Digging in Athens

 

“When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.”
–Edith Hamilton

 

History like most things goes in cycles. Much the same thing that Edith Hamilton said above could be stated about many countries in the modern world. Whenever we give up responsibility for our own actions whether it is seeing ourselves as a victim, to avoid consequence or just to let someone else do it because it is easier we surrender so much more. Loss of self does not happen all at once but in a series of momentary decisions.
On Thursday we visited Athens. What an amazing sense of history. The Acropolis deserves everything said about it and the Archaeological museum shows the development of art through each step of the way. Looking at temples that were erected over 2000 years ago and museum pieces that predate that by another five or six thousand was inspiring. I can’t wait to make my own art out of some of the pieces I saw.
As we were walking back towards the bus we saw soldiers and riot police descending on a protest that was taking place. I am not sure of the exact circumstances tho it seemed to have something to do with how people were being represented. Perhaps they were taking some notes from old Edith.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

ParthenonParthenon

 

Old Greek Street DudeGreek Street Dude

 

Minotaur Bust Archaeological Museum AthensMinotaur Bust – Athens Archaeological Museum

 

Mask of Agamemnon--Bronze AgeMask of Agamemnon Bronze Age- Athens Archaeological Museum

 

Olympic Stadium 1874 AthensNew Olympic Stadium built 1874 Athens

 

Greek PoliceGreek Police

 

Digging in Athens

 

“When the freedom they wished for most was freedom from responsibility, then Athens ceased to be free and was never free again.”
–Edith Hamilton

 

History like most things goes in cycles. Much the same thing that Edith Hamilton said above could be stated about many countries in the modern world. Whenever we give up responsibility for our own actions whether it is seeing ourselves as a victim, to avoid consequence or just to let someone else do it because it is easier we surrender so much more. Loss of self does not happen all at once but in a series of momentary decisions.
On Thursday we visited Athens. What an amazing sense of history. The Acropolis deserves everything said about it and the Archaeological museum shows the development of art through each step of the way. Looking at temples that were erected over 2000 years ago and museum pieces that predate that by another five or six thousand was inspiring. I can’t wait to make my own art out of some of the pieces I saw.
As we were walking back towards the bus we saw soldiers and riot police descending on a protest that was taking place. I am not sure of the exact circumstances tho it seemed to have something to do with how people were being represented. Perhaps they were taking some notes from old Edith.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

ParthenonParthenon

 

Old Greek Street DudeGreek Street Dude

 

Minotaur Bust Archaeological Museum AthensMinotaur Bust – Athens Archaeological Museum

 

Mask of Agamemnon--Bronze AgeMask of Agamemnon Bronze Age- Athens Archaeological Museum

 

Olympic Stadium 1874 AthensNew Olympic Stadium built 1874 Athens

 

Greek PoliceGreek Police

 

Relaxing in the Marketplace in Kusadasi

 

“Who has never been burned in the sun won’t know the value of shadow.”
–Anonymous, Old Turkish Proverb

 

Kusadasi, Turkey is a truly beautiful place. I found the scenery stunning and the people are among the friendliest and most open that I’ve met.
Feeling a bit toured out, we opted to spend the day in the seaport itself with a side trip to the Bazaar. Everyone in the Bazaar has a story to tell and something to sell. They are equally open to hearing the stories of others and find common ground.
“Where are you from?”
“Oh I love Canada. I go to Vancouver to visit my sister. She sells our jewellery there. In the winter when tourists stop coming here, I close up shop and go to see her and bring merchandise. I love Victoria also. ”
“These earrings were made by my sister-in law and are of the top quality. Would you like something while you look at them? I will make Turkish coffee for you.”
“Ah. I have eye trouble which my daughter has inherited. She will have to have the same operation I had when she gets older. In the winter I close up here too but I come down to the workshop to make my Jewellery. That is what I love.”
Everything is about the relationship and about the bargaining. As an experiment I started telling the man selling us earrings that they were for my sister-in-law who was taking care of my son while we were travelling. He automatically knocked another twenty euros off the price and the bargaining went on from there.
As we walked on we heard a constant stream of shopkeepers attempting to entice us into their store. “Hi, you are travelling. Where are you from?

