The magic of Meteora

28 November 2014 by Sara Holden Posted in Blog Tagged cave, extraordinaryplaces, Greece, Meteora, monastery, Theopetra 2 Comments

There are few places in the world, if any, where James Bond, religion and rock-climbing come together, but in a special place in Greece they do so, spectacularly.

The scale is monumental

The sacred monasteries of Meteora cling improbably to tiny cliff tops above the villages of Kastraki and Kalambaka. “Meteora” appropriately means “suspended in the air” in Greek and the monasteries have dominated the skyline for centuries. It is second only to Mount Athos as the most important religious site in the country.

If you want to access most of the monasteries you will have to cross bridges and hike steep steps

Looking down to the Plains of Thessaly

The area took on its holy mantle in a far more humble way, when hermits began to inhabit the caves in the sandstone peaks in the 9^th century. With barely any shelter and the occasional meal hoisted up to them from the villagers below, for nearly two centuries men climbed the cliff faces to commune with their god.

Some of the original hermit caves – at least they had a good view

The main hermit cliff face looks out across the plains

The dedication of the Meteora hermits can’t be doubted

By the 14^th century wealthy patrons helped religious communities literally “scale-up” to building monasteries.

The monasteries kept expanding until they became massive complexes on the mountain tops

The buildings appear to grow out of the rock

A system of ropes, pulleys, long ladders and medieval cargo nets brought building materials and supplies hundreds of meters up to the cliff tops.

The thin line and small box in the centre of the photo are part of the still-working ancient pulley system for transporting goods

Access to the monasteries was intentionally difficult – they did a good job!

The difficult access intentionally deterred visitors, but not the monks and by 1500 there were twenty-four monasteries. They were not only great builders, but also stunning artists and their iconography is considered some of the best in the world.

The monks painted brilliant but graphic stories in the churches

The artwork in the monasteries is considered to be some of the finest iconography ever produced

The paintings at San Stefanos convent are still being completed by a local artist

The communities flourished until the 17^th century. There are only four monasteries and two convents remaining from the original two dozen and like their locations, their survival is on a knife-edge.

Skulls and bones of the long departed monks of Megalo Meteoro monastery

There are only six inhabited monasteries left

This disused monastery is being slowly reclaimed by the mountain

None of the monasteries has more than three monks; one has just a single priest. The nuns, who took over two failed monasteries only a few decades ago are doing much better and number around forty.

The ruins of one of the ancient monasteries

Now the pilgrims come in tour buses, to marvel at the incredible dedication and skill of the men who made Meteora. Hollywood also could not resist the draw of such drama and the Holy Trinity monastery featured in the famous climbing scene in the James Bond movie For Your Eyes Only.

The monasteries blend into the rocks and autumn colours

The welcoming committee at every monastery

Meteora is said the be the inspiration for the Eyrie of Vale of the House of Arryn in Game of Thrones

Almost impossible to see amongst the trees and rocks, a cluster of monasteries in Meteora

And some of their punishments would befit the series. Errant monks were forced to live precariously on suspended platforms inside a cave in an isolated rock.

The punishment cave, with wooden platforms high up in the cave where monks were left to consider their sins

On our first day they were shrouded in damp, clinging mist that obscured even the closest buildings, giving it an eery feeling without the need for Hollywood props.

When the mist rolls in, the monasteries are lost in the clouds

Imagine how lonely it must have felt when the mist came down

But when the sun shines, the whole hillside glows.

The rocks glimmer and ripple with gold in the autumn

The landscape is certainly inspiring

Many of the monasteries may have now crumbled into the rocks that once held them aloft and the monks may have dwindled in number but the remaining buildings are a constant and fitting reminder of their history, extraordinary skills, passion and determination.

The monks of Meteora may be the most famous inhabitants of the area, but they are not the earliest, not by millennia.

The Theopetra cave

The Theopetra cave is also a unique habitat. Scientists say the cave has evidence of continuous occupation dating back from 50,000 years until 5,000 years ago; showing a transition from Neanderthal to modern humans, from hunter-gatherers to arable farmers. It includes a stone wall considered to be the oldest recorded man-made structure in the world, built 23,000 years ago to protect the cave dwellers from the cold winds of the ice age.

