ATHENS, GREECE and LOUIS OLYMPIA THE CRUISE SHIP

On the morning of 13^th May, we had an early breakfast at 6 am and as the ship anchored at Athens, Capital of Greece, we disembarked from the ship

We were joined by another 10 Indians, and we hired 3 taxis for taking us around Athens for 4 hours. It cost us 40 Euros per couple.

ATHENS

Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Athens bid for the 1996 Olympics to celebrate the centenary of the Modern Olympics but were out bid by the money power of Atlanta, USA.

Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery. 

The heritage of the classical era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient monuments and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early Western civilization. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a smaller number of Ottoman monuments.

 Athens is also home to the National Archeological Museum, featuring the world's largest collection of ancient Greek antiquities, as well as the new Acropolis Museum.

Athens, the city with a glorious history, a city worshipped by gods and people, is a magical city. The enchanting capital of Greece has claims as the birthplace of civilization. It is the city where democracy was born and most of the wise men of ancient times. The most important civilization of ancient world flourished in Athens and relives through some of the world's most formidable edifices. 

We first visited the Olympic football stadium, the track and field stadium and the Parliament building and watched the change of guards. From there we proceeded to The Temple of Zeus. The combined entrance ticket for The Temple of Zeus and The Acrpolis is 12 Euros. From there we went to the most important site in Athens, the Acropolis.

 PANATHENAIC STADIUM 
It was originally a natural hollow part of the ground between two hills. It was transformed into a stadium in 330-329 BC for the athletic competitions of the Great Panathinaea Festivities. Between 140 and 144 AD, Herodes Atticus restored the Stadium, giving it the form that was found at the 1870 excavation: the horseshoe construction with a track 204 meters long and 33 meters wide .The external dimensions of the stadium was 268,eters and 141 meters. It is believed that the Stadium had a seating capacity of 50.000 people. Separating scales were built between the tiers and on the base there was a portico with Doric-style columns. Another portico was placed in the stadium's facade. The bridge across Ilissos River at the Stadium's entrance was restored, making it larger. The bridge was standing there up to 1778 and a part of it was excavated in 1958. At the Roman times, the Stadium was used as an arena, with the addition of a semi-circular wall on the north that was similar to the southern side.

The modern times restoration of the Stadium was conducted at the end of the 19th century for the first Olympic Games that were reborn again in 1896. 

Olympic Foot ball stadium

Olympic Athletic Stadium

PARLIAMENT HOUSE

Parliament House

Frieze on parliament Building

Guard at Parliament Building

TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN ZEUS  

The Temple of Olympian Zeus was an enormous structure, the largest temple in Greece, exceeding even the Parthenon in size. Work began on this vast edifice in 515 BCE during the reign of the tyrant Peisistratos, who initiated the building work to gain public favor. Although there were several attempts over many years to finish the temple, it was not completed until 132 CE by the Emperor Hadrian.

The 104 columns, each 17 meters high, of the temple were made of Pentelic marble. Only 15 of the Corinthian columns remain standing to give a sense of the enormous size of the temple which would have been approximately 96 x 40 meters in size.

After the construction of the temple of Zeus, the Athenians honored Hadrian by building an arched gateway in the northwest corner of the sanctuary in 131 CE. The arch, also built of Pentelic marble, bears two inscriptions. The one on the side facing the Acropolis (west facade) reads "This is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus" while the other, on the side facing the sanctuary and the extension of the city by Hadrian, reads "This is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus". 

Temple of Zeus

Temple of Zeus

ACROPOLIS 

The Acropolis hill (acro - edge, polis - city), so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens, is the most important site of the city and constitutes one of the most recognizable monuments of the world. It is the most significant reference point of ancient Greek culture, as well as the symbol of the city of Athens itself as it represent the apogee of artistic development in the 5th century BC. During Perikles' Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground. The Propylaea are the monumental entrances to the sacred area dedicated to Athena, the patron goddess of the city.

The first habitation remains on the Acropolis date from the Neolithic period. Over the centuries, the rocky hill was continuously used either as a cult place or as a residential area or both. The inscriptions on the numerous and precious offerings to the sanctuary of Athena (marble korai, bronze and clay statuettes and vases) date back to (650-480 B.C.).The important structures at the Acropolis are the Parthenon, The Temple of Athena Nike and the Propylea.

THE PARTHENON

This is the most important and characteristic monument of the ancient Greek civilization and still remains its international symbol. It was dedicated to Athena Parthenos (the Virgin), the patron goddess of Athens. It was built between 447 and 438 B.C. and its sculptural decoration was completed in 432 B.C. The construction of the monument was initiated by Perikles, the supervisor of the whole work was Pheidias, the famous Athenian sculptor, while Iktinos (or Ictinus) and Kallikrates (Callicrates) were the architects of the building. The temple is built in the Doric order and almost exclusively of Pentelic marble. It is peripteral, with eight columns on each of the narrow sides and seventeen columns on each of the long ones. The central part of the temple, called the cella, sheltered the famous chryselephantine cult statue of Athena, made by Pheidias. .

