Europe Travel - Part 49

The Castle of the Moors

Sintra, Portugal

by Ana Astri-O’Reilly

From the train I can see one seemingly small turret on top of a hill. And then another. Then I see that they are joined by a wall. The effect is that of a saddle. They are so high up that it makes me wonder how I will ever reach the castle. The train comes to a halt at Sintra, the end of the line. I look up: the turrets don’t look any closer. Maybe taking the bus is a good option.

Once I pay for my ticket at the ticket office housed in a trailer, I follow the signs and go through the turnstile. I walk past some workers manning a zip line that allows them to bring up wood planks and other constructions materials from down below for restoration work at the castle. I follow the signs along the path.

I walk past the chapel and a memorial, the medieval tombs, the big stone silos and the water cisterns on my way towards the battlements. I’m amused by the Traitors’ Gate, an impossibly small entrance. I wonder how it got its name.

Once I reach the battlements, I can see undulating land disappearing in the distance beyond the stone walls. The Portuguese flag and the Moorish banner flutter in the cool winter breeze. It felt damp and cold in the shade but warm –too warm to wear a jacket- out in the sun. The turrets and keep glowed in the afternoon light, in sharp contrast with the darkness created by the dense vegetation below.

The battlements are narrow and low and the stone steps, worn. There are no railings either. It is quite an adventure to go from one turret to another. If somebody is coming in the opposite direction, one of you will have to flatten against the wall to give way to the other.

The Moorish invaders began to build what is now known as the Moorish Castle (Castelo dos Mouros) in the 8th century. Its vantage point at the top of the hill is a perfect defensive position. It’s easy to imagine the sentries marching along the walls, keeping an eye out for the Christian armies. And it is equally easy to picture the hosts of King Afonso VI swarming up the hills in 1093 in a successful attempt to take Sintra from the Moors. The fortress changed hands between Moors and Christians a few times more until Lisbon was conquered by Dom Afonso Henriques (the first king of Portugal) in 1147, when the Moors surrendered the castle to him.

The Moors were able to withstand siege with fresh water from the springs, which they channeled into the cisterns, with the grain that they stored in the silos and because the castle was impregnable. However, it was impregnable on only three sides. Its Achilles heel is the sloping woods. It’s not difficult to see how Dom Afonso was able to override their defenses and storm the fortress. The chapel of S. Pedro de Canaferrim was added to the castle after the conquest as the parish seat.

The castle, as so much in Portugal, is an intriguing mix of Christian and Moor.

Private Sintra Tour from Lisbon with Wine Tasting and Moorish Castle

If You Go:

Getting there:
♦ Sintra is located about 20 miles northwest of Lisbon.
♦ Rossio Station (Linha de Sintra) 39 minute ride. Trains depart every 15 minutes, and at the time of writing the fare was €2.05 each way.
♦ At Sintra Station take the number 434 bus -run by Scotturb- to Castelo dos Mouros. It runs in a loop called Circuito da Pena. It goes up and down the hill stopping at each attraction. A return ticket was €5.00 at the time of writing. The castle can be reached on foot from Sintra but the lack of sidewalks and too many bends make it somewhat treacherous. The bus is a safer and faster option.

Sources:
Parques de Sintra www.parquesdesintra.pt
Comboios de Portugal – Linha de Sintra www.cp.pt

About the author:
Ana Astri-O’Reilly is originally from Argentina and now lives in Texas. She worked as a translator and foreign language instructor in her native Buenos Aires. Now she is a contributing editor at PocketCultures.com and writes about travel on the blog Ana Travels (anatravels.com). She speaks fluent Spanish, English and some Portuguese.
Facebook: www.facebook.com/anatravels
Twitter: twitter.com/anaoreilly
Travel blog (English) anatravels.org
Food blog (English) foodtrailsandtales.wordpress.com
Blog personal (castellano) apuntesideasimagenes.wordpress.com/

Photo credits:
All photos are by Ana Astri-O’Reilly.

Impressions of Homer’s Ithaka

Ithaka, Greece

by W. Ruth Kozak

We approached the coast of this island and brought our ship into the shelter of the haven without making a sound. Some god must have guided us in…”
– Homer, The Odyssey

The ferry rounds Ithaka’s rocky headland into a secret cove. Pretty houses cluster on the slopes of the low hills that surround a horseshoe-shaped bay. The town of Vathi is hidden. You don’t know it is there until you round the arm of the harbor.

