Turkey Pictures!!

Turkey for Turkey Day

So, this post is on time, however, since my last post, I have traveled to Ireland, and to the Peloponnese, but never posted about them. So I will try to do that, as both trips were amazing!! With less than three weeks to go until the semester is over, everyone is slowly becoming bogged down with homework, papers, and tests. In two weeks we start finals, and on December 1th, I fly to Germany where I will stay until January 10th, at which point I will return to Athens for one week, then Italy for one week, and then the new semester in Athens begins!! It's a wild and crazy next few months!!! So, Istanbul.

Istanbul was amazing!!!! It is one of the best cities I have ever been to, not only because it is super clean, but just because the atmosphere is great, the people are nice, and there are lots of things to see and do! I went with one of my roommates, Lauren, who I also went to Ireland with. We flew out of Athens on Thanksgiving morning, and after a quick hour and a half flight, landed in Istanbul!! Day one began with navigating the metro stations and the trams on our way to find our hostel. We finally found it, on a nice street with lots of other hostels/hotels, and tons of places to eat. We met up with some friends of ours, and decided to go to the Hagia Sophia, a really old mosque right in the center of the old city, where we were staying. It is an incredible building, with fabulous paint jobs on the walls. I would almost call them frescoes, but they weren't scenes, they were just designs. It was absolutely beautiful! After spending about an hour there, we walked around the center of the city for a little while before deciding that we were starving and ready for our makeshift Thanksgiving feast! This meant finding a restaurant that we were all happy with, which we did shortly after looking for one!
My Thanksgiving dinner turned out to be Turkish ravioli, which was delicious!! And, not to end the deliciousness, we were served our first, and free, cup of apple tea! Apple tea tastes to me like warm apple cider, maybe not as strong, but still delicious! And continuing with good food, we went to another restaurant to find dessert, where I had some really good baklava!! (Although I do still like Greek baklava better!!). Then it was off to bed early for all of us, meaning we all fell asleep by 9pm at the latest, something unheard of among college students, and certainly the earliest I have gone to sleep in years!!!!

Day two, Lauren and I headed over to the Blue Mosque where a man informed us that we needed scarves to enter (in actuality, they do let women in without scarves, he just wanted us to buy one from him, which we didn't), so we decided to come back the next day when we would remember our scarves. So instead, we went to the Basilica Cistern, this huge cistern right under the city! It was really an awesome place to visit, and fairly inexpensive compared to some of the other places we went. We got out pictures taken in Turkish outfits, which was fun, and walked around to see the Medusa heads used as column bases that were waaaaaay in the back!! From there, we headed over to the Grand Bazaar, which was one of the most amazing shopping experiences I have ever had!! Booths upon booths of scarves, bowls, plates, hookahs, you name it, they had it!!! And everyone was trying to get us to buy their items, so it was a lot like being back in the markets of Africa! I ended up buying a scarf, and a few things for family. After the Bazaar we ate the cheapest and most delicious lunch I have had in a long time. 4 Turkish Lira, which is about 2 euros, for a can of iced tea and a doner (a Turkish gyro basically, which is suuuuper delicious!!). Over all, Turkey was getting lots of points in the first 2 days!! It did rain on us a little, but we didn't mind, and headed to another side of town, to go to the Spice Bazaar, where we bought some apple tea to take home with us, and some other things. The Spice Bazaar was really cool, all the stores had piles of spices for you to choose from, and dried peppers and other similar things hanging from their doorways. And best of all, it, like the rest of Istanbul, smelled fantastic!!! Our day ended at a restaurant near the hostel, where we had a Turkish chicken casserole with pita, just the right amount of spices!! Yuuum!!

Day three, our last full day, we went to the Topkapi Palace and Harem, both of which were beautiful!!! The tiles inside the Harem are gorgeous!!! All different designs and different shades of blue and turquoise! So beautiful!! We also saw the Treasury of the Palace, where there was a gigantic, 27 carat diamond!!!!! Soooo sparkly!!! Following almost four hours at the Palace, we went to lunch with some friends, and then made our way back to the Bazaar so Lauren could buy one more gift for a friend. On our way back to the old city to go to the Blue Mosque (we had scarves this time!!), we stopped at an earring vendor, who perhaps was selling illegal earring, because we had to follow him down a little alley when the police told him to move from the main street. But we finally got our earrings, and made our way over to the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque is just as breathtaking as the Hagia Sophia, if not more!! And it is actually still in use, so there were many people inside praying. We did cover our heads with scares, but as we were both wearing jeans, they did not make us put on a skirt thing. Our evening ended in a restaurant where we were given 4 free cups of tea, following a good meal!!