The Theopetra wall – the oldest known man-made structure in the world

One of the Theopetra cave dwellers

It also contains what Greek archaeologists claims to be the oldest recorded human footprints.

The Theopetra footprints

The cave dwellers are long gone and the monks may not be far behind them, but both communities have left their mark and allow us a fascinating insight into lives lived long ago in the extremes of nature.

Trading a tent for a trullo

21 November 2014 by Sara Holden Posted in Blog Tagged Alberobello, extraordinaryplaces, Italy, Puglia, trulli, trullo

We’ve stayed in Cathar castles and Berber tents, nylon tents and wooden cabins – all recognisable structures. But in the south-eastern quarter of Italy we stayed in a trullo.

The walls are so thick they resist the summer heat

The photo above already tells you the shape, but what else is there about these curious buildings, which started life as animal and machine stores and now are making a comeback as homes. We found ours on AirBnB, tucked away in an olive grove. The owner, Marco, lived in it for years, until his expanding family outgrew the space. We loved it! Check out the fantastic big, round bed in our big, round bedroom!

A trullo – or trulli in the plural – is a 19th century construct in the Murge region of Puglia. The walls are so thick they keep everything blissfully cool in the Mediterranean summers, but can be a bit chilly on an early autumn morning. Originally more shed than human shelter, houses began to be built by joining a series of trulli together in a compound, or a simple block in the same way that Marco has done.

The trullo part is the conical roofed section

Newer trulli glare white in the sunlight

Trulli-topped church in Alberobello

On the site of the trullo a cistern, or water tank was first dug. The large rubble from the excavation were often used to then raise the dry stone walls of the building, which was then topped off with the conical roof, made of stone tiles. Some, but not all, were then rendered and whitewashed. It is a surprisingly solid structure considered there is no “glue” to hold it together.

It is said that the keystone – the decorative knobbly bit on the roof pinnacle – used to be removeable, because in years gone by houses were only taxed if they had an enclosed roof. When the tax inspector was on his way, the keystone was lifted off and the tax bill was zero.

Different keystones top each trullo, depending on the owners preference

Different keystones were a mark of different builders. Alberobello, in central Puglia, is famous for its trulli. Many have painted symbols on their beehive roofs, but don’t be fooled by the tourist tales that they are ancient magical symbols; most were adopted in the last century and even more recently.

The trulli of Alberobello are a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Puglia is one of the least visited areas of Italy, especially for foreign tourists; Italians have been summering here for years. It is old-style and quirky, with olive groves and farms the mainstay alongside the Italian holidaymakers.

Olives are the other main economic driver in Puglia, along with tourism

The mighty olive

What great old Italian classics to be found in the olive grove

The Murge region of Puglia is still very rural

The trulli are presenting a boost to the economic, with an increase in the number of people buying up old buildings and converting them to live in or for holiday rentals.

The trulli village in Alberobello is a great tourist draw

Some are more successful than others….

Trulli attract tourists, but this hotel resort looks like it ran out of cash before completion

Yep, we can get the car in here!

……. but it is lovely peaceful area and if you get the chance to visit, don’t pass it by. It has the added advantage that you can get the overnight ferry to Greece from there…stand by for posts on our Hellenic adventures to begin soon!

Flaming like a meteor we hit the coast..

15 November 2014 by Sara Holden Posted in 2CV, Blog, Slide Show Tagged Amalfi, coast road, extraordinaryplaces, Italy, Positano, Steinbeck, UNESCO

a road high, high above the blue sea, that hooked and corkscrewed on the edge of nothing. A road carefully designed to be a little narrower than two cars side by side. And on this road, the buses, the trucks, the motor scooters and the assorted livestock. In the back seat my wife and I lay clutched in each other’s arms, weeping hysterically, while in the front seat Signor Bassano gestured with both hands.

Once during the war I came up this same lovely coast in the American destroyer Knight. We came fast. Germans threw shells at us from the hills and aircrafts splashed bombs at us and submarines unknown tried to lay torpedoes on us. I swear I think it was much safer than that drive with Signor Bassano.