Ithaka is an island that ‘happens’ to you. Its curious atmosphere eludes those who would try to pin it down with facts, archaeological and otherwise. Along the island’s rugged coastline are pebbled beaches of moonlike opalescence with water clear as platinum. The ocean, mirror-still one moment can turn to a raging tempest. Ithaka’s hillsides are scented with wild sage and oregano, dotted with vibrant wild-flowers and silvery olive groves. And surrounding the tranquil orchards and vineyards are the high menacing mountains. Homer described it as “an island of goat pastures rising rocklike from the sea.” Although there are no remains to confirm that the plateau of Marathia was the site of Eumaeus’ pig sties, or that the port town of Vathi corresponds to ancient Phorcys where the Phaecians navigated Odysseus, to most of the island’s inhabitants, Homer’s legend is enough to sustain the imagination.

Life on Ithaka is quiet. There is no nightlife and very few buses run between the villages. Consequently, taxi drivers do a brisk business. Of the population of 2500, most are elderly and retired people. Most young people leave, preferring life in mainland cities for school and work. Those who do remain, mix agriculture with tourism, but the season is only for two months. The Ithakans want more tourism, but they hope to attract mainly a mature public who can appreciate the island’s unique history.

Ithakans are known as great navigators and explorers. “The Odyssey” written by the blind poet Homer in the late 7th century BC, depicts the political, cultural and social life of the island during that time. According to tradition, Homer had lived there when he was very young, so he was later able to describe it with such great detail.

Teams of archaeologists have been digging around the island, looking for evidence of Homer’s Ithaka and Odysseus’ Bronze Age city. I visit the Cave of the Nymphs where a team of American archaeologists and students are busy sifting and sorting through rubble brought up from a ten meter pit. This cave is believed to be the one where Odysseus hid the gifts given to him by the Phaecians when he returned home after his long, arduous voyage. There were originally two caves in two levels, but they have been collapsed by an earthquake. The cave has two entrances, so it fits the description in The Odyssey. Homer says it was a cave dedicated to the Nymphs. The cave has been used as a religious site, so in this way it fits with the Odyssey. These excavations may help identify the location of Homer’s Ithaka.

The site, four kilometers from Vathi, is closed to the public, but I am allowed entry into the dank, cavernous mouth, to look down into the deep pit where the treasures were hidden. I’m not allowed to take photos, and specific questions such as “Have you found anything yet?” go unanswered.

Is Ithaka the Homeric Ithaka? German archaeologists have claimed that the island of Lefkada is really the island Homer described. Why would Odysseus have his kingdom a small island such as Ithaka?

On my way to the town of Stavros, I am driven past the rock-strewn remains of what is believed to be the Bronze Age city. According to Homer’s description, Odysseus’ palace was located at a spot overlooking three seas, and surrounded by three mountains. This location, on the Pilikata Hill, fits the description.

At the town of Stavros, a market town, I am introduced to the curator of the museum, who gives me a personal lecture about all the artifacts. She shows me various objects with roosters, symbolic of Odysseus, and bits of boar’s tusks fashioned into helmets. From the cave of Loizos which collapsed in the 1953 earthquake, there are bronze tripods of the type Odysseus was supposed to have hidden and a fragment of a mask marked “Blessings to Odysseus.” There is also a statuette depicting Odysseus tied to a ship’s mast so that he can resist the siren’s seductive song.

Back in Vathi, I walk along the port to my pension. Cafes animate the harbour. The summer evening is scented with the blue smoke of grilling kebabs and fresh-caught fish. In the harbour are yachts from all over the Mediterranean. I am reluctant to leave this extraordinary island.

The next day, I travel by taxi to the northern port of Frikes and board a ferry bound for Lefkada. As the ferry sets sail across the straits, a pod of dolphins frolic alongside. The white limestone cliffs of Ithaka’s shoreline are striped by eerie silvery pink and blue lights. A light breeze stirs the water. I think of Odysseus’ wife, Penelope, and how she waited all those years for him to return I will not soon forget this journey. Ithaka is a place that will draw me back again, too.

If You Go:

♦ Ferries run daily from the port of Patras, or neighboring islands Kefalonia and Lefkada.
♦ Buses run daily from Athens Kiffisiou Street depot, connecting with the ferry at Patras.
♦ Accommodations are available in private homes and hotels on Ithaka. No camping is allowed.

