…and floors.
In one of the sites where there was a shell of a church there was also a refreshed barracks – it was the former monastery – with an actual room and in that room was a nun and some comfortable chairs and since I was so ready to SIT, I went in.
The nun offered a sweet, the very exact same type of sweet as the last nun. Now I have to figure out what they are. Maybe the nuns make them?
June 8
Good Morning, out my window.
The host in my guest house is a lovely young woman, Elena, from Russia.
A real character in the life of the guest house is her 4’10” tall 80 year old mother-in-law who burst into my room a few times (I left the door open!), asking me “GREEK COFFEE?????” or speaking long enthusiastic paragraphs that end in “YES?????”.
She was so much fun! My worst regret of this whole trip so far is that I don’t have her picture.
As I was leaving we did the cheek-kissing thing, twice like they do in Greece. Elena then said “In Russia we do three” and I got another one. The she said “How many in America?” I told her “One, if you’re lucky.”
I’m standing right outside the guest house and the tree is the landmark of New Mystras used for all directions. I have an ‘aerial’ photo from the top of the castle so you can get some perspective on Mystras and Sparta.
A view along the way of the Palace Complex currently under refurbishments and not open to visitors.
I took a taxi to the Upper Gate from which you could walk/scramble/crawl up up up to get to the fortress, then I walked down from the fortress and down down down to the rest of the buildings.
The arrow points to the tree in Mystras and if you follow the center road up toward the top of the picture you’ll see Sparta.
I didn’t visit any of the sites in Sparta, being an Archeological Museum, the Tomb of Leonidas, some churches, an Acropolis and some ruins that I’ve read are basically a sign.
All along the way there were side paths into complex and interesting places that made me constantly ask myself, now what’s this?
There are many prominent buildings that are not in ruins, that have been made safe and you can go inside…
Views.
I realize now that I’ve been visiting all these ruins here in the Peloponnese sometime between 9 and 3 because I want to get as early a start (as is possible for me and/or for when they open) for the hard parts which means I’m never around at the good photo times. I have to stop doing this!
…and a few different flowers here.
The wildflowers have been out in such delightful abundance and try as I will I can’t get a picture to express the feeling. But I will keep trying.
From the Metropolis-Saint Demetrios church, the last main building before the Main Gate. This is the book stand I heard from the guard there. He didn’t know what the image was or why they chose it.
Some people start at the Main Gate and walk up past the Upper Gate where I started, all the way to the fortress. And back down. I think doing that would be a much bigger project than up and down to the fortress at Nafplio. I asked google but she didn’t know.
This complex is called the Ruins of Mystras. LP: “This is where the Byzantine Empire’s richly artistic and intellectual culture made its last stand before an invading Ottoman army, almost 1,000 years after its founding (in 1249).”
The fortress is at the top, the palace near the middle right, and in the lower-ish left is one of the largest churches and the buildings used for ecclesiastical administration.
Just in time! It started to rain so I turned into the restaurant from yesterday to thank the owner there for his help. He got me fixed up for my transfer to Olympia too.
Interesting: his restaurant, a family business, is part of the nicest hotel in town. He said they are busy all the time for the summer tourist season and then from October only open on the weekends. When it is not tourist season they harvest from their 30,000 or so (could that possible be right? Maybe it was 3,000?) olive trees. They have 200 orange trees for the restaurant and for the family.
After my late lunch (nice easy omelet with perfectly softened feta cheese) he gave me a shot of this beverage, rakomelo, that he told me how to make and that my Monday Night Potluck Ladies are go to l.o.v.e.
June 7
I made my 4-hour 3-bus transfer from Nafplio to Mystras to visit another UNESCO World Heritage fortress town. This place is actually more a village than a town – so small there is no visitors center even, and all the restaurants are clustered around the one town square.
When I got to my guest house the host met me with a glass of amazing fresh squeezed orange juice squeezed from the oranges picked from outside my window and left two more oranges for a snack.
I had dinner here (roast pork, ok, and a mélange of vegetables which was nice).
This man was running the place I think and we chatted about this and that. He helped me arrange how to get up to the fortress tomorrow and then as I was leaving he ran back to the kitchen and brought out this orange as a parting gift.
I’m going to be enjoying oranges for awhile!
And here’s a view from the boardwalk looking toward the town and up to the fortress.