After the fiftieth repetition, I grew a bit weary of the routine and offhandedly replied
“Narnia.”
As we walked past I heard the shopkeeper speaking rapid turkish with a few of his equally puzzled friends wondering just where Narnia was and what could be said about it.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Kusadasi from the waterKusadasi From The Water

 

Kusadasi MarketplaceKusadasi Marketplace

 

Little Friendn Cadging a MealLittle Friend Cadging a Meal

 

Turkish SunsetTurkish Sunset

Istanbul (Sailing From Byzantium)

 

If one had but a single glance to give the world, one should gaze on Istanbul.
–Alphonse de Lamartine

 

Istanbul (Constantinople is only a small part of it) was a bit overwhelming. I’ve been to places that felt like they were the middle of nowhere but spanning both Asia and Europe and bordering the Middle East, Istanbul feels like it can be a portal to everywhere. It has at various times belonged to the Greeks (Byzantium), the Romans and the Ottoman Empire and in its populace, architecture and style it incorporates all of these and more.
We visited the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii) which was moving in its scope and ceremony and then we went to the marketplace. Everywhere are people selling their wares whether they be flutes, guidebooks, yoyo tops or carpets. It can be very difficult to resist the natural charm, persistence and sheer sales ability of these street vendors. I asked one for directions to the nearest bank machine and found myself in possession of three small carpets.
After the bazaar we went on a cruise around the Bosporus Sea and then in the afternoon visited the Topakapi Palace and the Agia Sophia a beautiful building that has housed both Church, Mosque and now a combination of the two during its long history.
Someone told me long ago that the most important phrase you can learn in any language is Thank You. Over the years I have made a point in learning how to say it in as many languages as possible. This trip has brought home to me how a simple expression of appreciation to someone in their native language can open doors and make people smile. If you add to that true curiosity about their culture, faith and lives you can make friends almost anywhere
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Istanbul from the BospherousIstanbul From the Bospherous

 

Blue MosqueBlue Mosque

 

Istanbul Grand BazaarGrand Bazaar

 

Turkish Carpet WeavingTurkish Carpet Weaving

 

Mykonos and Delos

 

“I fear that, with our current veneration for the natural and the real, we have arrived at the opposite pole to all idealism, and have landed in the region of the waxworks.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche,

 

Yesterday the boat ride to Delos and back was amazing.
Layers of belief with the same deities being given new names again and again. Thus the Phonecian goddess Astarte becomes the Egyptian Isis becomes the Greek Artemis becomes the Roman Diana and somewhere on Delos is a temple to each as each culture supplants the old.
Pan, sone of Hermes played his lyre and brings the Maenads to frenzy represent by a black cat who revels in the sun at the entrance to his temple while the temples to Apollo and Dionysius face each other like two respected rivals.
Consulting the Pythia and having her drugged insights interpreted giving some sign and direction of which way to go.
It would take a week to fully do justice to what has been uncovered on Delos and we had but hours. Still walking the ruins in the hot Mediterranean sun was fascinating.
In the museum, Aaron cannot take a picture of my head placed atop the beheaded state of Pan without incurring the guard’s insistence that the picture be deleted. Still we play and wonder amidst the art of the past. On the boat ride back, the Mediterranean baptizes me with its spray (well soaks actually) but its exhilarating. Back in Mykonos at the docks, we try to photograph a lizard that moves all too quickly much like our time in this beautiful area.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

DelosDelos

 

Statue of Pan  c2000BCStatue of Pan c2000BC

 

Dionysian Temple PhallusDionysian Temple Phallus

 

Mykonos From the SeaMykonos From the Sea

Up Pompeii

 

Then spoke the thunder
Da
Datta: what have we given?
— T. S. Eliot

 

And Now the Prologue… (Points for anyone who gets the reference)
Yesterday we docked in Naples and toured the ruins of Pompeii. Afterwards I went and explored Naples while the rest of my group toured Herculaneum.
Pompeii has a very strange sense of history to it. Parts are very well preserved and you can walk through the (restored) houses, stores, temples and businesses of people who lived close to two thousand years ago.
It is an amazing gift to be on this trip with people I love seeing these sites but for me the most awesome part is walking in places I have only read about and experiencing the people and architecture there. Each city has its own heart beat and if you are open you can feel it. Naples is a city in which I could easily live. It is busy enough to be Metropolitan yet it has that laid back seaport feel.
There is a magic that happens when I find myself in a strange city where there is little English spoken. After passing the beautiful seaport Fortress and several pizza places, I found the beautiful shopping centre that the Pompeii tour guide had mentioned. Turning the corner there were many more stores, most but not all of them international chains. Continuing walking, I found a small art gallery that featured the t painting “The Martyrdom of St Ursula” by Caravaggio (one of my favourite artists) which was the last painting that he had finished (around a month before he died). They had several other painters of that style and that vintage and I spent a wonderful 20 minutes there.
For me, it is finds like that gallery and watching people living their lives as much and maybe even more so than the sites in any particular place that brings me the most enjoyment. Being able to balance the two this trip has been amazing.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

PompeiiPompeii

 

Pompeii RuinsPompeii Ruins

 

Streets of NaplesStreets of Napoli (Naples)

 

Napoli CastleNapoli Castle

 

All Roads lead to Roam

 

