Southern Crete!!

/ Ed Armstrong
We started our day by driving from Heraklion down to southern Crete. At our first stop, our guide took us to this church and told us that this is where Titus taught!! Yes, this same Titus that wrote a book in the New Testament!! This took me completely by surprise!! Obviously, I knew that there were many New Testament authors that taught in the Mediterranean area, but I certainly did not expect to stumble upon the church where Titus taught!! I was amazed!

This lectern was in the front of the church. It is made of marble, which Crete does not have. Therefore, it came from another location.

This is the backside of Titus’ church.

We next walked around the corner and stopped to look at some olive trees. This is the beginning of an olive.

Our guide pointed out how large olive trees can grow here. Compared to the height of these people, the olive tree is massive!

This olive tree is very old. It’s trunk looks unusual because it is so old.

We walked a little farther and came to this amphitheater. They are refurbishing sections of it right now. In the past, it used to have a wooden roof.

We drove a little farther and came to this ruin. This ruin was always visible and did not need to be as thoroughly excavated as some of the other ruins we have seen. The distance shows the greenery in Crete!

Colorful bougainvillea grows readily in Crete!!

This stepped structure is where people would go to hear someone speak. People did not sit down, but used the risers to stand to see and hear the speaker.

These were storage areas used by the community.

A series of storage compartments for the community can be seen here.

The pot on the left was in remarkably good shape. The pot on the right was like a jigsaw puzzle to be put back together!

From the top of the ruin, we could look out and see the rich, vibrant growth of Crete vegetation. The larger trees are olive trees. Our guide told us that virtually all the tomatoes eaten throughout Greece, come from Crete.

This photo shows a partially reconstructed wall in the ruin. The lower portion is original, and the top sections of cement were used to demonstrate what the wall used to look like and to provide support for the wall to minimize further deterioration.

After the going through the previous ruin, we drove down to Matala. This town is right on the southern coast of Crete. It formerly was a destination for the “hippie generation.” Later, the Crete government forced all the hippies to leave the area.

Matala looks out onto the gorgeous waters of the Libyan Sea. I never estimated that I would ever be so close to Libya!! In fact, it is basically the same distance from Matala to Athens, Greece as it is from Matals to the Libyan coast. This really surprised me! It is a beautiful area!!

This is another view of the Libyan Sea. We ate lunch at a local restaurant and then we went swimming in the sea. The day is hot and humid, so it was quite refreshing to swim in the cool water!!

The Island of Crete is Amazing!!

/ Ed Armstrong
We started the day visiting the ruins of Knossos. This peacock greeted us upon our arrival at the archeological site!!

This is a reproduction of a painting that was identified. The original painting was placed inside a controlled environment in a museum.

The “pie section” in the middle is original. The remaining column circle was made with cement in order to better visualize what the original column would have looked like.

This is the famous throne room at the archeological site!!

This pot was found in great shape in this location!!

This is the well-known bull of Crete. The original has been moved inside a museum and this is a reproduction.

These pots were excavated in great shape!!

The bottom sections of these pots are original. The top sections are repaired portions to demonstrate what the original pots used to look like.

I love the beautiful colors in Crete!!

These flowers make me smile!!

After viewing the archeological site, we when to meet with a potter and watched his handicraft at work!!

These are the typical grape plants that are so vibrant and healthy in Crete!! Everything seems to be green in Crete, very different from Santorini.

These are some of the types of pots produced by the potter. Most of his pots are sold to commercial companies that use his pots in various displays.

A range of different pots are almost ready to remove from the oven.

We were served wine at lunch. The conclusion of our table is that the wines in Crete and superior to the wine in Santorini.

After lunch, we visited the famous museum in Heraklion. This is a well-known sculpture of a pregnant woman.

This is a range of metal tools that have been found in Crete.

The interior of this bowl shows a series of lambs!

This is one of the most famous pieces in the museum. It is made out of gold and it shows two bees facing each other.

This bowl has holes in the bottom for straining items!

These types of cups have been found in abundance. It likely means that these were their “every day” cups for routine use, not ceremonial use.

This beautiful bowl is huge. It was likely used for large gatherings at special occasions.

