The high priestesses of Delphi

6 December 2014 by Sara Holden Posted in Blog Tagged Apollo, Delphi, extraordinaryplaces, Greece, Oracle, Pythia

We try not to offend any culture, but worshipping a woman who’s stoned all day, mumbles incoherently and then takes all your money? Come on Delphi, what were you thinking?

Delphi is most famous for its Oracle – priestesses who apparently spent their days inhaling vapours from the earth, after which they would make their pronouncements. Kings and emperors travelled great distances and paid large amounts of money to have their questions answered, making the priestesses among the most powerful women in the ancient world.

The Oracle sat in this temple, inhaling fumes from the earth before giving judgement

The dark art of divination at Delphi

The priestesses, or sibyl, were also known as the Pythia and were considered the mouthpiece of the god Apollo, whose temple is at the centre of Delphi. They, in turn, used priests to translate their words to the petitioners.

The temples were cut from the very stones that surrounded the site

On this system rested the outcome of great wars, crucial political manoeuvres, valuable business deals and even family life!

While it might seem incredible now, it seemed to work for them then. The Pythia were said to be infallible and any outcome that did not match their prediction was blamed on a failed interpretation, not a failed prediction. These inevitably successful predictions meant Delphi became a hugely important and wealthy city.

The remains of the powerful temple of the Oracle at Delphi

This sphinx crouched on top of one of the main pillars at the sanctuary

It hosted one of the fore-runners of the modern Olympic games every four years – the Delphic Games. Treasuries were built to house the immensely valuable votives, or offerings, that were brought to the Pythia.

Valuable offerings were stored in numerous treasury buildings near the temple

The remains of this sheet silver life-size bull were excavated from the site and the charioteer must have looked incredible when his statue was first presented.

One of the greatest gifts given to the Oracle

The charioteer

Mapping the archaeological fragments

Even the very walls of Delphi had power and influence. Manumissions – legal contracts to give slaves their freedom – were carved into the walls. Legally slaves could never be freed, but owners who wanted to grant them the favour used an ancient loophole and “sold” their slaves to Apollo. The slave no longer had to live and work under the owner’s roof, but was still technically “owned” by someone. A thousand manumissions have been recorded on the walls at Delphi.

Manumissions chiselled into the temple walls and legally binding

Today the location is still inspiring for that kind of forward thinking and the sheer power it wielded, as well as the stunning location cut into Mount Parnassus. We suspect the Pythia have taken feline form and they roam the site in their hundreds, muttering to themselves and being paid in expensive bagels. We think the priestesses would have approved.

The new priestesses of Delphi

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!

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

The roads from Rome

23 October 2014 by Sara Holden Posted in Blog Tagged chianti, extraordinaryplaces, Florence, Italy, Lake Bolsena, Sardinia, Siena

Italy gave us a wonderful welcome when we arrived for the first time with our beautiful breakdown in March, and our second visit is giving just as much delight, but considerably less mechanical trouble!

We travelled by motor rail to Livorno – the same town we sailed into from Morocco six months ago. This time we immediately headed south.

We spent the day driving through chianti country, passing great cities such as Orvieto, a favourite of the popes during difficult times because of its position high on an escarpment.

Ivy and vines combine

In the Chianti region all roads lead to a vineyard

Vines heavy with grapes as far as the eye can see in Chianti

Where chianti begins

Orvieto on its hillside pedestal

While Italy has of course created some beautiful machines, like Geoff’s favourite Ducati motorbike, it is the art that is even more memorable. Mark Twain once said that God made Italy from designs by Michelangelo. In Florence many of Michelangelo’s most famous works are on display inside and outside some of the great palaces and museums of the city.

The copy of David, standing where the real thing was originally placed

The magnificent duomo of Florence

The Florence duomo looms large wherever you look

The campanile in Florence

But he is not alone. Some of the most famous artists of the Renaissance period plied their trade and left their mark in Italy. You don’t have to queue to see it either – the Loggia dei Lanzi is a free, open-air gallery next to the Uffizi museum with works like this from Cellini, who reputedly burned his own furniture to get the furnace hot enough to melt the bronze for his statue of Perseus!