The last day, Sunday, we did absolutely nothing. We had run out of money, and were simply passing the time before our flight. So we walked around some parts of the city we had not been to before, and drank one final cup of tea before getting back on the tram and making our way to the airport. And around 9pm on Sunday, we arrived back at our apartment where I discovered something was wrong with my computer, but, thank goodness, the tech guy at school was able to fix it this morning!! Cause I have papers to write!!! Ireland and Peloponnese posts to come soon...hopefully!!

Baklava, Midterms, Protests: Just Another Week in Athens!

Well, Athens is still just as amazing as before! Although, the weather isn't as great anymore - we just had a week of cloudy, 60's, rainy weather :( However today was back to the 70's and sunny!! Perfect as I needed to do laundry, and hanging wet clothes out in the rain defeats the purpose of drying them! A recap of this week. I made baklava with friends maybe 2 weeks ago and it was delicious!! (See picture)! Although it was not as good as the baklava I get from our local bakery, I'm going to keep working on it and by the time I leave in May it will be just as good (I hope)!!

Midterms...that one week dreaded by all college students!! I had 2 official midterms, a paper, a mini-exam, and 2 modern Greek tests. Well, the mini-exam is on Monday and one of my Greek tests was take home and is due on Monday as well! So I'm not quite done yet! I did finish and turn in my paper on women in the Orthodox Church this afternoon, so I'm glad that is finished! Other than that I've been running around trying to study and do well on my archaeology and sculpture exams! I think I did ok on them. The sculpture one was in the art history format of identifying pictures, which I haven't had to do before, so that was a little difficult! But I really enjoyed researching my paper for my Modern Greece Culture class! I had to go to church a few times as part of the research, and that was really interesting! Women have very limited roles in the church here, and even sit on a different side of the church from the men! So it was very interesting to see!

Protests are a daily part of life here, and something that cannot be avoided. Although I do not go near them, I have passed by the protesters on a bus, and have been affected by them! Two of my classes are held on sites around Athens, and we have to take public transportation. Well, when the bus drivers aren't on strike, there is usually a protest going on that blocks half of the city off. Gotta love those anarchists!! So the other day, we were warned that there was going to be a protest at 11 in Omonia Square, which is near both the Polytechnic University (where the anarchists are), and the National Archaeological Museum, where I have class. So on the bus on the way to class, we passed a large group of anarchists with signs marching up the street. By the time we got out of class at 12:10, they had passed through Omonia, but traffic could not go past Omonia. Now usually Omonia is a bustling square with lots of people. We ended up having to walk to the metro station in the square to get back to school, and I have never been so shocked at a public space in my life. It was absolutely dead. It was like something out of a movie. There were papers blowing across the empty square, very few people, and no noise. It was actually quite creepy. But once we were below ground in the metro life was normal again. And then we exited in Syntagma Square, the main square where Parliament is and where all protest end. Syntagma was silent, no cars, and police in full on riot gear where everywhere. They were wearing leg guards, bulletproof jackets, helmets, gas masks, and carrying the huge plastic shields that you always see in movies and pictures. It was crazy!! The protest hadn't reached the square yet, so we walked back to school, and life was normal there too, except for the lack of tourists at the stadium (the school is right next to one of the Olympic stadiums, and CYA even has an Olympic torch from the 2004 games!!). It is really interesting to be walking to class and see police everywhere with pieces of riot gear on them. It really is a daily event here!! This past week there has been something going on everyday! Most recently it has been employees at the Acropolis who have been striking. According to the news here, some of them have not been paid in 22 months, and have decided to try to get their money, and so other civil servants have been striking with them. They even had to tear gas the area on Thursday it was so bad. This of course means that the Acropolis has been closed for about 4 days now, which is really too bad for the tourists who come here and want to see the Parthenon. Luckily, I have been up, and this is the first time in a long time that the Acropolis has not been opened. We will see what happens next!!

