Heraklion, Crete (out of date order, sorry)

Today we leave for Rhodes.  This morning we went to the Archeological Museum and the new Sculpture Museum.  These were knock-outs, not least because yesterday and the day before we visited Knossos and Phaestos, from which many of the museum objects originally came.

This is temporary posting that I will update as I have time.  I wanted to get these pictures and minimal commentary down while I can still remember what we found so astonishing.

The top photo is of the entire "dolphin fresco" found in the "Queen's Quarters" in the Knossos Palace.  If you look closely, you will see the variations in color that I have enlarged in the next two photos.  The smooth areas are "reproductions" (painted in later on in order to "complete" the piece); the darker areas with lots of whitish cracks running through them are actual pieces of the fresco found during the archeological excavation.  Many of these pieces may have been found still adhered to the wall in their correct relation to one another, but others were no doubt found in several pieces dispersed over a wider area.  They had to be painstakingly reconstructed into the composite seen in the first photo.  It was easier to see when looking at this in the museum that only about 10 percent of the original still exists.  In other words, to "reconstruct" this is not just a matter of putting a puzzle together.  It's more like putting a puzzle together when you have only 50 pieces of a 500 piece puzzle!!!

[How difficult and uncertain that can be was demonstrated by another fresco that I didn't photograph.  The museum showed two versions--the original assumed that the body of the "saffron gatherer" was that of a young boy.  A later find on a similar subject revealed a monkey's face, rather than a boy's.  What had been identified as a vine in the first version turned out to be the tail of a different monkey in the second--and it was also place in a slightly different position.  So it isn't enough to be an archeologist, one must also solve mysteries and have a great aesthetic sense!] 

These are evidence of the superb skills of Minoan artists who worked in gold. Ken read somewhere that modern artists have been unable to match this ancient level of craftsmanship.  The gold beads in the top photo are no more than 1/2 inch long.  The one on the left is either a frog or a lion (we can't remember which); the right is simply called a "cylinder."

The bottom figure is no more than 1 1/2 inches wide--in other words, less than 1/4 the size you see pictured here.  It is called the "Gold Bee Pendant."  The museum description says:  "Two bees are placing a drop of honey in a honeycomb they hold between their legs; on their heads is a wire cage with a gold globule inside."  The figure contains three different kinds of gold-work: filigree, repousse, and granulated decoration.  I have no idea what all that means, but imagine doing that incredibly fine work on such a tiny space!  As you can see, on the left-most dropped circle, a couple of the gold balls around the perimeter are missing.  Each of those balls is about the size of a pencil point!!  Similarly with the "honeycomb" in the middle. 

I was bowled over by the decorations on these pieces, made about 1600 B.C.    The vase on the right of the upper photo is called the "Lily Vase"--as you can see, flowers are attached at the sides and near the bottom.  The vase is about 18" high.  Both vases in that photo have a a lot of red in the glaze.  The three vases in the lower photo have incredibly delicate designs that somehow also seem very modern.  The central vase or beaker is about 14" high and the others are about 9" high.

The gold oval on the right no more than 3/4" wide.  The larger oval in the same photo is a sketch of the  picture engraved on the oval.  It appears to be a cross-section of part of the Knossos Palace (the three level building).  The woman sketched on the right (not in the same scale as the building) is a fertility/nature goddess, usually pictured with a snake wound around her or--in this case--in her hands.  She is standing on what appears to be a ramp between a series of steps and the building. This was probably used as a seal and pressed into clay of official "documents."

Another seal, this time carved into a precious stone (the sketch of the engraving is below it). A woman (probably a similar goddess to the one above) is between two winged gryphons.  This is no more than 1 1/2" wide.

This last seal is also about 1/2" wide.  The incredibly detailed scene depicts people, animals, fruits, trees, etc.

Family time

The high spot of our trip to Istanbul was visiting Erkut's family (he's married to Alex).  They welcomed us as though we were family, too.  Erkut did a fabulous job of translation, since we had no Turkish and only his Mom had a little English.  Alex is learning, though.  As always, the food was wonderful.  We ate out in the garden, under a tree.  There was a mid-afternoon "snack" when we arrived--the most gorgeous boreg made by hand (below), and a lovely almond cake.

Then we got down to serious eating....barbequed chicken, fish, and lamb.  The fish are small but, oh so tasty.  After a long, leisurely dinner, friends and family dropped over, several of whom spoke English, so there was lots of conversation.  We were still going strong at 10:30, which is about when Ken and I tend to fall face-first into our food, because we can no long stay awake.

The next morning was a fantastic brunch that included home-made preserves.

After which we waddled to the car and said goodbye (burp!).L-->R, Ken, me, Erkut, Alex, "Mom" and "Dad"--we'll have to ask, as we've forgotten.  I can see why Alex said meeting his parents was the clincher for her.  :):)

Miscellaneous Goreme sighting

I guess it had to happen.  Where more appropriate than the home of the often very phallic "fairy chimneys"?  (You'll see what I mean in a subsequent post that has more pictures.

