The Start of Spring Break – Athens

On Saturday morning, the group flew from Istanbul to Athens for the start of Spring Break, a much-needed ten-day vacation to do whatever one pleases. I spent the first two days of break with Liz and Allie in Athens. We shared a room at the Easy Hostel, and had a truly blessed and wonderful two days. I even wrote in my personal journal that I enjoyed every minute of it.

From the airport in Athens at the start of break, we took a bus, two trains, and finally a walk to get to our hostel. Dr. Krentz was with us on the bus and first train, and he guided us almost like a father would. He has lived in Athens and knows the city quite well. When he left us, we were finally alone in a huge foreign city. But we arrived at our Easy Hostel without any trouble.

This was my first time staying in a hostel, though we will start staying in more after spring break. It was quite different than the hotels we are used to, and it had no amenities. Our room had four beds on two bunk beds, no soap, towels, television, refrigeration, or a working shower curtain. And at night the hallways were pitch black. Breakfast, though it sufficed for us, consisted of bread, jam, and eggs.

After crashing at the hostel for about an hour, we explored the city for a few hours. The three of us love to walk and explore, and we took full advantage of this time together. We headed towards the Acropolis and walked up part of the way through tiny streets with adorable small houses, most of which were white-washed and covered with overgrown vines. At one point we were convinced we were trespassing because we were on the narrowest, most definitely single-file path between two houses. We also had a delicious meal on Saturday and picked up food at the grocery store for a light dinner in the hostel.

On Sunday, we woke up at 6:00 am to find a 7:30 English service at a Greek Orthodox church that we had read about online. Though we got turned around and lost several times on the way to the church, we found it right on time only to find it closed and gated up. The guard there looked at us like we were crazy and said he wasn’t sure if the church ever has services, let alone English ones. This was a disappointment, but we decided to look at the map and just go to any church that we saw. We headed towards St. Nicholas, where we stopped and watched part of a Greek service. This was a very interesting experience. We were the only people there for the start of it, and we stayed for about 20-30 minutes until an elderly woman came in and got mad at us for sitting in her seat. After this, we had basically given up hope of finding an English service, so we headed back to the hostel for breakfast and so Allie and Liz could ask the receptionist questions about catching their ferry to Santorini on Monday. After we ate and they asked the necessary questions about the ferry, it was probably around 9:30 am. They needed to visit the ferry booking agency, so we set out in that direction. Then at exactly 10:08, we stumbled across St. Paul’s Anglican Church.

An Anglican Church! That must have an English service! Sure enough, St. Paul’s has a 10:15 Sunday service, and it was no coincidence that we showed up at this time. We stayed for a beautiful and very interesting service in a packed church. In front of us sat a young American couple who we talked to afterwards. Allie approached them because she noticed the man holding a Boston College mug, and Allie is from Massachusetts. He and his wife are living Athens as he gets his PhD in archaeology at the American School in Athens, where Dr. Krentz studied!

As we left church, we saw a major festival going on across the street. We decided to go, and this was quite a cultural experience! This was a children’s festival in which kids all dressed up in costumes. There was fair food, music and dancing, and all sorts of other festival activities. We had a blast, and being there with so many happy people and cute kids having the time of their lives was inspiring. There was confetti all over the ground, and it seemed to me like everyone was smiling. The festival was adjacent to national arboretum in Athens, and we walked through this and we also walked through this and the miniature zoo there. At the fair, as I bought some delicious fried fair food, I met two American girls from Minnesota who go the University of Wisconsin! I told them that I was from Mequon, and we have common acquaintances from high school both at Davidson and Madison.

After the festival, we went on a walking tour of Athens, using a guide book which we borrowed from the breakfast room at the hostel. The walk was really interesting and was the perfect activity for our Sunday afternoon. We again had a delicious late afternoon lunch. Then, as we continued our tour, we ran into Sylvian, our archaeological guide from Eretria! Talk about a day of coincidences! Overall, Sunday was a truly awesome day, as was the entire time that I spent in Athens with Liz and Allie. It was inspiring for me to be with two other people who also wanted to explore, be restless for a few days, and go to such an early church service on Sunday. I said goodbye to them early (at 5:30 am) on Monday morning as they caught a ferry to Santorini and I headed for the airport.

Istanbul!

I loved Istanbul! The city is beautiful and fascinating, and I would go back anyday. Istanbul was bright, clean, and beautiful, and though I loved Cairo, far different from it. First, we all had spectacular views from our hotel windows. We looked out upon the Blue Mosque and the Aghia Sophia. The only negative aspect of our proximity to the mosques was our 5 am wakeup calls by the call to prayer at sunrise.