“Provided the gods of Rome are given their due, it doesn’t really matter to them whether their worshippers believe in them or not. Having taken part in the official rituals, a citizen is free to worship whatever other deities he pleases. Rom’es gods are there to be obeyed and respected, not loved, and they no more mind sacrifices to other deities than the taxman minds people paying other dues elsewhere. Dealing with the gods is an exchange of duties and mutual respect. Confessing a deep love for a particular god is superstitio and the person concerned is probably emotionally concerned.”
― Philip Matyszak

 

Friday, we found Rome or it found us. Our tour took us first to Vatican City, the Trevi Fountain and then onto the Coliseum. Vatican City is impressive and ostentatious. It has not surprisingly one of the most amazing museums that I’ve been in, complete with Greek statues that have been gelded and some truly beautiful (and enormous) tapestries. Still it all pales in comparison with Michelangelo’s art in the Sistine Chapel.
It is a funny thing that. In the Sistine Chapel people stand in awe, moving from panel to panel admiringly. There is a strong sense of spirit there. Michelangelo mixed strong faith with a dash of bawdiness and humour (both in my view a necessary part of spirit). By contrast in St. Peter’s there is more of a touristy atmosphere. People take snapshots while touching the cross and walk around laughing and joking and goggling at the iconography. This contrast reveals to me something about the difference between Religion and Spirituality.
As a side note, I was told by my tour guide that if there were libraries of forbidden books in the Vatican, they were hidden.
The Coliseum was big and beautiful. The tour guide used it as an example of how the Romans recycles and repurposed areas. It began as bread and circuses, moved on to become a shrine to the dead Christian Martyrs (and lions with indigestion) and now an archaeological wonder and tourist attraction.
Rome is definitely a city I would love to come back to. I love the architecture in Europe and how it combines a sense of scope, artistry and functionality. There is a legend that if you toss a coin into the Trevi fountain you will one day return. My coin made it in so we will see whether my road will one day lead back here.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Inside the Vatican WallsInside the Vatican Walls

 

A Ceiling at the Vatican MuseumCeiling at the Vatican Museum

 

ColiseumColiseum

 

Inside the ColiseumInside the Coliseum

 

Fiorenze’d Movement (Tuscany, Italy)

 

“Ancora Imparo

(Yet I am learning)”
― Michelangelo

 

Today we were in Tuscany. We went to Fiorenze (Florence), Italy and at breakneck speed, saw Michelangelo’s David at the Academia and then at a forced march pace went to the jewellery district and then to the Uffizi gallery where we saw so many famous and favourite works of art such as the Birth of Venus by Botticelli and too many others way too fast. Our tour guide zoomed along with us following in her 4’8” wake as she held up her sign just high enough to get a glimpse with her voice receding into crackles on our head phones. She marched us to the bus where we went to an amazing meal at a resort on the Tuscany countryside and from there to the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Pisa is fascinating. The tower and church that it is adjacent to is in the middle of a rather rough area that is filled with refugees from a few different countries trying desperately to eek out a living selling souvenirs manufactured elsewhere, sunglasses or umbrellas to tourists passing by. The tower, church and ground has thousands of people walking in and around, taking pictures where they are either propping up the tower or having it jut between their legs. We had twenty minutes free time there and then walked back to the bus and returned to the ship
Tomorrow we hit Rome at a similar breakneck pace. I have a new appreciation for the meaning of cruising speed and need to figure out pacing better. It is an amazing gift to be able to see so much of Western Civilization and getting to meet people from all over the world on this trip.
The Statue of David is amazing to see and walk around. I don’t know that I have ever seen the statue shot from behind.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

David's BackDavid’s Back

 

Dat Leaning TowerLeaning Tower

 

Mediteranean SunsetMediterranean Sunset

 

Water ColoursWater Colours

Toulon, France

 

“The creative act is a letting down of the net of human imagination into the ocean of chaos on which we are suspended, and the attempt to bring out of it ideas.

It is the night sea journey, the lone fisherman on a tropical sea with his nets, and you let these nets down – sometimes, something tears through them that leaves them in shreds and you just row for shore, and put your head under your bed and pray.

At other times what slips through are the minutiae, the minnows of this ichthyological metaphor of idea chasing.
But, sometimes, you can actually bring home something that is food, food for the human community that we can sustain ourselves on and go forward.”
― Terence McKenna

 

Since we have set sail last night I have felt amazingly meditative. I had forgotten how comfortable I am on the water. There is a calmness and familiarity to the rhythms of the sea that seems to echo for me of times past. I love walking around the ship at all hours and being at peace.
Toulon, France is a pleasant seaport. I have learned that my French in France is not as passable as my Spanish in Barcelona. Tho the Farmers Market was amazing.

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

On the Water. Toulon FranceOn the Water, Toulon France

 

Le Genie De Navigation StatueLa Genie De Navigation Statue–Toulon, France