The first part of the Ennis rodeo was at 8PM tonight. We arrived early to be able to obtain good seats. They were the 5th row up in the center. Before the rodeo started young girls rode their horses around the arena to dry out the dirt. It rained today at around 5PM, so everything was wet. The rodeo lasted 2 1/2 hours and was very enjoyable. The weather was perfect because the rain storm cooled it off from the 88 it was earlier. The sky started turning a bright pink to the east as the sun was setting.
The very first rodeo in Ennis was in the late 1800s shortly after gold was discovered in Virginia City. People came over the high hill from Virginia City to watch horses run. On the 4th of July they would run horses, foot races and had a great dinner at noon. Ennis's Main Street had the first "bucking horses" corralled in Bill Ennis' livery barn.The riders mounted the broncs right in front of the livery stable and ran down the middle of the street with no time limit. The cowboy tried to ride as long as the horse was bucking. A barb wire fence kept the horses away from the people. No admission was charged because a hat was passed around to collect money for the rider. The saloon men donated heavily because they benefited the most from these contests. The biggest contests were on the 4th, but bucking contests were held any Sunday afternoon. The riders were just very good horsemen, not rodeo bronc riders.
In 1912 Larry Dunn built a round corral at the lower end of Main Street to house the bucking contests. Still there was no time limit and the hat was passed around for the contributions.The events included only saddle broncs and bareback horses with mane holding only. There was no calf roping or bulldogging. The riders would jump off the bucking horse onto the fence because the corral was small. The audience in those days was very small, just some boys watching about 20 or 30 men riding. The actual horse race was held up and down Main Street. Of course the McCallister family had the best race horses and won most of those races. In 1921 another corral was built just south of the baseball diamond. So after the ball games were over the people would then go to the corral to watch the fun. The first organized rodeo was put on under the hill here by Charley Manley and Tom Lane because they charged admission and the people sat on the sidehill watching. They had built chutes for saddling and mounting, but no pickup men to catch the horses after. But these horses were wild, not rodeo stock; so they had to rope them. This was an opportunity to show off the cowboy's roping skills.
Today there are special rodeo stock horses and many more events. Tonight we had Bareback Riding, Steer Wrestling, Tie Down Roping, Saddle Bronc, Ladies Barrel Racing, Junior Barrel Racing, Team Roping, the top 6 of Saddle Bronc perform again, Ladies Breakaway Roping, Junior Breakaway Roping and Bull Riding.
The Calf Roping was the most skilled and speed was the essential element. The calf was given a head start and then the roper and his horse lunged forward with a " piggin'string" between his teeth and his rope. He roped the calf, dismounted, ran down the rope, threw the calf down and tied 3 of the calf's legs together in a legal tie as fast as he could. After the calf was tied the roper could not touch the calf and The calf must remain tied and not be able to stand up for 6 seconds.This skill is necessary on most every ranch and is used to brand and ear mark the cattle. A good cowhand can do this to 100 calves in a day and still have time to go into town for a hamburger!
Steer Wrestling is like " trying to tackle a freight train by jumping off a cliff" as one rodeo contestant exaggerated! the horses are very important in this sport because they need to be able to run fast, at least 30 mph and help in outwitting the steer. The Dogger must time everything accurately to be able to wrestle barehanded a 400 to 750 pound steer to the ground. Another horseman called a "Hazer" runs his horse on the far side of the steer to keep the steer running straight. Then the Dogger must jump off his horse onto the steer and grab his horns to twist him to the ground. The steer must be on his side or back and all 4 feet straight. This skill is also necessary on most ranches.
In the Barrel Races the rider is dependent on the strength, speed and agility of the horse. It is a timed event where she must go around three barrels positioned in a cloverleaf pattern without knocking the barrel over. The barrel can be touched without a penalty. The skill here is for a good horse to be able to dig in to keep tight footing on the sharp turns. The horse must be able to bend in low and whisker close in making smooth turns around the barrels. on the home stretch they go as fast as possible to make up for any lost time. The timing starts at the point at which the horse's nose reaches the starting line and ends where the horse's nose reaches over the finish line.
The Ladies Breakaway Roping is similar to the Men's calf roping, but the ladies do not jump off their horses to tie the calf or steer. The rope must pass over the animal's head and then tighten on any part of the animal. Then the rope breaks away from a small string attached to the saddle. Legal catches are a horn catch, a half head catch or a neck catch. The catch is timed from the time the contestant leaves the barrier until the rope breaks free. This skill requires many hours of practice before it reaches championship level. This event's origin is unknown and this skill is not practical for use on a ranch.
The fastest rodeo event of all is Team Roping. The 2 cowboys on their horses must both rope the steer. The first roper, called the Header, must rope the horns of the steer, wrap the rope around his saddle horn and pull the steer so the other cowboy, called the Heeler, can rope the 2 hind feet. Once the feet are secure, the Heeler then wraps the rope around his saddle horn. This is called "take a dally". At this point the steer is stretched tight between both cowboys and the time is then clocked.There is a 10 second penalty for breaking the barrier before the steer and a 5 second penalty if only 1 hind leg is roped. This event seemed to be the most difficult tonight.
Bull Riding is the most dangerous event in the rodeo. The only rule is to stay on the bull for Eight Seconds! The problem is the bull can weigh up to 5000 pounds, can step on the rider, hook him, kick him with a hind foot or even mash him against the fence or maul him. When the cowboy falls off, the clowns try to distract the bull to protect the cowboy. The cowboy must hold on with only one hand with a loose rope with no knots. The event is timed from when the bull starts out of the chute until the cowboy falls off. if the bull falls, the cowboy receives a re-ride.
Bareback Riding must be done with a one-hand rigging and the cowboy's heels must be over the break of the horse's shoulders. The cowboy must not touch the horse with his other hand and must remain on the bucking horse for Eight Seconds. The cowboy with the wildest and most out of control ride will score the best possible score. The cowboy needs to be able to anticipate irregular movements of the bucking horse! The cowboy is timed from the time they enter from the chute until he falls off or the Pickup man pulls him off.
All of the contestants in these events were local or from somewhere within the state of Montana. It was an awesome night!!!!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011.
We've lost out on the log cabin because the home inspection revealed too many things that really needed to be done. So now we have found a Montana looking outside house with wood siding outside of Livingston on top of a rocky hill overlooking the Yellowstone River. The house has rights along with 10 other houses to a 73 acre island in the Yellowstone River for camping, hunting and fishing. the house needs to be stained, better paint colors inside, replace the pergo flooring in the downstairs bedrooms, replace the carpet downstairs (it has very little padding and is stretched), knock out the kitchen wall and produce a new footprint for it. The kitchen is way too small and has the same cabinets my first house on Crows Nest had. We will eventually have to replace the appliances as they wear out, because they are pretty old. And I'd really like a gas stove!
It'll be harder to decorate it Montana style because it doesn't have the rough hewn circular sawn hardwood floors or the log walls. The walls are sheet rock. Maybe I can paint the bedroom walls cappuchino and the downstairs hall a sage green. We need to replace the family room carpet; it looks like indoor outdoor carpet and isn't nicely padded.
Outside are many shrubs and rose bushes that probably need to be trimmed. They have planted yellow and blue iris and have several bird feeders. Some have residents. Where the foundation meets the ground is covered with flagstone. It has a 2 car garage also and is close enough to the house that the outside area could be enclosed into a breezeway or mud room. We could buy a greenhouse to put on the only flat part of the lot. The lot overlooks a farm with horses.
The owner of the Ennis RV Park suggested we buy caragana for a hedge and pots tells as a flowering shrub. The pine trees up here are dying from a pine beetle, so it's better to plant blue spruce or fir trees.