This is a game board! Similar boards have been found in other Mediterranean countries. It likely means that it was presented to Crete as a gift from another nearby country.

This large pot in the back had an impressively drawn octopus on the front!!

This is an important piece. It was a “standardized weight.” If someone was bartering wheat for bronze, this standardized weight was used to ensure that the proper product amounts were exchanged. It is decorated with an octopus.

This is a famous piece in the museum. Researchers have been working to translate the meaning of the inscription.

This is a very famous painting in the museum. It shows men and women performing gymnastics over a bull. A woman is on the right side and a man in the middle is jumping on the bull. The person in front is grabbing the bull by their horns. It is similar to gymnastics today when someone used the pommel horse.

This is an actual “lazy Susan!!” It was probably used for family eating together.

These figurines show ladies dancing shoulder to shoulder similar to the Greek dances we learned a few days ago.

I was impressed that this was excavated. It shows a person in a swing!!

These are extremely famous figurines!! The woman on the right is holding two snakes!!

This is another depiction of the famous Crete bull!!

These gold pieces were very valuable. They were identified in coffins of women. The gold chains were used in the women’s hair, not as necklaces.

Santorini Museum, Beautiful Views, and Swimming!!

/ Ed Armstrong
We started our day going to the very impressive Santorini Museum. This artifact is translucent marble and they would burn olive oil inside it and it served as an indoor lamp!!

These are fishing hooks used by the Santorini people!!

This was originally a carved wooden table. The wood was destroyed by lava, so the researchers poured plaster of paris into the space where the wood used to be! A very impressive process to reveal what the table used to look like!

This was a portable stove!!

This used to be a basket and although the fibers were decayed long ago, the researchers were able show what it used to look like!!

These are another set of fish hooks. Some of these hooks are quite large, so they must have been able catch some very large fish!!

I really liked this pot because it was decorated with swimming dolphins!!

This is a partially reconstructed painting!

This is another partially restored painting!!

With the grains painted on the outside, this was likely used to store grain products!!

These pots are very unique because they are made of stone and not pottery!!

This is an animal made of gold. It was created in different pieces.

Incredibly, this is a partially reconstructed painting!!

This is a fisherman bringing in his catch. This is a famous painting and I recognize seeing it before this trip.

This is a painting showing people battling in boats.

After thoroughly enjoying the museum, our guide lead us to another section of Santorini. This donkey was available to give people rides.

This was another gorgeous church with an amazing bell tower along with the beautiful blue dome!!

I thought these flowers were spectacularly beautiful and delicate!!

I thought this was an interesting bell tower.

This bell tower and blue dome were a little different from the others we have seen. In the distance, the deep haze can be seen over the Aegean Sea!!

Santorini is incredibly beautiful. Grape plants that are trimmed very low to the ground can be seen in the distance.

This church was located at the very top of the hill!!

Here is our whole gang on the top of the hill looking out over the Santorini landscape!! These are a wonderful group of people and I have thoroughly enjoyed discovering Greece together with them!!

I liked the backlighting seen in this bell tower!!

This photo was taken by a friend and it provides proof that I actually swam in the Aegean Sea!! I am the person covered by the large hat and long sleeves to protect me from the intense sun!!

Famous Oia Church and Santorini Dancing!!!

/ Ed Armstrong
These blue church domes in Oia are extremely famous. A photo of these domes is a classical view of the island of Santorini. I had to hike and hike during our free time to find this location. It is amazing to see the blue church domes and the deep blue water of the Aegean Sea in the background. This photo is special to me!

This is another church in Oia and I loved the stained glass combined with the blue dome. Oia is extremely picturesque!!

After our time in Oia, we next went to a Greek restaurant that had Greek dancing after our dinner! It was extremely fun!! The dancers got things started dancing alone.

This woman was extremely skilled with the proper dance steps! It was fun to watch her dance to the Greek melodies!!

This guy was excellent with his dancing skills!

Soon, the dancers invited everyone to participate too! It was incredibly fun!!

We had so much fun trying to keep up with the professional dancers!!

The professional dancers were very good!!

Our group had an unbelievable amount of fun learning new dance steps!!

We had such a wonderful group of people on our tour!!

