Θερμοπύλες (Thermopylae)

While travelling from Meteora to Delphi, we came upon Thermopylae. Given that there is absolutely nothing in Thermopylae (despite its rich history), no more than the 15 minutes we took was actually needed. I did however get pictures of both the monument and the pass.

Monument dedicate to King Leonidas at Thermopylae

The Pass of Thermopylae

So (for those who don't know) here's the history:
During the Persian Wars (ie Greco-Persian), the Persians were flying through Greece, taking cities all through the Aegean Coast. The Greeks (now including Athenians and Spartans), met the Persians at Thermopylae, meaning hot gates in Greek due to the pass the mountains naturally formed as well as the hot springs in the area.
The Greeks were heavily outnumbered, but the Greeks were on homeland. However, a traitor told the Persians about the pass and the Persians were able to cut through and surround the Greeks. 
At this point, the Greeks foresaw their defeat. King Leonidas (of the Spartans) began telling all of the Greeks to return to their hometowns to defend them from the invading Persians. While some obeyed their orders, others (about 300) decided to say with Leonidas to fight to their deaths. Thus the entire plot line of the movie 300, sorry for the spoilers.

Icon Workshop

This is probably my favourite event of the day. We had the opportunity to visit and tour one of the oldest icon workshops in the world. While visiting, I was able to see the overview of the long process it took to make these beautiful pieces of art.

Workshop overview

Woodcutter among wood

 The wood you see in these pictures and on which all the icons are painted are not considered to be 'good' until they have dried out for two to three years. The wood selected for the icons must have no blemishes and only from a certain area of Greece.

Another Large Woodcutter

After they showed us the process of the wood conditioning and cutting we moved inside where the gold leaf application and painting was all done: the final steps of an icon.

The other thing that I admired about the icon painting process is that they use an egg tempera, which involves a mixture of egg yolk and vinegar combined with a dry pigment. These pigments are often extracted from plants and natural minerals. They have amazing vibrance which can be seen below.

The Icon Painters' Palette of Pigments

The finished icons are sold in their store, displayed wonderfully upon shelves of vivacious colours. The production rate for these paintings is actually quite impressive considering the details.

At the end of the day, I ended up buying one. Last time we visited here, I got one of Jesus. However this time, I chose my namesake, Luke the Evangelist. Note that I have no intentions to pray to any icon, they are only representations of my respect and appreciation towards them, similar to how tweenage girls buy posters of Taylor Swift, etc...

Here's what I got!

Icon of Luke the Evangelist

Monastery of Varlaam at Meteora

While in Meteora, we did in fact have the opportunity to visit a monastery. It was still a functioning one, so much of the places I would've liked to take were prohibited, thus I only have two of the monastery.

The Holy Monastery of Varlaam

The Holy Monastery of Varlaam is the second largest monastery in Meteora. It was built in 1541 by a monk named Varlaam. The building's structure only took two months to erect, but the collection of materials took 20 years, climbing the large rock while carrying small amonts of building materials. 

Outside of the Monastery's Church

Μετεορα (Meteora)

Meteora was once covered completely with water, causing the rocks to form in the way they currently are. The giant rocks that sit upon the hills are often given divine-like praise. Now for centuries, Monks and hermits have found sanctuary in Meteora, which now houses 6 functioning Monasteries. Hermits climbed these large rocks and built homes in small caves on the rocks, living in complete isolation for extended periods of time.

 

Might I also add that every path and road here is extremely steep, and flip flops are possibly the worst choice of shoe to wear when climbing is inevitable. Anyway, blisters will heal.

Θεσσαλονίκη (Thessaloniki)

Thessaloniki is culturally an interesting city. There is much cultural diversity due to its complex dominion history. The Greeks owned the city until the Roman Empire took it for Byzantium. Following Byzantium, the Ottomans had taken Thessaloniki until the year 1912AD when the Greeks finally took possession of it again. While visiting, you could see each of these owners' marks. I mix of Byzantium Churches and Mosques scattered the skyline. Unfortunately, much of the archaeological history is inaccessible due to the amount of modern buildings built over the ruins of Paul's Thessalonika. Archaeologists from around the world are trying to save the ruins left before the city puts a Metro directly through it. This is the city's major political issue currently.

Infamously brutal prison known as White Tower

View of Thessaloniki from Shore

Φίλιπποι (Philippi)

After leaving Kavala we soon arrived in Philippi. Established by Philip II in 356BC, it was quite a large city in Eastern Macedonia. Biblically  it was the audience of apostle Paul's letter titled 'Philippians' and historically is known as the gateway of Christianity to the West. In the fourteenth century, the entire city was abandoned following the Ottoman Conquests. Today, it stands as mere ruins.

Citadel Hill at Philippi

Amphitheatre at Philippi

Amphitheatre Entrance

Forum at Philippi

 Interestingly enough, the Cathedral below was actually never completed. The eastern Romans began constructing it never gathered enough funds to complete it. Ironically, it stands today the most 'completed' structure in the Philippian Forum

Cathedral at Philippi

Corinthian Columns

Καβαλα (Kavala)

We drove out of Istanbul early in the morning the other day, heading out for Greece by bus. After about three and a half hours of driving through the Turkish countryside, we crossed the Turkish-Greek border! Yay!

Beach at Alexandropolis

After crossing over into Greece, we drove another hour west where we stopped in Αλεχανδροπολισ (Alexandropolis) for our first legit Greek lunch (I had eggplant mousaka). We got back on the bus where we drove another two hours to the location of our hotel, Καβαλα (Kavala). 

On the left is our hotel

Boardwalk in Kavala

Dock at Kavala

I had about 5 hours total free time that I spent walking around the city, taking these pictures. I also took my first opportunity to grab REAL Greek frozen yoghurt, which may I say was the richest dairy dessert I've ever tasted. With yoghurt in hand, I continued around the city.

View of east city from Dock

Main section of Kavala

View from Dock

As you can see I went slightly trigger happy with the water portraits, but I thought it was worth it. The other thing I was introduced to here was something called a φραπέ (frah-peh), which, as it sounds, is a cold coffee drink, what we might call a frappé. This however was more like a frothy cold coffee. It's apparently the most popular coffee drink in Greece currently. It's made by mixing cold water and instant coffee, then adding milk and sugar to taste. It's a surprisingly awesome combination. I will be sure to get more of those while here.

Café at which I tried my first φραπέ

Hagia Sophia

The Hagia Sophia (meaning Holy Wisdom) was constructed in 537AD by the Byzantium Empire, apparent through its architecture as an Eastern Orthodox cathedral. The entire catherdral was completed in 5 years, with no more than simple scaffolding. It remained in it's purpose until 1453AD when the Ottomans captured Constantinople and converted it into a mosque. It remained a mosque until 1935AD when it was completely secularised and made a museum, which it is now. This building is truly an artistic and architectural world wonder.