Among the sites we saw in Istanbul were the Theodosian Walls, the Istanbul Archaeological Museum, the Blue Mosque, Aghia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, the Choras church museum, and monuments on our “Byzantium walk”. We also had two free days in Istanbul, though we were unfortunately inclined to spend much of this time studying for our four tests on Thursday and Friday. The other unfortunate part of our time in Istanbul (and Turkey in general) was that it rained practically all day everyday.

On Monday, I went to the Grand Bazaar, the famous shopping center in Istanbul of 4,000 shops. This is a must-see for any tourist, even those like me who don’t particularly enjoy shopping. The Grand Bazaar sells every type of clothing, jewelry, accessory, or souvenir that you could possibly want, and haggling is expected. However, it is much classier and tamer than the markets in Cairo or Aswan. I enjoyed the experience far more because I felt safer and more experienced. And while the girls were still called “pretty lady” or “Miss America” or “beautiful eyes/butt/hair”, the overall experience was not degrading or depressing as it often felt in Egypt. Most of the merchants were much nicer and not as pushy. At the scarf store, I found it particularly amusing how the merchant modeled for me every scarf I pointed at. He would flamboyantly twirl them, wrap them around his neck in a pretty knot, and smile.

Twice, the group spent time in Taksim, which is the “hip” shopping area of Istanbul. At night, this area is packed with young people, and it is really exciting to be there surrounded by swarms of bustling Turks. I say this because we got the impression that this was real Istanbul, and we saw very few tourists in Taksim. Though I would be lonely and very unwise to Taksim by myself, especially at night, I loved spending time here and experiencing the big city feeling of being alone responsible and aware of your existence. You are free, (strong?), and independent. This made me think of what it would have been like to go to a huge university, like most of my high school friends who are at the Universities of Wisconsin or Minnesota. I am so glad I’m at Davidson, but I can also see the appeal in being just another person.

Matt and I had a funny experience in Taksim that I may tease him about for the rest of the trip. We were walking back to the bus past a very nice-looking hotel. He wanted to go in and explore, so we do (or try to). As we walk in, he whispers that the employees at such hotels can never bother you because they don’t know if you are staying there or not, and if they ask you it and are wrong it reflects terribly on them. So we barely walk into the lobby and look around a little, when the porter approaches us and asks if we are staying here. We first act like we don’t know what he’s talking about, but we were caught with no way out but the door. As the porter ushered us out, Matt admits that he “just got served.” We decided that instead of fearing away from exploring fancy hotels, next time I should reply to the porter in French and pretend I don’t understand their English.

Also during our first visit to Taksim, Matt told me that Matt L. had gotten roasted chestnuts on the streets of NYC during orchestra tour and shared them with the group. In Istanbul, these little stands were everywhere, and I too decided to do the same. The chestnuts were delicious, and when I go to NYC, I am hitting up the chestnut stands. Thanks, Matts. ☺

On Friday night we went into Taksim for the second time. This was our last night before spring break, and we had a group dinner to celebrate Allie’s birthday, the end of testing and the start of break. (I, foolishly, still had one more test to take when I got back to the hotel at 10, but that’s another story). Louisa, Rob, Trent, Wheat and I took a taxi from the hotel into Taksim. That was one of the more frightening experiences of my life, and I would not do it again. First we had trouble getting a taxi. Rob approached every driver we saw and said we would only pay 20 lyra for the ride. Nobody would take us, and we finally consented to 30 lyra without traffic and 35 with traffic. The five of us tumbled in the taxi, with the three boys in the back and Louisa on my lap in the front. Our driver was ruthless, and he took every possible risk in his tiny car. He even laughed at scaring stray dogs by swerving at them and then away at the last possible instant. It was not fun, and on multiple occasions, I clenched Louisa in fear. But we made it through the heavy traffic, and the driver even let us off a couple blocks away from Taksim because we were in a standstill. We then ran through the streets to the central court area, arriving at 7:18, late for the 7:00 time set by Dr. Krentz. The rest of the group was nowhere to be seen, though we ran around the square looking for them. We then waited for about ten minutes as I tried to phone Jensen and Dr. Krentz. We weren’t sure if we should wait longer or find our own restaurant, and we began to accept that the group had gone to dinner without us. Right when we turned to find a restaurant, we spotted Dr. Krentz and Matt across the square, and we yelled and sprinted towards them. The entire group also appeared with them, we weren’t sure from where, but we reunited and all had a delicious meal together.