We ate at the McCallister's Inn again, but the same bartender that we had last time was off. we ran into him in the Walmart in Bozeman on Sunday afternoon. He has 5 children, 4 girls and 1 boy. The boy is right in the middle. They live around Ennis Lake and now is not the time to fish there. The lake is too full of melted snow run off.
It'll be harder to decorate it Montana style because it doesn't have the rough hewn circular sawn hardwood floors or the log walls. The walls are sheet rock. Maybe I can paint the bedroom walls cappuchino and the downstairs hall a sage green. We need to replace the family room carpet; it looks like indoor outdoor carpet and isn't nicely padded.
Outside are many shrubs and rose bushes that probably need to be trimmed. They have planted yellow and blue iris and have several bird feeders. Some have residents. Where the foundation meets the ground is covered with flagstone. It has a 2 car garage also and is close enough to the house that the outside area could be enclosed into a breezeway or mud room. We could buy a greenhouse to put on the only flat part of the lot. The lot overlooks a farm with horses.
The owner of the Ennis RV Park suggested we buy caragana for a hedge and pots tells as a flowering shrub. The pine trees up here are dying from a pine beetle, so it's better to plant blue spruce or fir trees.
We ate at the McCallister's Inn again, but the same bartender that we had last time was off. we ran into him in the Walmart in Bozeman on Sunday afternoon. He has 5 children, 4 girls and 1 boy. The boy is right in the middle. They live around Ennis Lake and now is not the time to fish there. The lake is too full of melted snow run off.
Saturday, June 25, 2011.
Tonight we ate at the Sportsman Lounge, which is an upscale restaurant, casino bar and motel. Unique combination. Daddy ordered steak and a baked potato and I ordered salmon, garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli. Dessert was an Italian custard without eggs. It was like velvet! Can't wait to eat here again.
The rodeos here have some local bands and then a headliner also. At Three Rivers tonight the rodeo had Mark Wills, Mark Chestnut, Little Texas and Lonestar.
The rodeos here have some local bands and then a headliner also. At Three Rivers tonight the rodeo had Mark Wills, Mark Chestnut, Little Texas and Lonestar.
Friday, June 24, 2011.
We had the home inspection yesterday and were really surprised that the inspector found so many things wrong with the log cabin. So many that we cannot offer what we were originally going to offer for it. it needs about $20,000 worth of things, such as chinking in the logs, fixing the warped trim, staining of the logs, filling in the log cracks and sealing around the windows. Such a disappointment because I really loved the house! daddy is t Iredell of driving up to Bozeman, about 4 times this week alone; but that will change once we are in a house, because then we have the room to stock up on supplies and food.
Tonight we went to McCallister's Inn in the next town north of Ennis to eat dinner. They had a young guy who sang songs. I only recognized 1; a James TAylor song. Their food is really delicious! the place is a little hole in the wall. it is rustic with tables, rough wood floors, barn board walls, plywood ceiling and deer antler lamps. There were stuffed animals on the walls: deer, elk, bison, deer, etc.
Tonight we went to McCallister's Inn in the next town north of Ennis to eat dinner. They had a young guy who sang songs. I only recognized 1; a James TAylor song. Their food is really delicious! the place is a little hole in the wall. it is rustic with tables, rough wood floors, barn board walls, plywood ceiling and deer antler lamps. There were stuffed animals on the walls: deer, elk, bison, deer, etc.
Monday, June 20, 2011.
We arrived back in Bozeman, Montana, very late at night and took a taxi cab to the Sunrise RV Park. Sunday morning I called to pick Greta up a day early. Boy will she be glad to see us! She will get our undivided attention. But on Wednesday she will get spayed. That won't be her favorite day.
On Sunday afternoon we left Bozeman to go to Ennis to stay since we will have the home inspection on the log cabin on Thursday. We might as well stay down there to be close to the log cabin. That means we have to rise very early on Wednesday because Greta needs to be at the vet's at 7:30AM. It's an hour drive to Bozeman from here.
The Ennis RV park is extremely nice. It is very clean, level slots, pull-in slots and an awesome laundry with 5 he washers and 8 dryers. And boy do we have the dirty clothes, 2 weeks worth from before the trip to Alaska and from the cruise!
Ennis is a really neat old town. It has 2 gas stations, several restaurants, several antique stores, 1 pharmacy, 2 hardware stores, a new medical center with ambulance, a fairly new fire station, 1 sheriff to patrol the whole town, and several pizza places. there'd are only 3 real estate companies and 1 grocery store. But everybody goes into Bozeman about every 2 weeks to stock up on things. There is even 1 really nice quilt shop and a yarn store.
On Sunday afternoon we left Bozeman to go to Ennis to stay since we will have the home inspection on the log cabin on Thursday. We might as well stay down there to be close to the log cabin. That means we have to rise very early on Wednesday because Greta needs to be at the vet's at 7:30AM. It's an hour drive to Bozeman from here.
The Ennis RV park is extremely nice. It is very clean, level slots, pull-in slots and an awesome laundry with 5 he washers and 8 dryers. And boy do we have the dirty clothes, 2 weeks worth from before the trip to Alaska and from the cruise!
Ennis is a really neat old town. It has 2 gas stations, several restaurants, several antique stores, 1 pharmacy, 2 hardware stores, a new medical center with ambulance, a fairly new fire station, 1 sheriff to patrol the whole town, and several pizza places. there'd are only 3 real estate companies and 1 grocery store. But everybody goes into Bozeman about every 2 weeks to stock up on things. There is even 1 really nice quilt shop and a yarn store.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011.
Today is the last day on the ship. We disembark at Whittier, Alaska which is a town that is mostly hidden from the air by its fog and clouds. The US Army used this town during World War II to hide weapons from the Japanese. they never realized we were moving weapons and supplies into Alaska through this town. Remember how close Alaska is to Russia and Japan; close than it is to the mainland of the US. We leave Whittier on a bus to go to Anchorage to fly back to Bozeman, Montana and see about buying the log cabin in Ennis, Montana. we need to arrange for a company to come in and de-smoke the house and also find a home inspector to check all of the major units of the house.
Thursday, June 16, 2011.
Today is a sea day as we travel to Glacier Bay above Seward, Alaska. here the glaciers calve or break off of the main glacier and fall into the sea or bay. The noise is extremely loud when the glacier cracks and then you know soon you will see the ice falling. It is absolutely awesome!!!! We bought a picture to mat and frame of this very same glacier calving in a store in Juneau. It should be shipped to our house. With our cameras we cannot take a picture like this. First, we are not close enough to the glacier and second our cameras are not as fast as to catch the best shots. This one picture tells it all.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011.
Today we arrived in Skagway, Alaska where the gold rush produced a town. the man in control was Soapy Smith who was very crooked, but most of the gold diggers didn't realize it until it was too late. He pretended to be their very best friend and would offer them money to go back home after he had robbed them.
We have stayed here last summer for almost a week and thoroughly enjoyed the town.Today we decided to just walk the town and I hit the jewelry stores for the Alaskan charms that the ship provides to the stores to prompt a visit from it's passengers. I have all of the charms except for 2. Maybe I can order them online. I'll have to try when we return home late thus summer.
The sun is shining for the first time on this cruise, but it is still cool outside. I have picked up a cold from someone on the ship with a cough that wakes me up at night. Been buying mucinex to take each night, but it hasn't helped. Went to the ship's doctor and $160.00 later have a prescription for 350mg aspirin to gargle with and arithromiacin, 2 tablets every 12 hours. hope it works because I don't want to give it to Julie. John and Julie offered me her spires inhaler which seems to work somewhat. Therefore, the cold has brought my asthma on. Thrills!!!!
We have stayed here last summer for almost a week and thoroughly enjoyed the town.Today we decided to just walk the town and I hit the jewelry stores for the Alaskan charms that the ship provides to the stores to prompt a visit from it's passengers. I have all of the charms except for 2. Maybe I can order them online. I'll have to try when we return home late thus summer.
