Greece

Day 1 – 4/18/2023 – Rhodes
Our first stop in Greece was on the island of Rhodos/Rhodes, which is located in the far east of the Greek Islands, closer to Turkey than the rest of Greece. Here we visited the beautiful, whitewashed town of Lindos and climbed up “the stairway to heaven” to visit the ruins of the Temple to the Goddess Athena, which was built in the 4th century BCE. Since the Romans were in love with everything Greek, they simply added on when it became part of the Roman Empire.The Byzantines destroyed the Temple in the 4th century and Lindos was abandoned. During the Crusades, Lindos was reestablished & fortified by the Knights of St John in the 14th century, in their quest to protect western Europe from the Ottomans. They built a fort near the Temple ruins, much of which still stands today. Houses were whitewashed with lime during a cholera outbreak, and they are now typically whitewashed every spring because everyone likes the look of them, not because of disease. The views from the Temple were spectacular, including St. Paul’s Bay, where he purportedly did a little preaching. On our way back down, we had a glass of

fresh squeezed orange juice and did a little shopping. After our visit to Lindos, we returned to the town of Rhodes where we visited the Old Town. We wandered through the Archaeology Museum; moseyed around town looking at people and cats; and then found some local beer to enjoy, as well as a bottle of Anise & Coffee (for medicinal purposes only). All in all, a good day on the island of Rhodes.

Sea Day - 4/22/2023
As we backtracked our way through the Sea of Marmara and down to the Aegean Sea, we passed through the Dardanelles once again. But this time we got to see the huge memorial to all the Turkish as well as Australian & New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) forces who served in the Gallipoli campaign during WWI. There is a unique celebration of former opposing forces held each year in Gallipoli. In addition to this ceremony in Gallipoli, April 25th is a national holiday in Australia and

New Zealand, Anzac Day, when all Australians and New Zealanders who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations are remembered.

Day 2 - 4/23/2023 - Athens
Athens is the capital of Greece and one of the world’s oldest cities, having been continuously inhabited since at least 3,000 BCE. Arriving early in the morning, we took the first shuttle bus from Piraeus, where our ship was docked, into the city. This was another trip down memory lane for Mike, who visited here with his Aunt Kay & Uncle Leo during the summer of 1962. Several places looked familiar to him – even the hotel where they stayed. With another day on our own, we did the Rick Steves Athens City Walk. Starting at the Arch of Hadrian, we walked up to the Parliament building and just happened to arrive as the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was

taking place. Walking through Syntagma Square, Mike remembered the fountain. At Cathedral Square, we saw the statue of Archbishop Damaskinos, one of the rare Christian leaders who spoke out on behalf of the Jews in Greece during WWII. The Athens Jewish community erected the statue. The Cathedral (Mitropolis) is the Greek Vatican, home church of the archbishop who presides over the 10 million Greek Orthodox Christians. And because it is also the national church, the flag of Greece is flown from the cathedral as well. The other statue we saw was of Emperor Constantine XI, the final ruler of the Byzantine Empire. In 1453, the Muslims took over and, as Rick Steves said, “…Orthodox Christians had to lay low for the next four centuries.” When the Ottomans took over, they evicted the archbishops from the Parthenon, which was at that time their headquarters. They moved their headquarters to a tiny 12th-13th century church, Church of Agios Eleftherios. With an interesting

combinational of reused stones from as far back as the 2nd century AD, there are both pagan and Christian carvings. We think they all must have been very short, too. Continuing our exploration, we walked up and down and around seeing Acropolis Hill (we didn’t have time to go up), the beautiful little streets of the Anafiotika neighborhood, and the Roman Forum & Tower of the Winds. Then we just walked and people-watched and shopped on a beautiful Sunday afternoon until we finally found a place for some local beer and the best calamari ever. Since Mike first tasted calamari 61 years ago when Aunt Kay told him they were “like onion rings” and tricked him into tasting them, he’s been a fan ever since. There was a beautiful sunset as we made our way out into the Aegean Sea, domain of Poseidon, god of the sea, and headed west towards Sicily.