Return to Tel Aviv

     After Athens we returned to Tel Aviv.  Our trip to Italy and Greece was on Atalia Airlines but from Greece to Tel Aviv we flew Cyprus Air.  From Athens we flew to Larnaca, Cyprus, changed planes and continued to Tel Aviv.  I knew little about the Island of Cyprus and still don’t know much other than it is the third largest island in the Mediterranean.

     We arrived back in Tel Aviv early in the morning of Feb 24^th.  Dale’s flight to the US was early on the 26^th of February.  Back in Tel Aviv we had a studio apartment for a few days while Dale got ready to travel home.  This apartment was about 2 blocks from the beach and near an open air market where just about everything was sold, including food. 

     The afternoon of the 24^th, we took a taxi to Old Jaffa (Yafo).  Tel Aviv was built around Old Jaffa which predates it by about 7450 years. Yafo is mentioned in several books in the Bible.  It is an ancient port on the Mediterranean.  We went to visit the old city which is similar to the Old City of Jerusalem but with more modern and expensive shops.

Narrow streets of Old Jaffa

Tel Aviv beach area from Old Jaffa

     The 25^th was spent packing and strolling along the beach, wading in the Mediterranean and picking up small sea shells to take to the grandkids.

Tel Aviv hotel district along the beach

The Tel Aviv beach looking south toward Old Jaffa in the distance

     

     The temperature was about 80 degrees on the beach while it was snowing in Denver

with 8” of snow on the ground and temperatures in the 30’s.

   The day was sunny with a few clouds until we walked back to the beach to get a photo of the sunset.  By then the clouds had moved in to the west so our sunset photo has the sun hidden by clouds.  The sun set on this day and also on a trip of a lifetime for us.  As we reflected on all the amazing things we had seen and wonderful people we had met, we were most impacted by a conversation we had with a young Israeli man that we talked with while doing laundry.  When he learned that John was working on a project to hopefully find oil just off shore, he said, “Before we look for oil, my friend, we need to find peace.”  Please join us in prayer for peace for the people of this area and for people all over the world whose civilizations have been shaped by their history.

The sunset  is behind us and behind the clouds

     Dale has returned home and I have returned to the well offshore.  I will add more pictures to the blog from the well and rig, maybe try another sunset photo from out here with no clouds in the way. Then I hope to make a stop in Germany and France on my way home either after this rotation out of Israel or the next rotation.  I leave for home on April 4^th and will be returning to Israel on the 6^th of May.

Athens, Greece part 3

Because of poor bandwidth on this internet on the rig, I have had to divide the Athens blog into several parts.  This is the final part of three separate blogs.  

      Very near the Panathenaic Stadium is the Greek Parliament building which houses the Grave of the Unknown Soldier in front of it.   An honor guard of two Evzone (elite infantry unit of the Greek army), now the Presidential Guard, stand watch over the tomb.  Their ceremonial uniform dates back to Kephts who fought the Ottoman Turks.  Their uniform includes a fustanella, a kilt-like garment with 400 pleats representing the 400 years of Ottoman Turk occupation, white shirts with wide sleeves, a waist coat, white stockings, and red clogs with black pompoms.  They carry an M-1 Garand with a bayonet.  During the ceremonial changing of the guard they move slowly with high goose steps. Very impressive to watch the precision and how they can keep their balance when they stop with one leg vertical at waist height.

Honor Guard at the Greek Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

Changing of the Guard

     Our hotel was very near the Roman Forum of Athens  which contained one wall of Hadrian’s Library, the Tower of the Winds to honor the wind gods, and many remains of other buildings.

The  remains of the Roman Forum of Athens

A remaining wall of the Library of Roman Emperor Hadrian

Sights we observed while walking around Athens

Athens with Mars Hill in the foreground

A neighborhood and street between our hotel and the Acropolis

Olive Trees

Ancient Byzantine Church in an Athens square

A young street musician

Athens, Greece, part 2

     Because of poor band with on this internet on the rig, I have had to divide my original blog into separate blogs.  This is the second part of the original blog.

    After we left Mars Hill, we continued to the Ancient Agora (“gathering place”) of Athens.  During the classical period of Athens it was the home of Plato’s Akademia, Aristotle’s Lyceum, the birthplace of people like Socrates, Pericles and Sophocles.  The Agora was the center of this being the public space for commerce as well as political, religious and military activity in the city.  It originally contained many Stoas, long buildings where people set up their shops and sold their goods. The Stoa of Attalos was reconstructed in recent times and serves as a museum dedicated to the Agora.  An extensive water system runs through the area, still visible today as are the ruins or at least the foundations of many of the structures that were once there.  The most complete structure is the Temple of Hephaestus, a Greek temple which looks like a small version of the Parthenon. 