About the author:
Ruth is a historical-fiction writer who combines her research trips with travel writing. On this visit to Ithaka she was lucky to be escorted to the Odysseus site by the mayor of Ithaka, and introduced to the archaeologist, Sarantis Symeonoglou who was in charge of the digs at the Cave of the Nymphs for the Odysseus Project which began in 1988 under the auspices of Washington University. See more of her writing at: www.ruthkozak.com

All photographs are by W. Ruth Kozak.

They’re Greek to Me!

Southern Italy and Sicily

by Troy Herrick

Centuries before the Romans conquered southern Italy and Sicily, the Greeks had already colonized the hospitable coastlines here. The Greek population was so large that the Romans referred to these two regions as Magna Grecia (Greater Greece). The process of settling Greater Greece was the original “How the West was Won”.

Paestum on the Italian mainland plus Agrigento and Syracuse on Sicily are the three best Greek settlements for touring. Paestum has three of the most complete Greek temples in Italy. Agrigento boasts the Valley of the Temples; Syracuse showcases an ancient Greek theatre and several temple sites. Each of these UNESCO World Heritage Sites also has a museum displaying a wealth of Greek items. All three sites are easily accessible and make for great day trips into the past.

Paestum

Greeks established Paestum in 600 BCE as “Poseidonia” in honor of their sea god Poseidon. The Lucanians would conquer this city two centuries later but not before its Hellenic residents built three temples, now some of the best preserved in Italy.

All three temples face eastward, presumably to allow the rising sun to shine on any deity statues inside. Furthermore, they are close together on flat terrain which allows for easy comparison. Having these three large structures so close to the road as you arrive is intimidating. You almost feel like their respective deities are still inside demanding your worship and sacrifices.

The Temple of Hera at the southern end of the archeological site was built around 550 BCE. All of the fifty greyish sandstone columns forming the peristyle remain upright. Unusual for temples at other Greek cities, remnants of a small sacrificial altar grace the front of the structure rather than the interior.

The neighboring Temple of Poseidon, dating to 450 BCE, is the largest and best preserved structure on site. Thirty-six honey brown travertine columns form the peristyle. This temple reflects the transition between the Archaic and later Doric styles. Again the remains of two altars are located in front of the structure. Only the larger altar is of Greek origin; the smaller is Roman.

The grey limestone Temple of Ceres, built about 500 BCE, is a short walk to the north. This temple with 34 columns is the first anywhere in the Greek world to display a transition between the Doric and later Ionic styles. Remnants of an altar are found in front of this temple as well. Three medieval Christian tombs were installed under the floor indicating that this temple was once a Christian church.

The Ekklesiasterion is located just inside the park fence, opposite the museum. The circular, limestone oratory was the site of democratic assembly for this city-state. This low-lying structure has 10 levels of seats.

Cross the road to the Archeology Museum of Paestum. This museum features local objects collected from the Greek, Lucanian and finally the Roman periods. Prized Greek items include metopes taken from another Temple of Hera several kilometres north of Paestum, 6th century BCE bronze vases decorated with rams and sphinxes, black and brown pottery, bronze helmets and breast plates.

Agrigento

The Valley of the Temples at Agrigento is all that remains of the ancient Greek city of “Akragas”. Founded in 582 BCE, residents would construct eight temples over the next century. Of these, only five are accessible on site.

Your step back in time begins with a panoramic view of ancient structures peeking out from behind groves of trees to pique your curiosity. The five Doric temples, in various states of disrepair, are set on a ridge and not in a valley. Arriving on site, you find that the park is divided into two separate sections, each with its own entrance.

The Temple of Concordia, constructed around 430 BCE is the best preserved. All 34 honey brown calcarenite columns remain standing. This structure was saved from destruction because it was transformed into a Christian basilica in 597 CE. A Christian necropolis used between the 3rd and 6th centuries CE is located nearby.

The Temple of Hera stands at the highest point of the ridge. Twenty five of its 34 honey brown calcarenite columns remain standing, making it the second best preserved temple in the park. This temple was constructed between 450 and 440 BCE.

Long ago earthquakes toppled the remaining three temples. Much of their debris was recycled for other structures in the area. The temple of Heracles is the oldest of these three temples, having been constructed about 500 BCE. Eight of its original 38 honey brown columns were partially restored in 1923 by the Englishman Alexander Herdenstel.

