Day 7 – We feel dirty!!!!

(Anna) And why do we feel dirty you might ask? Well…Lindsey will delve further into that later.

But first on Ephesus. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t learn much about this ancient city in school. However, it was a very intelligent, strategically built city located in Turkey. Every building, sculpture, you name it had a purpose in where it was placed and how it was designed. For example, the theatre was built facing the port because the sea breeze would help with the acoustics as it passed inland. 

Overlook of the lower section of Ephesus

A fountain -- may be hard to see but in the center arch, do you see a round ball? Apparently, it represented the globe that Trajan (don't know who he is...) had his knee on top of. Even in AD 102-114, people knew the world was round! 

Library that the men would use while their wives went to the marketplace...just look at the place! Isn't it massive?!

Details underneath one of the library's ceilings

And you know those medicine and pharmacist symbols? Well…they were etched in a few of the columns here! Can you see the mortar and pestle? And the snake?

Pharmacy represent!

After we went to ancient Ephesus, the tour guide took us to a local Turkish rug store. The ornate rugs were all hand woven and just absolutely beautiful. The intricate details and designs were just amazing. But when we found out how much the price of these rugs were, we felt really depressed and broke =(

Trying apple tea at the rug place

Look at all those rugs! Our fingers were definitely blessed with those thousand euro masterpieces...

~sniff~ i just can't afford those double knotted silk on silk, silk on cotton, and whatever combination they have. And they knew it too! After the presentation, the store's representatives didn't even come talk to us! =*(

Turkish Bazaar

(Lindsey) We went to the bazaar after the morning tour and we had quite an experience. So we walked past a post card shop and this guy says to Anna “Chi-na, Chiiiiii-na, Chi-nnnna”. As if saying the word China in three different ways would make it any different!! So Anna walks away saying “Tur-key, Tuuuuur-key, Tur-keeeeey”. Check out our video when we get back to the states. =) Next, we passed by a local pharmacy. Get this…they sell Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, Lipitor, and Orlistat…with NO PRESCRIPTION NEEDED!!! What the heck?!? And they had huge boxes of Viagra that come in 100 mg tablets!!! Geez…

Now this is the part where we felt really dirty (figuratively). As we were heading back down the streets to the harbor, we got hit on by several gross Turkish men. Anna was the first victim…a random guy said to her as we passed by “I am single”. So??? Who cares?? What the heck is wrong with these Turkish men?!? It gets worse from there. A minute or so later, as we continued walking down the street, another guy says to me “I like your body”. WTF!!! Gross!!! Needless to say we both felt really dirty and violated. =(

Day 6 – Mykonos

(Lindsey) Mykonos is known for its white washed houses and windmills. Back in the day the windmills served an actual purpose – to grind barley and wheat. The houses are required by law to be white-washed 2 to 3 times a year. Limestone is grinded to make a very fine powder and water is added to it to produce a beautiful white paint. Mykonos is a huge tourist island, especially in the summer. The local shops and buildings on the island are built so that they all connect to each other. The streets are built so that it’s a maze. The purpose of all this was to fool pirates back in the day. 

I love the white-washed walls and the vibrant colors they used to paint window panes and roofs. Look at the painted walkway! Isn't that just awesome??

Windmills!

(Anna) Apparently, there are 444 shrines/churches on Mykonos and they’re typically dome shaped and colored blue or reddish brown. 

 Wish we had a longer time on the island to squeeze in some more partying nightlife!

Day 5 – Meteora and monasteries

Today is the last day of our land tour and we certainly ended it with a bang…a bang of huge rocks that is. ‘Til this day, people are unsure of how these mountainous rocks were formed, but Meteora used to be filled with water. One of the theory is that when this land dried out, many rocks congregated and dried together, thus forming the large structures and rock forest that exist there today. Nevertheless, the sight was just awesome. I loved the different striations and patterns on each structure, the different sizes and shapes…it was amazing. I wish we had a full’s day worth to explore the area…it definitely would be a blast to either rock climb or bungee jump off one of the cliffs….

We also visited 2 out of the available 7 monasteries that were built on top of these rocks (there were 24 monasteries originally). Going there brought me back to the old days of religion classes during high school and me poring over Greek Orthodox churches (I had to make a presentation on them and build/draw the floor plan for an ideal church….hehe). Anyhow, I loved how the mosaics were so…holy and majestic…with the vivid gold and colors. I can’t imagine how it was like back in the old days with the fresh paint and what not.