From what I’ve seen it’s very rare in the touristified Old Towns in Greece that you can actually buy any groceries. She didn’t have basic staples but she did have lovely looking fresh fruits and vegetables.
June 6
A representative street in Nafplio. You see it spelled Nafplio more often but also you see Nafplion. Someone told me Nafplion was the spelling from an older version of Greek than is spoken now.
There are many well-known and well-developed archeological sites around Nafplio but I couldn’t find a day tour from here. You can get a day tour from Athens but not from here. Maybe when the season hits in July that will change.
So I could rent a car for 40 euro or pay the guy in the white shirt 80 euro to drive me around. I took the easy way.
The guy in the blue shirt manages the hotel (and fixes and serves the breakfast, and tidies up the lobby, and runs the front desk…his wife and daughter also help out). He’s making the arrangements with White Shirt guy because he absolutely does not speak English At All. And off we went.
The Mycenae acropolis, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The history here is the origin of all the Agamemnon lore.
Lion Gate is the main entrance to the citadel and has not been lost or destroyed since it was finished around 1350 BC. Since 1350 BC Lion Gate has been visible to all the surrounding area.
Although the mighty lions did lose their heads, I don’t know when.
From the brochure: “Within the impregnable Cyclopean walls of the citadel, unfolded the life and terrible sufferings of the family of Agamemnon; the names of its members (Clytaemnestra, Ighigeneia, Electra, Orestes, together with Agamemnon’s rival Aegisthus) furnished material for the Homeric poems, the ancient Greek tragic poets, and post-Renaissance classical European and international literature.”
Various types of citrus and plenty of olive groves cover the landscape.
We next stopped by at the Karakala Monastery of Dominican nuns.
On the right is the outside wall and the flag of the Greek/Eastern Orthodox Church. A bus driver (I couldn’t possibly have had such a conversation with White Shirt guy) told me it was also the flag of a local football team. Yes, we agreed, God would be on the side of that team.
On the left is the church inside the monastery, and below are all the buildings from the back.
A lovely sweet nun answered our bell and let us come inside. She gave us water to drink and sweet treats to eat.
I pointed to this image and pointed to my camera. There’s tons more silver btw surrounding the two heads. She nodded with surprising enthusiasm.
Then I took the picture and showed it to her. Tears filled her eyes, she made several long sighs and signs of the cross, gazing at the back of my camera and then she kissed me on both my cheeks. She then took my arm to lead me around for the rest of our visit. Wow. Too bad I couldn’t get a picture of her!
This is the museum at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Epidaurus..
I’ve been noting how well they do draped figures. In every museum so far I’ve noticed this.
From the brochure: “In the hinterland of Epidaurus., on a site enjoying a mild climate and plentiful water from healing springs, the Epidavrians founded the sanctuary of Asklepios, the most brilliant center of healing in the ancient world.”
They worshiped the gods of healing here, back to the prehistoric period.
There’s a lot of this, and the same back in Mycenae. It is interesting still after having seen so much of it. I would like to encourage anyone with a passion for ruins and archeological sites to go to Delos. You will be impressed.
…the view from my very nice balcony. There was some stair climbing involved in staying here which was good considering that at the bottom of those stairs was Food Aplenty.
Every meal comes automatically with a lot of bread that they all charge for, 1 euro. The bread here in Nafplio is not as splendidly to my taste as the bread in Naxos was but nevertheless if I don’t ask them to please take away the bread, I eat it All.
Tomorrow morning I’m up at nay the crack of dawn for a 4-hour 3-bus journey to Mystras, another fortress town and UNESCO World Heritage site.
June 5
I’m out fairly early, for me, a little before 9 and the town is very quiet.
The building on the farthest right that you can just see a sliver of is an old barracks built by the Venetians in 1714 and after five years of refurbishments reopened as the Archeological Museum of Nafplio in 2008.
It’s very good inside, with clean, professional displays and good information in Greek and English. They have very old things including some items found in caves dating to around 30,000 BC.
Craftsmen created these lovely ladies using a potter’s wheel in the 13th century BC. I really like the fish too.
A view out the window of the museum into one of the main squares.
At the top of the mountain which unfortunately you can’t see because of the backlight, is the Palamidi fortress built again by the Venetians and finished in 1714. Remember this place because I’m goin’ up there.
It’s a lovely town and I’ll try to get some more representative looks tomorrow. This is the outside of one of the many (surprise!) churches.