Exit this side of the park to visit the last two temples. The first is the Temple of Castor and Pollux (Dioscuri). Four of the 34 honey brown columns remain standing amidst fruit-laden olive trees. Here visitors find that Greek-style columns were not one solid cylinder. Rather they were assembled from several cylindrical drums. The end of one of these drums features a square indentation. A wooden peg may have been set in this indentation as a means of aligning and stabilizing the drums as they were stacked one upon the other. Visitors should note that some of the drums on site may have belonged to other structures at one time.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus is now in total ruins but in its time it was the largest Doric temple ever constructed. History records that construction was never fully completed. Unlike many other Greek temples of the period, the spaces between its columns were walled in. This was in part facilitated by incorporating 25-foot high human figures known as telamons to support the building. The telamon on site is only a copy; one of the originals is exhibited in the Archaeology Museum.

You can put the Valley of the Temples into perspective with a tour of the Archeology Museum.

This museum displays Agrigento-area objects from the pre-historic to Roman periods. Greek items include black and orange figured pottery, sarcophagi, coins, a bronze warrior helmet, wall paintings and 5th century BCE statues of various deities. You can also study a scale model of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Note that each telamon only fills the upper half of each space between the columns. When you finish with the museum, tour the ruins on the grounds.

Syracuse

Syracuse was founded by the Greeks in 734 BCE. By 413 BCE, it had become the most powerful Greek city in the ancient world after defeating Athens in a great sea battle. Reminders of its Hellenic heritage are found throughout the city.

Arriving at the Neapolis Archeological Park you find little evidence of any ancient structures within. Your first impression is that of a quarry. Appearances are deceiving as the park actually includes the largest Greek theatre in Sicily. This theatre is hidden from view by trees. You only discover the structure when you arrive on site. Carved out of a limestone hill in the 6th century BCE, this theatre held 15,000 spectators in 67 rows of seats. A tunnel around the periphery may have allowed people to enter and exit the theatre quickly. The upper level of the structure features a number of arches carved out of the solid rock as small “grottos”. One of these holds a small waterfall inside. Compare this Greek theatre to the nearby 3rd century CE Roman amphitheatre. The Greek theatre is semicircular and open while the Roman structure is oval and enclosed.

A short walk outside the park brings you to the Paolo Orsi Regional Archeology Museum. Recovered items date from the mid Bronze Age to the 5th century BCE and include Greek statuettes, orange and black glazed pottery, spear points, ax heads and a sickle. Scale models of the Temples of Athena and Apollo put the remnants of these local structures into perspective.

Leave the Museum and walk to Ortygia Island, the historic center of Syracuse, for more Greek history. Your first destination is the remains of the 6th century BCE Doric Temple of Apollo. Only two of its 42 grey limestone columns and a section of wall remain standing. This temple is in a serious state of disrepair after last having been used as a church during the Norman period almost one thousand years ago. The temple grounds are fenced off from the public.

A short walk away, you find a 7th century CE Duomo decorated with a Baroque façade. Inside, ten greyish brown columns have been incorporated into the side walls of the nave. These columns are all that remains of the 5th century BCE Doric Temple of Athena.

In Summary

Paestum, Agrigento and Syracuse are three different perspectives of ancient Greek society. Their respective colonists were intent on permanent settlement and except for Paestum they were largely successful. None of these sites were cultural backwaters. Residents built all the amenities for self-sufficiency and eventually achieved a level of sophistication that was comparable to the cities that they left behind in their homeland.

Paestum Greek Ruins Private Tour

If You Go:

Paestum

♦ Paestum is 85 kilometers south east of Naples (39 kilometers south of Salerno) and is accessible by train. The train station is a 15-minute walk from the archeological site. Purchase the combination pass to the archeological site and the Archeology Museum of Paestum. The cost was 6.50 Euros at the time of my visit.
♦ Visitors cannot enter any of the temples at Paestum.

Agrigento

♦ Agrigento is 2 hours from Palermo by train.
♦ Take buses 1, 2 or 3 from the Agrigento train station to the Valley of the Temples. The bus fare was 1 Euro at the time of my visit.
♦ Purchase the combination pass for the Valley of the Temples and the museum. The cost was 10 Euros at the time of my visit.
♦ Visitors cannot enter any of the temples at Agrigento.
♦ The Archeology Museum is approximately 500 meters from the Valley of the Temples on Via dei Templi as you walk back toward Agrigento.

