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Newsletter #20 - November 1-6, 1959 |
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Newsletter #20
October 30 to November 6, 1959 Greetings: Again we have more news of sunny Greece and its friendly people here in Athens. We are glad to have the opportunity to stay here several more days and see more of its world famed historical and archaeological relics. We start this new week by going on sane tours and I will give you a review of the many ancient monuments which we visited. We climbed the sacred hill of the Acropolis once more just as kings, princes, artists and poets before us have climbed, just as Pericles, Plato, St. Paul, Alexander the Great, Lord Byron and many famous men have climbed as it is the only means of seeing the most perfect monument given to us through the centuries. When you reach the very top of the Acropolis you behold the Parthenon which architects still rave about as the most perfect building ever built. Then the Propylaea building which is large and forms the entrance to the Acropolis. Next you see the petite Temple of the Wingless Victory dedicated to the Goddess Athena Nike. Near the Parthenon we visited the very new Acropolis Museum which contains exclusive antiquities discovered on the Acropolis hill. A little farther on the northern side of the Parthenon stands another temple called the Erechtheus which is distinguished for its graceful lightness and its lovely Porch of the Maidens called the Caryatids. In this temple the Athenians worshiped Erechtheus, Athena and Neptune which is the reason for the Erechtheum - to have not only one but a series of temples. At the foot of the Acropolis is the rectangular building called the Theseum, a temple of Hephaestus and the best preserved of the ancient Greek temples. Near the Theseum is the Agora or Forum which U.S. has brought to light by carrying out extensive excavations. Next we walked to the largest temple of the ancient world known as the Olympian Zeus which had originally 104 beautiful Corinthian columns of which only a few are still standing. Nearby we saw an elaborate gateway of more Pentelic marble erected by the emperor Hadrian and known as Hadrian's Arch. On the southern slope of the Acropolis we saw the old theatre of Dionysus where at one time performances and dramatic works of famous Greek authors, like Sophocles, Euripides, etc. were given. It had a seating capacity for more than 15,000 spectators. We also saw the Olympic Stadium where the Golden Youth of Athens won prizes for their sport games. This stadium was built in 330 B.C. but has been restored and is completely marble and can hold 50,000 spectators. The first World Olympic Games took place here in 1896. We went to other well known spots such as Tribune Hill, Areopagus, Philopappos Hill, Tower of the Winds, etc. and thus we completed a wonderful tour. Our tour directress was a charming Greek woman who made everything so interesting as she talked about the places. It was as if she had actually been there during its golden era. We certainly hope she has charge of the rest of our tours. Today [November 1] Charles Chanarria picked us up at our hotel, took us to his very attractive Greek home where we got the picnic materials packed into the car and, along with their two sweet children, Susan, four years old and chubby Chris who is only 8 months and as cuddly as a Koala Bear but oh so heavy to carry any distance, we started for a drive to historic Sounion. We drove along the coastal road for an hour and a half through beautiful countryside and passed many lovely summer resort areas and countless coves where we had lovely views of the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea. Here on a high hill which we climbed, are the exquisite remains of the Temple of Poseidon or Neptune as we know him. On one of its columns Lord Byron has carved his name. Susan, Becky and |
| I climbed all around this temple and enjoyed many of the names carved on different parts of the lovely marble. There was a very nice beach at Sounion but it was too cool for swimming so we only enjoyed the scenery which was a rare sight. The spectacular white marble of the temple which dominates this high hill was a picture of real splendour. A little distance from Sounion we had our delightful picnic lunch prepared by Becky and we ate by the surf of the Aegean on a huge hunk of marble rock while Susan flitted about on the rocks as sure footed as a seasoned mountain goat. We had a grand time the entire afternoon and then had an equally lovely evening with them. They must be as glad to entertain as we are happy to be entertained as they have invited us for a dinner for another evening before we leave for Trieste. Today [November 2] we were on our last tour of Athens and we certainly saw many interesting places. Our first stop was a visit to the Benaki Museum where we saw a rich collection of works of Byzantine art, a collection of Greek coins, an interesting collection of Greek regional costumes and objects of Islamic, Coptic and Far Eastern Art. From this Museum we went to see the House of Parliament and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; then the Cathedral and the Byzantine Church of St. Eleftherios. We were informed the Greek Churches used paintings rather than figures which is the main difference between their religion and that of the Catholics and they believe in total emersion when being baptized. We also saw the National Library, the Academy, the University and the Rational Archaeological Museum before we went to the Royal Palace which was guarded by Evzones, the most picturesquely clad soldiers in the world, surpassing in color and uniform any we have ever seen. With tasseled red cap, embroidered white tunic, short flaring pleated skirt, long tight drawers, white in color and gartered in black and with clumsy shoes graced by gay pom-poms at the toes, they seem like something from the chorus of an operetta, but they are muscular men of battle and are considered among the best fighting troops in any war theater. Nowadays they serve as royal guards and also are perpetually guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Their formal, patrolling is very odd and interesting as the right hand is raised in an odd gesture at every second step. (We also saw the changing of the guards.) This