I have gone on some really amazing trips in the past two weeks...
CRETEChania:
I went to Crete with 4 friends of mine. We began the journey by taking the ferry to Chania, a beautiful city with Venetian light houses, and an old harbor filled with tiny boats and glistening sea. We spent
Greek Independence day there, and loitered about, not doing much besides laying in the sun and dipping our toes in the water. In the evening, Shani, Suzie, Michelle, and I all drank a bit of water bottle wine (our favorite) and laughed a lot before going out to dinner.
The next day we went to the archaeological museum and the folk museum. It was just a woman's house decorated as it would be in a traditional Greek home, complete with scary looking manequins and an old school kitchen.
Rethymno:
After that we were off the Rethmyno. Rethymno was such a charming town, filled with old cobblestone alleys and another beautiful coastline. We spent a good long time on the huge venetian fortress overlooking the sea. The huge fortress was still well intact, and we could climb all around and explore.
Irakleio:
The next morning we headed to Irakelio. When we got to the bus station we decided we would take a later bus to the Psychra caves where the kind of the gods, Zeus, was born. To kill time, we went to one of the coolest archaeological museums I have ever been too as it housed a lot of items, and mosaics found at Minoan sites, particularly knossos.
Psychra Caves:
After mulling around the beautiful water for a bit, we headed back to the station and took a bus filled with tiny ya-ya's away from the coast and up into the mountains. The drive up was fantastic, and our ears popped as we ascended higher and higher for 2 hours. Finally we reached the town and bus driver told us the buses were at 6am and 3pm the next day. Hustling to get the caves, we ran to the first (and only) hotel we saw and looked for signs of life, but unfortunately there were none. A
little old Greek man told me the hotel was closed for a few more weeks, and we had to walk to the next village to find a room, AND the caves were closed till the morning. Disheartened, cold, and lost we began to walk, only to be stopped and aided by a kind Greek woman who took pity on us. She called her friend from the hotel and they picked us up. We decided that we would check out the caves in the morning ,and then get a ride back to the city in the afternoon so we could go to Knossos before leaving the next night. That evening we had one of our best meals yet, and sat by a roaring fire, and laughed a lot while drinking Raki, wine, and eating omelettes and burgers.
The next morning we took the 30 minute hike up a steep mountain to the Psychra cave.
We were there before any sort of tourism started, and so we got to go into the huge cave on our own. It was so beautiful down there, the rocks and water lit up with red, green, and white light. It was a perfect place for a myth to occur. Once we had sufficient time to reflect and take in the view, we headed back down to catch out cab with Stavros the cab driver from heaven.
Back in Irakleio, we took the bus to Knossos, and went to check out the huge minoan site. What we found was dissapointing. Knossos is like
minoan disney land, and the archaeologist who found it thought that he should be the one to decide what each site was, and furthermore, to reconstruct and paint over ruins! The site was so fake and you couldn't tell the difference between what was actually important and what was just a replica. I was so unimpressed, but it made me thankful for the wonderful sites that I have seen like Mycenae, and Tiryns.
The rest of the evening consisted of rejoicing at a local taverna, one with a very hospitable owner who loved to provide us with large bottles of Raki. Let's just say that it was a long, but incredible ferry ride back to Athens in the morning.
CAIRO, EGYPT
The school week (monday-thursday) following Crete was filled with anticipation for my trip to Cairo. I left on Thursday night and just returned this morning. I had the most incredible time, and have gained so much perspective on the Muslim religion and Egyptian people.
On day one, we visited all the pyramids: Saquarra (the step pyramid), Dashour (the red & Bent pyramid), Memphis (a pyramid museum/ archaeological site), and the great pyramids at Giza (the great pyramid, the 2nd pyramid, the third, and the sphynx). Words can't describe what it was like seeing these huge structures, being close to them, and then going inside them. The corridors you move down are so small that you must crouch to the point that my upper theighs were sore for days. Inside the pyramid, it is hot, humid, and the air is stale, but what you see and the way you feel is so amazing. Inside the great pyramid, we ascended a huge raised shaft, one that looked like something out of science fiction novel, and then entered the great tomb of Pharoah Kufut. Inside, a meditation group chanted around the tomb, and my friend Summer and I sat with them as they reflected by the sarcophogus. The sound of the echoing voices, and the great silence of everything else allowed me to slip into a sort of trance, meditating with the group as well as writing in my journal.