The sun is shining for the first time on this cruise, but it is still cool outside. I have picked up a cold from someone on the ship with a cough that wakes me up at night. Been buying mucinex to take each night, but it hasn't helped. Went to the ship's doctor and $160.00 later have a prescription for 350mg aspirin to gargle with and arithromiacin, 2 tablets every 12 hours. hope it works because I don't want to give it to Julie. John and Julie offered me her spires inhaler which seems to work somewhat. Therefore, the cold has brought my asthma on. Thrills!!!!
Tuesday, June 14,2011.
Early this morning we pulled into Juneau, Alaska and it is raining. We do not have a land tour planned because we have already been here last summer. then we saw the Mendenhall Glacier and toured the city. it is the capital of Alaska and you can only visit it by boat or plane. there are no roads I to Juneau because it is at the base of an extremely steep mountain range that separates us from Canada. That mountain range is not inhabited.
We decided to take a walk into town and visit some shops. Then we went into a local saloon that was family owned. Daddy ordered a beer and I had a hot chocolate.
We decided to take a walk into town and visit some shops. Then we went into a local saloon that was family owned. Daddy ordered a beer and I had a hot chocolate.
Monday, June 13, 2011.
Yesterday was a sea day and very relaxing. We found the spa, exercise rooms, game room, pottery area, inside and outside pools and jacuzzis. We played pinochle with John and Julie.
Today we sailed into Ketchikan, Alaska which was the first city in Alaska. It is larger than Skagway and interesting. today it is 57 and drizzling. John and Julie took a land tour that included a fishing trip to catch salmon, octopus, crab and herring. they were cold, but said it was really interesting. We went to a logging camp demonstration that was interesting. The loggers were divided into 2 teams and the audience were divided into 2 teams to support them. The loggers shimmied up a big tree to cut it down and once down they stood on the logs in the river. And of course, the loggers displayed their muscles with many ohs and ahs from the audience.
Our only disappointment was we weren't in port long enough to do anything; just 3 hours. You need longer than that to really feel the flavor of the town.
Today we sailed into Ketchikan, Alaska which was the first city in Alaska. It is larger than Skagway and interesting. today it is 57 and drizzling. John and Julie took a land tour that included a fishing trip to catch salmon, octopus, crab and herring. they were cold, but said it was really interesting. We went to a logging camp demonstration that was interesting. The loggers were divided into 2 teams and the audience were divided into 2 teams to support them. The loggers shimmied up a big tree to cut it down and once down they stood on the logs in the river. And of course, the loggers displayed their muscles with many ohs and ahs from the audience.
Our only disappointment was we weren't in port long enough to do anything; just 3 hours. You need longer than that to really feel the flavor of the town.
Saturday, June 11, 2011.
Friday we took Greta to the Animal House Kennel outside of Bozeman, Montana to stay while we go on our cruise to the Inside Passage to Alaska with John and Julie Campbell.They have lots of dogs and Greta was excited. She will get spayed when we return on the following Wednesday. We left Bozeman Airport very early Saturday morning before the sun even rose to fly to Salt Lake City and then to Vancouver. In Vancouver we board the Princess ship the Diamond.
We have a room with a balcony. A bit smaller than the mini suite we had on our cruise to the Holy Land. John and Julie have a suite with their own butler, all the fresh fruit, h'ordeurves, sodas, beer and anything inside their mini refrigerator. They also receive free laundry service. that is a great plus! I'm going to wait until we return to the RV for our laundry. It is rather cool outside which is fine for us because we can then wear our jeans.
Vancouver has a population of 80,000 and is the third largest city behind Toronto and Montreal. The gas is 1.37/ liter. From Vancouver to Alaska is the largest run of granite in the world. The Frasier River is very important for salmon and herring and logging. All of the casinos in Canada are government owned. Vancouver is 45 miles from the US border. Their McDonalds and Denny's have a maple leaf logo in their signs to signify it is Canadian. Vancouver was founded in 1886, had it's first electric street cars in 1909. There are no electric buses and no freeways in Vancouver. The main street is separated by a grass median in which is planted every tree and shrub that grow in the aa. it is sort of a national garden but in the street instead of in a plot.
We have a room with a balcony. A bit smaller than the mini suite we had on our cruise to the Holy Land. John and Julie have a suite with their own butler, all the fresh fruit, h'ordeurves, sodas, beer and anything inside their mini refrigerator. They also receive free laundry service. that is a great plus! I'm going to wait until we return to the RV for our laundry. It is rather cool outside which is fine for us because we can then wear our jeans.
Vancouver has a population of 80,000 and is the third largest city behind Toronto and Montreal. The gas is 1.37/ liter. From Vancouver to Alaska is the largest run of granite in the world. The Frasier River is very important for salmon and herring and logging. All of the casinos in Canada are government owned. Vancouver is 45 miles from the US border. Their McDonalds and Denny's have a maple leaf logo in their signs to signify it is Canadian. Vancouver was founded in 1886, had it's first electric street cars in 1909. There are no electric buses and no freeways in Vancouver. The main street is separated by a grass median in which is planted every tree and shrub that grow in the aa. it is sort of a national garden but in the street instead of in a plot.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 5, 2011.
There are flood warnings in effect all over Montana because of the large amount of snow melt with this warm weather. The campground is really wet too because it has been raining for the last couple of days. the train beside the Sunrise Campground is loaded with cars of big, heavy rock called riprap for the flooding. They are expecting a lot because the snowpack was 270% above normal. We look at 2 houses tomorrow.
Saturday, June 3, 2011.
We went to the rodeo in Whitehall tonight. It is one of the steps to the the final rodeo in Las Vegas. We took Greta and she didn't know what to think about all of this horses. It was a Bucking Horse Rodeo, no bulls. One horse called lot Machine, received an 82.5, one of the highest points awarded. One horse fell down two times with a large rider on him. That rIder was allotted another ride. We haven't quite figured out how they score the horses.
Friday, June 2, 2011.
We left Mel's this morning and made it to Bridger Pass into Bozeman, Montana by 4:43PM. It is raining and extremely windy. in fact, it was windy all of the way up to here all day. daddy said he was having trouble keeping the coach on the road because all of the land is wide open to the winds. His arms actually ache from the effort. At 5:07 we actually arrived in Bozeman, Montana. WE ARE HERE AT LAST!!!!!!
We are staying at the Sunshine Campground right beside I -90. Now we need to start looking for property again. I still like the log cabin with the green metal roof in Ennis.
We are staying at the Sunshine Campground right beside I -90. Now we need to start looking for property again. I still like the log cabin with the green metal roof in Ennis.
Thursday, June 1,2011.
We stopped to visit Mel and Doris Gerhodlt's in Buffalo, Wyoming and had a really nice visit. Their dauschund, Fritz, really loved Greta. Poor Greta didn't understand what he was trying to do. And he is SO short, he couldn't reach her. Thank goodness! Boy am I glad I'm getting her fixed in Bozeman!
Mel suggested we all eat at the Bozeman Trail Inn in Big Horn, Wyoming. It was really good. Mel always wears his cowboy hat, jeans, boots and big buckles when he goes out. Then we went into Sheridan, Wyoming to visit the Histroic Sheridan Inn with the famous Buffalo Bill Saloon. Of course, we had to order drinks as if we were back in the late 1890's. The grand opening of this inn was on June 18, 1893. It was built by the Burlington and Missouri RaIlroads because the railroad came the previous year to carry all the coal, wheat and cattle. There needed to be a place to stay for the businessmen, so the inn was created. It cost $25,000 and its design was based on a hunting lodge that Thomas Kimball had visited in Scotland. It is also called the House of 69 Gables, The hand hewn beams are still visible in the dining room, lobby and saloon. The 3 fireplaces are built of the native cobblestone.
