Pic of the Day

Kokkari, Samos Island, Greece

Return of Sunshine and Better Health!

The cold and rain moved elsewhere this morning, and we are feeling fit and fine once again after a lot of rest.  It's amazing how different a place looks when the sun is shining.  The harbor is sparkling outside our window and the town is vibrant with white and pastel facades and red tile roofs.  Samos is considered one of the most beautiful of the Greek Islands.  Tall mountains rise from the sea, and there are thick forests covering much of the island.  Many of the islands in the Aegean are dry and barren.  Samos has broad, fertile valleys that produce abundant crops throughout the year.

This morning, we joined Jim and Stephen for a tour of the local archaeolgical museum in Vathi (also known as "Samos Town.")  We were surprised at the high quality of the museum, considering the small size of the community and the Island.  The "Colossal Kuros" (18 foot tall, 6th century BC statue of a man) is featured in the museum, as well as hundreds of tiny, whimsical sculptures dug up on the island.  Afterward, Leroy and I explored the waterfront further and dipped our feet into the harbor.  The Aegean is colder than the Mediterranean to the south.  I'm determined to swim in it, though, sometime this month!

We crossed to the south side of the island and the beautful village of Pythagorio, birthplace of Pythagorus (of Pythagorean theorum fame.)  After eating a lunch of leftover bread and cheese by the sea, we continued on to the "Temple of Hera" archaeological site.  The complex was dedicated to the goddess Hera and featured a temple with 150 stone pillars.  Only one pillar remains, and it is half its original height.  I took a photo of Leroy next to it, and it completely dwarfs him.  It's been so amazing to see these ancient sites (many of which I never heard of until we stumbled upon them) and consider the lives of those who lived there so long ago.  Things have certainly changed since then!

Speaking of change, I've been keeping up with news via the internet and have been thrilled to see the addition of Rhode Island, Deleware, and Minnesota to states providing for marriage equality.  Three states in less than three weeks!  With twelve states plus D.C. on board, and California expected by the end of June (and maybe Illinois in the near future) there is no doubt we're on a roll toward full civil marriage rights for all same-sex couples in America.

After a brief re-appearance of raindrops this afternoon, the sun is shining again and I will do some drawing on our balcony before dinner.  Tomorrow is expected to be hot, and we will explore the beaches of Samos.

Pic of the Day

Pythagorio Bay, Samos Island, Greece

Pic of the Day

View from our balcony in Vathi, Samos, Greece

Arrival on Samos

On St. Paul's third missionary journey, he passed by the Island of Samos in the Aegean Sea.  We traveled this morning to Samos and docked in the port town of Vathi.  We are staying for three nights at the harbor and are able to look from our hotel across a crescent-shaped bay.

The morning began with a flash of lightning closely followed by a deafening crash of thunder.  It is very unusual to have heavy rains this time of year in this region.  The rain followed us as we carried our backpacks down the shore to the ferry port and customs offce.  We had our passports stamped and climbed aboard the small passenger ferry.  While we waited, we watched thousands of passengers disembark from cruise shipes with umbrellas and then board buses for a tour of Ephesus.  We were glad we visited the site yesterday, and not today in the mud!  The trip from Turkish Kudasi to Greek Samos took about an hour.

We know we're in Greece because we heard church bells tolling at noon instead of the Muslim call to prayer which we've heard a few times a day for the past several weeks.  After settling in to our hotel room, we took a walk along the shoreline and then had a lunch of bread, cheese, wine, and chocolate (!) on our balcony.  A long afternoon nap helped as neither of us is back to one hundred percent after being ill.  We plan to take it easy for the next couple days.  Hopefully the weather will dry out more completely and warm up a bit.  Either way, we're grateful to be enjoying the beauty of Samos!

Pic of the Day

Ephesus

Izmir and Ephesus

Our smooth travels thus far become a little rougher as we left Cappadocia.  Our flight departed on schedule and arrived on time in Izmir.  Unfortunately the man who was supposed to be at the baggage claim with my name on a sign wasn't there.  After waiting quite a while, I assumed the car rental arrangement got mixed up somehow.  I started making plans for another car when the original car finally arrived.  After fiddling with the GPS for about half an hour, we finally got it to speak English and we headed for the apartment that would be our home for one night.  Unfortunately, the man who owns the apartment didn't give the full address and we ended up on the right street with no idea where to go.  A friendly shopkeeper finally tracked down our host.  The sleek-looking online photos of the apartment were nothing like the reality, and it was far from Leroy's standard of clean, but we were happy to finally get to the right place!  Unfortuantely, both Leroy and I have been hit with a bout of "Sultan's Revenge" (likely culprit: some unfriendly micro-organisms) which hasn't been pretty.  We rallied in the evening enough to walk through a creepy amusement park down the street.

This morning we headed for Ephesus (with me driving, again, since no automatics were available) and got there by late morning.  We had a fantastic time touring the ruins and learning more about the city of 200,000 that once existed by the Aegean Sea.  Over time, silt from a river filled in the harbor and eventually the town was five miles inland from the sea.  An earthquake did serious damage, and before long the whole city just got up and moved somewhere else.  The streets and columns and remains of buildings and ampitheatres are fascinating and quite photogenic.  The centerpiece is the Celcus Library, once one of the largest libraries in the Roman Empire.  It collapsed in the earthquake, but the facade has been reconstructed.  The heat was getting to Leroy and me, and we found the space behind the library doors to be cool, quiet, and restful, just like a library should be!  The Apostle Paul spent three years establishing a church in Ephesus before being chased away by worshippers of the god Artemaus.

We also visited the "Home of the Virgin Mary."  It is a shrine created out of an ancient stone house at the top of a mountain.  Tradition says that Mary spent her final years near Ephesus, and the mountaintop location of the shrine is an inspiring place to contemplate the life of Jesus' mother.  Hardly anyone believes that was really her home, though.    

We're in the city of Kusadasi, now, on the Aegean Sea close to Ephesus.  Tomorrow we leave Turkey bright and early by boat and arrive by ten on the Greek Island of Samos.  I walked along the waterfront this evening (alone - Leroy is still feeling pretty ill) and watched groups of men and teenagers with arms full of long-stemmed red carnations handing out flowers to all the women on the promenade.  I guess it's Mother's Day here in Turkey, too!