I rented a well used little 5 speed Nissan car, delivered to me at Patrick’s shop in downtown old Athens. Strapping my phone to the dash heater vent with some velcro & plugging in my hotel in Argos headed out of the city. Very glad I wasn’t driving my Benz in the choked tiny streets, never geting out of 1st gear for the first 3 Kilometers & 1/2 an hour, I made it ot the turnpike without crunching a fender, whew!

Finding the Morphes hotel in the center of Argos, and lucking into a parking space I checked in. The Morpheas is on a large squar with a big church, other hotels, and a whole lot of LED christmas lights plus a number of carnival type kid rides.

Above a couple shots of my tense exit of Athens, notice that Greeks do drive the streets in Sprinters, actually Benz are the predominant type of delivery vans here.

Then the church on my square, Xmas lights, and the big Castle & churdh on the big rock above town. Argos was the big town in ages past, Hellenic, Bizantium, & Venitian/Ottoman early days. Inland from the Argolikos Kolpos (gulf of Argos) in the fertile valley. Today I drove 18 minutes up to the hills where the Myceaen Accropolis sits on a very defensible hilltop (1600 – 1300 BCE). The civilasation that Homer’s legends of heros, Trojan Wars etc, come from. Pics here

The massive size of the early construction stones is really amazing .

The two lions above the main gate are considered the first large archatectual sculpture in Greece, Also instead of using arches the Myceanes used massive granite lintels with huge verticel support stones. The Fort or Acropolis was built in three stages over centuries, but it’s first effort that used the really gaint stones, at the bottom of the walls.

last is an area protected under a metal roof ongoing excavations,

All the really fine artifacts are now in the Athens Museum.

A few blocks from my hotel is a small Museum for the Bizantium era artifacts excavated locally

In the middle of the history text shots are a couple pics of ceramic kilm technology developed in this era for mass production of ware. maybe interesting to you potters out there, the tri pod kilm stilts to allow stacking multiple pieces (bowls ) on top of each other in the kilm

OK so this is an up to today post, If it’s raining tomorrow, as predicted I may back track to the really rather good Nafplion archeology museum. Although I think I may be boring followers with tooo many pics of ancient Greek pottery or weapons, eh? comments?

Next week I’m in Sri Lanka so maybe a bit less pottery more exotic culture

Our host/home owners of the Crete “trade a apad” , Patrick & Mania were just the most gracious & generous people possible. Mania is from Greece, exhusband was a diplomat posted in Iran & to the UN. Patrick is from Paris but now considers himself a Creatan. ( Gonna have to look up the etomology of “creatan” English coloquaile meaning {yes I need spell checker} ) cause the Creatian people I met were super nice. Anyway Patick’s interesting life of travel in Greece to North Africa, Ethiopia Mali, Bennin, becam his work. Buying exquisit ethinc art to furnish thier home and sell in his shop in Athens.

A few of Pics of his collections.

Above shots from the house uphill from Garnia, the small village 12 minutes west of Chania on Crete. ( spelling Greek names in english is “creative” which of course I like ) Chania sounds like ” Hhnaia” voiced by a local.

Above shots from Patrick’s shop in downtown old Athens.

Travis left from Crete back to Tel Aviv Thur. & a few days in Jordan before heading home Today, Monday. Patrick & I left Thur. night on the Ferry for Priaeus / Athens. A taxi to his house in Athens, also full of very cool art objects

Above shots from the shop, the web site is http://www.patrickfabre.com

Above shots from Mania & Patricks house in Athens. Mania is an architech and added many upgrades to this 3rd floor apt/house.

These last two shots of my “guest room” sort of loft space.

In my two days in Athens I walked with Patrick to his shop then on to, first day the Accropolis & Museum. Just a few shots from the multitude I took (killing the battery of phone) . Soo many sculptures, many now recovered from the British museum which had been chiseled off of the Accropolis & “stolen” by the British in the past.