This was considered the finest hotel between Chicago and San Francisco. On the 2nd and 3rd floors were 64 sleeping rooms and a lobby, sitting room, dining room, kitchen and saloon on the first floor. The first electric lights turned on in Sheridan were in this Inn. Actually the lights originally came from a discarded threshing machine. The first running water in this area was here. It was pumped from a well located in the cellar to a holding tank on the thrd floor. The ladies had a bath on the second floor while the gentlemen had to bathe acroos the street. The first telephone was connected between the Inn and a drug store uptown. All of the guest rooms had steam heat also.
Whenever Col. Wm. F. Buffalo Bill Cody was in town he lived here at the Inn. In fact, from 1894 to 1902 the Inn was called the W. F. Cody Hotel Company because he was part owner. He would sit on the porch and auduiton acts for his Wild West show. His show depicted life in the west and featured lots of Indian culture. This show began here and also performed in Europe for several years. Many local cowboys and ranch hands auditioned for his show right on this porch.
The saloon's main attraction is its mahogany and oak bar which was made in England specifically for Sheridan. It was shipped to Huntley, Montana then brought to Sheridan by an ox-drawn wagon. Whenever a cowboy rode onto the porch and into the saloon it meant that "drinks were on the house".
The largest ballroom in the region is here inside the Inn. The Grand Ball was held here on June 23, 1893 when the Inn opened. Since many ranchers would spend gala weekends here, their wives would leave a trunk filled with their finest clothes ready for their next trip. In addition, the Inn ran a stagecoach from the Inn to downtown Sheridan. The inn had one of the wildest parties ever on the night before Prohibition in Wyoming. Even the liquor glasses were carried away as a souvenir. The waiters had to eventually serve liquor in teacups.
In the 72 years the Inn was a hotel, it had many famous guests. Among those were: Will Rogers, Charlie Russell, Ernest Hemingway, Bob Hope, Calamity Jane, Dr. Will Durant and Herbert Hoover. it was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U. S. Department of the Interior in 1964. It is an excellent illustration of the history of the west. In 1965, the Inn ceased its existence as a hotel. In 1967 just before it was to be knocked down and bulldozed away, Neltje Kings bought it because it represents our heritage, a symbol of all who believed in America to move west and created a life in the wilderness. It was their spirit which built the Inn. She wanted to preserve it for all of our nation and for our future generations. In December, 1990, the Sheridan Heritage Center bought the Inn and is now responsible for it's preservation. It has become a social gathering place for the community as it once was in the past. There are a variety of functions held here.
All of the creeks here are swollen also. They said 2 weeks ago it was all covered with snow! There are a couple of nice looking properties around Mel and Doris, but we are looking first around Bozeman, Montana for property; probably back into Ennis again where the log cabin is that we liked.
Mel has a couple of his son's horses in his pasture. Two are miniature horses and one isn't. He is trying to sell them. Greta didn't know what to think when she saw them. Here at Mel's I could let her run without a leash! She really liked that! Maybe we are all tired from being cooped up inside the RV. mel had us park the RV in his driveway. He owns many acres and the scenery is awesome!
Mel suggested we all eat at the Bozeman Trail Inn in Big Horn, Wyoming. It was really good. Mel always wears his cowboy hat, jeans, boots and big buckles when he goes out. Then we went into Sheridan, Wyoming to visit the Histroic Sheridan Inn with the famous Buffalo Bill Saloon. Of course, we had to order drinks as if we were back in the late 1890's. The grand opening of this inn was on June 18, 1893. It was built by the Burlington and Missouri RaIlroads because the railroad came the previous year to carry all the coal, wheat and cattle. There needed to be a place to stay for the businessmen, so the inn was created. It cost $25,000 and its design was based on a hunting lodge that Thomas Kimball had visited in Scotland. It is also called the House of 69 Gables, The hand hewn beams are still visible in the dining room, lobby and saloon. The 3 fireplaces are built of the native cobblestone.
This was considered the finest hotel between Chicago and San Francisco. On the 2nd and 3rd floors were 64 sleeping rooms and a lobby, sitting room, dining room, kitchen and saloon on the first floor. The first electric lights turned on in Sheridan were in this Inn. Actually the lights originally came from a discarded threshing machine. The first running water in this area was here. It was pumped from a well located in the cellar to a holding tank on the thrd floor. The ladies had a bath on the second floor while the gentlemen had to bathe acroos the street. The first telephone was connected between the Inn and a drug store uptown. All of the guest rooms had steam heat also.
Whenever Col. Wm. F. Buffalo Bill Cody was in town he lived here at the Inn. In fact, from 1894 to 1902 the Inn was called the W. F. Cody Hotel Company because he was part owner. He would sit on the porch and auduiton acts for his Wild West show. His show depicted life in the west and featured lots of Indian culture. This show began here and also performed in Europe for several years. Many local cowboys and ranch hands auditioned for his show right on this porch.
The saloon's main attraction is its mahogany and oak bar which was made in England specifically for Sheridan. It was shipped to Huntley, Montana then brought to Sheridan by an ox-drawn wagon. Whenever a cowboy rode onto the porch and into the saloon it meant that "drinks were on the house".
The largest ballroom in the region is here inside the Inn. The Grand Ball was held here on June 23, 1893 when the Inn opened. Since many ranchers would spend gala weekends here, their wives would leave a trunk filled with their finest clothes ready for their next trip. In addition, the Inn ran a stagecoach from the Inn to downtown Sheridan. The inn had one of the wildest parties ever on the night before Prohibition in Wyoming. Even the liquor glasses were carried away as a souvenir. The waiters had to eventually serve liquor in teacups.
In the 72 years the Inn was a hotel, it had many famous guests. Among those were: Will Rogers, Charlie Russell, Ernest Hemingway, Bob Hope, Calamity Jane, Dr. Will Durant and Herbert Hoover. it was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U. S. Department of the Interior in 1964. It is an excellent illustration of the history of the west. In 1965, the Inn ceased its existence as a hotel. In 1967 just before it was to be knocked down and bulldozed away, Neltje Kings bought it because it represents our heritage, a symbol of all who believed in America to move west and created a life in the wilderness. It was their spirit which built the Inn. She wanted to preserve it for all of our nation and for our future generations. In December, 1990, the Sheridan Heritage Center bought the Inn and is now responsible for it's preservation. It has become a social gathering place for the community as it once was in the past. There are a variety of functions held here.
All of the creeks here are swollen also. They said 2 weeks ago it was all covered with snow! There are a couple of nice looking properties around Mel and Doris, but we are looking first around Bozeman, Montana for property; probably back into Ennis again where the log cabin is that we liked.
Mel has a couple of his son's horses in his pasture. Two are miniature horses and one isn't. He is trying to sell them. Greta didn't know what to think when she saw them. Here at Mel's I could let her run without a leash! She really liked that! Maybe we are all tired from being cooped up inside the RV. mel had us park the RV in his driveway. He owns many acres and the scenery is awesome!
Wednesday, May 31, 2011.
Now we are in Gilett, South Dakota and are saying in a RV park. Found a restaurant called a Chop House with really delicious food. They use empty wine bottles and add a light to the top! Really unique! The waitress said to google wine light.com to order one. We are going to visit Mel and Doris tomorrow.
Tuesday, May 30, 2011.
We are in Mitchell, South Dakota and staying at a Walmart. it is raining, but we are making good time. Daddy got soaked from the wind blowing the rain under the overhang at the gas pumps. the rain was blowing sideways! At the Walmart I finally found strawberries to buy. haven't been able to find them since we left home.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
We left Highland, Illinois at 7:45AM and at 8:15 we crossed the Mississippi River. The Missouri River is flooded a quarter mile on each side! By 10:15AM our right front tire blew out! The angels must have been with us because the shoulder was very small and Daddy had to hold the wheel really tight to control the coach. If he had gone over on the shoulder another 6 inches we would have rolled over because the shoulder is a very steep drop off!