Something Turkish, Greek or Roman

Since Assos, we have been to the ancient sites of Troy, Pergamon, Sardis, Didyma, Miletos, Priene, Magnesia, Ephesos, Aphrodisias, Kanukkale, Hierapolis, Sagalesssos, Antalya, Perge, and Aspendus before Istanbul. That’s many Turkish towns, many ancient cities, and a lot to confuse when I study for my tests, think about Greek and Roman history, or finally try to blog! But I have learned so much and have lots to retell.

After reading the Iliad and watching “Troy,” visiting Troy itself was somewhat of a disappointment. Years of ancient cities were built on top of each other at Troy, so very little of any individual city can be seen at once on the site. Trying to depict conflicting histories on the same land is impossible, as evidenced to us at Troy. Troy was an excellent example of how archaeologists inherently destroy evidence as they go, and it differs from most of the other sites we visited because it was inhabited for so long. We had a class discussion in the Odeon, or small theatre, at Troy, and even though having discussion in an ancient theatre is typical on the Classics trip, I hope that I never cease to marvel as we relax on ancient politically heated stone steps. Troy also has its very own modern Trojan horse, and we all climbed up to take pictures. That almost made my day.

At Pergamum, in the modern city of Bergama, we encountered the strongest winds I have ever experienced. Due to the weather, we were not able to learn a lot but we still spent hours here playing in and fighting the wind for the strength to even stay standing. This was one of the best days of the trip. At this biblical site, I was overwhelmed with God’s power as so clearly manifested to me by the force of the winds. The city was also huge, and we ran around into all the different coves, rooms, and buildings to better see the acropolis or the modern town and scenery below.

Many of the sites we visit contain Roman baths. The concept of public bathing is foreign to us, so we all tend to marvel at these structures. These baths typically have three rooms: a cold water room, warm water room, and hot room, and I was always amazed by how huge the baths were. When we stopped at Kanukkale, we visited the (very touristy) hot springs. They felt great to stand in, but we all just took off our shoes and rolled up our pants. I must be very spoiled and/or vain, but I really appreciate private bathing! I cannot imagine, even if I was accustomed to it, being so free in public. Public baths still exist in Turkey, and they are apparently quite popular. Gülin, our Turkish tour guide, strongly encouraged everyone to experience a Turkish bath. Some of the other girls did in Istanbul and said it was a great experience.

At Ephesos, among other things, we discussed the story in Acts of Paul in the theatre at Ephesos. I sat on the very seats in the very theatre where this event took place! These biblical sites are fascinating, though I wish Dr. Krentz spent more time with us discussing Roman history and the early years of Christianity. He specializes in Greek history, and that’s clearly where most of his interest lies. We also saw the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. While I love to be able to say that I have been to another of the ancient seven wonders, there is not much to see of the Temple of Artemis. All that is left standing is one column (on top of which is a massive stork’s nest). The temple, however, was the largest ancient temple and was massive, as we saw by the area of land containing the remains of the temple.

We had a particularly fun visit to Aphrodisias, most memorable of which was our footrace in the stadium. The girls and guys (most of us at least) lined up along the start line at one end as Dr. Krentz counted down to a start. Rob and Reed stood at the far end of the theatre at the designated finish line and to declare the winners. Us Classics kids are competitive, and after a few false starts, we finally got a clean start and the race began. It was amazing to me how fast the guys were, and within a few seconds they were all far past the girls. In very impressive wins, Trent won among the guys and Sarabeth among the girls. As soon as Trent won, Rob and Reed came sprinting the other way screaming the victory, so the girls did not really know where to stop. The race was exhilarating, though the ground of the stadium is not flat as I hope it was for the races in the ancient days. I twisted my ankle, harmlessly, several times during the race. Trent apparently went all out on this race, and immediately after his win he collapsed on the stadium steps and stayed there for about twenty minutes. He was okay, but it took him quite a while to join the group at the temple of Aphrodisias.

We also had a particularly memorable time visiting Sagalassos/Heirapolis. Sagalassos is very high on a mountain, and there had been a massive snowstorm the day of our visit, so the site and the narrow, meandering mountain roads leading up to it were snow-covered. The most logical decision seemed to be to forfeit our trip to Sagalassos. But no. Gülin insisted on calling the governor to ask him to please plow the mountain roads because a group of serious archaeologists needed to see the site. This tactic worked, and the road was cleared foot by foot in front of our eyes as we followed the plow up the mountain. Then as soon as we got off the bus at the site, us serious archaeologists, including Gülin, Dr. Krentz, and our bus driver Kadir, broke into a massive snowball fight. The site managers watched us and had to patiently wait for us to finish before we even glanced at the excavations. We had an impressively long fight, and for those who can check, Kyle posted a hilarious video of it on Facebook.

