, the result is giving everything within a 2 foot radius a bath, including yourself.
7. GROCERY STORES: Grocers who scan your items are always seated on swivel chairs and do not bag your items. In fact, there are no baggers. Thus, you load your items onto the belt, pay and then bag as quickly as possible to get out of the way of anyone who is behind you. Most Greeks shop at the farmers' market; however, larger grocery stores do exist. "AB" (Alpha Beta) is a larger grocery store that has two floors. It's navigation is a bit iffy and it is fairly crowded from the hours of 6-7 p.m. Which brings me to my next quirk...
8. GREEKS HAVE NO MIND FOR PERSONAL SPACE: They will either push you aside or just push right past you, without so much as a "signomi."
9. COFFEE: Greeks drink a lot of coffee. However, they drink instant coffee or "Turkish" coffee, both of which taste like crap. Instant coffee is just gross and watery. Turkish (also called Greek coffee) is basically hot water with ground coffee beans dumped into it, swirled and served. It's also very strong... and kind of nasty if you're a spoiled coffee brat like myself. "Filtered coffee" (AKA, what you drink anywhere else) is only served at a select few places. Brown sugar is also an option for sugar when ordering coffee, and most Greeks take condensed milk with their coffee rather than regular milk or cream.
10. BREAD VENDORS: There are all kinds of kiosks and street vendors in central Athens. "Bread vendors," as I call them, sell these weird sesame seed covered bread rings, funky giant sugar coated doughnuts that are the size of an average human head, and other assorted ring-shaped, sweet bready things. The average cost for one of these things is about 1 euro.
11. HILLS & HEELS: The streets of Athens are hilly, and when I say hilly, I mean it. Once you get to the bottom of one street, you are hiking up another, so on and so forth. The sidewalks of Athens are square cut marble. If it were ever to snow or ice, it would be a death trip to walk anywhere. It is a serious leg workout just to walk a few streets over. Yet, the women of Athens wear the most ridiculous heels! I'm talking 5-6 inches tall, super spiky and platform. It's amazing we don't see more girls with broken ankles and legs.
12. PARTIES & CLUBS: Greeks are social beings. They like to spend hours hanging out; this includes parties. Most clubs open up around 11 p.m. but people get there around midnight, seeing as some Greeks are still eating dinner at 11 (but I'll get around to that...). Peole stay, drink, sway to music and don't leave the club until 6 a.m. Greeks don't really dance either. They just sort of hang out and bob their heads and people-watch... and when cute little Americans come along and actually dance, most of them just kind of stare.
13. QUIET HOURS: There are legally inforceable quiet hours in Athens. Yes. By the government. It's totally understandable why, since the apartment walls and doors are literally paper-thin, and you can hear everything- people walking around, the microwave next door, people coming up the stairs, turning keys in locks... you name it.
14. THE AVERAGE GREEK DAY: It was said to me about Greeks that they are, I quote, "lazy bastards." Well, that seems to be somewhat true. Greeks generally get up at a decent hour, go to work until 3 or 5 p.m., close shop and then usually take a little siesta for a few hours. Afterwards, they might work a little more... or not. Lunch time in Greece is around 3 p.m. Dinner time in Greece is around 8-11 p.m. Greeks also take forever to eat and spend a lot of time just socializing at the table. It is no wonder that Greeks take siestas, since they party it up all night and get up early to go to work.
15. STAIRS: Because everything is so close together in Athens, the stairs must take up a very small amount of space. This means that they are almost all spiral staircases. Not only that but they tend to be very steep (and, at times, uneven) steps.
16. FARMERS' MARKET: Farmers' markets take place only on Fridays in almost every town in Greece. They take up a whole street and it's just as you would imagine... fruit and vegetables out the wazoo! Everything is super fresh and the vendors are all very friendly. There are even people who sell towels, rugs and occasionally shoes.
17. PARKING: Not a lot of buildings have parking garages in Athens. Most people "park" on the street... well, partly on the street. Greeks drive tiny cars and park as close to each other as physically possible. They are also master parrallel parkers. At times, they are mere inches from the car ahead and behind them. Greeks have to fold their sideview mirrors in because, with such narrow streets, other cars could easily take them off while driving by. Half the time, Greeks actually park on the sidewalks. They also will park in the middle of the roads... it makes no sense. Greeks also tend to park like they drive. Crazy. Which leads me to my next subject...
18. DRIVING: Like I said, Greeks drive small cars (e.g., Smart Cars) and mopeds and motorcycles. They drive like insane people. When there is bad traffic (or just whenever they feel like it, actually), mororcyclists and moped drivers will just weave through the other insane drivers and even drive up on the sidewalks to get ahead of them. Motorcyclists will often park their bikes in the middle of sidewalks. Taxis are everywhere in Athens as well. Drivers seem to get frustrated with the stupidity of other drivers and honk... a lot... especially on the street where we live at night. Motorcyclists and moped drivers also seem to think that wearing a helmet is either optional or just plain uncool. Many of them can be seen riding around carrying their helmets under their arm. I'm sure that will give them loads of protection from the insanity of other Greek drivers. Motorcylists also talk on the cell phone while weaving like a crazy person through traffic. Darwin Awards anyone?
19. FLEA MARKETS: Every Sunday, there is a flea market in downtown Athens. It's a weird place and an interesting sight; one should try to go if given the opportunity. People set out sheets on the ground to display their products, which usually consist of strange knicknacks, quirky antiques and books, or collections of records. There are also people setting a lot of strange jewelry and funky animatronic figures. It's very popular since it was really packed when we went last.
20. ELEVATORS: Greek elevators, like everything else in Greek residencies, are very small, barely fitting more than one person. The elevator at 33 Stilponous works like this: you press the button and wait for it to get to whatever floor your are on, then you pull the door open and get in and pull the door closed, then you press what floor you want, and the elevator starts to go. However, there is nothing separating you from the wall that is moving in front of you. As you ascend or descend, you pass floors and doors, all of which you can touch all the way down. It's a little scary.
21. GREEK WOMEN: I don't know what it is about them that makes them this way, but most Greek women are kind of bitchy, to be quite blunt. So far, I've noticed that they have a tendency to be rude and pushy. I don't know if it's just because they don't like Americans or foreigners in general, but they are almost always mean and have this look on their face like some stuck a rotten gyro under their nose. There are a few exceptions, mainly because the Greek women from the Athens Centre and one lady from Xaizn bakery are all sweethearts.
22. SIDEWALKS: Only about half of Athens has sidewalks. As I mentioned before, they are trecherous and are made out of square-cut marble and stone. Sometimes, there are stairs in the sidewalks... sometimes not. Sometimes, they just end or will randomly begin. They also can change size. It's an "Alice in Wonderland" world of sidewalks here. They keep getting "curiouser and curiouser."
23. CATS: Just like any other Mediterranean city, there are loads of stray cats here. They are skittish, cute and a lot of them have calico markings. As far as I know, they are not cared for by the state like the dogs are.
24. PIGEONS: Lots of them. We have some living on a light post outside our apartment just below our balcony. They coo and hum for us in the morning and during the day.