This is how John Steinbeck described the wonders of the Amalfi coast road,which reduced him to a quivering wreck, back in 1953.

Forty-four years later that same road – yes, a road – was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO, as….

an outstanding example of a Mediterranean landscape, with exceptional cultural and natural scenic values resulting from its dramatic topography and historical evolution.

We are made of sterner stuff than Steinbeck, and thought it was a perfect place to blast around in Charlie Charleston and on a couple of scooters . The sun shone, the views are stunning and the cliff-clinging towns are gorgeous. Drive it, ride it, walk or take the bus – above all, enjoy the ride!

A tale of two cities, swallowed up by a volcano

14 November 2014 by Sara Holden Posted in Feature Tagged extraordinaryplaces, Herculaneum, Italy, Pliny, Pompeii, Vesuvius

We picnicked among the ruins of a city destroyed by a monstrous storm of fire and gases – the epitome of doing ordinary things in extraordinary places – and Pompeii and Herculaneum are truly extraordinary places.

Herculaneum is right in the centre of the town of Ercolana – it’s hard to see where one ends and the other begins

The forum in Pompeii

Pompeii was already a thriving small city when the Romans came to civilise it and the region. Built in the shadow of the fertile slopes of Mount Vesuvius, for a time life was good. An earthquake in AD 62 left large parts of the city and neighbouring Herculaneum in ruins. The rebuilding work can still be seen in some houses, with the white lines still visible on the walls, tracing the intended final images in readiness for the painters who never came.

The original sketch shows up next to the final picture

Many repairs were still being undertaken when the volcano spewed its deadly mess over the region seventeen years later. Tons of molten rock and ash flattened and then encased Pompeii, enclosing the city and its people in a tomb of pumice four metres thick.

Encased in volcanic debris

It was this deadly crust that preserved so much below it and has allowed us to now have a glimpse of life and death in Pompeii. Nearby Herculaneum, in those days considered a richer and more sophisticated city, escaped the crushing destruction of the ash and pumice, leaving many more of its buildings intact, but a pyroclastic storm cloud of super-hot rocks and gases swept through the streets. This deadly surge swept through streets and homes at 160 kmph at a temperature of 500 degrees celsius like a nuclear blast, vapourising people as they tried to escape. Archaeologists have found evidence that the heat wave was so intense it shattered teeth and bones in those who weren’t instantly vapourised.

Many Herculaneum residents perished in the archways as they tried to shelter from the fiery storm

August 24th AD79 had dawned bright and clear but soon, fire rained down on the town and the surrounding area as Mount Vesuvius erupted. It certainly is one of the more ironic twists of fate that Pompeians had spent August 23rd AD79 celebrating and making sacrifice to the god of fire to ward off disaster. He wasn’t listening.

Apollo’s temple in Pompeii – prayers to the gods went unheard on that day

Temple of Apollo, Pompeii

The forum at the centre of the city was as bustling that day as it is today.

The Forum would have bee bustling with life as Vesuvius exploded above them

The Forum would have been bustling with life as Vesuvius exploded above them

Within hours it was swallowed up. Houses rich with elegant décor were engulfed, along with their owners and even animals. Buildings collapsed under the sheer weight of the debris.

The elegant lines of an expensive mural

Even the arch of a public gateway is beautifully decorated

Red and black murals indicated great wealth

More luxurious murals in Pompeii

Ceiling decoration in one of Pompeii’s bath houses

Beware of the dog behind bars in Pompeii

The long shadows of Pompeii

In Herculaneum the rocks and gases flowed through the city streets, filling the building from the bottom up. Fortunately for us, the rubble supported buildings rather than collapsing them and we can see far more detail and examples of second storeys than in Pompeii. Even wooden beams remain, as well as a host of artifacts; many are now now stored in the Naples Archaeology Museum.