Assos, Turkey

We spent our first five nights in Assos, Turkey at the Kervansaray Assos hotel. This was a wonderful location on the Aegean, and the hotel is a converted fortress. The view from our room was beautiful, with water and distant mountains in every direction. Louisa and I were on the second floor, and since a first floor addition was built to the back of the hotel, our window opened onto the roof of this addition. We loved spending time on the roof and reading or just taking in the scenery. Just as this roof allowed for such enjoyment, it also caused a tremendous fright during our second to last night in Assos. There was torrential rain and terrible thunderstorms this night, and I woke from my sleep to the loudest and most bizarre wailing I had ever heard. I at first thought it was part of my dream, but it became so real that I woke up to see a screeching cat in our room. I freaked out, yelled at Louisa, and jumped towards the cat so that it wouldn’t jump from the window ledge onto my bed, as it looked like it was about to do. I must have made a point because the cat quickly leapt out of the room, but it frightened us so that I still shudder when I think about its wailing. Louisa’s reaction was priceless. She groggily uttered, “well, that’s creepy.” :)

While in Assos, we spent almost the entire time reading the Iliad. We even read parts of it aloud as it is meant to be read. On our last day in Assos we saw the ancient temple and theatre there. This was beautiful and, like most classical temples, in an inspiring location on top of a hill overlooking water and mountains. Along the road that we took from the hotel to these sites (which was an incredibly long and steep climb that I, wrongly, thought I could run up!), we passed many loose sheep and cows. We also spent time relaxing in the theater, and some students put on little performances. Wheat rapped to “Ice Ice Baby,” and Mary and Louisa sang the lollipop guild song from The Wizard of Oz.

Thessaloniki and Xanthi

Monday, February 2nd, was somewhat of a failed adventure but also a wonderful day. The group was exhausted and getting weary since we had not had a true free day since January 19th in Egypt. We drove from Makrynitsa to Olynthos, but the museum there was closed. Then all restaurants were closed (because it was a Monday) until we reached Thessaloniki. Immediately after unloading at the hotel, we explored for restaurants and found a delicious pita gyro shop called Luigi’s. (It was very late in the afternoon by this point). They had delicious pita gyros. Then Allie, Louisa and I decided to explore Thessaloniki by taking a walk to the water. We went for what turned out to be a six-mile walk until dusk. We found the famous white tower on the water and then walked along an exercise path until we reached the end of the dock. It was an amazing walk, and we had wonderful conversation so that we all got to know each other more deeply. We agreed and disagreed on many things, but the conversation was inspiring for me since we were able to share beliefs without getting offended or confrontational. On the way back to the hotel, we lost our way and had to awkwardly consult Greek-speaking passers-by and a large map we had from the hotel. Once we found the street we should be on, we celebrated by each getting a little treat at a local bakery. That night, we ate at a crêpe restaurant that we had found on our walk and had delicious crêpes! They were different than ones I had had in the past because they were thicker, and the ingredients were different. I ordered one with many thick toppings – salami, potatoes, tomatoes, and cheese.

On Tuesday, we visited Vergina and saw the tumulus thought to contain the tomb of Philip II, Alexander the Great’s father. The site is literally a huge burial mound, and the museum is built inside the mound. Walking into the museum, you walk through a long dark tunnel under a huge mound of earth. The museum was one of my favorites because it was dark and almost mysterious, and the descriptions were thorough. I also find it so mysterious and interesting how much was put in people’s tombs for storage or preparation for the afterlife. It certainly is a foreign concept to us. Philip II’s tomb house, if you will, (what is thought to be his tomb; there is not universal consensus on this) was beautiful. It was in a large building (9.5 x 5.6 m) with the tumulus built around it, and is remarkably well-preserved. In preparation for our visit to Vergina, we read sources on Philip II’s assassination. Pausanius, the assassin, fled the site and was killed before anyone could ask him questions about his motives, so there are countless theories it.

On Wednesday, as we drove from Thessaloniki to Xanthi, we stopped in Philippi, the site of the first Christian community in Europe. Saint Paul traveled there in 50 A.D., and he wrote the epistle to the Philippians based on the community in Philippi. In addition to seeing the remains of the city with its church, market, and Roman agora, we especially enjoyed seeing the bathroom. Look up the ancient toilets at Philippi to picture this, because this is another idea that is completely foreign to us. We all sat on the toilets (and with 17 of us there were many to spare), and we sat about a foot away from the person next to us.