It was impressive to watch the Greek dancers move so smoothly to the music!!

In a sort of Greek “tradition,” we all through plates to the ground and broke them with enthusiasm!!

Exploring Santorini!!

/ Ed Armstrong
We started our day by visiting the famous excavations at Akrotiri!! I am not necessarily into archeology, but this was particularly impressive!! They discovered this site under a large amount of pumice and lava rock from a volcano eruption in the past. Many sections were quite well preserved and it showed how well developed this community was.

Windows and doors can clearly be seen in the walls. The original wood was decayed after the volcano eruption, but it was replaced with cement as the sections were excavated.

These stones were found as the flooring inside the homes!! I was impressed that they did not have dirt floors, but actually built flooring inside the buildings!

For me, this was the biggest surprise of all!! They had a sewage system inside the city!! The channel was opened up to reveal a section of the sewage system!! This was very impressive to me!!

These pots are in the actual positions as they were excavated. Some of these pots are huge!!

I was quite impressed how developed and advanced this community was!!

I really liked the rich orange color of this flower that was just outside the excavation site.

This little sign made me laugh. The fruit looks great and I certainly would enjoy eating some of them!!

We next drove to the main town of Fira and enjoyed walking around and discovering all the beautiful sites in such a picturesque location!!

I loved the spectacular contrast of colors between the deep blue Aegean Sea and the white buildings. Although it was a hot and humid day, I could not stop wandering around through all kinds of older walkways and streets!

Every turn in the road created a new angle to see such a beautiful place!!

I was certainly not alone!! There are many tourists in Santorini!! This is especially true when the cruise ships come and unload their passengers!!

This is an amazingly beautiful place!!

I thought the color contrasts of the various churches was especially interesting!!

Another turn in the sidewalk reveals another amazing view!!

I especially enjoyed stopping here. They were getting ready to photograph this woman with this long billowing red dress. The wind was blowing on the edge of the cliff and it was fun to watch the lady and her dress flowing in the breeze!!

The Greek blue and white is captivating to see!!

This light blue color was an interesting contrast to the deep blue used on other buildings. In the distance, a cruise ship is visible as the unload passengers to explore Santorini.

Santorini is such a colorful place!!

Travel to Santorini Island and Wine Pairing!!

/ Ed Armstrong
We spent most of the day riding a ferry to the island of Santorini. After checking into our hotel, we went to a local winery and had a wonderful pairing of different wines with a great meal!!

This woman was extremely helpful! She described each wine, wine making characteristics in Santorini, and the food that was paired with each wine. I thoroughly enjoyed everything, but this wine titled “Santorini” was one of my favorites.

This winery emphasizes white wines. I thought all the wines were great!!

The main course was sea bass served on potatoes. It was perfectly cooked and went great with the wine that was served!

I loved the Santorini wine!!

The Sweet Sun wine was the dessert wine. It was very rich and thicker than the other wines. It was sort of like a Port wine, only sweeter than a port.

These guys has nothing to do with wine tasting. I simply thought it was a unique sight to see them walking in front of our hotel while we were waiting for our bus. The streets are narrow, so there was a long line of vehicles lined up behind them.

Last Evening in Paros!!

/ Ed Armstrong
I walked down to the beach and met some friends from our group. We learned from the previous evening that Paros can have some unbelievably beautiful sunsets. With only my cellular phone, we watched the sunset become simply spectacular! The richness of the orange colors was amazing as the sun reached the horizon!!

This is such a wonderful group of people and I have deeply enjoyed discovering Greece together with them!!

After the sunset, we walked back to our hotel. I photographed this church a couple of days ago, but at night, it looked especially wonderful. The sky was not quite dark, and the blue lights within the two towers were so beautiful! This view was a special way to end our time in Paros!!

Visit to Lefkes on the Island of Paros!!

/ Ed Armstrong
We had another wonderful day on Paros. We started the day learning about the high quality marble from Paros that has been used for centuries. This photo is the opening of one of the marble quarries. There are plans in development to open up the opening and allow visitors to enter the quarry to learn more about the history of Paros marble.

After learning about marble, we drove to the picturesque town of Lefkes. This is church in Lefkes.