The second day, we went to Coptic Cairo (Christian Ciaro) and saw the hanging church which has no real foundation but was built on a roman fortress. We also visited a crypt close by where the Holy Family spent time after they fled Jerusalem. After that we stopped at a synagogue where Moses had once said a prayer. I have never been so close to my religious roots as I was that day which was so ironic as Cairo is almost 80% Muslim.
Once out of Old Cairo, we went to the citadel to see the Mohammad Ali mosque, one created to be a replica of the blue mosque in Istanbul (I will see it next week). The huge monumental mosque was filled with rich artwork, and hanging lights that weaved and turned in circles above my head. We sat with the person giving us our tour as she told us all about the Muslim faith, explaing the pillars, and sharing her own personal insights. To me being able to learn about such a rich culture, one that is so poorly understood so often in a major place of worship gave me a great amount of perspective on religion and my own personal beliefs.
After the mosque, we went to the egyptian museum. I don't know how to put all we saw into words but King Tut's tomb, and all that was inside was possibly the coolest group of things I have ever seen at a museum. There was just so much, and the details of the burial ritual were so particular and intentional that I was blown away the entire time.
The next day we explored downtown, visitng the El Azar mosque/theology school, and the bazaar. It was fun to haggle in the bazaar and though I am sure that I got ripped off once or twice, I also got some good deals.
After the bazaar, we just began walking. The entire weekend we had stuck out like sore thumbs, and be hissed, kissed, and whistled at but never to the extent that we did walking around on our own in the city. The streets seemed to be filled with only men, usually trying to sell you something.
Amongst the speeding crowds, we found a nice boy who led us the metro station. At the station, he handed us off to another total stranger and they walked us to the platform where we met Aya, a wonderful Egyptian woman who spoke with us on the train and guided us to where we wanted to go. The immense hospitality and kindness of the people made me feel much safer, and more at ease in the city. After our metro trip (one which we were very proud of) we walked along the Nile, and posed for pictures with random Egyptian teenage girls and boys. We also went up into the Cairo Tower and got a chance to look out over the entire city.
Afterwards, we headed to the airport for our 2:45am flight that got us to Athens around 6am.
The trip was truly life changing, and one I will never forget.
Other than that, I am going to class, and trying to keep healthy and rested. Our spring break begins on thursday, and we head out of Saturday for Istanbul. We will stay there till thursday, hopefully making a trip to troy, gallipoli, and the black sea. Afterwards, we go to Santorinin for Greek Easter, a huge holiday in this country, and then back to CYA for the final month of our program. I can't believe how quickly it is all going, I feel like just got here yesterday. This semester has by far been the most amazing of my life, and I have loved every moment of it. It will be hard to come home as I have carved out such a life for myself in Ελλάδα.
Greek Independence day there, and loitered about, not doing much besides laying in the sun and dipping our toes in the water. In the evening, Shani, Suzie, Michelle, and I all drank a bit of water bottle wine (our favorite) and laughed a lot before going out to dinner.
little old Greek man told me the hotel was closed for a few more weeks, and we had to walk to the next village to find a room, AND the caves were closed till the morning. Disheartened, cold, and lost we began to walk, only to be stopped and aided by a kind Greek woman who took pity on us. She called her friend from the hotel and they picked us up. We decided that we would check out the caves in the morning ,and then get a ride back to the city in the afternoon so we could go to Knossos before leaving the next night. That evening we had one of our best meals yet, and sat by a roaring fire, and laughed a lot while drinking Raki, wine, and eating omelettes and burgers.
We were there before any sort of tourism started, and so we got to go into the huge cave on our own. It was so beautiful down there, the rocks and water lit up with red, green, and white light. It was a perfect place for a myth to occur. Once we had sufficient time to reflect and take in the view, we headed back down to catch out cab with Stavros the cab driver from heaven.
minoan disney land, and the archaeologist who found it thought that he should be the one to decide what each site was, and furthermore, to reconstruct and paint over ruins! The site was so fake and you couldn't tell the difference between what was actually important and what was just a replica. I was so unimpressed, but it made me thankful for the wonderful sites that I have seen like Mycenae, and Tiryns.