We had to sit on I-70 for 7 hours! Nobody could find a replacement tire until Tuesday AM! Our left tires are on the white line for the right driving lane of the interstate! Daddy called around and found a tire at a Love's Gas station 20 miles away! By 7:30PM we left the gas station with 2 brand new tires on the front of the coach. We saw a sign for Kansas City, Missouri 100 miles away,which is only 20 miles from Kansas. on a service road we found a RV Park called The Great Escape alongside I-70. Greta loved the walk on the next morning. She walked me all around their 2 ponds and all over the fields. I picked some big clover and a plant similar to the wild jimson weed from the cotton fields. It has a thick milky stalk, but the flower is lime green with lavender and small tiny oval shaped buds that open all along the shape. The flower doesn't resemble the jimson weed, but the leaves do.! carolyn would love it. I'm adding it to the magnolia bloom from Nashville. it's too big to press in a big ook. need to find out what it is. it seems to grow wild all over the roadside. The stem is thick and the thick leaves are similar to a hydrangea; but the flower is 1/3rd the size and lime green and lavendar. When Daddy walked Greta, she was so excited she knocked the trash out of his hands!
We had to sit on I-70 for 7 hours! Nobody could find a replacement tire until Tuesday AM! Our left tires are on the white line for the right driving lane of the interstate! Daddy called around and found a tire at a Love's Gas station 20 miles away! By 7:30PM we left the gas station with 2 brand new tires on the front of the coach. We saw a sign for Kansas City, Missouri 100 miles away,which is only 20 miles from Kansas. on a service road we found a RV Park called The Great Escape alongside I-70. Greta loved the walk on the next morning. She walked me all around their 2 ponds and all over the fields. I picked some big clover and a plant similar to the wild jimson weed from the cotton fields. It has a thick milky stalk, but the flower is lime green with lavender and small tiny oval shaped buds that open all along the shape. The flower doesn't resemble the jimson weed, but the leaves do.! carolyn would love it. I'm adding it to the magnolia bloom from Nashville. it's too big to press in a big ook. need to find out what it is. it seems to grow wild all over the roadside. The stem is thick and the thick leaves are similar to a hydrangea; but the flower is 1/3rd the size and lime green and lavendar. When Daddy walked Greta, she was so excited she knocked the trash out of his hands!
Friday, May 27, 2011.
We are getting a late start, but at least the A/C is fixed. We were able to drive to the outskirts of ST. Louis; actually it is Highland, Illinois just before the state line at a Walmart! At 5:15PM the RV turned 26,000 miles! At 6:15 we stopped for gas. we are actually making very good time, and on a holiday weekend! We have seen lots of flossing from the middle of Illinois on.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Leaving home at 6:19AM gave us a jump on the traffic. We stopped for gas at 7:50 and by 2:17 we ate lunch at Cracker Barrel. Greta has been adjusting nicely on this trip. She really enjoys sitting on the large dashboard because she can see people and birds. She hates to be left alone and really cried when we went I to Cracker Barrel. Daddy ate haddock and veggies and I had chicken and dumplings.
The coach has been very warm, so we are stopping at a Freight Liner to check out the A/C. They are open until midnight, but we are on the books for tomorrow morning. So they allowed us to stay overnight on their parking lot.
While they were fixing the coach we went to Costco and Walmart. Daddy bought a new computer at Costco because his laptop is not working correctly. We ate pizza and a hot dog for lunch. Then we stopped by the Grand Ole Opry to see what kind of tickets we could obtain for tonight's show. There weren't any good tickets left; maybe because it's a holiday weekend. I picked a big magnolia bloom almost ready to open. It smells heavenly! Sure wish I could have a magnolia tree at home!
Since we can't obtain decent tickets for the Opry, we are going to leave after the coach is fixed. The only traffic we have hit so far was coming into Nashville.
The coach has been very warm, so we are stopping at a Freight Liner to check out the A/C. They are open until midnight, but we are on the books for tomorrow morning. So they allowed us to stay overnight on their parking lot.
While they were fixing the coach we went to Costco and Walmart. Daddy bought a new computer at Costco because his laptop is not working correctly. We ate pizza and a hot dog for lunch. Then we stopped by the Grand Ole Opry to see what kind of tickets we could obtain for tonight's show. There weren't any good tickets left; maybe because it's a holiday weekend. I picked a big magnolia bloom almost ready to open. It smells heavenly! Sure wish I could have a magnolia tree at home!
Since we can't obtain decent tickets for the Opry, we are going to leave after the coach is fixed. The only traffic we have hit so far was coming into Nashville.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011.
Breakfast was outside on the roof of the clubhouse with an awesome view of the Acropolis! They had tables with umbrellas, planters with 18" tall olive trees, 12" tall rosemary and shrubs planted all around the exterior walls. This breakfast comes with the room and it is sort of a continental breakfast.
This morning we walked to the market where they actually butcher the meat with cleavers right in front of you to your specifications. There are no electric saws or blades. The chickens are hanging up by their feet with their heads still on, but no feathers!!! We saw pigs' feet and a small pig hanging up also. Many lambs are hanging up by their feet without their wool, but still having their heads with their eyes staring out! Creepy! At the seafood market there are every variety of fish you can imagine! Also, clams, mussels, shrimp, oysters, squid, calamari, octopus, eels, etc. Pigeons and very well mannered dogs walk all around. None of the dogs are skinny.
Then we started the extremely long walk up to the Parthenon built for Athena with several stops up the steep slopes! There are cafes along the way offering respite! The Parthenon is actually cordoned off; you are not allowed to walk on or touch the marble! When Daddy was here in 1971- 1972 during the Vietnam War you could walk all over the Parthenon. He was really disappointed! You can see the Myrotoan Sea and the harbor of Pireus where our ship had docked from up here. In fact, Acropolis in Greek means the highest point in town. The cost of the Acropolis was 469 times the cost of a warship! The Parthenon was originally built as Athenos Parthenos in 447-432BC.The one building on the side of the Parthenon has statues of Greek women and a huge olive tree that might be from when it was built since olive trees live forever.
We stopped at the Elixiras restaurant where they advertise meals made fresh from the countryside from old traditional recipes. I ordered Dolmades, which are grape vine leaves stuffed with rice and fresh minced meat sprinkled with dill. It was delicious! Then we walked back to the hotel to rest. It's been a long day only because of walking the steep hills. It was amazing to see how large the Acropolis is. The stadium we could see from the top of the Acropolis was the Theater of Dionysis. The Acropolis has not been rebuilt since it was bombed when the Turks stored their munitions there. You can still see the buttresses supporting the wall around the Acropolis! On our tour we have seen 9 cats, 2 kittens and many dogs. The dogs are always asleep in the shade.
Greece has the most ancient archeological sites with the Acropolis in Athens, the amphitheatrer of Epidaurus, the rebuilt palace of Knossos on Crete, the caldera of Santorini and the gray pinnacles of rock of Meteora. The sun rises above the Aegean Sea and sets over the mountains. Athens borders the Myrotaon Sea which flows from the Sea of Crete and the Aegean Sea. The Ionian Sea only flows into maybe 1/10th of it. We sailed from the Mediterranean Sea to the Adriatic Sea through the Ionian Sea to the Aegean Sea back to the Mediterranean Sea to Egypt and back through the Ionian Sea to the Sea of Crete and then Athens. The Delphi is the oracle near Mount Parnassos and Olympia on the island of Peloponnese. Homer's "Iliad" praises the Greek expedition to recapture the beautiful Helen of Troy led by the Mycean King Agamemnon. Troy fell as well as the Myceans to the mysterious invaders called Dorians!