THE TEMPLE OF ATHENA NIKE

The Temple of Athena Nike (Featherless Victory) is situated southwest of the entrance, on a rampart protecting the main entrance of the Acropolis. It was constructed in        ca. 420 B.C.by the architect Kallikrates. It is built in the Ionic order, and it has a row of four columns in front of each of its narrow sides. The relief frieze on the upper section of the walls depicts the conference of Gods on the east side, and scenes from battles on the other three. A marble parapet decorated with the relief representation of Nikae (Victories), protected the edge of the Bastion on which the temple was erected.

 THE PROPYLAEA  

The Propylaea, the monumental gateway of the Acropolis was built  in 437-432 B.C. It comprises a central building and two lateral wings. The colonnades along the west and east sides had a row of Doric columns while two rows of Ionic columns divided the central corridor into three parts. The walls of the north wing were decorated with painted panels or wall paintings and that is why it was called the "Pinakotheke". The ceiling of the Propylaea had painted decoration and a perforated ring around the roof.

Acropolis

Acropolis

Theater at Acropolis

Athena Nike

Erichth

Sculpture on Erichth

Sculpture in Erichth

Sculpture In Erichth

Parthenon

Propyleae

Restoration work

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LOUIS OLYMPIA, THE CRUISE SHIP

On 13^th May,in the afternoon, the ship travelled to Mykonos another island. We decided not to take the trip to the island and instead decided to explore the ship. Till now life has been very hectic and we hardly had any time to see all the facilities in the ship. The ship had 7 decks. The ship has more than 700 cabins of various levels. All furnished like a five star hotel except that the area specially the bath room is cramped.

One dining room, 4 lounges, 5 bars, casino, children’s play area, Duty Free & Travel Value shop, library, a Spa which includes hair salon, manicure and pedicure, massage room, double Jacuzzi, 2 pools, gym, medical center and Internet area. 

Usually, the meals are served in the Main Dining Room (deck 4)with the choice between a table d'hôte (set menu) or a buffet, or in the closed hall “Lido”, on the top deck, for casual meals, as well as in several areas of the ship (such as next to the pool), where barbecues are set up for pizza baking, burgers, hot dogs, pasta etc.

A meal on the ship whether it is breakfast, lunch or dinner, was a pleasurable experience. While every meal is buffet style, we were specially looked after by some Indian crew members, since it was difficult  to identify which is vegetarian.  Breakfast had lots of bakery products, cereals and fruits, so there was no problem. The food was vegetarian but prepared in Greek style and was excellent. There is an excessive usage of auburgine (our own poor brinjal), potato and cheese.

Our Cabin

Louis Olympus

Dining hall

Dining Hall

Dining Hall

After Mykonos the ship sailed towards Kusadasi In Turkey.

On 14th May, we landed at Kusadasi around 9am and left the ship after customs and immigration check as we were reentering Turkey.

Thus ended a memorable cruise in the Aegean sea.

We were picked by our travel agents and transported to IZMIR the airport for flying to Istanbul.

We left Izmir at 4 pm and landed at Istanbul at 5 pm for our connecting flight to Mumbai which left at 6.45 pm.

Reached Mumbai early morning on 15th may, after a great trip to Turkey and Greece.

CRETE AND SANTORINI ISLANDS IN GREEK AEGEAN SEA

On the morning of 12^th May, the ship anchored in the sea near Crete. We were told that it will be difficult to see Crete on our own and hence we joined the trip arranged by the ship. This costs 49 Euros per head. We had an early breakfast and left the ship at 7 am.

CRETE is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. 

Crete is one of the most popular holiday destinations in Greece. Fifteen percent of all arrivals in Greece come through the city of Heraklion (capital, port, and airport), while charter journeys to Heraklion last year made up 20% of all charter flights in Greece. Overall, more than two million tourists visited Crete last year.

Ancient Palace of Knossos

Mythology has it that it was in a cave of Crete where the goddess Rhea hid the newborn Zeus.  In that cave, Zeus was brought up by the nymphs while the demonical Kouretes would strike their shields loudly so that Cronus may not hear the crying of the baby Zeus and eat it.  It was also to Crete that Zeus, disguised as a bull, took Europa so that they may enjoy their love together.  Their union produced a son, Minos, who ruled Crete and turned it into a mighty island empire of the seas. 

The legend of the labyrinth dates back as far as 2000 BC according to the historical evidence being built on top of a Neolithic settlement populated in 6.000BC. The Palace itself was excavated and reconstructed in 1900.

The Palace of Knossos was undoubtedly the ceremonial and political centre of the Minoan civilization and culture. It appears as a multistoried structure with many floors, innumerable corridors and colonnades, a maze of workrooms, living spaces, and storerooms.

It encompasses an area of 22.000m2, with a population reaching 80.000 people evidenced by the presence of cemeteries nearby.

The water management system of the palace was amazing.

The palace had three separate water-management systems: one for supply, one for drainage of wastewater and one for drainage of runoff.

