Last stop....Athens

Greetings to all of you from the birthplace of democracy, drama, geometry, and western thought, Athens.

I have arrived at the final destination on my journey, before I return home. In my travels, I have now visited all three of the places from which Western Europe and America derive all of their/our beliefs and principles, Rome, Constantinople/Istanbul, and Athens.

After checking into my hotel, which is plush by the way, I headed out to see the Acropolis. The day has been cloudy in Athens, which coupled with the constant breeze has made a most pleasant day. The exit from the Acropolis Metro Station puts you right at the base of the hill. I could not help but stand and be amazed my first sight of the temple complex. You start at the base, and then wind your way up through the theatre complexes, which are still in use to this day! As I wandered up the pathway, all I could think of is the countless people who have tread in these footsteps. People like Aristotle, Plato, Socrates, Julius Caesar, Augustus Caesar, Constantine, and the list goes on. But more than the famous people, it is the ordinary people that walked these paths on the way to worship. People who came to pray for healthy children, the safe return of loved ones, and for happiness in their lives. That is what makes this site so hallowed in my mind.

The buildings are astonishing in the construction, beauty, and cleanness of their lines. These buildings are over 2,500 years old! That is over 10 times the age of the Untied States. The Greek Government is in the process of doing some work to enhance the site to its previous splendor. I am torn about this. Part of me would love to see the site in its former glory. Part of me likes the fact that the site is old. Time has enhanced its beauty and its significance. That is a discussion that would not have a clear black and white answer.

Tomorrow is the end of my journey. This will be my last entry into the Travel Blog. The trip has been special, so very special. It has been all that I could have imagined, and then so much more. It is ironic that I am visiting Greece, because the Fates, those most Greek of goddesses, have sewn me a glorious thread on this trip. There have been so many things and instances. Some of which I have written in the blog, and some of which I have written in my personal journal. I typically do not share those thoughts, but a few of the things I will always remember. The awe of the Suleymanye Mosque in Istanbul. The beauty of the sunset in Santorini. Laying on the black beach at Parissa, listening to random shuffle on my iPod, thinking how vibrant the blue of the sea was, and then Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue comes on. The peacefulness of Paros. The parting of the clouds as I crested the Arcopolis to view the Parthenon. I have placed a picture of the Greek Flag on this post. I am in love with Greece and the Greek People! I am an American though and through. France will always hold a special place in my heart. However, this country is a very close second. When I leave here on Sunday, I will leave a small piece of my being here, but I take a greater piece of Greece with me.

Thank you again to everyone that has read the Blog, and has commented on it. It has helped me not be so alone on this journey.

I miss all of you, and I am ready to return to my little piece of East Nashville. I will see you when I return Stateside.

Scot, the world traveler.

One Full Week on the Road/Sea, Day 7, Paros...

Greetings once again. This time from the island of Paros. I arrived here last evening around 7 p.m., local time. It was my first ever ferry ride. The seas were very rough, four to five feet. There were a few people that were overcome with motion sickness. Good thing I had my iPod. That is not a sound that is pleasant on my ears. On a pleasant note, I sat next to two older ladies from Britain and had the most wonderful conversation on everything ranging from Hurricane Katrina, rampant commercialism in both of our countries, going on holiday, and the island of Paros.

The island of Paros has been inhabited since the Maycaenan (sp??) In fact, almost all of the marble for the buildings and sculptures from the Ancient Greek period was quarried here on this island. The marble was so highly prized, that Napolean's tomb was made with Parian marble. The most famous statue of the ancient world, the Venus de Milo, was sculpted here in Paros.

The island is gorgeous. Were as Santorini was built on cliffs high above the sea, the village that I am staying in Parikia, is right on the sea. In fact, there is a sea walk less than 75 feet from my hotel. I walked along it to watch the sunset last night. Nice! Today, I went to village of Lefkes high up in the hills. It has an old Byzantine/Greek Orthodox church that dates from the 1200s. I wanted to get some pictures of the interior, but it was forbidden. Oh well, I have the images in my head.

