Tree Lighting Part 1

Rob and I put out our Loring Hall Christmas tree tonight! It's quite small but we are able to top it with a Santa hat and display it in our window. There will be two other tree trimming parties in the coming weeks, one in the soloni of Loring Hall and another at the Director's residence. This year the present under our tree will be our trip to France and Italy, stay tuned for details!

Spontaneous Sunday Part 2

No trip away from Athens is complete without a bit of archaeological fun! Following the winery we headed for the sanctuary of Artemis at Brauron (but of course before arriving at that location we passed a few other brown cultural signs and decided to do some exploring). As you can see in the first photo, we came upon a tower although we're not sure if it's Frankish or Venetian. We attempted to climb to the top, but the ladder inside was way too rickety for safe passage. Next we arrived at the recently closed sanctuary and after watching the guards leave, Sara and Matt jumped over the fence for a quick tour. Carrie, Rob and I stood guard and because the sun was setting the light was perfect for photos. This site has an intriguing history and you can Google "cult of Artemis Brauronia" to learn more. Finally, on our way home we came upon an early Christian Basilica. It was, of course, completely enclosed by a rusty old fence but we were able to lift Sara over for a fast trek. No mosaics were found, but as you can see in the final photo, the basilica does have a few preserved columns.

Spontaneous Sunday

 Rob and I as well as Carrie, Matt, and Sara (pictured above) took a trip out to a winery near the Athens airport this afternoon. Sara has access to a car in Athens and wanted to get out of the city for a few hours and we were all more than willing to go along. After a fun and informative wine tasting our host at the winery, Vassilis, played "the blues" while Rob and Matt stood in awe at his chops and expensive guitar.

Black Friday

While friends and family in America are getting great deals on Black Friday specials, I took a stroll in Kolonaki and picked out this pretty ensemble. Wouldn't I look super stylish sporting these heals and handbag in Athens? While the pumps are only 455 Euro and the handbag a mere 1,655 Euro I am sure Rob will have them under our Christmas tree for me. ;)

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving at the American School was fantastic! Our table had a huge bird that was carved by Jim Muhly, a former director of the school seated at the head of the table. In addition to turkey we had mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries, peas and carrots, stuffing, gravy, and even pumpkin pie.I believe there will be leftovers for days...

Olympia

The Philippeion at Olympia in the early morning fog was a beautiful sight. This photo was taken in 2009 as a part of our tour of the Peloponnese. Most vistors come to Olympia thinking it was simply the sight of the first olympic games but it was actually much more. Olypmia is known as a Pan Hellenic sanctuary, meaning it was a space for people throughout Greece to gather in order to sacrifice to the gods. For this reason,  this religious area consisted of temples and treasuries as well as the stadium and track.

Mask of Agamemnon

The Mask of Agamemnon can be found in the National Archeological Museum here in Athens, but it was originally discovered by Heinrich Schliemann in a shaft grave at Mycenae (the site of the Lions Gate I posted a few days ago). When Schliemann discovered the gold mask he thought it was that of the Greek leader Agamemnon, but that has now been disputed and the mask is believed to be too old to be the mask of Agamemnon. Either way, it's a brilliant piece or artwork.

Bourtzi

This photo features the Bourtzi Castle in the harbor at Nafplion. This castle was built by the Venetians in 1473 to protect the area from intruders. In addition to being used as a fortress, the Bourtzi has been used as a residence for convicts and a hotel, but today is it mainly just visited by tourists.

The Best of Greece

Rob and I are both feeling a bit under the weather this weekend, so I thought I'd take a few days and post some of my favorite photos from our 2009-2010 year in Greece. This shot was taken during the early morning hours from our hotel balcony in the Peloponnesian city of Dimitsana.

Sickly Computer

Just a quick note to say that my laptop isn't working properly so my blog posts will be intermittent for the foreseeable future. We believe that it needs a new inverter so the screen will start appearing again. As of now, it looks like it's off even though it's on. I borrowed a monitor from a friend and have been backing up my documents and photos. The IT guys (who have been very helpful) at the school think it'll be about 150 Euros to repair, but they are going to call around to get the best price for us. Until then, I'll try to steal Rob's laptop every now and again to keep you all up to date!

Craft time

It's starting to get a bit chilly in Athens and Rob needs a scarf so I've decided to take up knitting! My neighbor Cathy offered to teach me and today we went shopping for the necessary equipment. I purchased a few needles and one ball of yarn to learn with, but it will probably take 5 or 6 balls of yarn to complete the scarf. Check back soon for updates.

Byzantine Icon

I took Zac and Julie to the Benaki Museum today in preparation for their trip to Istanbul tomorrow. The Benaki Museum is one of my favorite museums in Athens, containing artifacts from the Neolithic times all the way to modern Greek history. Today we spent a lot of time discussing Byzantine history as it's roots were in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). The Benaki's Byzantine collection is extremely rich and includes manuscripts, enamels, ceramics, and icons. Today's image is an icon of the Immaculate Virgin painted in the second half of the 16th century.

Mr. Marathon

Zac took part in the Athens Classic Marathon today and did a fantastic job! The marathon retraces Pheidippides 40 kilometer run in 490 BC from the battlefield near Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon. Unfortunately, after Pheidippides announced the victory in Athens he collapsed and died on the spot. Zac had a great run (26 miles!!) on his first ever marathon and Julie, Rob and myself enjoyed cheering him on.

The Lion Gate

In this photo, Rob and I are posing in front of the Lion Gate at Mycenae. This monumental entrance alone is well worth the price of admission to the site. When we visited our friend Nick was up on a ladder taking measurements (and obstructing many tourist's photos!). It was great for us because he took down the ladder for our photos and gave us a summary of his research. The gate was built in the form of a relieving triangle in order to support the weight of the ashlar and "cyclopean" masonry that make up the fortification walls.