2-hour Private Valley of the Temples Tour in Agrigento

Syracuse

♦ Syracuse in at the end of the train line that also includes Messina, Taormina and Catania. Purchase the combination pass for the Neapolis Archeological Park (Parco Archeologico della Neapolis) and the Paolo Orsi Regional Archeology Museum (Museo Archeologico Regionale “Paolo Orsi”). The cost was 9 Euros at the time of my visit.
♦ The Neapolis Archeological Park is located at Via Del Teatro (off the intersection of Corso Gelone and Viale Teocrito).
♦ The Paolo Orsi Regional Archeology Museum is located at Viale Teocrito 66 approximately, 500 meters from the Parco Archeologico della Neapolis.
♦ The Temple of Apollo is located in the Piazza Pancali at Largo XXV Luglio and Corso Umberto in Ortygia.
♦ The Duomo is located in the Piazza Duomo.

Private tour to Syracuse – Archaeological Park and Ortigia with option of Food and Wine tasting

About the author:
Troy Herrick, a freelance travel writer, has traveled extensively in North America, the Caribbean, Europe and parts of South America. His articles have appeared in Live Life Travel, International Living, Offbeat Travel and Travel Thru History Magazines. He also penned the travel planning e-book entitled ”Turn Your Dream Vacation into Reality: A Game Plan for Seeing the World the Way You Want to See It” – www.thebudgettravelstore.com/page/76972202 based on his own travel experiences over the years. Plan your vacation at his www.thebudgettravelstore.com and www.plan-a-dream-trip.com

Photo credits:
All photos are by Diane Gagnon. She is a freelance photographer who has traveled extensively in North America, the Caribbean, Europe and parts of South America. Her photographs have accompanied Troy Herrick’s articles in Live Life Travel, Offbeat Travel and Travels Thru History Magazines.

Portugal: Lisbon and Sintra

by Marc Latham

‘perhaps in every respect the most delightful in Europe… a glorious Eden.’
– Lord Byron.

‘the most blessed spot on the whole inhabitable globe.’
– Robert Southey.

Looking south standing under a mountain-top cross surrounded by lush vegetation in Sintra’s Romantic-period Pena Palace park I wondered if the human construction in the distance was Lisbon. Then I saw a red bridge glinting in the sun, confirming it was Portugal’s capital city twenty-five miles away on the Tagus estuary. It could have been the Golden Gate bridge signalling San Francisco, but I was a long way from California; and the previous day I’d passed the 25 April bridge and a Rio-style Christ statue on the way to Belem, where Portuguese sailors departed on their most famous voyages of discovery.

Turning around, I took a last look at the breathtakingly colourful and elaborate palace from its level. It was also visible from Sintra town, and the Sintra-Lisbon train; and is said to be visible from Belem on a clear day. Perched atop a mountain containing trees from around the world, the palace looks like a Disney castle resting in an environmentalist’s dream.

Although Sintra may have had a more natural beauty when Byron and Southey visited, it must look more impressive now; as the palace and its park were only built to their current gothic fairytale brilliance after the poets had departed. It wasn’t until 1838 that King consort (to Queen Maria II) Ferdinand II bought the land, which at the time housed a modest monastery. The royal couple employed Baron Wilhelm Ludwig von Eschwege to build the castle; to be used as a summer residence to escape the heat of Lisbon. It was completed in 1854, and became a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995.

A half-fish, half-man statue; an allegory for the creation of the world; greets visitors to the central courtyard of the Pena Palace. Entering the Manueline Cloister to view the living quarters, the sun was almost directly above a tall green plant rising out of a grey turtle-stoned pot in the centre of the unroofed inner courtyard. Upstairs, we could walk past the open bedrooms, which were surprisingly small; and through the communal rooms, which were as stylish as expected. Other highlights of the palace included the small ancient chapel, the Great Royal Hall and the kitchen; the latter now houses a cafe, with an outside terrace.

It was from there that I saw the cross on the mountain’s southern peak, and decided to walk over to it. There were several paved paths through a park filled with over 2000 species of world trees and plants; from North American sequoia to New Zealand ferns. There are also several small lakes, resting places, caves and viewing points.

On the way up to the palace I had visited the Moorish Castle. It is now mostly just a long wall with towers above foundations being archaeologically excavated, but it still inspires the imagination, and provides the best views on the mountain of Sintra and the northern plain. The castle was built in the eighth and ninth centuries during the Moors’ occupation of the region, before Portuguese forces regained control in the eleventh century. You can buy tickets for both the castle and Pena Palace at the castle entrance. The castle provides a good break if walking from Sintra to the palace. There are also regular buses.

