Ancient to the Ancients

Last night, I went back to my room and watched CNN for a little bit more (they were showing sports highlights, haha) and then went to bed. I woke up today and had a chocolate filled pastry for breakfast. So good but so bad for you. I took the bus to Mycenae. They are ruins that are about 3500 years old. They are slightly after the Minoan ruins I mentioned before from Crete and Santorini but way before the Ancient Greeks. Actually, the Mycenaeans were ancient to the Ancient Greeks. They thought that the walls of Mycenae were built by Cyclops. The ruins are of the palace and temples and stuff. The most famous part of the palace is the graves (picture 1). Quite a few of them were not plundered and all those treasures were still preserved. The other big attraction at Mycenae is the Lion Gate (picture 2). It is of two lions standing and facing each other. The heads are gone though. You walk under it on your way into the ruins. I went into the underground cistern. It was kind of creepy because there were a lot of stairs and I had to use my flashlight for light. I liked it though. While I was walking around, a girl was going at the same pace as me (looking, taking pictures, and reading the interpretative signs) so I said something lame like "These are cool ruins." She didn't run away like I thought she might. Actually, we spent the rest of the time at the ruins talking. She is from Australia but lives in London (like most Aussies I have met). She was really nice but a few years older than me. She told me that she is going to be doing a six month bicycle tour of Italy soon. Wow, good for her. She saw a lot of the stuff on the mainland of Greece (Meteora, Delphi, Olympia, Thessaloniki) while I saw a lot of the stuff on the islands so we exchanged how favorite parts. Her name was V or something like that (she just said V and never told me how to spell it).

We went into the museum which was nice but too hot. I almost passed out while we were walking around because I was so hot. Once I was outside and in the breeze again, I felt much better. Most of the stuff that has been found at the site has been moved to the National Archaeological Museum in Athens. We saw some "beehive tombs". They are tombs in the ground that are shaped like, you guessed it, beehives. No honeycombs or anything like that, just pointy domed. I skipped the one o'clock bus to see some other ruins down the road and ended up having to sit around for 1.5 hours for the three o'clock one (the ruins only took a half hour). That was ok with me. I just read, looked at the ruins more, and admired the fantastic views over the countryside. Mycenae was good because it allowed the people to control and view a wide area (picture 3). While I was sitting and reading, a woman came up to me and asked if I was from MN (I was wearing my Twins shirt). I said yes and she asked to take my picture since I was the first Minnesotan she had met for a long time (she is from MN). She took my picture which was kind of weird but fine by me.

I got back to Nafplion and decided to walk up the 900 steps to Palamidi castle which is situated way above the town. I trudged up the steps. The great views of the countryside and town from above were worth it (picture 4 and me at the top picture 5). Really awesome. It was very humid though and I was sweating like a pig at the end of it. The castle wasn't open which didn't bug me because I didn't really want to go in anyway. There were a lot of middle school aged kids running around the town and the castle. I thought that was strange. Maybe school got out today or something. I walked back down the steps to the beach. Very small, pretty, pebbly beach. A couple Greek guys were sitting and talking while only wearing speedos. It was as attractive as it sounds. I walked around the rocky promontory that separates the beach from the town (the path and view is picture 6). Three girls were walking a ways behind me and singing pop songs. Then I sat by the harbor and read more of Zorba the Greek. I had a gyro for dinner. Cheap and not too bad tasting. Then I came to this internet cafe. I had ice cream from the same place I got from last night. It was good but not as good. I got a weird flavored one that I didn't like too much which stunk. I saw my last sunset in Nafplion as well (picture 7). Sad that it was my last and super beautiful. Tomorrow morning I leave for Athens where I will stay until Monday. I hope everyone had a good Thursday!

Love ya!

Beach Walking

A couple things to add from yesterday. The people who worked at Sezgin's Guesthouse (where I stayed) were awesome. They all watched tv together at night and it really had a family atmosphere. I was sad to leave. Another thing, I slept alone in the four bed dorm room again last night. I thought that was weird and a little lonely (though I loved not having to hear anyone snore). I woke up today at six and got ready. I walked to the bus station and caught a bus to Bodrum. Bodrum is another 60 or so miles south of Kuşadasi along the Aegean Coast. The ride was pretty uneventful other than the beautiful scenery we passed by. Lots of mountains and small towns and stuff. I listened to my Zune most of the way. I walked to my hostel from the bus station. My hostel is called Bodrum Backpackers. The manager and his "sister" (that's what he kept calling her but they aren't related) greeted me. The guy was named Turk and the girl Eloise. They were really nice and while I waited for my room to be ready, they talked to me. It is a small establishment, only like three or four rooms.

My room got ready and my lethargy was over to I decided to walk around to the major sites in the city. First I walked along the harbor/marina and by Bodrum Castle which houses an Underwater Archaeological Museum. I did not feel like entering at the moment and actually never did. I don't care though. Then I made my way up to the Mausoleum. This is another of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was a HUGE building that contained the tomb of the King Mauslous. It was pillaged by numerous people over teh centuries and only a few scraps are left. The place wasn't that exciting but was still cool to walk around and imagine what used to be there. The flowers, roses, surrounding the pit were beautiful. I loved them. I complemented the gardener on them. I also ate lunch at the Mausoleum as well. Just some crackers and fruit. I walked over to the Ancient Theater next. It is right on a very busy road and is carved into the mountain side. Not that exciting and you could see all of it through the fence so there was no need to pay to enter really. My next stop on my Bodrum sightseeing tour was Mandros Gate. İt was a gate built on the old city walls. Crumbly and quite a bit of trash. Oh well. Still cool. Alexander the Great and his army busted through the wall a loooong time ago.

My last stop was the the old windmills on a hill on the southern side of the city. It was a hot walk up but I made it. There was a bunch (and I mean a bunch) of trash up there from people partying and stuff. The windmills were pretty cool though and made for some really interesting pictures. It would be nice if someone cleaned the area and the windmills up a little bit. They were still ok I guess. I walked back down the hill and around the marina and to the hostel. I sat on the upper balcony where my room is and read Dark Rose, a book about Arabs financially invading Ireland (yeah, I picked it up at the Istanbul Hostel). It's ok so far. You can see the sea and the castle from the balcony. Awesome. Then I decided to walk along the beach for a while. I threw on my sandals and walked. There are a lot of beaches along the shore in Bodrum and a lot of European guys in Speedos. Whatever, I wasn't looking at the beach, I was looking out to sea. I listened to Jack Johnson while I walked in one direction. Perfect music for it. It was wonderful and I got just a tad burnt. Not too much though. The beaches are very pebly so hard to walk in but still great. After that I stopped at a cafe and had a beer. My first one in about 4 months or something like that. It tasted fantastic sitting on the beach watching the sun go down. I stopped at a restaurant that was a little expensive but it was my last night in Turkey so I figured it was ok. I had Donner Steak Kebab, salad, French Fries, and some rice. Really good.

After that delicious dinner, I back to the hostel and wrote in my journal on the balcony as the sun finished setting. Wonderful. Then I used Turk's computer to do this entry. So there you have it. My last day in Turkey. Tomorrow I am catching a ferry to Kos at 9:30. I loved Turkey. I had no idea ıt was so amazing. I just picked because I thought it was a different place to go. It was even better than that. We'll see what Greece is like next. Hope everyone is having fun!

Cheers!