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Author
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Topic: visiting Greece - anything to look for
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Nikki
Member
Member # 27
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posted 06-22-2001 06:48 PM
    
I'm going to be on a trip to Greece for 2.5 weeks starting next Thursday - it's an organized tour, so I don't really have much choice about where we go, but there are several medieval-era sites that are on the list (the tour is by one of these 'learning experience' companies, so they hit more historical sites than tourist traps, I'm going because my parents are going and offered to pay for me to go too). Among the list of places the tour goes are:
monasteries at Meteora in Kalambaka (11th cent)
church of the metropolis, Kalambaka (14th cent)
Rhodes (walled city of Knights of St.John)
Patmos The tour also goes to Athens (near the Acropolis), Delphi, Olympia, Sparta, Nauplia, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Corinth, Piraeus, Mykonos, Santorini, Heraklion, and Kusadasi. We get some time to wander around in the afternoons - is anyone familiar with these places and know of anything that is a 'must-see', which is accessible quickly on foot (ie, isolated place on top of mountain 10 miles from nearest village isn't going to happen here, but a walk of a mile or so in/from the main city/port is probably doable)? -Nikki
Registered: May 2000 | IP: Logged
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Kent
Member
Member # 161
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posted 06-24-2001 03:51 PM
Nikki --
Sounds like a great trip! I hit many of those same place in 1973 ("Holy Cow! How old IS this guy?") And the highlight for me -- from a medieval point of view -- was Rhodes. Besides having a beautiful harbor, the site of the Colossus, and wonderful outdoor restaurants, etc., The old medieval town and the fortress (with a moat filled with flowering bushes) are remarkable. Take lots of pics, and look through the oldest sections of town if you can. We "discovered" a tiny (about 12' diam., I think) medieval chapel, not used for services anymore, and not on any tour -- tucked away in a residential neighborhood -- with an old Moslem hermit living in it. It was akin to stepping through some kind of time-warp for about 30 minutes.
The other place on your itinerary that jumps out at me is Kusadasi, on the Turkish mainland (you'll be in Asia then, if you're keeping score of continents). It has a Venetian or Genoese fort guarding the harbor (it was a disco when I was there!)and only a few miles away (you can probably find a tour bus or private car+driver) is Efes (Ephesus) which was one of the greatest centers for trade and culture in the Ancient world, especially Roman Empire days -- very worth the trip.
As for the rest of Greece, it, too, is phenomenal. The culture & history are things that will come back to you from your history courses, even if you haven't studied the Ancient World much since then. I got a little too much of museums full of amphorae and statues, and preferred the sites more (like Olympia and Delphi, with constant rockfalls in the background from Mt. Parnassos). Is my envy too obvious? Have a GREAT time!
-- Kent
Registered: Apr 2001 | IP: Logged
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