The upper floor of a merhcant house, with charred timbers, wall paintings and the brass corner of the bed still entacted

The upper floor of a merchant house, with charred timbers, wall paintings and the brass corner of the bed still entacted

The charred beams in Herculaneum

Richly painted upper walls in a Herculaneum villa

This was a grand house, and owned by a free man in Herculaneum

This was a grand house, and owned by a freed slave in Herculaneum

Tiny statues that survived the inferno

The colours are still vibrant to this day

These incredible historic sites tell us the story of everyday life in Roman times – how people lived, what they ate, the success of freed slaves, the lives of the rich and poor, almost side by side.

The cold room of the bath house in Pompeii

The fantastic bath house in Pompeii

Statues of terracotta Atlas’s decorate the bath house in Pompeii

The bath house must have looked incredible

Wall mosaics in Herculaneum

The remains of a beautiful mosaic decorating an ornamental alcove

Ancient trees and even older columns in Pompeii

The contrasts are as fascinating as the similarities. In Pompeii the roads filled with sewage and stepping stones were built to avoid the filth. In Herculaneum a strong porters union meant wagons were banned from the centre and only donkeys or porters allowed. The lack of stepping stones might suggest their hygiene was better too.

Deep grooves show the wagon tracks. Large stepping stones sit above the ruuning open sewers that were the streets of Pompeii

Smooth Herculaneum streets, courtesy of the porters union

One of the many thermopolis, or fast food stalls, in Herculaneum

Still used to this day – one of the amphitheatres of Pompeii

The two cities have taught archaeologists much about Roman life, from the temples to the much more temporal!

It is not surprising perhaps that one of the most visited buildings in Pompeii is the Lupanar, or wolf’s den – the main brothel. The queue outside today is probably longer than when it was a thriving business, but the amount of time you have to linger and admire what is on offer, is much shorter.

The queue for the brothel

The brothel bed – doesn’t look too comfy!

Frescoes above the tiny rooms depict the services supplied on the small stone beds. Pompeii was a cosmopolitan city, with many foreigner traders who did not speak the language, but clearly understood what was on offer from the pictures.

Erotic art from the brothel in Pompeii, on display in the Naples Archaeology Museum

The brothel is not the only place where erotic imagery can be found in Pompeii, in fact they seemed rather fond of it.

Not quite a welcome mat, but clearly a cheery hello! This erotica was placed right at the front door of the merchant’s house

Certainly it did not attract the prudery and censure that it did in later years. The Secret Room, or Cabinet in the Naples Archaeology Museum held a vast collection of erotic art, but was for privileged eyes only. It is only since 2000 that it has been open to the public!

The Roman erotic art distinguished men from women by skin colour – you would think there were other clues!

Some of the erotic art held in the Secret Room of the Naples Archaeology Museum

The Secret Room in the Naples Archaeology Museum is full of erotica and was kept locked until quite recently

The excavations tell us how the people of Pompeii and Herculaneum loved and lived. Letters written by Pliny the Younger, who observed the event from across the Bay of Naples tell how the volcano erupted and how the people died:

a darkness came that was not like a moonless or cloudy night, but more like the black of closed and unlighted rooms. You could hear women lamenting, children crying, men shouting. Some were calling for parents, others for children or spouses; they could only recognize them by their voices. Some bemoaned their own lot, other that of their near and dear. There were some so afraid of death that they prayed for death. Many raised their hands to the gods, and even more believed that there were no gods any longer and that this was one last unending night for the world.

The Pompeii site is huge – it is almost impossible to get around it in a day. Herculaneum, in contrast, is only a few city blocks and is restricted by the very fact that it is in the middle of Ercolana – the modern town that wraps itself around the ruins.

It is, however, better preserved in many areas.

It is incredible to think this has survived thousands of years and a volcano!

Imagine how his front room must have looked!

Neptune and friends on the floor of a Herculaneum bathhouse

As with Pompeii, many of the original mosaics and murals are on display at the Naples Archaeology Museum. The sheer scale of the treasure reclaimed from these two volcanic tombs is incredible.