The Ancient Agora of Athens

Reconstructed Stoa of Attalos – a museum now

Greek potty chair in the Stoa museum

Temple of Hephaestus

     The principal road running through the Agora is the Panathenaic Way which was ancient Athens’ main street.  It was lined with important temples, legal buildings and businesses.  To walk along that road is to walk in the footsteps of people like Socrates, Aristotle and Plato.  Also serving as the main parade route, this is where every year in ancient Athens thousands of citizens would participate in a parade on  Athena’s birthday to take a new dress to adorn her statue at the Erechtheion. 

  

The Panathenaic Way

     We traveled to the Temple of Olympian Zeus, King of the Olympian Gods. This temple was started in 6 B.C. but not completed until the 2^nd century A.D., some 638 years later when the Roman Emperor Hadrian had it completed, making it the largest temple in Greece.  Little remains today of the short lived temple, as barbarians sacked it in the 3^rd century and it was never restored. Near it is Hadrian’s Arch, which resembles a triumphal Roman arch.  Built in honor of the Emperor Hadrian, it spanned an ancient road from the center of Greece past the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

Remains of the Temple of Olympian Zeus

Roman Emperor Hadrian’s Arch

     Continuing past these sites, we came to the Panathenaic Stadium, the oldest stadium in the world made entirely of white marble. It is where the ancient athletic events, the first Olympics, took place.  Originally built of wood, in 367 BC it was rebuilt using  white marble then enlarged in 140 AD to a seating capacity of 50,000.  It was reconstructed  for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.  It houses the eternal flame used in all Olympic games.  The area where the ancient athletes trained and dressed is now a museum with posters and an Olympic torch from each of the modern games. 

Panathenaic Stadium

View of the Acropolis from the Stadium

Athens, Greece part 1

     The next stop on our trip was Athens, Greece.  Because of weather and being the month of February, we opted to spend our time in Athens and not try to get to the Greek islands.

     Athens is an amazing place.  You couldn’t walk more than a couple of blocks without encountering ruins, either Greek or Roman.  Our hotel was in the Plaka district which is very close to the Acropolis (“high city”) and many of the major ancient sites.  We could easily walk to where we wanted to go.  The hotel we stayed in had a rooftop lounge where, at night, you had an incredible view of the Acropolis. It was lit up and looked like a painting.

Click on each photo to enlarge it.

The Acropolis at night from our hotel roof lounge

     We kept track of the weather during our trip and planned our outings accordingly --museums during rain, outdoor sights when the weather was good.  Luckily in Athens we only had one rainy morning and it was over early.

     Of course, the Acropolis is the principal attraction in Athens.  As high as it looks in the photograph, it wasn’t a bad walk to the top from the other side.  Walking is the only means of transportation up the hill at this time of year. They have an elevator for handicapped that operates during the summer.

     The entrance to the Acropolis is the Propylae, designed as a “grand gate” to put  ancient visitors in awe before ever seeing the Parthenon.   Beside it is the Temple of Athena Nike. Once inside the entrance, the Parthenon is in front of you and to your right is the Temple of the Erechtheion.  Legend says this was the spot where Athena and Poseidon fought for naming rights to the city.  Athena won by stabbing a rock with her spear, causing an olive tree to sprout near the Porch of the Caryatids on the south side.  Also called the Porch of the Maidens, it consisted of six beautiful maidens which formed the columns on that side of the temple.  In ancient times the 30 foot tall statue of Athena Promachos stood in the Erechtheion.

The Propylae

The Temple of the Erechtheion

Porch of the Caryatids (Porch of the Maidens)

     The Parthenon is the largest structure on the Acropolis. It was a temple dedicated to the maiden goddess Athena and considered the finest temple in the ancient world.  Due to deterioration and the stupidity of man, much of it has disappeared over the ages.  In 1687 the Ottoman Turks used the Parthenon to store ammunition which was ignited during a Venetian bombardment.  In 1806 while still under Ottoman Turk rule, Thomas Bruce, the 7^th Earl of Elgin purchased many of the surviving sculptures from the Ottomans and in 1816 sold them to the British Museum where they are still on display today.  Since 1983 the Greek government has been trying to have them returned but with no success.

The Parthenon

The Theater of Dionysus

     After visiting the Acropolis, we walked down to Mars Hill which is where the Apostle Paul preached to the Greeks as told in the Book of Acts.

Apostle Dale preaching, which she often does, at her husband! 

         Due to slow internet and bandwidth, I am having to divide this blog into more than one blog.  Once all blogs are posted, you will see the last one first and the first one last, unless I can figure out a way to switch the order of all my blogs..