A Greek politician said "a pot of basil may symbolize the soul of a people better than a play of Aeschylus." Every house has several pots of basil; they are displayed on every table in a cafe or restaurant too. They are clipped in perfect ball shapes and there are more pots of basil in Athens than there are cell phones!!!
The National Garden archway is covered with many tiny white roses climbing all over. There are also acanthus flowers, which they have carved into the columns, bridal wreath, pittosporum and many palms. The shrubs, trees and flowers are from all over the world. On the side of the National Garden where they needed to excavate for the Metro, they found the ruins of a Roman bath. They have left part of it visible for everyone to view. The rest will remain under the National Gardens.Then you pass by Hadrian's arch. In front of the Olympian Terrace is Zeus' Temple with only 13 columns remaining. They are of Corinthian style and some are just laying on the ground. You can see how they pieced the column together with each one a tiny bit smaller than the one it sits on. Olympia is surrounded by a tall wall. You can only see 3 columns no; but the excavations are still going on, and they will uncover more.
The following is a history of Greece to provide a basis of understanding for the present country and culture: Greece is the cradle of Democracy and the nursery of western art and archeology. Greece consists of 15 provinces or states: Thrace, Macedonia, Zagori, Epirus, Thessaly, Sporades, Central Greece, Ionian Islands, Peloponnese, Saronic Gulf Islands, Cyclades, Dodecanese and Northeast Aegean Islands and Crete. From 1453-1832 Greece was constantly occupied by Turks, Venetians and Franks. In 1832, the Great Powers (England, France, Italy and Russia) gave Greece their independence and sent a Bavarian princelet, Otto, to be King of the Hellenes. At the end of the 19th century Greece made Athens its capital, but most of what today is Greece was still ruled by the Turks and Italians. The Balkan Wars in 1912 allowed Greece to annex Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace and the large islands of Samos, Chiros and Crete. After WWI Greece attacked the Turks, but failed and the slaughter was called "Catastrophe". Greece and the Turks agreed to a population exchange: 1.5 million Greeks had to return to Greece and 500,000 Turks had to leave Greece. Now a small Greek Muslim population lives in Thrace.
The simple Greek megaron became the temples and basilicas of later civilizations, and our football and soccer stadiums mimic the Greek stadiums. The theater layouts of stage, wings and orchestras are all descended from the Greeks. Our shopping malls are designed like the Greek side by side shops. Even our pot and pan shapes are derived from the Greeks. The frescoe walls and red tiled roofs are all Greek in origin.
700,000-3000BC. Stone Age. Stone & obsidian knives & tools; human remains in Macedonia
3000-1500BC. Bronze Age. Anatoli(Turkey) invades; bronze workings and 1st palace found
1700BC. Huge earthquake on Crete destroys Minoans
1600-1100BC. Rise of Myceans; Dorian invasion
1450BC. Santorini volcano erupted; destroys as far away as Crete
Geometric Archeological period
1000-600BC. City-states formed;writing, coinage and trade invented
776BC. 1st Olympic games
700-500BC. Tyrants rule
525-485BC. Athenian democracy; Euripedes and Sophocles; marble & bronze building
490-480BC. 1st Persian Wars; Xerxes- emperor of Persia invades Greece; burns Acropolis, written in Herodotes
461-429BC. Under Pericles, Athens rebuilds Parthenon
Mid 5-4c. Classical era Rise of Philip of Macedonia; ancient Greek monuments built; Greek democracy born
431-404BC. Peloponnesian Wars, Athens and Sparta spar, Athens falls
430-428BC. Great plague kills 1000s and Pericles; Sophocles sentenced to death, drinks hemlock
4-1 century. Hellenistic era. Rise of Philip of Macedonia's son, Alexander the Great
338BC. Battle of Chaironeia, Greece defeated by Philip of Macedonia
336BC. Alexander the Great reigns over all from Egypt to India at age 23
323BC. Alexander the Great dies; Babylon successors squander his kingdom
146BC. Rome defeats Greece
2c-3cAD. Rome rules Greece, Egypt, Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor
168AD. Rome conquers Macedonia
50-200AD. New Testament written in Greek, John wrote Revelations on Patmos
324AD. Constantine moves capital of Rome to Byzantium on the Bosphorus; Greece belongs to Roman Empire
Made Christianity the favored religion
328AD. Roman Empire and Constantine the Great
Late 3cAD. Roman Empire divided into east and west
4c-15cAD. Byzantine era
1204AD. 4th Crusades, moves capital to Byzantium
1453AD. Constantinople falls to the Sultan of Turkey; 350 years of Turkish rule
1571AD. Turkish fleet destroyed by Italy, Greece, Sicily and Spain
This morning we walked to the market where they actually butcher the meat with cleavers right in front of you to your specifications. There are no electric saws or blades. The chickens are hanging up by their feet with their heads still on, but no feathers!!! We saw pigs' feet and a small pig hanging up also. Many lambs are hanging up by their feet without their wool, but still having their heads with their eyes staring out! Creepy! At the seafood market there are every variety of fish you can imagine! Also, clams, mussels, shrimp, oysters, squid, calamari, octopus, eels, etc. Pigeons and very well mannered dogs walk all around. None of the dogs are skinny.
Then we started the extremely long walk up to the Parthenon built for Athena with several stops up the steep slopes! There are cafes along the way offering respite! The Parthenon is actually cordoned off; you are not allowed to walk on or touch the marble! When Daddy was here in 1971- 1972 during the Vietnam War you could walk all over the Parthenon. He was really disappointed! You can see the Myrotoan Sea and the harbor of Pireus where our ship had docked from up here. In fact, Acropolis in Greek means the highest point in town. The cost of the Acropolis was 469 times the cost of a warship! The Parthenon was originally built as Athenos Parthenos in 447-432BC.The one building on the side of the Parthenon has statues of Greek women and a huge olive tree that might be from when it was built since olive trees live forever.
We stopped at the Elixiras restaurant where they advertise meals made fresh from the countryside from old traditional recipes. I ordered Dolmades, which are grape vine leaves stuffed with rice and fresh minced meat sprinkled with dill. It was delicious! Then we walked back to the hotel to rest. It's been a long day only because of walking the steep hills. It was amazing to see how large the Acropolis is. The stadium we could see from the top of the Acropolis was the Theater of Dionysis. The Acropolis has not been rebuilt since it was bombed when the Turks stored their munitions there. You can still see the buttresses supporting the wall around the Acropolis! On our tour we have seen 9 cats, 2 kittens and many dogs. The dogs are always asleep in the shade.
Greece has the most ancient archeological sites with the Acropolis in Athens, the amphitheatrer of Epidaurus, the rebuilt palace of Knossos on Crete, the caldera of Santorini and the gray pinnacles of rock of Meteora. The sun rises above the Aegean Sea and sets over the mountains. Athens borders the Myrotaon Sea which flows from the Sea of Crete and the Aegean Sea. The Ionian Sea only flows into maybe 1/10th of it. We sailed from the Mediterranean Sea to the Adriatic Sea through the Ionian Sea to the Aegean Sea back to the Mediterranean Sea to Egypt and back through the Ionian Sea to the Sea of Crete and then Athens. The Delphi is the oracle near Mount Parnassos and Olympia on the island of Peloponnese. Homer's "Iliad" praises the Greek expedition to recapture the beautiful Helen of Troy led by the Mycean King Agamemnon. Troy fell as well as the Myceans to the mysterious invaders called Dorians!
A Greek politician said "a pot of basil may symbolize the soul of a people better than a play of Aeschylus." Every house has several pots of basil; they are displayed on every table in a cafe or restaurant too. They are clipped in perfect ball shapes and there are more pots of basil in Athens than there are cell phones!!!