I liked the beautiful colors of this arch made from bougainvillea plants.

For some reason, I was captivated by the colors and ruggedness of this old door.

Lefkes is a very beautiful town!! Olive trees can be seen growing in the distant hills.

I liked the creative colors painted on these pots!!

One of the members of our group pointed out to me this staircase with these vibrantly painted pots!!

The vibrant colors of Greece are everywhere!!

Gorgeous flowers seem to grow everywhere in Greece!!

I love the depth of the red color in this flower!!

Next on our agenda was to attend a Greek cooking class. This wonderful Greek woman accepted the challenge to teach a group of Gringos how to cook a Greek meal. I was a requirement that everyone wear these lovely caps (to keep hairs out of our food) and an apron from her kitchen!

Our group leader Georgia taught us how to dance Greek dances while our food was cooking. It was a hilarious experience!!

This is our group photo of everyone in our group along with the chefs in the kitchen teaching us how to cook wonderful Greek food!! It was a wonderful experience!!

After our enjoying our Greek meal, we drove to the fishing village of Naoussa. This octopus is ready for someone to buy it and make it their dinner.

The Aegean Sea along with the white buildings makes Greece a spectacular place!!

It is quite a warm day and many people are enjoying the beach and swimming in the aqua Aegean Sea. I touched the water and it was nice and warm!

Beautiful Paros Island!!

/ Ed Armstrong
The island of Paros is gorgeous! The afternoon sun made this church seem to glow! I absolutely love the blue and white colors that are so common in Greece!!

There are all kinds of shops with beautiful walkways. It is not loud, but peaceful and relaxing.

As I was taking the previous photo, this friendly woman ran out of her shop and asked me to take her photo! I was happy to comply. She has a beautiful smile and was fun to see her excitement.

Our group leader described how older marble is often re-purposed from previous buildings and made into a new Greek structure.

This wall was build from an amalgamation of repurposed marble to protect the city from pirates!!

This is a beautiful scene of the Aegean Sea from the island of Paros!

The previous view of the Aegean Sea was taken while standing in front of this beautiful church!

I love the vibrant colors in Greece!! It makes me smile to see such beauty everywhere!!

This is another section of re-purposed marble used to protect the city.

Some of these re-purposed marble are quite old!!

I am captivated by the blue color of Greece that are seen in so many places!!

We were inside a sort of dark church and our group leader was telling about its history. Unfortunately, she is blurry as I had to use a very long exposure to capture the design of the church.

Re-purposed marble was used to make this fountain. Water flowed from it until several decades ago.

We went into this church. The whole outside has old marble to build it. Services were going on when we entered, so no photos were allowed.

I liked the silhouette of the bells and cross of the church against the evening sky.

I liked the repetitive columns and arches in the church grounds!

At dinner, I had my first taste of ouzo!! I really enjoyed it because it tastes like black licorice!!

While eating dinner, we looked at this fantastic sunset!! Greece is such a beautiful place!!

Ferry Ride to Delos Island

/ Ed Armstrong
The small island of Delos is one of the most important archeological sites in all of Greece. We saw kinds of artifacts from the Greeks.

Sections from various columns have been collected and work is being done to better understand the findings.

These lionesses are some of the most well-known sculptures in Delos.

I thought this lioness was impressive!

Stray cats seem to be everywhere in Greece. This group of cats in Delos seemed content to watch all the people walk by.

This sculpture of a left hand is important and our group leader requested a photo to document it. It is stored at the museum on Delos. The right hand is currently stored at another museum.

This foot is also on display in the Delos museum.

The Delos museum contained a number of sculptures.

I thought some of the sculptures were particularly impressive!

As we were walking through the Delos ruins, this friendly lizard stopped by to say hello!

Within a few feet of the previous lizard, this guy was running around. I have never seen a lizard with such a colorful design on its back!

The remanent of the “stucco” colors shows that the buildings created in Delos were not drab colors. Different reds and yellows that these buildings were quite colorful.

These two enclosed “windows” are where lighted candles would be placed to light up a room. Remnants of the wall coloring can also be seen.

I thought this mosaic was especially impressive!! The detail was amazing!

I was also quite amazed at the intricacy with this mosaic!