National Archaeological Museum of Greece

This morning, the group met at 8:45 along with our Art History teacher to visit Greece's National Archaeological Museum. We are going to be making several trips there periodically throughout our time here, as we study the different periods of artwork in our lectures.

At the moment, we just finished lecture on the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations. So, for today, we visited those parts of the museum. Here are some pictures:

 "The Face of Agamemnon" death mask (rumored to have been tampered with by archaeologist H. Schliemann... notice how the mustache looks oddly German)

 "Lady of Mycenae" wall fresco

 Minoan wall frescos

(Minoan frescos were influenced by the Near East, notice how it's only the profile view and the exaggerated eyes- much like the Egyptians)

 Mycenaean "bull-leaping" wall fresco. This was a real sport, perhaps served as both a form of entertainment and a religious practice.

 Mycenaean Linear B clay tablets

(Linear B is the proto-form of Greek. These tablets were used to keep inventory.)

 Mycenaean jewelery, made from semi-precious stones

 Gold Mycenaean earrings

 Mycenaean vase, in Minoan style (Mycenaeans borrowed their nature/sea motifs)

 "The Dipylon Amphora"

Funerary vase. Absolutely fantastic in person. Probably the height of an average human being.

Up-close of the amphora. Here you see a funerary procession which actually goes around the entire vase. The women are shown here pulling out their hair, which is a symbol for mourning in Ancient Greece.

We have our history class in a couple of hours, and then tonight we sail off to Crete!! Hopefully I will sleep the entire 9 hour ferry ride. I'm seriously considering taking some Tylenol PM...

Classes- the "boring" stuff

Today was our second day of classes. I am taking Ancient Greek Art History and Ancient Greek History. Professor Pilney from the University of Delaware (our program coordinator) is teaching the history course. A man from the Athens Centre, an American, named John is teaching our Art History course. Although both courses are more or less a review for me, they still are both interesting. I feel a little like that goodie-two shoes student who always raises his/her hand to answer each question the teacher poses. But I can't help it! This my jam, man! I am in my element here.

