Trip to Greece, Part 2

As promised, I will continue telling about our trip to Greece.

Our Greek Island cruise continued to Rhodes Island. First we visited the city of Lindos. Lindos lies at the foot of the Acropolis and is probably one of the most beautiful places in all the Greek Islands. As you can see in my pictures, its white buildings stand out against the contrasting Acropolis above the city and the surrounding deep blue Mediterranean Sea. Lindos was built somewhere around the 11th century B.C. It is believed that Lindos was the most formidable city on the island at the time. It is also believed that the ships sent to the Trojan War all departed from Lindos.

The Acropolis lies atop a massive triangular rock. Tools found during archaeological digs have dated back to 3000 B.C. I'm not sure exactly to what era the ruins existing today date to, probably between 1000 and 500 B.C., but the massive walls that surround the city today are attributed to the Knights of St. John who controlled trade and shipping until 1522.

After we visited the Acropolis and Lindos, the bus took us back down to the water to our ship. Just as we were passing "Old Town", my friend Joyce and I begged to be let off. We were the only two who didn't want to go back to the ship to eat lunch. We wanted to find a good Greek restaurant in Old Town, and did we ever! We found some fabulous Greek food. We're pretty sure they took advantage of two American tourist ladies, by charging us too much, but nevertheless, the food was delicious.

"Old Town" on Rhodes (Rodos)is a medieval town that is still inhabited. The old town is surrounded by strong medieval walls. Massive towers and bastions project from several places, and have elaborate stonework. A wide dry moat provided the first line of defense for the town and you can still see some of the heavy stone balls that were old ammunition. One of the main streets is called "The Street of the Knights", and at the end of this street is the "Palace of the Grand Master." It actually dominates the entire Old Town. The Grand Master's Palace was built in the 14th century by the Knights of Rhodes. We had a blast wandering the streets of this old city, and taking many, many wonderful photographs.

The next morning at sunrise, we arrived on the Isle of Patmos where St. John was exiled, and wrote the book of Revelation. We went to the cave, (the Apocalypse), where they believe he wrote the book. The Apocalypse has since been converted to a church, and since we were visiting on a Sunday, a church service was going on as we all filed through. (Believe me, it was NOT a Pentecostal Church! No shouting here. They also would not allow any photography inside the cave.) We then continued on to the top of the hill to a monastery dedicated to St. John.

We left the Isle of Patmos about 10am and sailed for a few hours to Asia Minor, and the country of Turkey where we toured Ancient Ephesus. This is the Ephesus where the Apostle Paul lived and preached for a time. Ancient Ephesus is one of the most well preserved of the ancient cities, covering a very large area. As we walked the streets, it was very easy to actually get a feel for how the city must have been.

In one picture you will see me standing in front of the ancient amphitheater. This is a theater where Paul preached. It seats 25,000 people. It is still used for concerts, etc. to raise money to continue with the excavation of Ephesus.

Here is a funny story about Ephesus. In my pictures you will see the Ancient Celsus Library and just to the right of it in the picture there are two arches. These are the Gates of Mazaeus and Mythridates. The people went through these gates into the market place. So, while the women went to the market, the men went to the library. However, in the library, there was a secret tunnel that went underground, across the street to a brothel. The women weren't allowed in the library, so supposedly they were none the wiser. (Ha! They just didn't know how intuitive women are. I'm sure they had a pretty good clue as to what was going on. Just my opinion. ;-))

Another funny story. In my pictures you will see latrines...or toilets! These were built in the men's meeting halls where they discussed politics and business. They were all built side by side, so I guess you could say they would discuss business while doing their business! LOL These toilets were made of stone, or marble. In the summer, things were fine. In the winter, they got awfully cold, so each man had his own servant to sit on his toilet and warm the seat before he would use it. Oh, the life....HA (Just a side note...as a mother of boys, I sure would not have wanted to ever visit that room right after the men had their meetings!! PHEWEEEY)

We arrived back at the Port of Piraeus early Monday morning and drove up the coast of Attica to Cape Sounion. I will continue on our journey in Part 3.

Sorry, there are so many pictures in this slide show, but there were just too many beautiful pictures to choose from. Enjoy!