Above nostly from the relief carvings (recovered from UK) on the “gable ends” of the Accropolis. These are at the new Museum of the Accropolis located just below, down hill from the temple of Athena (Accropolis)

Below are from the Museum of Archeology in Athens

The most interesting exhibit to me was not more sculpture but this (below) reserch on the shipwreck recovered astrological, navigation, first mechanical computer. An amazing multiy geared, super complext device still being studied, for it’s abilities to prdict atrological phenomena, to aid navigation. It’s incredible to what level Greek/ancient mederteranean cultures attained. In Art but also in Science.

OK pics of the “insturment exhibit” then I’ll post as this one is getting rather long

OK so that was a lot of text that you could probably google for a more readable explanation of the awsome BCE clockwork astrological insturment but I really liked it

fallowing is some awsome ceramics. Many are from grave/tomb burials, but I bet the wealthy had many bueatiful pots in the home for eery day use. Getting burried with a dead person just mskes it more likely to be preserved.

And lastly a serris from Santorini, which lucky for us (not for the residents) a massive volcanic eruption burried many household goods in volcanic ash, the Greek Vesuvius

OK I’m not actually caught up but maybe tomorrow, I’ve decided to just continue to camp here in Argos, 20 min drive to Nafplios, still several sights to see in the area and not moving hotels saves time+ this place has really good WiFi & I kind of like the smalltown feel here.

A rather long drive from Chania to Hersklion & then to the site of Konosos, excavated and restored in late 19th century. British Oxford archeologist Evans used perhaps a bit more concrete than what is acceptable today. Any how here are some pics

It was a nice sunny day anyway.

It seems to be widely accepted that Evans made many assumptions about the palace without much real data or enough physical evidence. Still it must have been an impressive structure for 1900 BCE

The exit from Jeruselum to Tel Aviv airport went smoothly, light rail to train station to airport. 3 hours before flight was just about righ to negotiate all the multiple security and ticketing bag checking etc. They have this fast biometric (really facial recognition) passport exit machines. kinda like auto flight check in. worked OK for Travis told me to go to groupW line. tried again with a ICE human help, still no, wait for the officail lady behind the glass in the booth. I ask why me? She says “well maybe you are a war criminal, maybe you have robbed someone in Isreal, or, maybe you didn’t smile!” Anyhow we made the flight, Then I discover my bag check was only through to Thesoloniki, The stop over. So more hurry up to claim & recheck bag to Crete & security. But hey now we are in Greece and everything is much more mellow.

One night in an old (the first multi- story building in Heraklion) bueatifully remoldeled with all that Bundersbank $ for the Olympics held here. Next day, down the road to Chania and the next Trade a Pad. An absolutly veritable Morrocan, Ethiopian, furnished very interesting villa. Our host, Mania (Greek), very helpful in all things and husband Patrick (French) Cooked us a fantastic roast goat meal. with much interesting conversation, ranging from world travels to Greek politics and fall out from the financial meltdown the country is still much impacted by.

We have repeatedly explored Chania & it’s many old buildings, & ecelent museums. From earilest (3,500 BCE ) Minoan through early greek culture, Roman period, Bizantyium, Venitian (13th to 15th century) Ottaman until 1905. Such a complex serris of rulers, for a valuable eastern Med piece of real estate.

OK so lets post a few pictures.

Dinner Pics and a couple of the great room of the house. more house pics coming in future post

I do love boats and boat models. these last a reconstruction of a Minoan ship. The planks are sewn or laced togeather, mortised into the keel and bow stem. An interesting stern sprit, or frome extension.

More boats. I suppose not surprising that wooden boats maintain the basic form through out time

Soliciting comments on the posting of exhibit explanatory text. For me a lot easier than adding captions to many pics. I try to include text on the more interesting (to me) ehibits. And I guess if you are not interested it’s esasy to scroll past them. I do hope they are readaable.

a model of the old Venetian constructed harbor, still in use today

Thursday a storm passed through, sustained 25-30 kt wind off the Med. waves washing up on the old harbor quays, a resident of 30 years said he had never seen this happen before. Climate change ?

