Stones of Antiquity

To some they might only be old rocks, to others they are worthy of studying, numbering, and restoring.  To us, ancient ruins are a great excuse to be outside (instead of in a museum) and good exercise for the imagination.  In addition to scrambling over lots of aged rubble, we’ve viewed and gawked at the artifacts behind glass, read the super condensed version of histories, and downloaded movies (300, Troy, Alexander the Great).  We need all types of media to keep us interested and engaged!  So far we’ve pieced together the long-gone civilizations of the Mycenaeans, Nabataeans, Greeks and Romans.  (Egyptians deserve their own post.).

 

    

All of the old stones tell the story of how they lived, died, why the existed for as long as they did, how they defended themselves, and why they ceased to exist.   

 

   

One thing they all have in common is that each of these proud cultures have come and gone.  They don’t exist any longer.  We pondered if they knew they wouldn’t last forever.  Many times we also wondered how long will the current societies, as we know them, continue to endure? 

 

  

What will the future traveler say about the cultures that live today.  Will the earth end up a tourist destination and a major architectural dig?  For that matter, what evidence will we leave for those visitors to learn about us?  We hope it is more then several trillion tons of plastic bottles and bags and a bunch of nuclear waste. 

       What stones are we leaving behind?

So Blue…

It’s not fair to make comparisons, but….. when one has traveled to Turkey and Greece back-to-back, like we did a few weeks ago, it’s hard not to.  We spent 3 weeks in each country, touring their interiors, coastlines, ancient sites and metropolitan cities.  To sum it up, Greece has charm, Turkey has amazingly warm people, and they both have the bluest of blue water of the Mediterranean.

As we look back on the pictures we took, it’s hard to tell the difference between the coastal towns of Turkey and Greece.  Greece is probably a tad more sophisticated and maybe a bit more refined, but we fell in love with the kind and friendly Turkish people and want to explore more of their fabulous country.  We’re sure Greece has nice people too.  It’s just that, for the most part, they come across depressed and indifferent.  We guess that it has to do with the current financial problems the country has.  Maybe their grumpiness also can be attributed to seeing one too many tourists.  Whereas Turks seem happy-go-lucky and sincerely go out of their way to make visitors feel welcome.  To us, Turkey seems to be on the up swing and Greece seems tired.  

The sea in each country is amazing.  It was impossible not to be mesmerized by it. (And take lots of pictures!)  And, by the way, the olives and yogurt are the best as well.  We never knew that yogurt could be so thick and rich.  Is it sinful to eat it EVERY morning? 

We’re very glad we went to Greece.  The ancient ruins, themselves, make it a worthwhile trip. (More on the ancient stuff later.)  We don’t feel the need to go back though.  Turkey, on the other hand, made us want more of their culture, history, coastline and generosity. 

Whether in Turkey or Greece, life doesn’t get much better when staring at the bluest blue of the Mediterranean coastline.  Devouring a bowlful of yogurt and honey, after slurping up a freshly picked orange just makes the sea a deeper shade of beautiful.