The National Garden archway is covered with many tiny white roses climbing all over. There are also acanthus flowers, which they have carved into the columns, bridal wreath, pittosporum and many palms. The shrubs, trees and flowers are from all over the world. On the side of the National Garden where they needed to excavate for the Metro, they found the ruins of a Roman bath. They have left part of it visible for everyone to view. The rest will remain under the National Gardens.Then you pass by Hadrian's arch. In front of the Olympian Terrace is Zeus' Temple with only 13 columns remaining. They are of Corinthian style and some are just laying on the ground. You can see how they pieced the column together with each one a tiny bit smaller than the one it sits on. Olympia is surrounded by a tall wall. You can only see 3 columns no; but the excavations are still going on, and they will uncover more.
The following is a history of Greece to provide a basis of understanding for the present country and culture: Greece is the cradle of Democracy and the nursery of western art and archeology. Greece consists of 15 provinces or states: Thrace, Macedonia, Zagori, Epirus, Thessaly, Sporades, Central Greece, Ionian Islands, Peloponnese, Saronic Gulf Islands, Cyclades, Dodecanese and Northeast Aegean Islands and Crete. From 1453-1832 Greece was constantly occupied by Turks, Venetians and Franks. In 1832, the Great Powers (England, France, Italy and Russia) gave Greece their independence and sent a Bavarian princelet, Otto, to be King of the Hellenes. At the end of the 19th century Greece made Athens its capital, but most of what today is Greece was still ruled by the Turks and Italians. The Balkan Wars in 1912 allowed Greece to annex Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace and the large islands of Samos, Chiros and Crete. After WWI Greece attacked the Turks, but failed and the slaughter was called "Catastrophe". Greece and the Turks agreed to a population exchange: 1.5 million Greeks had to return to Greece and 500,000 Turks had to leave Greece. Now a small Greek Muslim population lives in Thrace.
The simple Greek megaron became the temples and basilicas of later civilizations, and our football and soccer stadiums mimic the Greek stadiums. The theater layouts of stage, wings and orchestras are all descended from the Greeks. Our shopping malls are designed like the Greek side by side shops. Even our pot and pan shapes are derived from the Greeks. The frescoe walls and red tiled roofs are all Greek in origin.
700,000-3000BC. Stone Age. Stone & obsidian knives & tools; human remains in Macedonia
3000-1500BC. Bronze Age. Anatoli(Turkey) invades; bronze workings and 1st palace found
1700BC. Huge earthquake on Crete destroys Minoans
1600-1100BC. Rise of Myceans; Dorian invasion
1450BC. Santorini volcano erupted; destroys as far away as Crete
Geometric Archeological period
1000-600BC. City-states formed;writing, coinage and trade invented
776BC. 1st Olympic games
700-500BC. Tyrants rule
525-485BC. Athenian democracy; Euripedes and Sophocles; marble & bronze building
490-480BC. 1st Persian Wars; Xerxes- emperor of Persia invades Greece; burns Acropolis, written in Herodotes
461-429BC. Under Pericles, Athens rebuilds Parthenon
Mid 5-4c. Classical era Rise of Philip of Macedonia; ancient Greek monuments built; Greek democracy born
431-404BC. Peloponnesian Wars, Athens and Sparta spar, Athens falls
430-428BC. Great plague kills 1000s and Pericles; Sophocles sentenced to death, drinks hemlock
4-1 century. Hellenistic era. Rise of Philip of Macedonia's son, Alexander the Great
338BC. Battle of Chaironeia, Greece defeated by Philip of Macedonia
336BC. Alexander the Great reigns over all from Egypt to India at age 23
323BC. Alexander the Great dies; Babylon successors squander his kingdom
146BC. Rome defeats Greece
2c-3cAD. Rome rules Greece, Egypt, Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor
168AD. Rome conquers Macedonia
50-200AD. New Testament written in Greek, John wrote Revelations on Patmos
324AD. Constantine moves capital of Rome to Byzantium on the Bosphorus; Greece belongs to Roman Empire
Made Christianity the favored religion
328AD. Roman Empire and Constantine the Great
Late 3cAD. Roman Empire divided into east and west
4c-15cAD. Byzantine era
1204AD. 4th Crusades, moves capital to Byzantium
1453AD. Constantinople falls to the Sultan of Turkey; 350 years of Turkish rule
1571AD. Turkish fleet destroyed by Italy, Greece, Sicily and Spain
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011, Athens, Greece.
We disembarked from the Princess Ship this morning and took a taxi to the hotel-Intercontinental Athenium. It Is upscale and we upgraded for 54E extra per day to gain access to the clubhouse that has free food all day; a special lobby with wifi and Internet. Really nice. The room has an awesome bathtub with marble all around. It is so nice after being on ship with a shower. The bed has 350 thread count percale sheets! The hotel supplies a free shuttle bus to the downtown area called Plaka. We met a couple from Victoria, Australia, not far from Renmark, where the McLean couple from the cruise are from.
It started raining so we found a small restaurant on a side street.It is outside under awnings and the pigeons are walking all around eating crumbs dropped from the tables. On the walk here we saw many fat, lazy big dogs asleep beside the buildings. maybe they are waiting for their masters to come out of the shops! We ordered a very good Greek red table wine and they gave us refills for 1E extra. Then we ordered chicken kebobs on a pita with yogurt, grilled tomatoes, green peppers and French fires. This area is a shopping district with all kinds of stores: shoes, many Gucci purses, Gap, Sephora, undergarments, Starbucks, Diesel, White House, Black Market. They have an unusual alphabet; some of their symbols stand for several of our letters together. The waiter said they had no desserts- but he went and found some baklava from another vendor for me! Daddy told him he needs to join capitalism. Buy baklava for 1E and sell it for 5E! It was delicious!!! Not as sweet as the ship's; therefore, it is better! Daddy then ordered an ouzo, I thought for him; but no, he wanted to Serbia I could handle it. The waiter added bottled water to it. it was very good, an anise flavor!
It started raining so we found a small restaurant on a side street.It is outside under awnings and the pigeons are walking all around eating crumbs dropped from the tables. On the walk here we saw many fat, lazy big dogs asleep beside the buildings. maybe they are waiting for their masters to come out of the shops! We ordered a very good Greek red table wine and they gave us refills for 1E extra. Then we ordered chicken kebobs on a pita with yogurt, grilled tomatoes, green peppers and French fires. This area is a shopping district with all kinds of stores: shoes, many Gucci purses, Gap, Sephora, undergarments, Starbucks, Diesel, White House, Black Market. They have an unusual alphabet; some of their symbols stand for several of our letters together. The waiter said they had no desserts- but he went and found some baklava from another vendor for me! Daddy told him he needs to join capitalism. Buy baklava for 1E and sell it for 5E! It was delicious!!! Not as sweet as the ship's; therefore, it is better! Daddy then ordered an ouzo, I thought for him; but no, he wanted to Serbia I could handle it. The waiter added bottled water to it. it was very good, an anise flavor!
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Wednesday, May 18, 2011.
We dropped anchor in the Thira Bay off of Santorini, Greece and took liberty boats into the island. Before civilized towns there was a group of Minoans on Crete with a highly developed culture that traded all over the Mediterranean and made bronze tools and knives. They built huge palaces with indoor plumbing and colorful walls. Their designs which were free and flowing were adopted by the Trojans and Greeks. Centuries ago this bay was called Thera and shaped like a round cone. Before 1600BC the volcano erupted with the center of the island exploding out. The resulting tidal wave washed over the Minoan culture on northern Crete. They never recovered. The caldera that is left makes a natural harbor. This is where our ship is anchored. On the other side of the island they are close to trade with Africa, Egypt, Algeria, France and Italy. This aided in their survival for many centuries. The cliffs rise quickly from the water to great heights. The highest point is where they built ST. Elias Monastery. I believe every house has a view that is incredible.