Chania Archeological museum in this bueatiful Venetian churh (a mousque during Ottoman times) had some of the most intereasting ceramic forms I’ve seen. Ranging from some reconstructed Minoan, up through Roman times.

I best attemt to post this It’s the largest # of pics I’ve tried

Going to put up some Pictures from our last days in Isreal / Jeruseum. Catch up post as we have Been on Crete for four days now.

Irecently read Tariq Azize book on Sal Al Din so was particualarly interested in exhibits about him.

Fallowing shots of the fortress “tower of David” although built by a succession of Jeruselum’s rulers

The second shot in the preceding pics was the passagway to the overhanging ports for pouring hot oil & pitch on attackers below,

Fallowing shots of the old city from the top of Davids Tower

I’ll try a bit harder to catch up to the present tonight

All & all many amazing antiquties to be seen in Isreal, The people are for the most part very friendly. The constant everywhere prescence of assult weapon carring soldiers and Police, security bag searches & metal detectors at every public mall, museum, train & rail station makes it impossible to ignore the politica situation ongoing there. And boy oh boy is it an expensive place to be traveling. It’s nice to be in Greece whith more reasonable prices.

Our last day in Haifia, tomorrow taking the train to Jeruselum, for our last four ful days in Isreal, We decided to not do a long drive to some far away site, instead go visit the two maritime museums just down the hill in Hiafia’s north end.

Lots of really great ship & boat models ancient anchors, stones some with several holes for wooden spars to improve setting firmly in the bottom sediments. Models went from BCE eras right up to 1960’s . I praticularly liked the Nina, Pinta, & Santa Maria The Maria was largest and a different type, Placard claimed that Columbus though it a real slug in performance compared the the lighter Nina &Pinta. A comment I’d never read before. Also Sir Frances Drakes “The Golden Hind”

in order The Maria, then Nina & Pinta, one of which is shown withthe Lanteen rigging that Columbus changed out for square sails since he was planning on just straight fair (down) wind sail due west.

And last a fore and aft of the Hind. Draks only ship of the five he started out with to make it back. But as the placard says well worth the trip.

A whole room of cool weapons, swords, cutlasses, Scimitars, & flintlocks and cannons OH Boy!

Finally I think mostly for the school groups of kids they had a

PIRATES OF THE MEDITEREANEN !!

{ ok if you haven’t noticed yet it appears that word press does not include spell check. Maybe if I sprung for the paid version instead of this free one ?? Any how you all can figure it out. Right , mostly }

So now it’s getting late, have to get up early & catcht the train to Jeruselum so you get some pics of the Naval museum side. less interesting to me, except maybe the submarine. Because so much stuff, valves, gauges, controls, in a very small space. Travis says the absolutly most compact galley by far ever seen.

Todays pictures are from the city University Museum. We were given a quick private tour by the son of the tenantes in the Apartment above us at the trade aPad. He works there catologing artifacts. Then spent hours exploring the exhibits.

My by far favaorite was the 800 BCE ship, which had been found a few hundred meters off of Haifia’s shoreline. It was excavated in the 70’s. 26 meters long with a 6 meter beam drawing about 2.5 Meters. The cargo was about 12.5 tons of Malichite stone from a quarry in Greece east of Athens.

OK pictures fallow and bed time

This work is all done as a hobby, mostly on weekends, some very interesting work.

Travis & I were invited to Shabbat friday evening dinner with the tenants upstairs from the trade a pad apartment here. Ruben his wife & son were very gracious in sharing dinner and lots of knowledge about Isreal especially antiquties.

Partly on thier advice on the light traffic day of Saturday (the sabbat) we drove to the far north of the country, Stopping first at Tel Dan, ruins of a some centuries old BCE temple and seat of power. The obvious reason for the site is the largest volume spring of fresh water in the middle East. This water creates a lush enviroment and a beautiful National park.

Continue reading “Tel Dan, & Fortress of Nimrod” →

Just 20 minutes dow the Coast from Hiafia is the much built & rebuilt citidal. here are some pics

I might add some more background historical text later