Lisbon’s train station for Sintra is the Rossio, which is conveniently also the city’s most central. Sintra was the only time I used the train service in Lisbon, as I travelled between Lisbon and the south coast by bus; the Eva service was comfortable and punctual, but there were no toilets or rest-stops on the three-hour journey.

Arriving in Lisbon, its urban sprawl rising up steep hills was both impressive and daunting as the bus carried us over the Tagus on the ten-mile long Vasco da Gama; Lisbon’s other main bridge and Europe’s longest. Lisbon’s 500,000-population rises to three-million when including its outer districts. The bus dropped us off at a station on the northern edge of the city, with a large metro station underneath. I took a train to Chiado, where I’d booked two nights in a cheap hostel, after mastering the ticket machine. The machine has an English language option, and you need a day-card as well as a destination ticket.

After exiting the metro I asked a passing woman if she knew where Praca Luis de Camoes was, as that was the square on which the Royal Lisbon hostel was located. She looked at me with puzzlement in her eyes, before smiling and repeating Camoes with a ‘Camush’ pronunciation, and then said it was over the other side of the metro. So, not only did I receive directions, but I also learnt how the ‘ush’ sound I’d noticed all trip was used. It still took a little while to find the hostel, as it was in too good a position: overlooking the square rather than down a side street. Friendly staff, plush furnishings, music in the bathroom and a bumper buffet breakfast just added to the hostel’s charms.

The Chiado is a popular area of Lisbon, between the city centre; Baixa; and the Bairro Alto district. The latter’s narrow cobbled streets and balconied houses ooze age and character. Everything is in easy walking distance, with the Baixa’s plazas interconnected by picturesque streets, squares and statues. The area was rebuilt after a big earthquake in 1755. Restaurants with smartly dressed waiters and waitresses frame the plazas, continue up the eastern hill towards St. George’s Castle, and down to the Tagus a few blocks to the south.

On the day in-between arriving and going to Sintra I took a tram from near the Baixa riverside out to the western parish of Santa Maria de Belem (a translation of Saint Mary of Bethlehem). It is an area famous for its monuments and museums, and the place where Portuguese sailors departed on their greatest voyages of discovery. The Christ the King statue dominates the southern riverside’s hills, above the 25 April bridge’s high red towers. White-sailed boats passed effortlessly under the suspension bridge on an uncharacteristically cool and cloudy summer day; while parks and cycle tracks were busy with Sunday morning sportspeople.

Maybe the sailors sometimes imagine they are Henry the Navigator or Vasco da Gama as they sail out to sea. Henry was a 15th century royal who is credited with being instrumental in developing Portugal’s most rewarding era of exploration and trade. His statue looks out over the Tagus at the head of the impressive Monument to the Discoveries. Behind him are thirty-two notable figures from that era, with sixteen on each side of the caravel-shaped structure; the caravel boat revolutionised Portuguese sailing after being designed with sponsorship from Henry.

Vasco da Gama is probably the most famous of the sailors on the statue. While Christopher Columbus was looking for a western passage to the East Indies for the Spanish king and instead discovering the Americas, Vasco da Gama led the first European naval expedition to reach India in 1498. The route around the south of Africa had been pioneered by another Portuguese sailor featured on the monument; Bartholomew Diaz sailed around the cape in 1488, and wanted to continue to India, but his crew refused.

The other highlight of Belem is the Belem Tower, which was built in the early sixteenth century to guard the Tagus entrance. The small fort juts out into the river, and looks straight out of a pirate film. However, it doesn’t come close to matching the Pena Palace, so if you’ve got time; and especially on a clear day; it’s worth making the short journey out to Sintra.

If You Go:

♦ Lisbon information: www.golisbon.com
♦ Pena palace and park information
♦ Royal Lisbon hostel: www.royallisbon.com/home.html
♦ Eva buses: www.eva-bus.com/novo
♦ Ryanair flights from the UK: www.ryanair.com

About the author:
Marc Latham traveled to all the populated continents during his twenties, and studied during his thirties, including a BA in History. He now lives in Leeds, and is trying to become a full-time writer from the www.greenygrey.co.uk website.