A spectacular mosiac at a villa in Pompeii

A spectacular copy of a mosaic at a villa in Pompeii

The original floor mosaic from Pompeii, now in the Archaeology Museum

The skill of the artist on display in the Naples Archaeology Museum

Stunning mosiacs from Pompeii on display in the Naples Archaeology Museum

Stunning mosaics from Pompeii on display in the Naples Archaeology Museum

Something ornamental for the garden?

Some of the statues in the Naples Archeaology Museum are enormous

Rich colours come alive on display in the Naples Archaeology Museum

Remnants of beautiful wall art displayed in the Archaeology Museum

From vast statues to delicate glass bowls like these

Naples Archaeology Museum has a huge collection of artifacts from Pompeii & Herculaneum

While the museum now houses most of the findings from the sites, the original excavations in Pompeii and Herculaneum did not go well. Normally artifacts were retrieved, but the site left open to the elements once more.

The history of conservation at Herculaneum has not been a happy one

Pots of history just piled up in a store room

In recent decades much more work is being done to preserve the site as well as the content.

Restoration work goes on through the hole in the wall

Remedial work at Pompeii never ends

Much restoration work is being done in Pompeii

Today one of the biggest problems the archeologists face is the extreme weather and heavy rainfall that has affected the region in recent years. Millions of euros are being spent simply trying to keep the site from becoming waterlogged. It seems nature hasn’t finished with Pompeii and Herculaneum yet.

The art of politics in Sardinia

3 November 2014 by Sara Holden Posted in Blog, Slide Show Tagged bandits, extraordinaryplaces, graffiti, Italy, murals, Orgosolo, Sardinia

Perhaps the highest concentration of political graffiti in Europe and formerly known as the Village of the Murderers – so how come we have never heard of Orgosolo until now?

Orgosolo is a small town in the middle of Sardinia. A few thousand inhabitants and a sleepy feel to it, especially during the heat of the day.

Not the most revolutionary looking place

But it is the heat of battle, both political and personal, that has left its mark on Orgosolo – literally.

Calling the workers to unite against the government – an age-old demand

Illustrating the mistreatment of Sardinians by invading troops from Piedmont in the 1800s

Even the postcard shop is painted.

In the 1960s political cartoons and artwork began to appear on the town walls. What started as small-scale protests about Italy’s economic crisis, has blossomed into a concrete catalogue of protest against Italian and international politics. Hardly a wall remains untouched.

Issues from war, hunger, poverty, corruption and even shark-fining are writ large. Often they are in praise or defence of workers rights and the islands’ peasantry. The main picture at the top of this page calls for fertilisers, not bullets.

Another War? No thanks

Murals cover most walls in Orgosolo

Many images have more than a nod toward Picasso and other artists

The murals are not only in Orgosolo, there are more than 250 around Sardinia, but more than 60% decorate the narrow streets of Orgosolo.

Art is as common as street signs in Orgosolo

Ancient Wisdom

The murals are also painted on rocks across the island

When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said Let us pray. We closed our eyes. When we opened them, we had the Bible and they had the land – Desmnd Tutu

Some have been given a new lease of life as the same politics comes back around – boatloads of refugees heading across the Mediterranean are being faced with a so-called let-them-all-drown policy.

We are all immigrants declares the slogan

Many of the slogans are in Italian, but there are many also in Sardinian. Many are deeply ironic in either language. We have made our best Google translate attempts, but forgive the technology and us if we have got some of it wrong.

How many innocent people wll die before tyranny is ended?

Not sure what this one says, but it doesn’t look good and it’s probably the fault of America

Shades of Guernica amongst the window boxes

The street is named in honour of an Italian general. The mural condemns his military record

Amongst the great art there is also great irony. The island’s famous protests are displayed in the town that used to be the capital of Sardinia’s bandit country – rife with kidnap, extortion and even murder. Two relatively recent deaths of a former gangster-turned-poet and the local priest who preached against violence are perhaps a sign that Orgosolo’s walls may condemn violence and corruption, but its streets sometimes tell a different story.

The message reads – No to innocent victims, yes to peace, but is fading fast

Given the history of the island and the constant invasions over the centuries perhaps it is no surprise that there is fight as well as protest engraved in their heart and on their homes.

Happy are the people who do not need heroes