ended another tour and a nice review of Ancient History for both of us. We surely have enjoyed Greece and our seven nights and eight days have slipped by very quickly as we were busy every minute. Today, Wednesday [November 4] , we were to sail at 8;00 PA but the schedule was changed without our being informed and we found out at 1:15 we were to sail at 2:00 PM and had a half hour taxi drive to Piraeus, the port city and were not even packed. We really just threw our clothes into our cases, closed them and had a mad race in the taxi, arriving at Piraeus as the "Istra", our ship, sailed out of the harbor without us being aboard. After trouble with customs we rushed to several places until they decided to have our ship stopped and they put us on a small motor boat for about a 15 minute trip after which we changed, in a bobbing surf, onto a larger boat for another short ride and were soon aboard our home for the next 6-1/2 days, the Istra. (It was much more of a thrill to us than it may sound to you as for about an hour we didn't know what was going to happen to us.) This cruise is called the "Dalmatian Delight" and I do believe it will be just that. We are on a 215 foot yacht-like Yugoslav ship on our way up the magnificently beautiful Dalmation Coast to Italian Trieste. We will travel more then 900 miles along some of Europe's most impressive shore lines and visit ten or more towns -2-
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| of deep historical background and exceptional charm plus enjoying three meals a day and having a first class outside cabin for only $73.00 each. [November 5] Our first port of call was Corinth, Greece where we watched for several hours while the dock hands loaded fruit and olives in the hold. About midnight we passed through the Corinth Canal which was made through the Straits of Corinth and is three kilometers long. It cuts the Peloponnesus Peninsula from the mainland of Greece. [November 6] Our next port was Itea in Greece where we had about seven hours to see its quaint city where we visited a school, a barrel-making establishment, saw the entire process of assembling and making a barrel by a master copper and then saw them sorting the olives, cutting them and placing them in the large vats of salt brine. We had some charming Greek women pose for us while Meredith took electronic flash pictures which fascinated them. The other place of interest was the cemetery where the caretaker showed us box after box of bones and skulls dug up after being buried several years so as to make room for more bodies. Here your picture is also placed on the tomb and each grave has a lantern but we could not seem to find out its use. From Itea we took a taxi to the historical city of Delphi, Greece which was about a half hour drive through a simply beautiful countryside of olive trees and scenic views. Here an ancient Sanctuary of Apollo is seen, at the altitude of 2000 feet on the southern slopes of Mount Parnassus, in a wonderful setting. The oracles of Pythia were given here end her prophecies were respected throughout the ancient world and here we saw the remains of the Temple of Apollo, the Treasury of the Athenians (these were statues and small temples where the cities deposited their costly offerings) the Stadium and other ruins of lovely blue gray marble as well as the white marble. We also visited the Museum which contained rare masterpieces of sculpture and a unique bronze statue of a Charioteer. Delphi is considered one of the holiest sanctuaries of Ancient Greece and we certainly enjoyed the trip to and from Itea where we saw the present day charm of the shepherd as well as the charm of the farmer and the fishermen. Our ship's next and last stop in Greece was at the Ionian island of Corfu, which is famous for its natural beauties and has been the summer resort of kings. Its extensive countryside, its historic and architectural features and its mild climate is said to make Corfu a real paradise on earth. Another unusual sight was the very old Venetian fart as Corfu was for many years a stronghold and the island has two fortresses built on adjoining hills and from them it derives its name, which means twin summits. We will soon leave the Ionian Sea and will be going through the Strait of Otranto and into the Adriatic Sea but it is the end of our newsletter week so we'll have to tell you about the remainder of this scenic trip later. Before signing off I must tell you our Slavic meals are quite hearty and heavy and some things have been quite tasty. The passengers are most interesting, congenial and international. The Americans aboard are of assorted types. We have 2 young men who are musicians from Boston, 2 men from Florida who sold their motel in Sarasota and are traveling for a year before going into a new business; 2 women, one the mother of Vivienne Searing who beat Charles Van Doren on Twenty-One, and the other a writer of children's literature; in fact the writer of many books we have in our third grade library at Valley View School. Our Steward, Waiters and the other ship officers are friendly and helpful and I am sure the next four days of our cruise will be equally as exciting as the past two and one-half days. We are on the Jadranska line and the only steamship line which makes so many ports of call along the Dalmatian Coast so if you are planning a trip in this area and want to see exciting rugged coastlines and islands by the -3-
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| hundreds, this is the passenger-cargo ship you want to take as it operates any week of the year in either direction, northbound or southbound, whichever best fits your itinerary. (They claim the sister ship named "Lastovo" is a bit more modern than our "Istra" but we are all quite satisfied and we Americans are already one big happy family. Tomorrow [November 6] we'll have a chance to ogle at but not visit the mountainous country of Albania as we go the entire length of Albania's Adriatic Coast. So until we begin our next newsletter we must again tell you we are well and happy and thinking of you often. Sorry these newsletters get a little too much detail in them at times but it is to help us remember the places and the pictures Meredith has taken. Until another week - our love, Charlotte and Meredith - 4 -
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