Aqueducts brought fresh water from springs on hills located about 10 km away. Aqueducts branched to the Palace and to the town. Water was distributed at the Palace by gravity feed through terracotta pipes to fountains and spigots. The pipes were tapered at one end to make a pressure fit, with rope for sealing. No hidden springs have been discovered at Mycenae.

There were series of public toilets in the palace. Sanitation drainage was through a closed system leading to a sewer apart from the hill. The Queen's toilet contained an example of the first water-flushing system toilet adjoining the bathroom. This toilet was a seat over a drain that was flushed by pouring water from a jug.

 The bathtub located in the adjoining bathroom similarly had to be filled by someone heating, carrying, and pouring water and was drained by overturning into a floor drain. This toilet and bathtub were exceptional structures within the 1,300-room complex.

As the hill was periodically drenched by torrential rains, a runoff system was a necessity. It began with channels in the flat surfaces, which were zigzag and contained catchment basins to control the water velocity. Probably the upper system was open. Manholes provided access to parts that were covered.

Apart from the Minoan palace complex, today’s visitor can enjoy the richly decorated internally with mural paintings, public buildings and religious centres A luxury private villa still survives today, colonnaded externally with magnificent mosaic floor tiles dating from the Roman era.

The numerous artifacts of exquisite art have been dug out from the palace, like various pots, vessels, utensils, idols, tablets, and original murals

The throne room is the most interesting area of the complex. The throne is flanked by the Griffin Fresco, with two griffins crouching facing the throne, one on either side. Griffins were important mythological creatures, also appearing on seal rings.

The entire visit to Crete including the Knossos Palace took about 3 hours and we returned to the cruise ship by 11 am.

Storage pots

The Throne room

Ceremonial vessel in the throne room

Griffin

Bull Jumping

The Palace

The cup holders

Drainage system

Prince of Lillies

Dolphin Fresco

The cruise ship then sailed towards Santorini, one of the most fascinating of Greek islands.

We left the ship at 5 pm and took the guided tour of Santorini. The total cost of visiting both

Crete and Santorini is 198 Euros.

There are no archeological sites on Santorini except in Akrotiri, which is the best known Minoan site after Crete. Unfortunately we could not visit the site due to shortage of time.

Santorini looks more or less like our own Mussoori or Shimla with narrow roads, cobbled pathways and steep slopes. Curio shops and cafes line the roads and lanes.

General mode of transport is the QUAD, a four wheel all terrain vehicle, which is driven at high speed all over the island.

SANTORINI.

An alternative name for Santorini is Thira. Santorini is also a name for the family of islands surrounding Thira, once forming a single island prior to a major volcanic event in approximately 1628 B.C.E A giant central, rectangular lagoon, which measures about 12 by 7 km is surrounded by 300 m high steep cliffs on three sides. The main island slopes downward to the Aegean Sea. On the fourth side, the lagoon is separated from the sea by another much smaller island called Therasia; the lagoon is connected to the sea in two places, in the northwest and southwest. The caldera being 400m deep makes it possible for all but the largest ships to anchor anywhere in the protected bay; There is also a newly built marina on the southwestern coast. The principal port is called Athinias. The capital, Fira, clings to the top of the cliff looking down on the lagoon.

Santorini has no rivers, and water is scarce. Until the early 1990s locals filled water cisterns from the rain that fell on roofs and courts, from small springs, and with imported assistance from other areas of Greece. In recent years a desalination plant has provided running, yet non-potable, water to most houses. Since rain is rare on the island from mid-spring till mid-autumn, many plants depend on the scant moisture provided by the common, early morning fog condensing on the ground as dew. There are no large trees on the island.

The island remains the home of a small, but flourishing, wine industry, based on the indigenous grape variety.

Fira is the fiery capital, a marriage of Venetian architecture, whose white cobblestone streets bustle with shops, taverns, hotels and cafes, while clinging to the rim of the caldera nine hundred feet above the its port. If arriving by sea you can take a cable car up from the port or alternatively take a trip on one of the hundreds of mules up the 588 zigzagging steps. You could also attempt to walk up the steps but be warned, they are winding, narrow in parts with only low walls, they are covered in donkey excrement and the donkeys themselves will make no attempt to avoid you.

Walking along a path for about twenty minutes will bring you to the top where you can take in the magnificent view of the island’s unique scenery from the tiny town.

Due to the spectacular and unique natural beauty of Santorini, many Greek singers have chosen the island as the setting of their videos. TV series have been shot in Santorini, as well as some Hollywood movies (e.g. Tomb Raider II). Generally Santorini is a pole of attraction for Greek and international celebrities.

Usually, the meals are served in the Main Dining Room (deck 4)with the choice between a table d'hôte (set menu) or a buffet, or in the closed hall “Lido”, on the top deck, for casual meals, as well as in several areas of the ship (such as next to the pool), where barbecues are set up for pizza baking, burgers, hot dogs, pasta etc.

We were told that Michael Jordan’s yacht was anchored in the Marina.

We returned to the cruise ship around 8 pm.