When in Old Napoli – That’s A 'More

 

Naples, Italy

DAYS 97-98 – Tuesday & Wednesday – April 12 & 13th, 2011 – Two days in one of southern Italy’s largest and most famous cities, Naples. 

Why famous?  (1) It lies at the base of Mount Vesuvius, the site of the eruption of this volcano in 79 AD that buried Pompeii; and (2) Naples is the origin of pizza!

The culture and architecture in Naples reminded me a lot of Greece, but with more fun and flair…the renowned friendly and romantic side of Italy.   We also took a fantastic day’s drive into the charming town of Sorrento, traveling along the seacoast cliffs of the Bay of Naples. 

We also visited the amazingly perfectly preserved town of Pompeii – all covered quickly under the mud, ash, and lava of the enormous eruption of the Mount Vesuvius volcano.

Here are a few highlight photos of the things we discovered in Naples!

We went to a Naples pizza restaurant where we were all served our own large pizza… and we dived in…to the famous Margarita style that originated in Naples (the first pizza was named in honor of Queen Margarita’s visit to Naples).  This pizza is designed around the colors of the flag of Italy – red (fresh tomato sauce), green (basil leaves), and white (mozzarella cheese).  It was absolutely scrumptious.

Naples has amazing, large scale, architecturally outstanding buildings everywhere.

The interior of this huge building, bathed in soft light from the arched skylights, was filled with Renaissance decoration on walls, ceilings, doorways, and intricate floor tiles.

The beautiful Bay of Naples, with Mount Vesuvius (highest mountain) in the background, and a portion of Naples below.

A closer view of the big crater at the top of Mount Vesuvius.

Our first look at Pompeii before we entered the walls of this discovered city of more than 250,000 people who died instantly when Mount Vesuvius erupted.  Everything in Pompeii was miraculously preserved within ash and mud…just as it had been in 79 AD.  It was rediscovered in the 16th century and excavation began in 1748.

One of the 66 acres of streets in the unearthed city of Pompeii…this was a street of shops on both sides.   There were chariot tracks worn into the cobbled stone streets and running water throughout the city in an elaborately designed system developed for both drinking water and for sewage.

The residents of Pompeii figured out unique ways of capturing rain water through roof systems that funneled the water into square holes in the rooftops that then dripped into these catchment squares in the floor of rooms.  Overflow water then drained into large cisterns all around the city.

Although macabre to see, this is one of thousands of entombed, preserved bodies found in Pompeii.  All but three of the bodies have been placed in museums, but we suddenly saw the story of the covering of Pompeii unfold before our eyes when we witnessed the preserved body of this ancient person covering his face, found in a Pompeii home, as his world suffocated him in mud and ash.

On a much lighter note, our excursion to Pompeii also took us to the endearing, very scenic and delightful hillside town of Sorrento, an hour’s drive from Naples.  Getting there took us on scenic, curving and narrow roads along the cliffs.  Sorrento is famed for its beauty, charming resorts, and friendly people.

As we approached Sorrento our guide pointed out the smallest island in Italy’s Mediterranean waters…merely a few rocks with two palm trees proudly clinging to life.

Sorrento’s streets were filled with outdoor cafes and little shops with wonderful treasures.

Here is an example of the typical Italian man who enjoys giving a hug to complete strangers…it seemed to me that everyone in the southern Italian communities took life in a decidedly relaxed and friendly manner.

  As we made our way back into the main city of Naples, we realized how blessed we were to have seen the many faces of southern Italy…from bustling city to enchanting countryside, to one of the most historically well preserved UNESCO sites in the world.

From Naples we now travel north along the Italian coastline to visit Rome…home of the ancient Coliseum, Vatican City, and some of sculptor/painter/architect Michelangelo’s finest works of incredible art and design.

 

The Grandeur of Greece

Athens, Greece

DAY 95 – Sunday, April 10, 2011 – Our arrival early in the morning in the port that serves the ancient city of Athens, Greece awakened my long, long desire to see the beauty of Grecian architecture and the two most famous 5th Century BC sites in Athens, the Parthenon and Acropolis.

Situated in the Aegean Sea, the port city of Piraeus is just south of Athens, and it serves as the country’s largest port handling more than 1.4 million shipping containers, 20 million passengers, and over 29,000 vessels annually.  There are over 3,000 Greek islands, and the ferry boats and harbor serve as the transportation hub for all of this overwhelming activity.

Athens hosted the summer Olympics in 2004, and many improvements were made in the city for visitors, including an expansive metro system.  The city is filled with absolutely gorgeous sculpture everywhere…in parks, on buildings, in the center of round-abouts…it is almost overwhelming.

Entire ancient cities lie under the current city of Athens…archeologists have so much more to discover if they could only dig under the existing buildings.  There are no underground tunnels or other forms of transportation because  they would destroy all of the architectural treasures that lie beneath the current city’s streets and buildings.