I think now that all the Greek Orthodox churches here have a similarly fevered interior, all full of things that gleam and glow. It’s pretty amazing to see so many of them one after the other full of tons of hammered silver, iconography on every surface, huge crystal chandeliers, gold leaf everywhere, candles all lit, carved wood, mosaics, more more more.
That’s the castle of Bourtzi completed by the Venetians in 1473. The Greeks regained it from the Turks in 1822, from where they assisted in the siege of Nafplio. Then it served a number of other oddball purposes.
These days it’s a tourist attraction and you can ride out there on a little boat that hangs around the harbor.
Looking away from the old town there is a real town where people live and work and tourists rarely find themselves.
Here’s that little castle in the bay and the whole old town and the Bay of Argolid from the top of the Palamidi fortress.
There are stairs. You can walk up! You can, I can’t, I took a taxi up and walked down.
…plenty.
It was very cool up here – not at all crowded and very plain without many explanations and only one small café and shop by the entrance.
My dinner host (stuffed eggplant with moussaka flavoring and lovely baked chicken, both very good) who told me about all his cousins in California one of whom owns the restaurant at the Cliff House in San Francisco. You would not believe how many people have cousins in San Francisco. I asked if I could take his picture so the next time I go to the Cliff House I can bring greetings to his cousin. “Oh yes, efkharisto.”
June 4
So far I’ve visited the Cyclades islands Piraeus-Naxos-(+Delos-Mykonos)-Santorini and then the Dodecanese islands Rhodes-Symi. Now on to the Peloponnese.
I’ve not been repeating my meals although I did get dolmas twice, once was cold and vegetarian and once was hot with rice and meat. I also had kabab twice, once with meat chunks grilled and another time with ground meat formed around a spit. And delicious Greek Salad more than once too, and it’s always pretty much the same with the oh so delicious slab of feta on top. The tomatoes have been the most surprisingly good part of every salad.
Tonight I had a fish soup with lemon and egg yolk that was so yummy I might have it again!
I flew from Rhodes to Athens, spent the night at an Athens hotel by the bus station, and arrived in Nafplio by bus without a place to stay. Yay, it didn’t start raining until after I was settled in at the Hotel Leto. Phewww.
As Lonely Planet begins their section “For better or worse the secret is out about Nafplio”. I could tell just from the time I spent looking for a place that this is one adorable town.
This restaurant is right down the hill from my hotel.
There was a stadium and a theater too so it was a good sized site.
I went back home, brought the laundry in, thought about packing up, and then instead when out for dinner.
June 3
I’m not sure how this day got away from me…maybe I spent the hours of the morning dozing like this cat who never did rouse herself despite my here kitty kitty efforts.
I did wash my clothes in a real washing machine thanks to the Mama at my place, which is a big treat from the bathroom sink I’ve been using. And I made the reservations for tomorrow’s travel – that took some arranging.
I’m off mid-morning tomorrow – flight to Athens, then train, then subway, then change subway, then walk to get to a hotel where I’ll overnight so that the next day I can get the bus to arrive before dark in my final destination, Nafplio in the Peloponnese.
Looking onto the back of the city walls.
I walked up to the Acropolis of Rhodes. This is another Temple of Apollo (you’ll remember the other one from Naxos)
When you emerge from the winding residential Old Town streets where I’ve been staying onto the first commercial street, right at that spot is My Restaurant.
This is my last night and I’m back here for the third time and everyone there is my new best friend. I messed up Big Time on the group shots that included the two guys so I’ve just got these…
…of the two girls. They would all greet me when I happened to walk past the restaurant and not go in…come back for lunch! come back for dinner! they would call out.
Adeeo Rhodes, you’ve been great, and now on to Nafplio.
…this. A fevered display of religious iconography. The walls are covered in amazing painting too. Everyone was in line to take their turn kissing the glass that protects the image of Saint George.
“You have to watch out for Saint George” a local woman told me, “see the sword in one hand and a soul in the other? He takes all the souls and he doesn’t take them all to heaven.”
(internet pix from people who didn’t get caught)
June 1
Sailing out of Rhodes for a day trip to visit the island of Symi and its port town by the same name and also on the other side of Symi we’ll sail to the Panormitis Monastery.
I’m really liking Rhodes. If you happen to be in the area, even from Turkey you can easily reach Rhodes, you won’t be sorry if you stop on by.