This island is so much slower in pace, and bucolic in nature compared to Santorini. There is no rampant tourism, and the prices reflect that. The hotel room I am in is far nicer than Santorini, and it is about 60 percent of the cost of the room in Santorini. The meals I have eaten have eaten are much cheaper as well. I have feasted on seafood since I have been in Greece. My stomach will not know how to react when I return to the states. I have a bakery right across the street. I left the windows open last night, and was greeted with the best aromas this morning! Yum!

There are olive trees all over the island. Some of them are very tall, with trunk calipers of more than 20 inches. I have read that olive trees grow extremely slow, and if that is the case, some of these trees are over 200 years old.

Tonight is my last night on the islands. I leave for the concrete jungle of Athens tomorrow. I am so glad that I only have one day planned in Athens, and spent more time in the islands. Everyone that I have talked with on this trip, that has already visited Athens, says go to the Acropolis and the Antiquity Museum and get out. It is very dirty.

Until next time,

Scot

P.S. - The first three pictures are from Paros. The remaining pictures are from my last few hours on Santorini.

Last day in Santorini, travel to Paros...

As much as it pains me, today is my last day in Santorini. I catch a ferry at 5 p.m., local time to the island of Paros. It is about 95 miles northwest of Santorini on the way to Athens. Paros is noted for its marble. The Venus de Milo was carved in Paros. From my guidebook, it appears to be a laid back island, which is good. I am getting used to this laid back lifestyle. In fact, most of you will not recognize my attitude when I return. :-)

Final thoughts on Santorini. The island is absolutely gorgeous, plain and simple! The views are breathtaking, especially in the town of Oia. I loved the black beaches of Parissa. This is HUGE tourist destination. The only drawback is the large groups that disembark for the cruise ships for the day. It reminds me of Venice. Everyone came in to the city at 10 in the morning, and left about 7 in the evening. Much the same here. The local buses are full of cruise ships tourists, they stay until the sun sets, and then head back to the ship. Today, there were three ships in the harbor. A lot of people on the bus to Oia. I wandered around Oia again today. I took some more pictures, like I need any more pictures! Ha!

Next stop Paros!

Thank you again for all of your comments. It has been great to keep in touch with all of you, even in this small way.

I miss you all!

Scot

The easy life.....

I think the above picture does a great job of describing my day. Slum-ing it on the Aegean. Black sand beaches. Constant breeze. 83 degrees. It is a tough life. ;-)

Next stop the island of Paros tomorrow evening.

The Greek traveler, Scot

Pictures from My first two days in Santorini (and a picture of the Istanbul Spice Bazaar for my sister)

Hello all again:

I have now been able to get onto my hotel's wireless Internet connection. Attached are some pictures of my first full day in Santorini. Everything that I have ever read or been told does not come close to describing the beauty of this island. The sea and the sky are that blue! It is almost fake.

On the food front. I love grilled octopus. I have go to find some when I get home, and cook it over an open pit. It is delicious! That and feta cheese stuffed red peppers. I could eat my weight in those. Also, there is an Italian Gelato stand here in Fira, where I am staying. It was good thing I walked all of those calories off in Istanbul. I am going to put some of them back on in Greece. :-)

Zorba the Greek has landed in Santorini

Hello all:

I made it from Istanbul to Santorini without a hitch. Some final thoughts on Istanbul. The city was alive with history. A couple of things I would plan for if I was to go again. Take lots of money for getting around. The transit system is very small compared to the population of the city. The buses are sporadic at best, they are crowded, and everyone (including me) has BO. The metro line is good if you are staying close to it, and the sites you want to see are near by. With that said, the people appear to be friendly. I was taken a couple of times by taxi drivers, but what the hey. The city definitely has a third world feel to it. It wants to be Western Europe, but it is not there. The airport is efficient and clean. That was good.

I arrived in Santorini and checked into my room with about an hour to see the sunset. This island is spectacular to say the least! Every thing that I have read, or that Mandy on Julianna have said is correct. In fact, words don't even come close to the views. It is awesome, plain and simple. I awoke this morning and took the bus to Oia. That is the village where the majority of the photographs are taken. There is a photo shoot with every step. That is not an exaggeration. I got to see the Cats of Santorini that Kellye mentioned. They are everywhere, sunning, living the good cat life.

