Wednesday, May 20, 2015

Day 26- Nafplion

Since we've been on the road for 25 days, it's about time we take a day for ourselves to tour the city on our own, go to the beach, and climb 888 steps to the top of the city! Here's what I did personally today (though everyone else will have a slightly different story).


These pieces of pottery came from the Nafpion Archeological Museum (along with the next few photos).  The pot on the bottom right is probably the most interesting, as it is one of the first attempts of those in the Neolithic world at refrigerator.  The pot could actually be partially buried underground where it is cooler, and the contents could still be accessed easily.
 

This floor painting was found in the Mycenaean city of Tiryns only a few kilometers from the citadel of Mycenae which we visited two days ago.  If you notice, the paintings are of two dolphins facing away from each other. How cool!
 

These burial trinkets are rather interesting as they were made into the shape of Greek letters.  The ones that look like they are seated are called taf (T), the ones with arms up are the psi (PS), and the ones with arms crossed are phi (F).
 

Speaking of Tiryns, here is a model of the city.  Just see how tall those fortification walls are. Have fun scaling that!
 

This bronze body armor suit and boar's tusk helmet may be the most famous piece in the entire museum.  This piece and all the pottery beneath it were found in a tomb of a soldier.  The interesting bit here is the blue tint to the boar tusk helmet, as boar tusk is usually pure white.  The most likely scenario is that the helmet was burned in some sort of fire, either before the piece was discovered or as it was being excavated (as oxygen rushes into the tomb, any small spark could set a fire), causing the blue color.

And some photos of the city from ground level (trust me, there are plenty of elevation photos too!)
 



For some it was a beach day in Karathona, only a short 20 minute drive from our hotel. I heard the water was as calm as a lake with hardly any waves; perfect for wading and swimming!
 



As promised, here's the photos of the Palamidi Fortress, some 888 steps above the level of the city of Nafplion.  It was originally constructed in 1711 by the Venetians who had originally occupied this area, but before it could be finished completely the Ottoman Turks invaded the fortress, kicking out the original builders and finishing the construction.  However, this is the sight of supreme significance to Greek independence as well, as Nafplion was the first capital city of Greece and the start of the war for Greek independence from the Ottomans, overtaking the Fortress and using it for the remainder of the war.  You can see how well-positioned it is, with a view of the land and sea surrounding it (the view of the city was amazing!).
 





And now for the HIGHLIGHTS!

A big thanks to Shelby and Kelly for their presentations on Greek Independence from Turkey and Greek Orthodox Churches and Byzantine Art respectively.  Great job!
 


Another highlight from me... I definitely got lost in the fortress and wandered around for a while trying to find the group. Thank goodness I had by worry beads with me!

Until tomorrow in Olympia, ECGT signing off!

3 comments:

  1. Aww, someone hug Kelly for us. We miss her terribly and this picture just makes us smile. Glad you are having such a wonderful experience and we are enjoying this blog throughly.
    G&S Johnson ( or tell her anonymous)

    ReplyDelete
  2. You get lost in a fortress, I get lost in Prague... Wow, we suck

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  3. Thank you for sharing your beautiful experience. Ii anyone is planning holidays to Greece and Turkey then you must choose the best Greece and Turkey Package which fits perfectly in your budget.

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