Sailing now into the blue-blue-blue harbor of the port town of the island of Symi.
But like everywhere so far, and I might repeat this again, the shops are all occupied and full with fresh goods, the restaurants are amazing, and every single Greek person I’ve had occasion to visit with, admittedly almost entirely in the tourist biz, has been kind, helpful, and cheerful.
Come to Greece! You are paying in Euro though so don’t expect the olden days of Greece on $10 (or $20 or $50) a day. I’m being very modest in accommodation, generous with eating out once a day, doing side trips which can be pretty expensive and it’s all running about 80-100 Euro a day.
Blue blue blue.
Symi once held more that 22,000 people during the era of its shipbuilding and sponge industries but now they’re down to 2,500 people and tourists.
Blue Star Ferry it’s not, but we weren’t at all crowded so everyone got their chance at the rail and the inside was comfortable, air conditioned, no smoking, and plenty of room.
It’s very exotic inside there for sure.
First they were going to have a christening and the whole place was decked out in blue Smurf World including a picture of the honoree photoshopped into a poster of a Smurf Village.
And when you go through that door of the chapel you’ll see…
Back in Rhodes, it’s about a 20 minute walk from my place to the commercial pier, and I’m here now in the lower part of Old Town.
TravelGuideToRhodes: “This church has served three different faiths in its lifetime – Greek Orthodox, Catholic and Muslim.
It was the official church of the Knights of the Order of St. John, between 1309 and 1522, but the original occupants were the Byzantines, who erected it in the 11th century. When the knights took over Rhodes they decided that this church, which was in the same neighbourhood as the Street of the Knights and which was large enough to hold a large congregation, would best meet their needs.
“The knights immediately set about making a few structural adjustments to the style, in keeping with the Catholic designs of the time. A ribbed cross-vaulted roof was added to this inscribed cruciform Cathedral, which was also the seat of the Catholic bishop, to give it a Goth appearance. Its changes were supervised by the administration of the Grand Master Villeneuve. …
“During their reign, a beautiful and ornate bell tower stood just a metre or two from the church but when the Ottoman Turks seized the island from the Knights, they pulled down the bell tower and replaced it with a tall minaret and transformed the church into a mosque.”
…looking for the only remaining Synagogue in Rhodes.
It isn’t noted on my map but Lonely Planet had a short article. WWII and deportations to Auschwitz saw the end of a once thriving Jewish community here.
Lively and welcoming. Even the guys that stand outside the restaurants attempting to lure you in make their attempts gently.
May 30-31
If you want to catch up with part one here’s the Cyclades including Naxos and Santorini with short visits to Delos and Mykonos.
I came from Santorini to Rhodes on an overnight Blue Star Ferry. I am a Blue Star Ferry fan. Every trip, and I’ve gone with them three times now, has been perfect. I had no idea it would be so comfortable.
(wiki picture)
I had a little stroll around the neighborhood.
Everywhere I’ve been in Greece so far gelato shops are on every block, sometimes two on a block. This one had the largest and most elaborate decorations yet.
I did take a picture on my phone of each turn from the clock to my room. There are five turns.
I didn’t do much on the 30th even though I arrived in the morning and was settled before noon. The ferry ride was entirely comfortable and I slept in a cabin, still we didn’t leave until after 1 in the morning…waaay past my bedtime…and I was up at 7 so I was feeling a little buzzed.
But not too buzzed to eat! I had olives, bread, dolmas, eggplant salad, tzatziki, and a baked potato. (I saw that baked potato on the menu and I Wanted it.)
And retsina. YUM.
Now it’s the 31st and I’m off for some looking around.
LP: “The 18th-century Muslim Library was founded in 1794 by Turkish Rhodian Ahmed Hasuf. It houses a small number of Persian and Arabic manuscripts and a collection of Korans handwritten on parchment.”
Notice the piece over the door.
I had made a plan with an Airbnb host to meet someone ‘at the clock’ who would show me the accommodation.
I didn’t want to make a non-refundable four-nights reservation for a place that had no reviews but the description was right up my alley…in the Old Town, with a kitchen, fast wifi, and for a good price.
Happily everything went well and I’m settled here in the UNESCO World Heritage Medieval City of Rhodes.
Some artists were selling their work near this tree but my favorite piece was this tree itself. On the bigger picture you can see both eyes, one blue and one brown. Nicely done.