I have some great pictures. However, I did not know that I could bring my lap top to the Internet cafe in town. I will try to up load some of them tomorrow. Also, tomorrow I head to the beach!

Now, onto the best Greek tradition, siesta!

Scot

Hello to all of you back home reading this:

Day 2 - Istanbul For all of you They Might Be Giant fans, I have yet to find out why Constantinople got the works. These Turks are a secretive lot when it comes to that. Ha!

Speaking of Constantinople, today I trekked (literally. 5 miles at least) from my hotel to see Haghia Sophia. The greatest church in all of Byzantium/Constantinople. I thought that the church was started in the 7th century by the Emperor Justanian. This version was. What I did find out today, was that this was the third church built on this site. The first was constructed under the rule of Constantine the Great, whom the city was named after. There is an archeological dig that shows the footing of the original church. There is a picture in this blog showing that dig. This place is huge! What is even more amazing was that it was built over 1,400 years ago, and that it was built in less than six years time! To put that in perspective, Notre Dame was not started for another 600 years, and Saint Peter's for almost 800 years. Plus, those two churches took 200+ years to build. The size notwithstanding, there are still a few of the Byzantine mosaics that have withstood the ravages of time. I have a few of them in the pictures. Form the picture, you will see some Arabic writings, and patterns. Mehmet III, the sultan who conquered Constantinople, was said to have held his first daily prayer to Mecca in this church. It amazes me that there were times and places, where Christians, Muslims, and Jew lived together in harmony. I boggles the mind that the world is so closed minded these days.

Across the boulevard from Haghia Sophia, is the Basilica Cistern. This was another project built by the Emperor Justanian. It is all underground, and it served the population of Constantinople/Istanbul until the 1800's. The Muslims did not know that it existed until they found that the population in the area where getting fresh water out of their basements. As much of a marvel as Haghia Sophia is, this is even more so to me. It is the engineer in me. For something to be built 1,400 years ago, withstand time, withstand all of the building on top of it, and withstand all of the train traffic on top of it, that is truly incredible.

Final stop of the day was the Suleymaniye Mosque. The mosque sits on one of the many hills of the old city. It was designed by the architect Sinan, who is considered by Easterners and Westerners alike, to be the peer of Michaelangelo (sp??). One look at this mosques and I can see why. This mosque has no equal in Istanbul. The Blue Mosque was impressive, and it was somewhat larger. However, the gracefulness of this building is something to behold. Suleyman was the greatest of all of the Ottoman sultans. Under his rule, the Ottoman empire stretched from Iran to Egypt, to Hungary. I hope that my pictures give you a feel for how beautiful this building is.

Enough of the sites. I found a great "english" pub on the way to Haghia Sophia. that is one good outcome of the 5 mile trek. I must have a magnet for English/Irish pubs when I am in a non-English speaking country. First it was the Irish pub in Barcelona, not it is the English pub in Istanbul. I have had some great food here. There is a bread called simit, that is crisp with sesame seeds coating it. It is all over the streets. I love it. Plus, you can't beat it for 1 Lira. I have survived off of it, and fresh fruit. The nectarines are the best I have ever had. I thought Turkey was noted for apricots, but these nectarines rock. I haven't eaten meat since I have been here. I know, I can't believe it either. A lot of the food is vegetarian, and it is good. Like I mentioned in my previous blog, I think I could live off of the hummus and pita bread. The pita bread is made fresh by an older woman right as you order it. It is a good thing I am walking everywhere, I would be as big as a house by the time I leave on Sunday for Greece. As far as drinks are concerned, I like to beer here. I think it is brewed by Germans, but the Turks call it their own. The Turks have tea, of chai, all of the time. It is everywhere. They are not big coffee drinkers. After drinking Turkish coffee back home, I would have thought that the whole population is on a caffeine buzz. Finally, every place has a hamburger. I did not know that they are so popular, but tomorrow being Saturday, I am going to have a cheeseburger, since I cannot make it to the Edgefield. :-)

Enough rambling for one day. I hope that you have enjoyed the pictures and the thoughts so far. I appreciate the comments as well.

Until next time,

Scot