Corinth Canal & Palivou Estate

After a few fun days in Nafplion we headed back to Athens today but not before making two stops. First we visited at Palivou Estate and took part in a fantastic wine tasting. It's been an exciting week for myself and Greek wine. :) I've learned that Greece actually has a lot of great wine to offer if you look in the right places. Needless to say, Rob and I are stocked up and should make it through the winter quite nicely. Next we stopped at the Corinth Canal which separates the Peloponnesian Peninsula with the Mainland and the Corinthian Gulf with the Saronic Gulf.

Mycenae & Nafplion

On Thursday we all headed out of Nafplion for the ancient site of Mycenae, a site well-known for its Lion Gate and exquisite gold burial objects. The site is also important in Greek literature for being the residence of the famous king Agamemnon who led the Greeks against the Trojans in Homer's Iliad, only to be killed by his adulterous wife Clytemnestra. Pictured above is what is known as Grave Circle A which contained numerous burials with gold objects and weapons. Below is Syntagma Square in Nafplion, the first capital city of Greece.

Corinth & Nemea

Today was full of adventures in the Peloponnese! We rented a car in Athens and Zac (our driver) and Rob (our navigator) worked together to get us to our first stop at Ancient Corinth. The first photo is from the Peirene Fountain House at Corinth. After touring the site of Corinth we drove to the top of the Acrocorinth and spent over an hour hiking around the fortress. Even though it was a bit hazy we still enjoyed the views. Following our stop in Corinth we arrived in Nemea and visited the Papaioannou Winery. Look out world, Greece is producing some great wines and I look forward to seeing them in the United States in the years to come. After wrapping things up at the winery we headed for home which for the next few nights will be the lovely old town of Nafplion.

Turtles

Today Zac, Julie, and I had a successful day of sightseeing while Rob stayed back at the school to work on his own research. We had a fun day seeing the National Gardens, Temple of Olympian Zeus, Plaka, Athenian Agora, and Acropolis Museum. We had a good lunch at the Ice Grill (!!) and a fantastic dinner at a Cypriot restaurant called Kitromilo. Today's photo shows the turtles at the National Gardens. For some reason, it seemed like the turtles were stretching as far as they could get outside of their shells. Notice the long nails on the turtle in the middle!

Zac & Julie Arrive in Athens

Zac and Julie arrived in Athens on Sunday night and after a good night of rest we took to the town. This morning we started with a hike up Lycabettus Hill to give them a sense of the topography of Athens. Next, we walked to the Acropolis and spent a an hour or so admiring the temples and views. After a gyrospita lunch in the flea market area we took a walk past the central markets (this deserves an entire post itself at a later time) and made it to our final destination, the National Archeological Museum. It was a long but great day! Tomorrow we plan to tour the Acropolis Museum, stroll through the National Gardens, admire the Agora, and maybe hit a few minor sites such as the Kerameikos and the Roman Agora.

Temple of Hephaistos

The Temple of Hephaistos is one of the best preserved temples in all of Greece. It was built around 449 BC as a part of the rebuilding of the Agora after the Persians destroyed the city in 480 BC. The temple was dedicated to two gods, Hephaistos (god of the forge) and Athena (goddess of arts and crafts), and was a peristyle temple made of Pentelic marble in the Doric style (like the Parthenon). In the 7th century the temple was turned into a Greek Orthodox church dedicated to St. George and it remained a church until 1834 at which time it served as a local museum until excavations began in the 1930s.

Church of the Holy Apostles

The Church of the Holy Apostles (ca 1000)  is the only medieval monument that stands in the Ancient Agora of Athens today. The church was restored from 1954-1957. The outer walls are decorated with "kufic" letters (a kind of Arabic writing) while inside some traces of Byzantine wall paintings survive.

A Return to Museum Thursdays

Rob and I visited the Athenian Agora today after a brief hiatus from Museum Thursdays. It was a beautiful day, albeit a bit hazy, to stroll around this outdoor 'museum.' The Agora is one of my favorite places to be in Athens. I love the open green space (yes, Athens is starting to turn green after a hot dry summer!) as well as the wide variety of archeology. In ancient times the Agora was the heart of the city, as it was the place to be for anything political, administrative, social, and commercial. The Stoa of Attalus in my photo was originally built by the King of Pergamon and contained shops. It was reconstructed in the 1950's by the American School using private donors from the United States (mostly John D. Rockefeller) and now houses the Agora Museum.

Panathenaic "Olympic" Stadium

I recently took my camera to the summit of Lycabettus to experiment with my camera at night. This was one of the better shots, showing the Panathenaic Stadium. The stadium was built in the 4th century BC to host the Panathenaic games. At that time the stadium actually had wooden seats, but in the 2nd century AD Herodes Atticus rebuilt the stadium, this time using Pentelic marble (the same marble that was used to build the Parthenon). In more modern times, the remnants of the stadium were excavated and restored to it's 2nd century condition in order to host the first modern Olympics in 1896, and it was recently used in 2004 as the finish line for the marathon. It will again be used as the grand finish line on November 13th as my friends, Zac and Julie come to participate in the Athens Classic Marathon. Julie will be running the 5K portion of the race, while Zac will run the entire marathon. I will definitely be waiting in the stands for their finish!

Rooster

One of the more fascinating aspects of Greek cooking is the way one goes about purchasing meat. Someday soon I will make a trip to the meat market and snap a photo, but until then, check out this ad in my Carrefour grocery ad. Yep, it's an add for Rooster and it's selling at 3 Euro per kilo. The nice curved beak and the cute little feet are definitely selling points!