You might wonder how the monks and others got up and delivered things to/from the monastery with it being so high up. Turns out that they had built a pulley system where they threw the net over the cliff, fill it up with goods or people. How intelligent they were back then!

Can you see the window-like open space on top? It's where the monks threw over their rope and net so that supplies and people can travel to and from the villages at the bottom of those huge boulders!!

Round and round I go around the pulley

Lindsey and I with part of Meteora in the background

Day 4 - Delphi

(Lindsey) Today we visited Delphi, where the ancient Greeks came from far and wide to seek advice from the oracle, who was a prophetess for Apollo on earth. A goat was slaughtered to determine if you were allowed to seek the oracle that day. If the goat shivered before being slaughtered, that meant you were allowed to seek the oracle. If the goat did not move, then you would have to wait until the next day to try again.

To your left is a temple dedicated to Zeus at Delphi. The columns were humongous!! I would have been afraid to enter Delphi...forget about those prophecies...they were ambiguous anyways! (Anna)







Next was the theater. The original purpose of this theater was not to host plays, but song contests. Over time, the competition extended to include dance and drama.

Lunch break!

 (Anna) It's not Greek cuisine without Ouzo and olives!

 I love them rice stuffed tomatoes!

 Whatever fish it was, it was DELICIOUS (though a little on the salty end). Nevertheless, they weren't kidding about good seafood around here...albeit it costs an arm and a leg....

 Can you believe we found a Hong Kong shop here??? In the middle of Greece?? We went in and the guy who spoke to us told his owner that he thinks we're Asian. Yes, we speak Chinese.

Lindsey doing what she does best, the fobby sign! =)  j/k...she's gonna come after me for saying that...

Last but not least, gelato!!  =)

Day 3 – Olympia. We Are Champions!!

Today, we begin our journey in Olympia, site of the original Olympic games. Contrary to what you may believe, not all the structures were for sporting reasons. There were sanctuaries, Pheidas’ workshop (the guy who built the Parthenon), and temples dedicated to Zeus and Hera.

To the right is a picture of the gymnasium, a complex  of buildings similar to today’s Olympic village; it is the largest building on site. Athletes were typically covered with olive oil and dust for protection against scrapes and the sun. However, the dust also served as a way for judges to give points to the rightful winning athlete during competitions.

Random fact -- did you know, gymnasium means “naked” in Greek, which is how the athletes trained and competed. Unfortunately, no women were allowed to observe these men train. ~sigh~ what a sight it could have been…

Olympic stadium - Lindsey at the finishing line

Olympic stadium – although we probably wouldn’t have gotten the olive wreath, we are now Olympians as well! We ran the 192 meters from start to finish. Athletes ran in a straight line while we ran crooked. Hah!

Every 4 years since 1936, athletes have come here to light the Olympic torch. A few months before the summer/winter Olympic games start, local women dressed in priestess garb would parade from the Temple of Hera to the Altar of Hera. The technique is pretty cool: a curved, cauldron-shaped mirror is used to focus the sun’s rays on the torch to ignite a flame (depicted on picture to the left)

Some cool preserved statues in the archeological museum:

This is a sculpture of Nike of Paeonios: 2 Nike’s exist today. She is landing on a pillar here, however the other is taking flight and is located at the Louvre.

 

 To the left is a terra-cotta statue of Zeus carrying off Ganymede, a beautiful Trojan boy to be his lover and cup-bearer. I love how the artist was able to make the sculpture alive and active. You can almost see the kidnap before your eyes...

This is probably my favorite sculpture in the museum. It depicts Hermes of Praxiteles carrying Dionysus. The translucence of the marble and detail of the sculpture was amazing. Very sensual.  

Imitation Pictures of the Day

Waving a camera bag...haha

Food adventures:

Local salad served in a restaurant next to Olympia. Pretty good. It had eggs and tuna

Now...how can we forget about Gyros in Greece. Lindsey and I enjoyed this much more than the ones served at home  =)

Must...have....ice....cream.....

Frappe next to the sea front. How can I ask for anything more??

Adventure of the day (Lindsey): Upon return from dinner at the Amalia Hotel in Delphi, a huge hornet followed Anna into the hotel room. She screamed and slammed the door, all the while screaming “Lindsey, help me!” when I had no way of going in because she had the hotel key and locked me out. Anna finally opened the door and let me in and we proceeded to find the hornet in the bathroom sink. I suffocated the hornet with a hotel towel and left a present for the hotel maid…

 Until tomorrow....=)
- Anna and Lindsey