We had a free day on Thursday in Xanthi, Greece. While Xanthi is a sizeable town, it is small and relatively easily to navigate (though I did manage to get lost here too). On Thursday, I went to a very nice long “lunch”, starting at 3:00 pm, with Dr. Krentz, Emily, Louisa, Allie and Reed. The lunch was with the wife of a Davidson graduate and her two young children. The woman (and I can’t remember her name!) is Greek, and she met her husband in Germany while he was on a Davidson study abroad trip there. She is now a lawyer in Xanthi. Her husband tragically passed away because of a sickness several years ago, and there is a memorial scholarship in his name for Davidson students. We had a really delicious meal with her, and it was a valuable and eye-opening experience for us to meet her and her children. I definitely take my parents’ lives and having a stable two-parent household for granted.

More Greece

We continued on Sunday to the battle site of Thermopylai and the Neolithic settlement at Dimini. We drove through beautiful snow-covered mountains from Delphi. From the distant ground, such as at the monuments of Delphi, it appeared as if only the tips of the distant mountains were snow-covered. However, driving through them, there were long stretches of deep, beautiful snow. Thermopylai is named for the hot springs there, and we saw the steaming water – a huge contrast to the cold weather we were experiencing. We saw two monuments at Thermopylai commemorating the famous battle where the Persians killed a front of 300 Spartans.

We spent Sunday night in Makrynitsa, an adorable tiny town in Greece. Dr. Krentz told us that we needed to pack a small bag for the night because we could not take our suitcases into the hotel. When we arrived in Makrynitsa, the reasons were clear. The town streets are narrow, stone and uneven, and the bus would not have been able to fit through the town. Our hotel was well into the town and atop a narrow uphill stone street/path. Then the hotel itself was probably the most old-fashioned hotel I have ever seen. We called it a hobbit house since everything was miniature – the doors tiny and the ceilings low. The rooms themselves were interesting, and this was the first place where we actually had to share beds. (Going on the trip, I expected to share beds the entire time, but we have always had twin beds except for in Makrynitsa). Our showers also did not have shower curtains (and neither did our next hotel in Thessaloniki).

In addition to appreciating our hotel in Makrynitsa, we all fell in love with the town. It was quaint and authentic, and it had wonderful little shops and a total of two restaurants. We saw several spice shops, and in one of the street spice stores Louisa and I saw a special spice named Louisa. Though spending only one night in Makrynitsa was tiring and involved extra travel and complicated logistics, Dr. Krentz was right. The town was so cool that we were all so glad to be able to spend only one night there.

Delphi, and the Hike!

Friday afternoon, about half of the group and Dr. Krentz hiked up one of the Delphic mountains to a small hut, or lookout on the very top. Our hotel was on the lowest street in Delphi, so before we even started the hike we climbed the public stairs on the hill Delphi is built on. We then climbed the mountain, and this was one of the most fun hikes I have ever been on. We were surrounded by mountains and water, and the view was amazing. I hiked most of the way with Bryce and Liz, and as we “neared” the top we increasingly felt that we were not heading towards the lookout. We were still on a trail, and at a critical turn the trail markers directed us right. Therefore we turned right. Little did we know, the lookout was only a short distance to the left. We ended up far off any trail with no idea how to get to the lookout. We just headed in the direction we thought the hut to be, and I eventually spotted it in the distance. To get there, we bushwhacked, trespassed, followed the goat trails, climbed over recently exposed rocks and even over a low barbed wire fence. It was quite an experience, and we got tired and DIRTY! I was so glad to get to the hut safely and without any broken ankles. After marveling at the scenery, we followed the trail down the mountain and quickly saw the point where we turned awry. We soon met Dr. Krentz and Jensen who were waiting for us on the trail. On the way down, Liz and Bryce talked about how our experience was similar to that of Ephialtes in the movie “300” (which I haven’t seen).

On Saturday, we visited the Delphi Museum and the site of the Delphic oracle. This was fascinating since the Delphic oracle is one of the most famous sites we will see this trip. It was pouring rain on Saturday, but still great to be there. We saw the site of the oracle, the Athenian treasury, the remains of the Siphnian treasury, and the theatre. Unfortunately the site closed earlier than we had thought, and we were not allowed to continue to the race-track. We returned on Sunday morning to see the stadium and race-track. I loved seeing the race-track, and I especially loved the long, cold, early morning uphill climb that we had to take to get there. I definitely understand how that wakes one up.