One of the entrances around The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes. I was trying to find the Byzantine Museum but somehow found myself…
…in the port of New Town which is new in the sense that it’s full of chain stores.
One thing I didn’t run across in New Town or in Old Town, or come to think of it in Naxos or Santorini either, was your basic they’re-everywhere (but apparently not) fast food joint. No McDonalds or Burger King or KFC. In other words, no place to use the bathroom without being noticed.
That’s the lighthouse out there.
Coming back into Old Town, the Temple of Aphrodite.
I’m going to copy out the short description from UNESCO citing Rhodes Old Town a World Heritage Site:
“The Order of St John of Jerusalem occupied Rhodes from 1309 to 1523 and set about transforming the city into a stronghold. It subsequently came under Turkish and Italian rule. With the Palace of the Grand Masters, the Great Hospital and the Street of the Knights, the Upper Town is one of the most beautiful urban ensembles of the Gothic period. In the Lower Town, Gothic architecture coexists with mosques, public baths and other buildings dating from the Ottoman period.”
You can google for the long description because it is an excellent summary of Rhodes Old Town history.
Next stop: the Archeological Museum. Worth the price of admission for this lion alone.
Also worth the price of admission is this Aphrodite.
I’m a little surprised Getty never got his hands on this gorgeous thing.
The building that houses the museum from 1914 was previously the hospital of the Knights.
The Order of St John of Jerusalem: “The Knights Hospitaller, also known as the Hospitallers, Order of Hospitallers, Knights of Saint John and Order of Saint John, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders during the Middle Ages.”
A group has gathered behind me to wait their turn for this shot in The Street of Knights. This street is an ancient one with each building having a long and storied history.
Back to The Palace of the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes and this time I went in.
It’s HUGE in here with not much in the way of furnishings but very impressive to walk through.
Look familiar? All my LA family and friends will nod in recognition.
I think about J Paul Getty and the Getty Center and the Getty Villa whenever I see wonderful things.
Food! I had a bowl of delicious mussels in garlic and tomato sauce with garlic toast to soak up the juice, and then went back to my digs to do up these pictures.
It looks so peaceful but that’s because this street is up by where I’m staying, a quieter few blocks than down the way where there seem to me to be plenty enough people.
We had a short show-and-tell from a maker of the local drink, Kitro, made from the leaves of the citron tree. They also make ouzo and a very tasty raki flavored with honey and cinnamon. Samples were available and bottles for sale.
May 29
This morning I went over to a nice hotel on the main drag, to relax in peace, sit in nice clear No Smoking air, have a coffee, and figure out what my last day would look like.
Little Did I Know! From out of NOWHERE came a wind storm the like of which no one could remember. And then it poured rain. I just stayed here!
Here’s a map of the Santorini island group so you can get a feel for the volcano/s and where I went on the boat tour.
Recommended sites to see and things to do that I didn’t: ruins of Ancient Thira (I did pop into the museum though), wine tasting, go to the white/red/black sand beaches, there are a few churches I missed, and too many recommended restaurants/bars/clubs to name.
I’m leaving on the ferry tonight at 1am in a comfy cabin to arrive in Rhodes around 9:30am. Big cheers for the Blue Star Ferry.
May 28
It’s tour day! I got picked up at the bus station at 10am by a big tour bus that took all of us down to the old pier where many of these style boats were waiting.
I and 100 others went with the Odysseas. It was plenty comfortable – ours even had a shade deck which I enjoyed.
They look like sailing ships but only one or two even pretended to have sails wrapped around the cross-beams and I’m quite sure they just motor around this volcanic lake visiting the islands created by the various eruptions.
Our first stop was Nea Kameni Island, evidence of the most recent of the eruptions. At this point our boat was on the far right and we walked across the decks of all the others to get off.
Oh look, here come three more. During our one hour stay the boats would shuffle themselves around so that by the time we left our boat was second from the left.
After 20 minutes I was here, obviously not going to get all the way up and back in the allotted one hour!
Next stop, Palea Kameni Island and the volcanic hot springs. Again there was a clutch of boats with swimmers diving in for the swim to…
…the Hot Springs. I didn’t do it. What I read was that it was stinky, it stained your clothes, and it wasn’t even hot.
Add to that no where to rinse off and you can see it was not for me much as I would have enjoyed a dip in the sea.
