Trip to Thessaloniki

This blog entry will be a bit choppy.  This is my first opportunity to blog, though the trip was a couple of weeks ago.  Also on that trip my still camera was not working properly, so most of the documentation is video--not ideal for what are essentially static shots.

We stumbled across the Osios David Monestary by getting lost--one of our talents.   Really.  We delight in finding ourselves where we didn't expect to be.  This tiny (30' x30??) church with a slightly larger courtyard is not the  monastery, itself.  The caretaker told us we could not take photos inside the church, but she kindly explained to us what we saw.  Fortunately, Ken's command of Greek was mostly adequate to the task.   It helped that we knew enough about the life of Christ to fill out the parts where he didn't know the vocabulary.

The church was built  in the 5th century.  That would make it more or less coterminous with Constantine's conversion.  In the 13th century, it was taken over by the Turks (probably not the correct historical term) and turned into a mosque.  Parts of the structure were changed and the religious mosaics and frescoes were plastered over and forgotten.  

This was fortunate from a historical standpoint, because it preserved the ceiling almost intact, and much of the frescoes.  The ceiling was unique, according to our guide, because it depicts the "beardless Jesus"--the only one in the world, she claimed.  The frescoes showed many scenes from the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the "flat" style Ken and I have come to associate with Byzantine painting.  After all these centuries, the colors have also faded and there are blank "islands" in the scenes where the fresco could not be saved.  

However, the ceiling over the alter was resplendent in shiny, colorful mosaic.  We didn't have enough Greek to go into details about the restoration process, but it looked to be in very good condition.  It showed Jesus embracing the entire world and sitting on a rainbow.

This is a busy corner in downtown.  In front of a banner strung along a fence is a line of what look like memorial or funeral wreaths.  Ken didn't recognize all the words immediately and we thought we'd figure them out later when we reviewed the video--it wasn't quite clear enough.  Ken's best translation is along these lines (this is a literal, word by word translation, rather than idiomatic):  Nothing treats us with favor or indulgence.  Everything is won with struggles.  Workers everywhere, demonstrate on the street.  May 36  Let's go.  We were puzzled by the date--does it refer to 1936? 

Several of the ribbons on the wreaths identify political or worker organizations.  The ones we could figure out are: Panhellenic Workers' Union, Union of Industrial Employees, and KKE (the Greek Communist Party).

Our final day in the area was spent with a colleague and her husband, who generously invited us on a day-trip to the Halkidiki seashore on the western of the three "fingers" (peninsulas) below Thessaloniki.  On the way we visited the prehistoric caves that had been rediscovered only in the early 20th century.  One of the finds is a 700,000 skull that demonstrates that very early humanoids were here--which expands the narrative of our African origins.  This hillside view doesn't adequately capture of the beauty of this seashore--but I hope you can see how utterly clear the water is!!!!  This is a favorite get-away spot in summer and boasts spectacular beaches and swimming.  We had a fantastic meal--seafood, of course--looking over this gorgeous seaside.

But the knock-your-socks off tourist attraction is the tomb of Philip II--Alexander's father.   In contrast with most Greek ancient sites, which had been discovered and plundered over many centuries, this was successfully hidden until 1977, which meant that its contents were preserved.  In fact, this "museum" actually incorporates the actual tomb!!  (TombS, plural, because two others were also discovered: that of a child assumed to be one of Alexander's siblings, and also of a queen named Cleopatra--not THE Cleopatra--the last of Philip's several wives.)

Because my camera wasn't working well, I couldn't get any fabulous pictures to share.  Just go to the web.  The gold objects in Cleopatra's jewel-box are stunning in their delicacy and beauty.