Lets see, upcoming events here: on Tuesday morning I get on a bus to Delphi to kick off the CYA field trip to the Peloponnese. We will be going to Delphi to see the oracle, Olympia to see where the Olympics started, Sparta to see warriors, and Corinth, along with a few other places, including Mycenae I believe!! It should be an amazing trip!! 6 days!!! We get back Sunday evening at 7pm, and at 6:30am the next morning I will be on a plane with 2 friends on our way to Ireland for fall break!! There we plans to go to Galway, the Cliffs of Moher, Connemara, and Dublin!! It should also be an amazing trip, especially since I have always wanted to go to Ireland!!! I'm really excited! Then we get back, and there are just about 7 weeks left until the semester is over and I go to Germany for 3 weeks, then back here for 2, and then school starts again!! Time sure is flying!! I'm all registered for classes next semester, and I'm really looking forward to them!! I'm taking one that involves a volunteer position, which is with my favorite professor (I'm actually taking 2 with her!!)! And of course more Modern Greek!! Well, that's all for now!! Hope your next 2 weeks are just as good as mine - I am definitely looking forward to the cool weather in Ireland! The 50's are predicted!!! γεια σας!! That means goodbye in Greek!!! See, I really am learning things!!! :)

Crete

The next to last week of September was spent by the entire school in Crete. Crete is a place all on its own. It is very different from the other Greek islands, from mainland Greece and everything else around it. We were told this before we went, that Crete has a very specific culture, and that if they wanted to, they could exist as their own country as their economy is strong enough for this. Crete is a very mountainous island, with lots of trees and other greenery, hundreds of vineyards, and olive groves. As we drove along the mountain roads we would see herds of goats eating by the side of the road or standing in the middle of the road. Its a pretty incredible place!

We were split up by classes, with my Archaeology of Athens class being on a bus along with the other section of the same class. We had our professor and a British Crete expert as our tour guides, which was really cool. We began in the port city of Heraklion, where we saw the old city, and then drove out to two archaeological sites and saw the ruins of a city and a palace. Both were very exciting to see, especially the palace because it still had old storage jars in it from when the palace was in use. That night we stayed in Heraklion, and I went to a free concert and art exhibition with a friend of mine. The concert was amazing! It was Spanish guitar with a soprano singing along. And both people were excellent at what they did!!

The second day we went to a museum, and then to the most famous site on Crete, Knossos, the place where Minoan civilization is thought to have been centered. Knossos was incredible. The palace has been reconstructed, but it is still fascinating to see and learn about. We saw in a museum later the art that had come from Knossos. Luckily, my teacher for the trip, Colin (the British man) had actually excavated at Knossos and really knew what he was talking about! So after Knossos, we drove to a beach town which was pretty awesome! Our hotel was right on the water, and after the tour of the old town, we went to a taverna (local restaurant), and had some local Crete cuisine for dinner! It was fabulous! Whenever people think of Greek food, they think of a lot of lamb, but I haven't noticed much in Athens, but in Crete, every restaurant was featuring several lamb dishes! And the lamb was really very good!

The third day of sites began in a museum, and later went to an ancient monastery on a point overlooking a bay. It was gorgeous! It was really cool to be able to see the ruins up close and practically walk on top of them. There was also the ruins of a Roman villa at this site, and it was really cool to see them! We spent that night in Chania, another port town, which is entirely built on top of an ancient city, parts of which have been excavated. The next day we were supposed to hike the Samarian Gorge, a 16km hike, but the weather called for rain in the middle of the day, which would have made the trail unsafe, so the hike was canceled. Instead, my two group leaders decided we would do a shorter hike to some temple ruins and then be able to swim in the Libyan Sea.

The hike itself was not bad, and the ruins were really interesting! There were all sorts of tombs cut into the stone (they had been excavated and emptied), and the temple ruins still had a mosaic floor in them! However, about 10 minutes after we reached the temple, it started to rain. We did go in the water, but we cut our time there short as it began to rain harder, and people were getting really wet from the rain. That night, we all took buses down to the Chania port, and boarded our ferry (overnight - we had cabins with beds) back to Athens, arriving at 6 AM on Saturday! Overall, an excellent trip! And in 2 weeks, there is another one, to the Peloponnese and Delphi! And then, fall break (I am going to Ireland with 2 friends), and then the semester is half over already!! Time flies!!