Tomorrow, we are going to the Archaeological Museum, which is a bus ride away. More info to come...

Wednesday night, we leave for Crete. It's a 9 hour ferry ride to the island. We sleep over in cabins, which hopefully won't be too bad. Again, more info to come. I plan on bringing my laptop because we'll have wifi in the hotels, so I can upload photos and blog while I'm there. It's supposed to be a few degrees warmer than it is here, 62-65. Very exciting!

No new photos today, but PLENTY to come!

Thinking of you all. Hope everything is going well. Keep me updated on your lives as well!

Sunday funday!

Everyone started the day fairly early in order to get to the Flea Market in Plaka. I bought some presents for my UD roomies :) It was such a cool place to be! The market seemed to go on for ever; it winded in, out and around little narrow streets of Plaka. They had everything from clothing, books, shot glasses, to antiques and furniture. It was extremely crowded and noisy. Greeks are not the easiest people to walk in a crowd with, let's just leave it at that...

Next, Sami and I stopped by this shop in Plaka that is family owned and is famous for their handmade, leather sandals. The father, Melissinos, who is now a very old Greek man, opened for business in the 20s. He is known as "the Poet Sandal Maker," because he also is a fairly famous poet in Athens. His shop has been featured in tons of newspapers and magazines all around Greece. His son and grandson, who write poetry as well, now run most of the business.

 The shop was overwhlemed with shelves and shelves of sandals. Sandals hanging from the ceiling, on the wall, everywhere! And the smell of leather filled your nose and lungs the minute you walked in. Sami bought a pair of sandals. I took a copy of the Poet Sandal Maker's son's latest book of poetry (it was free).

Afterwards, some of us visited the archaeological site of Olympieion. It was the most fantastic site I have been to thus far. The site has a free entrance fee on Sundays, which was great, and you literally just go in and walk around you. You can practically touch the ruins. The Temple of Olympieion, or what's left of it at least, is so amazing; it was like seeing a dinosaur.

Another thing that you'll notice in my pictures is that the sky here in Greece is always so clear and blue! Rarely a cloud in the sky.

While at the site, there was a stray dog sleeping in the tall grasses near one of the columns. I sort of called him over and he came over to let me pet him. From that point on, he did not stop following us. He followed us all around the site, out of the site, all the way home (across three major roads, mind you). Meanwhile, he scared us half to death because at times he would run into the road to chase cars. He clearly was young and not very experienced. We named him Achilles because he was "fearless" and apparently willing to die for his country.

Baklava & Ouzo

Sorry I didn't post on Saturday, but here's how my day went:

Sami and I woke up around 1 p.m. after a crazy night out with the group at Gazi. We decided to go back into Plaka (downtown Athens) and do a little shopping. On our way in, we stopped at this famous bakery that is known for its authentic Greek pastries and desserts. We spent TWO and a HALF hours there! We had such a great time! Talk about indulgence.

We each had a cup of fresh, hot FILTERED coffee (very hard to find here in Greece- they mostly drink instant coffee, cappuccino, espresso, or Greek coffee which is just... gross) and we had a "sampler" of some desserts (the waitress let us choose a few that we'd like to try in a smaller portion for a fixed amount). We tried a couple of different types of baklava, and then a few other traditional Greek desserts that I could not for the life of me pronounce but they were dee-lish!

Afterwards, we shopped around Plaka a bit, did a little sight-seeing. On our way home, near the metro, there is a 5th c. A.D. archaeological Greek bathhouse sight just right in the middle of the sidewalk. Apparently, when they were building the metro, they came across this sight which was underground our current ground-level. It was pretty fantastic to see this ancient site just in the middle of the modern city as if it was just any other thing.

Saturday night, we decided as a group to stay within the main part of Athens and just go out to a couple of bars rather than to the clubbing district. We had made plans to get up at a decent hour on Sunday to go to the Flea Market in Plaka. Mary and I became friendly with one of the bartenders at the second bar we went to and he gave our table 1 euro shots of ozou (a traditional greek liquor that tastes like liquid liquorish. It's kind of yucky, in my opinion. It's fine as a shot but the Greeks sip it here like it's a soft drink). Kurt also was teaching the bartender some Michael Jackson moves after we asked the DJ to play some dancing music and so he put on MJ.