We had a fantastic one-day opportunity to see all that we could pack in on our day-long tour.  Below are some photos of a few of the many highlights of our day:

Athens and the surrounding Greek countryside are an awesome combination of blue, blue harbors and white buildings…breathtakingly beautiful.  High on the hill to the right, shown above, is the Parthenon and the Acropolis.  No buildings in Athens can be built taller than the Acropolis and the Parthenon.

  We trekked up the marble steps and pathways to the Acropolis atop a mountain…walking where ancient people had walked so many centuries ago.  It was really windy and yet wonderfully warm up there, and you could see 360-degrees in all directions.

Much of the Acropolis had to be rebuilt because of the damage done to these ancient sites by the conquering Romans.  Nonetheless, it was amazing to see how the curves in the building, the placement of the double sets of columns, and the architectural design were utilized to give the eye the proper perspective when the full scope of the buildings were viewed.

The restored areas are being very professionally rendered, using marble from the same quarries, and even the connecting features on the walls and columns are aging with the very same patina and colors…a fantastic match.  Everywhere you look there are people at work on cranes and scaffolding, painstakingly repairing as much as can be found on the sites.

There were literally thousands of people who had journeyed to the top of the hill where the Acropolis and other ancient buildings were found.  The marble stepping stones and pathway areas were treacherously slippery due to the polishing of shoes from the millions of visitors who have been here.

View below to the Greek villages around Athens and other ruins as seen from the Acropolis.

Greek mythology was wrapped around many gods and goddesses who brought good to the people.  Carved marble figures often formed the support structure of these ancient buildings.

While up at the Acropolis we ran into another person who was wearing her world map jacket…every person our our ship covets Larry’s jacket!  So we took a front/back picture in the middle of the high winds on top of the Acropolis hill…

The Athens of today is focused on commercial trade, tourism, sports, and enjoying life and fabulous food.  We saw thousands of private yachts and we stopped counting all of the ferry boats that are constantly coming and going to or from the other Greek islands.

As we slowly sailed away from Athens in the late afternoon, the city stretched as far away as you could see, and white sail boats were everywhere on the deep turquoise Mediterranean/Aegean Sea waters, painting a perfect picture that will forever be indelible on my mind.

Our next stop….Italy and the romantic Italians!

 

 

Tantalizing Turkey

 

Turkey

DAY 93 – April 8, 2011 – What a rich, varied, and welcoming country! 

We arrived early in the morning in the exciting harbor of Kusadasi, Turkey to find a gorgeous, mountainous area with a spring-green valley filled with olive, peach, pear, pistachio nut, almond, and citrus trees – all in bloom!  There were many farms with rows and rows of grape vines all pruned and ready to burst with new green leaves. 

Kusadasi is located on the southwestern coast along the azure blue Aegean Sea.  We were unprepared for the wonders that we discovered here on our two-day visit.

Turkey is bordered by some of the world’s most contentious nations such as Iran, Syria, and Iraq…and the Black Sea.  Somehow this beautiful country has remained strong and free despite the warring  nature of some of its neighboring countries.

The World Heritage site of Ephesus, the second largest city of the Roman Empire, is located just outside this port city.  It dates back to 6,000 BC, and more than 250,000 people lived there.  The Temple of Artemis is located there…it is one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Only 40% of the ruins of Ephesus have been excavated…most of the city was discovered buried beneath Roman buildings  from the 1st Century BC.  We spent a 10-hour day exploring Ephesus and did not see it all.

The next day we had the opportunity to travel into the countryside to visit small villages, local artisans, farmers, and restaurants that were all tucked into the sunny, 70-degree hills and valleys along narrow winding roads and switchbacks…challenging to the driver of our huge tour bus.

We learned about and tasted a variety of locally produced special wines, such as green apple wine, and we saw many colorful olive oil soaps and local produce.  Our lunch was served outdoors at a charming hillside restaurant overlooking the valley below, and the menu included some of the most wonderful olives and delicious traditional skewered meats and local vegetables, all basted in many flavors of olive oil and spices.  Scrumptious!

Below are some photos of the two days we explored this delightful area in Turkey:

Traveling on our way to the ancient city of Ephesus, we passed a beautiful large statue of the Virgin Mary out in the middle of nowhere.  High above on a distant mountaintop is a small building, believed to be the last known home of the Virgin Mary before she died.  This golden sculpture marks the primitive roadway leading to her modest stone dwelling that overlooks the entire area of hills and valleys.

When we reached Ephesus, the roadways/walkways leading into the recently discovered ancient ruins of Ephesus are littered with pieces of precious, catalogued marble stones that have been recently discovered and unearthed…awaiting some type of reassembly.  (If you are good at putting puzzles together…this is the place for you!)  Many of the columns have been recovered completely intact. 

One of the most magnificent buildings unearthed in Ephesus is this huge 1st Century BC Library of Celsus, carefully reconstructed from original pieces.  This building once held nearly 12,000 papyrus scrolls.

The detailed sculptured and decorated marble figures and columns of the Library building are testimony to the Ephesians’ talents and their dedication to education, women’s rights, and openness to strangers.  Ephesus was conquered and plundered by the Romans when Augustus became emperor in 27 BC.