Here's a tree covered with the blue-and-white "eye" disks made of glass that we think are good luck symbols.  We saw several of these but we didn't know if they were just a marketing ploy or had some other significance. (Ken forgot to learn Turkish and, unlike the Greeks, most do not know English except for the most rudimentary commercial phrases.)

 

The view from our roof-garden  at breakfast time and then later in the day.

 

The balloon industry is also wildly popular here.  The locals told us they cost 140 Euros per person and the baskets hold 25 people.  Based on the number of balloons we saw in the morning sky (that's when the winds are quietest), this is an incredibly lucrative industry--which attracts lots of people who probably shouldn't be running a high-risk venture. 

Goreme: home of the "fairy chimneys"

This is in Kappadociea, Turkey.  These amazing structures (some several hundred feet tall) result from  weathering of a particular geological formation.  The town of Goreme (which is in the middle of nowhere) has become a major tour bus stop, as a result.  Local people actually do live in some of the natural caves formed (or cut into) these structures.  More recently, several hotels have co-opted nature, as well.  

In order to upload videos, they have to be shorter than one minute.  The three that follow are a sequence.

The video below was taken inside an ancient (11th century?) church built into one of the "cave" formations.   Here is a picture of the outside (which has been rebuilt in modern times.  The inside is about the size of a very large living room with high ceilings.

 The religious iconography was plastered over when the Ottoman empire took charge and Christianity was no longer the state religion.  This fortunately preserved many of the early frescos, though clearly there was also some damage.

Below that is another panoramic video of the formations that may give a better sense of the scale.

And here are several photos of the formations.  Some are obviously huge (you can compare to the size of people (very small--you'll have to look for them), and cars in some of the pictures.

 There are people in this photo in the middle of the left edge--one of them has on red pants.

You can size this one by the horse in the lower right hand side of the photo, in front of the tree

Is this really "camelot"?

Or is it just a lot of camel? I'll let the videos speak for themselves.

Street scenes

Istanbul is a very old city--many streets were just fine for pre-auto transportation...but those same streets are now filled with cars.  Istanbulites have developed their own special ways of dealing with the problem. In this series of videos, you will see what happens when two cars that cannot pass one another meet.  Spoiler alert--it involves several people backing up, driving over stairs, backing into side streets, performing Y-turns, and somehow working it all out.  

About 5 cars were involved in this action.  Three had to back most of the way up a steep hill.  In the second video, one of them backed into into a side street and waited until there was room for him to continue down the hill.  But (3d video) he didn't have enough room and ended up with his wheels over the pedestrian walkway--in this instance, stairs.  As you will see, through this complicated maneuver, no one seems to get their knickers in a knot. 

Water scenes

Istanbul has water all around it and through the middle of it.  I copied (and edited) this blub off the web: Istanbul embraces two continents, one arm reaching out to Asia, the other to Europe. Through the city 's heart flows, the Bosphorus Strait, which connects the waters of the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara and the Golden Horn.  Here are some water scenes.

And here we are, coming back at sunset from a ferryboat trip to Asia.  (Istanbul is on two continents.)

Miscellaneous Istanbul scenes (including food)

This splendidly dressed young man (he's 5 or 6) doesn't know what fate awaits him.  Tomorrow he's going to be circumcised.  This dress up is part of the tradition....he's essentially king for a day (or pasha, maybe).  Then . . .snip.  We passed many store windows with even more fantastic costumes for this purpose--and they didn't come cheap!  Our Turkish friend told us that it was typical in many families to do several boys at one time.  He was only three, but his oldest brother (there were four of them being done on the same day) was 10.  OUCH!!!!!!

Istanbul is very hilly and many streets are narrow.  But even on streets where two cars can pass one another, a lot of hauling is done with hand-trucks.  Boxes are stacked together, then wrapped in sheets of plastic.  At each end of the top of the stack, the wrapper will leave a "tail" or "ear"--a several inches-long piece to use as a handle when slinging it on the cart or over one's shoulder. (You can see the "tail" right beyond the fellow walking past the cart.)  

There are also folks who do "take out"--very often, the inevitable small glass of tea that everyone seems to drink a dozen times a day.  They are carried on little metal trays, sometimes by a delivery person (the guy in the picture below--his friend wanted to get in the picture, too); at other times, by the people who go to get their order. (Apparently, everyone brings back the trays.)

And here's one of our "finds."  We ate here twice....a generous portion of grilled chicken breast, plus a lot of rice or bulghur, and some lettuce, tomato and red cabbage: $4.50.  (The bread was a few cents extra.)