Great art in an open air museum in Florence

Grand Duke Ferdinand Medici riding high in Florence

Giambologna’s famous Rape of the Sabine was chiselled from a single piece of white marble – apparently the largest single piece of stone brought to Florence at the time and the first sculpture specifically designed to be looked at from many different perspectives, rather than a single point of view. The word rape in ancient times did not have the same meaning as it does today. It meant capture or kidnap – admittedly also not good – and the statue tells the story of how Romulus and his male followers kidnapped women from the rival Sabine tribe in order to populate Rome.

The rape of the Sabine sculpture in Florence

The “white giant” as the Neptune fountain by Ammannati was rather unflatteringly called when it was first unveiled, has a history of misfortune is Florence. It has been repeatedly vandalised even in recent times and in ancient times was used as a giant laundry bowl. Not really the fate that great art should suffer.

Neptune has had some bad luck in Florence

In truth we preferred the smaller, yet elegant Siena to Florence. Siena sits high on a hill and even though perhaps is most noted for the insane horse race run twice a year in the summer around the small central piazza.

Siena skyline, including the magnificent duomo

Siena’s main square is actually shell-shaped and flows downward towards the palazzo

Siena’s duomo, or cathedral, is vast

Siena’s cathedral, or duomo, is a lavish affair

Siena’s cathedral would have been the largest in the world, if they had finished it. This is the leftover end wall

Siena was founded according to legend, by the son of Remus, slain by his brother Romulus – who went on to build and name Rome

There are ten local teams, each with their distinctive flags, who compete in the Palio. The jockeys and horses are only selected during the practise session the days before the race. On race day, the little piazza is crammed with spectators, from every window and balcony and in the centre of the square.

Siena’s piazza is divided into nine sections to form a shell-shaped space

Siena’s palazzo marks the start and end of the race

The Palio lasts a mere 90 seconds, and there are no rules. Beating rival horses and jockeys is common and has prompted calls for the centuries old tradition to be ended, but the local vested interests as too great for that to happen anytime soon.

Siena’s snail team is doing surprisingly well in the annual horse race

Siena’s flags are never lowered

It was a very different sport that we encountered after leaving Siena. We spent two days at the Lake Bolsena, happening across the World Carp Fishing competition.

Bolsena

And they are just as serious as any horse racer! The lake has two small islands in the centre – the larger – Bistenia housed a prison for heretics but is now owned by Princess Beatrice Spada Potenziani!

Lake Bolsena is one of the largest volcanic lakes in Europe

There was no sign of any eruptions during our visit, the glassy smooth surface was a treat for us and the fishermen – and carpe diem they did!

The light and clouds shimmer and shade across Lake Bolsena

The carp fisherman at work on the shores of Lake Bolsena

After our week in Rome, which we have already shared with you, we headed back out to sea and Sardinia was our next stop.

Sardinian sunrise

It was early in the morning when we arrived in Olbia.

The mountains begin to emerge from the Sardinian mist

We didn’t expect to see flamingos appearing out of the mist, so close to the town. Apparently they really can only eat with their heads upside down!

Sardinian flamingos

Sardinia is a huge island, second only to Sicily as the largest in the Mediterranean. It is mountainous, sometimes rather sparse and scrubby, but also rocky and dramatic, with a dark history in parts.

The mountains of Sardinia give great drama to the island

Styles over fences in Sardinia

We spent a fascinating afternoon in Orgosolo, about which we will post a separate story; came across a strange picnic in the woods of people sitting amongst trotting pigs, while chewing on huge lumps of pork;

The strange picinic in Sardinia

Sardinian sausage dog chases soon-to-be sausage

dodged sheep and cow traffic hazards (again!);

Sardinia is pretty laid back

Sardinian sheep dogs do all the work without the shepherds here

but mainly just lazed around the rocky coastline, soaking up the winter sunshine – a lovely holiday from our travelling!

Geoff relaxing in Sardinia

Strolling across a Sardinian beach

Wind surfing in Sardinia

The Sardinian tower across the bay from our campsite at dusk

From Sardinia we struck southward again and are currently enjoying the pleasures of the Amalfi coast, Pompeii and Sorrento – stay tuned for more Italian adventures.