Somewhat difficult to see in the early morning sunlight, this is the Theatre in Ephesus, a large stone amphitheater built into the hillside that seated 44,000 people…believed to be the largest outdoor theatre in the ancient world.  Today the city of Kusadasi, Turkey holds Saturday night opera concerts here under the stars.

The second day in Turkey we took a 7-hour panoramic drive into the mountain town of Sirince, where the housing and shops exteriors are Greek and the interiors are distinctly Turkish.

We ended up in a little local village for our lunch.  Here is one of the quaint streets.

The charming old stone arched entrance to our lunchtime restaurant.

A panoramic view from our outdoor restaurant overlooking the valley’s great red tile rooftops.

We spent the midday learning all about the local handicrafts, such as the making of wonderful olive oil soaps.  We enjoyed wine tasting and seeing farms growing Turkish specialties, such as the vineyards for a wide variety of wines, orchards of green and black olives and citrus trees, and all kinds of vegetables. 

We finished the day at a silk weaving factory where we learned how silk cocoons were boiled in water so the single thread could be unwound from the cocoon without breaking, then spun and woven in the old, traditional method for collector-quality Turkish carpets.  Our visit ended with learning the knotting and weaving process and then an amazing showing of gorgeous Turkish carpets in all different sizes, shapes, and colors – most room-size carpets took 3 years of hand weaving!

See a few photos of the steps of making 100% silk Turkish carpets:

 Step  1 – the cocoons are boiled in a big vat of water.

  Step 2 – the silk threads are stretched on hooks back and forth in a 24-foot long room while they are still wet, then spun on the wooden wheel shown.

Step 3 – the silk fibers are dyed many different colors, and then knotted and woven following exacting paper diagrams as a reference for the weaver.

Step 4 – the end result - as we all looked on in amazement while drinking delicious cups of rich Turkish coffee!  (Carpet prices started at $4,000 and up…)

On on we go…to the island of Greece….

Israel & The Holy Lands

 

Bethlehem and Jerusalem

DAY 91 – Wednesday, April 6, 2011 – This remarkable, very memorable  day in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, Israel was added to our itinerary to replace a canceled stop in Alexandria, Egypt, where there were safety concerns about the political unrest there.

Adding the Holy Lands to our world cruise was an awesome experience…one we will never forget. 

We traveled from our port city of Ashdod by bus to the Israeli-based city of Jerusalem, and then on into the Palestinian-based city of Bethlehem.  This required many clearances and passing through guard stations where armed guards walked down the aisle of our tour bus…something very new to me.

Jerusalem figured prominently in the annals of Jesus’ ministry.  It is the site of the Last Supper, Trial, Condemnation and Crucifixion as well as the Christian tradition of the Burial and Resurrection of Jesus.

Once we entered into Bethlehem from Jerusalem, we went to the birthplace of Jesus, in a lower room that was underground…a stable area under a wonderfully restored historical cathedral building.  It is hard to describe the feeling of reverence to be able to kneel down in silence and place a hand kiss on the ground in this most holy of places.  It was a serene experience that allowed us to say a private, silent prayer at the very modest place where Christ was born.

We spent several similar hours of reverence visiting the special landmarks in Jerusalem, including the walled Old Jerusalem area, the Mount of Olives, and the modern sections of Jerusalem.  

Below are some selected photos from our 10-hour tour bus excursion to Bethlehem and Jerusalem from our port of Ashod, Israel:

These are the walls around Old Jerusalem, an ancient city divided into quadrants known by the faiths of their original populations: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and Armenian.  There are a number of named gates leading into the city from many directions.

The small, dark figures seen along the lower wall area are making their way to the Wailing Wall at the base of the walled city, with the dome of the Al-Aqsa Mosque visible inside the walls in the Muslim Quarter of Old Jerusalem.  According to Jewish tradition, God will answer prayers made before the Wailing Wall.

The Garden of Gethsemane was remarkably still intact, filled with massive Olive trees many centuries old.

The Dome of the Rock shines brightly in gold; it is the mosque established where Mohammed ascended to Heaven according to Islamic teaching.

Inside the cathedral in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus.  The original floor of the cathedral can be seen under the areas opened in the floor between the rebuilt floor and columns.

As we walked down some very dark steps into the stable area under the cathedral, a single light hung from above into the entrance of the very small room where Jesus was born.

This is the old original stable gate latch in the wall as we stepped into the area where Jesus was born.

This is the wood cradle/manger, where Jesus was laid following his birth.  It is now protected by decorative iron fretwork and hand-stitched heavy fabric that is draped and covering the rock stable walls.

This multi-pointed silver star inlaid in the marble floor and the two lit candles mark the exact spot directly under the cradle/manger where Jesus was born.

  Looking down on Old Jerusalem from Mount of Olives.

New Jerusalem is a city of tall buildings, highlighted by this very modern sculpture that supported a bridge, now serving as a focal point in the city.

We could have stayed in Bethlehem and Jerusalem for many more days, but we had to move on to keep our scheduled itinerary of upcoming ports in Turkey.  We reluctantly left, feeling very thankful for the opportunity to experience this wonderful day.