All photos are by Marc Latham.
See more at: picasaweb.google.com

Greece: In the Footsteps of Alexander The Great

by W. Ruth Kozak

By the harbour in Thessaloniki, Greece, stands a magnificent statue of the young warrior-king, Alexander the Great, astride his fabled horse Bucephalus. At the base of the monument someone has laid two wreaths: myrtle for a hero, laurel for a god. It is June 10, the anniversary of Alexander’s death. I place a simple bouquet of red carnations beside the wreaths. Just who was this ambitious, brilliant young man? Alexander was only 20 when he became king of Macedonia and 22 when he set out to conquer the world. By the time he died suddenly and suspiciously in Babylon just 10 years later in 323 BC, he ruled an empire that included Persia and Egypt and stretched to India.

I first became acquainted with Alexander when I was in my teens and he has become part of my life. I have realized a dream, coming to northern Greece to trace his footsteps. My search for Alexander began in Athens when I boarded a bus heading north. The bus route follows the coast, skirting the teal-blue sea, past olive groves and fertile fields. As the bus nears the Thessaly/Macedonian border, Mount Olympus looms into sight. It is Greece’s highest and most awe-inspiring mountain. The ancients believed it to be the home of the twelve gods, the Olympians. Nestled under its towering northern flank lies ancient Dion, a sacred city of the Macedonians. Alexander visited here to make his oblations to the gods before setting off to conquer the world.

In Alexander’s time, northern Greece was populated by many tribes, one of which was the Makedonoi. When his father, Philip II, became king, the balance of power in the Hellenic world fell into the hands of Macedonia. Under his command, Philip formed the League of Corinth and within a few years he had conquered all the outlying tribes. To ensure their allegiance, Philip arranged marriages with daughters of clan chieftains. One of these political unions brought him to the island of Samothraki in Thrace. And this is where Alexander’s story begins.

At Thessaloniki, named for one of Alexander’s half-sisters, I board a bus heading across Macedonia to Thrace. East of Thessaloniki, the coastline is rugged with low mountains rolling down to the rocky sea coast. Alexandroupolis, a pleasant city near the Turkish frontier, originated as a small Thracian garrison town founded by Alexander. Offshore, the island of Samothraki rises mysteriously out of the sea. It was on this island that Philip met his bridge, the bewitching Epirote princess, Olympias. They soon wed and became the parents of a remarkable son, Alexander.

From Alexandroupolis I boarded the two-hour ferry trip to Samothraki. Once there, I walked the five kilometres through the lush countryside to the sanctuary of the Great Gods. The magnificent marble pillars of the temple loom ahead of me in a grove of trees. At the time of Philip’s marriage to Olympias, this sanctuary was the centre of religious life in northern Greece.

I place my hands on the magnetic lodestone of Samothraki, which represents the Great Mother. The russet-coloured stone burns beneath my touch. Supplicants used to hang iron votives here. Every member of the Macedonian royalty was initiated into the cult of the Great Mother. At one time, Alexander must have stood in this very place. Nearby I find the ruins of a small building erected in 318 BC, dedicated to Alexander and his father Philip by their sons, the join-kings, Philip Arridaios and Alexander IV.

From the tranquility of Samothraki, I return to Thessaloniki. From there, it’s a short bus ride to Pella, the ancient capital of Macedonia, Alexander’s birthplace. Several private villas have been excavated there and there are traces of wide streets flanked by foot-paths and a central avenue crossing the Agora.

The palace where Alexander was born in 365 BC is located on a rise behind the city. Known as the “wonder of the north” it was a significant example of Greek palatial architecture. The palace site is closed because of on-going excavations, but in the small museum across the highway from the site, there is a reconstruction of it and the villas. Exhibits include a pebble mosaic depicting Alexander and a friend hunting lions, and a bust of Alexander in his youth.

Greek poets, tragedians, historians, philosophers, doctors, actors, painters and craftsmen were invited to the Macedonian court. One of these philosophers was Aristotle whom Philip invited to tutor his son at school he had build known as the Nymphaeion” at Mieza, near modern Naoussa. The school, called “The Peripatos” (“walk”) was a two storey L-shaped building linked by staircases, built along the face of the rock. The school’s facilities were set up to harmonize and blend in with the environment, incorporating several caves. Here, in this tranquil setting of lush vegetation, fresh water springs and caves, Aristotle taught Alexander his companions.

I wander the pathways of the ancient site under tree branches where wild figs and grapes grow. On these shady walks and stone-tiered seats around the fountain dedicated to the Nymphs, Alexander was initiated into philosophy, poetry, mathematics and natural sciences. I enter the largest cave. Carved lintels lead to damp passageways. Stalactites drip from the ceilings. I imagine the voices of boys echoing from the past.