More Santorini Pictures

Santorini...It Really is Blue and White...

Santorini is the epitome of the "Greece" we all see in pictures. It is the Greece that I thought I was going to (what a shock!!). And it has a very specific feel to it that I didn't notice on Aegina. There are donkeys for riding up the hill, blue and white churches and houses (apparently the colors are because they are cheapest paints), old men sitting in coffee shops with hats, and little winding streets all over that are pedestrian only. I loved it!! So lets see, we took a ferry on Thursday night after we were all done with classes, got picked up at the harbor by the owner of our hotel Stavros (best Greek man ever!!), and went to his villa (hotel), which was adorable!! It was a 15 minute walk (if you walked fast) from the center of town, but it was definitely worth the walk! We were staying in Thira, which is one of the 2 main cities, the other is Oia. Our first day, we got dropped off above the harbor and told where to go to catch the boat for our volcano tour!! Little did we know that the 'short' walk down actually consisted of a 30+ minute walk down stairs! It was killer! And, we had to hurry because our time was limited to get to get to the boat! But, we made it, even though at one point we were little 'parting the seas' (a herd of donkeys) to get down! The boat was a big wooden sailboat that reminded us of a pirate ship! the first stop was the volcano, where we hiked up to see all the craters, including the largest, active one! It was really cool!! From there, we went to a sulfur hot spring (which, because the ocean water was warm didn't actually feel very hot), which was also pretty cool! the tour ended back in Thira, and we headed into the city to get lunch (we took a cable car up, not the stairs).

Day two began at a black sand beach on the other side of Thira, we actually took a bus to get to it. It was a lot of fun too!! The sand was actually little pebbles, and there was a rocky island thing close to the shore which we swam out to. It was a pretty cool beach, although the water was colder than it had been in Aegina and Athens! That afternoon we went back to our hotel and got ready to go out for the night. We were taking a bus to Oia to see the famous sunset, and then eating dinner either there or in Thira (it ended up being in Oia). the sunset was incredible! It was just like a movie, there were hundreds of people watching it, everyone sitting at different levels on this blue and white background, a bride and groom walked from a church through the streets at one point, and the sun went down over the ocean. It could not have been any cooler!! We ate at a cute little taverna, where I had a really excellent pesto pasta dish! After dinner we all hopped on a bus back to Thira, and most of the people we were with went off, but one roommate (Lauren) and I, wandered around the streets for awhile, each bought a scarf, and then walked back the hotel (it was quite late by the time we finished dinner, as the Greeks do not go out to eat until around 8 or 9 PM), and our day had been exhausting!!

Our last day, Sunday, was labeled 'donkey day', as Liz, Lauren, and I were going into Thira to ride donkeys up the hill. This did mean walking back down, which was an adventure, but riding up on my 'demon donkey' was definitely worth it!! My donkey was nicknamed this as he would run up several stairs...quite scary as they are marble, then try to bite and donkeys in his way, then just stop, and wait until more donkeys were in front of him, and repeat. All the way up. It led to some intense laughter, some shrieking from those riding the donkeys-to-be-bitten, and some hilarious videos! All in all, a fabulous trip!!

The Island of Aegina

So one of our first weekends, we decided to go to a close island, Aegina, for a day or two. Rumor was that there is a temple there (there actually is), and that the beaches are good, and as the weather here tends to vary between 89 degrees and unbearable, a beach sounded like a good idea! So we took the ferry to the island, got off, and immediately found a place to get a room (well, he found us, and the hotel he worked for had a good deal, including renting bicycles cheaply!!). So we changed into our beach stuff, got on our bicycles, and biked 4km down the coast to get to the recommended beach, where we had lunch and went swimming in warm, clear, water!! Aegina is also known for its pistachios, so we all bought some, and they really were amazing!! The next morning we took a bus up to the Temple of Aphaia, which is now ruins, but is really awesome, and has a great view of the rest of the island (which really isn't that big).

The island culture is very different from Athens, and in most ways, more enjoyable. The people are friendlier, the atmosphere is different, and everything just seems more relaxed. Now, as Athens is a big city, the hecticness and less friendliness is expected, so it was a nice change to see another side of Greece! Unfortunately it rained on us in the afternoon, so we ended up taking an earlier ferry back to Athens than we had planned, but it was overall a very excellent weekend!!