The rice and bulgur were made in advance (and some of the combo dishes--you can see them through the glass), but the meat was fresh grilled.  This is where "real people" ate--they also did take out.  Each individual plate (real plate: no styrofoam) was wrapped in plastic; then layered on a tray (big tray, multiple layers of plates) which was also wrapped in gigantic sheets of plastic; then multiple trays were layered on top of one another and wrapped again.  This made for a very heavy pile of stuff that the delivery kid took by hand (or on his scooter) to the folks who had ordered.  I asked to get a picture, but he didn't want me to do it.  I couldn't explain that I wouldn't include him in the shot, so you'll just have to try to imagine it.

Then there was the fancy dinner at a restaurant our friends suggested. The waiter is opening one magical dish after another.  In the immortal words of the movie, Babe--"at'll do pig."  (Though of course, there was no actual pig involved.)

Eat

And here's how they make the Turkish version of souvlaki (at just about every street corner.)  It's a meal for the equivalent of about $2.50.  




 Why are there goats on the streets of Istanbul?  Heck if I know. (I'm cheating--they were stuffed goats to attract people to the wool shop.)

This was a surprise...though this was not one of the main tourist streets, there were tourist hotels within a couple of blocks in any direction...a very rickety house where (it appeared) no one lived.  But right next door (the brown one with flowers at the second story window) was another not-so-great looking house were people definitely did live, and went inside as soon as they saw the camera. (There will be later blog entries about Erdogan's building spree throughout Turkey.)

Church (Hagia Sophia)--> Mosque --> Museum (plus The Blue Mosque)

Given the changing political and religious scene in Turkey over the centuries (Constantine's conversion, for instance, led to the creation of beautiful Byzantine churches (Hagia Sophia was one--built in the 6th century).  When the Ottoman Empire took over, many were converted to mosques, which involved plastering over the Christian frescoes and mosaics (this helped preserved many that were later uncovered).  Then Ataturk created modern Turkey, which established the separation of mosque and state--and created a museum.  

 It's hard to get a sense of the size.  Look at the balcony with the columns.  On the second of six openings, under a chandelier, you will see a couple standing at the railing.  The large disks on either size of that balcony are (Ken and I calculated) about 25 feet in diameter.   The building is 170' high--about a 15 story modern building. It's held up by arches on top of arches.

This is the back of one of the "disks"-- Ken (the engineer) was more than a little fascinated by how it was constructed and being held up.  It must weight a LOT, and it's just hanging there!  Note the disk on the opposite wall.  You can get a sense of the size by comparing it to the size of the people in the archway next to it.

 And here's Ken's fingers in a substantial crack in the wall.  The marble floors also undulate.  There have been many serious earthquakes in the nearly 1500 years (!) since it was built.  Yet it still stands!

 This is a view from a window to the courtyard behind the museum.  To the left (we think) is a "flying buttress"--these were added in the last few hundred years to strengthen the building when some problems (such as settling) were noted.  If you'd like to see more, go to www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fsgAwpfJZo

 We looked for the Viking graffiti (9th century!!) pictured in the lower right-hand corner, but didn't find it. 

Below  is the Blue Mosque (we think)  It is also huge, but not as big as Hagia Sophia.  Note the size of the columns (Ken is there for perspective--and to point out some construction details).  We were trying to figure out how they were put together. There is no way something that large was one piece.

Mosque exteriors

It's just not possible to get a sense of the grandeur of these buildings from a small photo.  You really hadda be there!

And here's the call to prayer from (I think) the same mosque pictured above.

 I like this photo (above) of the Blue Mosque (six minarets) taken from the ferry across the Bosphorous.  And below, a closer shot (but I'm not sure of which one).

And though the water faucets outside the mosque are supposed to be for washing one's feet and hands before praying, it's also a good place to check email (below).

Mosque interiors

These are self-explanatory, as you can hear Alex describe what we're seeing.  These are two different mosques.  When I get clarification, I'll name them.  One is noted for its stunningly gorgeous blue tile patterns.  The other, larger mosque also has beautiful calligraphy with the "hundred names of God (Allah)" and some prayers.

Protest in Turkey

This is a temporary holding space for videos.....further discussion will follow when we can.

We were in Istanbul about a week after the first demonstrations at Taksim square.  As we walked across the bridge separating the two parts of the city, we unexpectedly encountered a "parade" (i.e. peaceful demonstration) heading toward the park. (The first video.)  We joined them.  The second video is of the mostly young, enthusiastic demonstrators walking toward me.  The three that follow are of posters that were mounted on a glass wall in the square; you'll hear our Turkish friend, Erkut, translating what they say.

And here are the stills of the demonstration the day we happened to be there.  the first photo is of the main street leading to Taksim square.  It is jammed with people and flags on a lovely, sunny afternoon.

 I don't know what the words on the sign below say, but I'll find out.

 And this (below)  is the center of the square....some kind of official memorial to which people had affixed flags and posters.

 Below is the only evidence we saw of the earlier violence that had been reported.  We didn't know who had originally wrecked the vehicle, by judging by the fact that (people told us) it had not been removed for several days, we assumed the official forces left it to show how bad the demonstrators had been.  Clearly, the graffiti was layered on over time.