The original capital of Macedonia was at Aigai (near modern Vergina) a short distance from the town of Veria. It’s a pleasant half-hour walk from the village to the palace site. This big palace, built on a high promontory overlooking the plan with the sombre mountains close behind it, was a favourite hunting lodge for Philip. It was here that young Alexander often spent time with his father.Just below the lower terrace of the palace is the small theatre where Philip was assassinated as he attended a celebration for the wedding of Alexander’s sister Kleopatra.

As I stand looking out over the ruined tiers, I try to image the scene on that fateful day. The wedding was to be a big show with carts bearing statues of the twelve gods, including one with an effigy of Philip crowned as a god. As Philip entered the theatre and dismounted from his horse, he was stabbed to death by his bodyguard. The assassin dashed out of the theatre but was overtaken and killed. Family and political intrigues were behind the murder. At the time, Alexander was estranged from his father. His mother, Olympias, a ruthless, impassioned woman, was jealous of her rivals. Soon afterwards she had Phlip’s newest wife and infant daughter murdered.

Philip is interred in the royal tombs located a short walking distance below the palace on the plain. Found in a farmer’s field in 1976 and excavated, the tombs remain under the earth mound where they were discovered and entrance is through an underground passage.

Alexander would have been buried there in the tradition of the Macedonian kings, however his body was hijacked while it was being transported from Babylon and taken to Egypt where it was supposedly interred in a magnificent glass sarcophagus.

The new Tomb Museum incorporates several royal tombs and all the treasures found in them.As I climb down the stone steps to the tombs, tears fill my eyes. To me, this experience is as precious as the wealth of gold taken from the graves. All the years I have read and researched about Alexander, I have never imagined that one day I would stand before the graves of his legendary father and possibly that of his son, Alexander IV.

Philip’s tomb, a small marble temple, was hastily finished after the king’s sudden death. A young woman, identified s one of his barbarian wives, was buried with him. It is said that Alexander gave his father a Homeric funeral, fashioned after that of brave Hector in The Iliad. Items from the cremation pyre are displayed and they include pottery shards, pieces of weaponry, remnants of food offerings and harnesses from horses.

Next to Philip’s tomb is that of a Macedonian prince, believed to be Alexander IV, who was murdered at age 14. His remains are in the silver funeral urn that is displayed along with other grave offerings and a golden oak wreath.

Alexander became king at the age of 20. At the time of his assassination, Philip had been about to start a campaign against the Persians. Wishing to excel over his father and rival his glory, Alexander took up the challenge and marched eastward to conquer the world. Centuries later he is still revered as one of the greatest warriors the world has ever known.

Back in Thessalonki, as I ponder the two wreaths at the base of his monument, a group of Macedonian youths skateboard around it, dodging the rows of shields and sarissas that are the emblems of Alexander’s mighty army. I’m certain Alexander is smiling an approval.

Thessaloniki Private Historic Walking Tour

If You Go:

Getting Around: There is frequent daily bus and train service from Athens and from Thessaloniki to other parts of northern Greece.

Where to Stay: Reasonably priced hotels are available near the Thessaloniki train depot. Check with the local tourist-information office for pensions and hostels. There are good hotels in Veria but limited accommodations in Vergina. Samothraki has pensions and hotels at Kamariotissa near the ferry port.

Other Sites:
♦ Chaironeia, northeast of Athens, is the site of a decisive battle in 338 BC that established Philip II as ruler of the Greek city-states.
♦ Delphi, on the slopes of Mt. Parnassus, was a shrine of Apollo, God of the sun, music, reason and wisdom. Alexander came here to consult the priestess Pythia.
♦ Dion, one of the most important Macedonian shrines, is located on the north side of Mt. Olympus on a wide plain
♦ Dodoni, in the Pinos mountains of Epiros, was the home of Olympias, and Alexander spent much of his youth here.
♦ Mieza, near Naoussa, is where Aristotle taught the boys during Alexander’s early youth.

About the author:
Ruth spent a number of years researching and writing a novel dealing with the fall of Alexander’s dynasty. “Shadow of the Lion” is currently making the round of publishers. During the time she researched the novel, she lived in Greece and spends nearly every year visiting there. She also used her research trips to write travel articles about Greece and the country’s history. www.ruthkozak.com

Photo credits:
Alexander the Great statue by Classical Languages / CC BY
Alexander mosaic by Berthold Werner / Public domain
All other photos by Ruth Kozak