In 1967 excavations revealed a large settlement of 30,000 inhabitants at Akritiri very similar to the Minoans but no preserved bodies were found. They had toilets and hot and cold running water. They have also found evidence of the ice age here. The layers of rock show colored layers of lava, slag, ash and pumice stone. From the largest eruption they uncovered charcoal of an olive tree from before the eruption. Between the 2 volcanoes there is a hot sulphur springs. It appears there may have been a large land mass between Thera and Crete; maybe the lost continent of Atlantis from Greek literature. The island was repopulated quickly. Egyptians used it for their ships. There are remnants of Roman buildings and Christian churches. In 1204 during the 4th Crusades Italian knights came to name the church Saint Ireni. In 1209 Venetian nobles came. In 1579 the Ottoman Empire took over. The last volcanic eruption was in 1929. In 1950 smoke came out, but not any lava. In 1956 an earthquake destroyed 80% of the homes and those people left. The houses up on the cliffs that are carved into the pumice stone are the only houses that are earthquake proof. That stone bends with the earth.
Santorini is having an unusually cold spell. By this time of the year their flowers are usually dried up. But now their flowers are in full bloom and they also had an unusually long and cold winter. The mountain on which these flowers are blooming is made of pumice stone from the volcano and it was used to built the Suez Canal. Now vineyards grow all over it's slopes because the soil is acidic. They keep the vineyards low because the winds from the July and August storms will blow the grapes away. The only precipitation they receive in the spring is in the morning from the fog. In the summer they only need 3 rain storms to fill up the cisterns under their houses. They use this water to irrigate their crops. In the winter most of the vineyards are in the clouds for weeks. In the 1980s they went for 7 years without any rain.
Santorini has a 12,000 year old vineyard variety from 1626 years before Christ. Between 1840 and 1845 Europe lost all of their vineyards, but Santorini didn't. In fact, Santorini was the first to start producing organic wines. In 1885, 80% of their wine was exported to Russia after the Ottomans opened the Bosporus. They are known for their wines. Their ascetico wine is like a dry Riesling and it is exported. They leave the white grapes in the sun for 14 days to dry to make the wine. They do not use mechanical presses. This becomes their sweet dessert wine. In the summer they drink a light red wine. The dry red wine is a mablodragono.
The farmers use the rain water collected in the 2 cisterns under the houses to irrigate their crops. They grow grapes, olives, zucchini, cherry tomatoes and garlic. A lot of the time their rain is mixed with sand from the Sahara Desert and is rose tinted. Therefore, they only drink imported bottled water. Every farmer has two to three donkeys because they can handle the narrow steep paths to the fields on the terraced mountain sides. One donkey only makes 3 or 4 trips, then they switch to another donkey. After 2 months of working, the donkeys are given 30 days of field rest. Some of the farmers would enjoy being a donkey in their next life!!! Also these donkeys do not have to wear any iron shoes.
During the summer is their high tourist season. Because of their heat many tourists turn up the air conditioners and the electric for the island cannot keep up. They usually have black outs throughout the summers. From early November to March most of the tourists are usually Asian. The island is not crowded this time of year. The beaches are all black sand and gravel from the volcanoes. I cannot imagine laying on a beach towel by the water! The water off the coast is basically fished out. The seafood is very slowly coming back.
Easter is the Greek Orthodox New Year. They traditionally eat a soup made from the veggies of the land and BBQ lamb. The houses have replicas of the Saint Ireni Chapel. This island has 45 churches and on Good Friday every one of them are illuminated.
In 1967 excavations revealed a large settlement of 30,000 inhabitants at Akritiri very similar to the Minoans but no preserved bodies were found. They had toilets and hot and cold running water. They have also found evidence of the ice age here. The layers of rock show colored layers of lava, slag, ash and pumice stone. From the largest eruption they uncovered charcoal of an olive tree from before the eruption. Between the 2 volcanoes there is a hot sulphur springs. It appears there may have been a large land mass between Thera and Crete; maybe the lost continent of Atlantis from Greek literature. The island was repopulated quickly. Egyptians used it for their ships. There are remnants of Roman buildings and Christian churches. In 1204 during the 4th Crusades Italian knights came to name the church Saint Ireni. In 1209 Venetian nobles came. In 1579 the Ottoman Empire took over. The last volcanic eruption was in 1929. In 1950 smoke came out, but not any lava. In 1956 an earthquake destroyed 80% of the homes and those people left. The houses up on the cliffs that are carved into the pumice stone are the only houses that are earthquake proof. That stone bends with the earth.
Santorini is having an unusually cold spell. By this time of the year their flowers are usually dried up. But now their flowers are in full bloom and they also had an unusually long and cold winter. The mountain on which these flowers are blooming is made of pumice stone from the volcano and it was used to built the Suez Canal. Now vineyards grow all over it's slopes because the soil is acidic. They keep the vineyards low because the winds from the July and August storms will blow the grapes away. The only precipitation they receive in the spring is in the morning from the fog. In the summer they only need 3 rain storms to fill up the cisterns under their houses. They use this water to irrigate their crops. In the winter most of the vineyards are in the clouds for weeks. In the 1980s they went for 7 years without any rain.
Santorini has a 12,000 year old vineyard variety from 1626 years before Christ. Between 1840 and 1845 Europe lost all of their vineyards, but Santorini didn't. In fact, Santorini was the first to start producing organic wines. In 1885, 80% of their wine was exported to Russia after the Ottomans opened the Bosporus. They are known for their wines. Their ascetico wine is like a dry Riesling and it is exported. They leave the white grapes in the sun for 14 days to dry to make the wine. They do not use mechanical presses. This becomes their sweet dessert wine. In the summer they drink a light red wine. The dry red wine is a mablodragono.
The farmers use the rain water collected in the 2 cisterns under the houses to irrigate their crops. They grow grapes, olives, zucchini, cherry tomatoes and garlic. A lot of the time their rain is mixed with sand from the Sahara Desert and is rose tinted. Therefore, they only drink imported bottled water. Every farmer has two to three donkeys because they can handle the narrow steep paths to the fields on the terraced mountain sides. One donkey only makes 3 or 4 trips, then they switch to another donkey. After 2 months of working, the donkeys are given 30 days of field rest. Some of the farmers would enjoy being a donkey in their next life!!! Also these donkeys do not have to wear any iron shoes.
During the summer is their high tourist season. Because of their heat many tourists turn up the air conditioners and the electric for the island cannot keep up. They usually have black outs throughout the summers. From early November to March most of the tourists are usually Asian. The island is not crowded this time of year. The beaches are all black sand and gravel from the volcanoes. I cannot imagine laying on a beach towel by the water! The water off the coast is basically fished out. The seafood is very slowly coming back.
Easter is the Greek Orthodox New Year. They traditionally eat a soup made from the veggies of the land and BBQ lamb. The houses have replicas of the Saint Ireni Chapel. This island has 45 churches and on Good Friday every one of them are illuminated.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Monday, 5/16/11
Today we pulled into Alexandria, Egypt. Alexandria was originally an island in the Mediterranean connected to the mainland by a bridge. It is the largest and oldest port in Egypt. The harbor entrance is the Fortress of Quait Bay which is a 15th century medieval castle on the old Pharos Lighthouse. Nearby is Ras El Tin Palace, the summer residence of kings. King Farouk signed his abdication papers there. Alexander the Great founded the library as a clearinghouse of the world's knowledge. He is buried here. This is the second largest city in the Roman Empire and the second largest in present day Egypt. It is also the capital of Egypt. Before the 3rd century, Egypt was ruled by Greece and Pharaohs. In the 3rd century Alexandria was under the Roman Empire until the Ottoman Empire conquered it in the 7th century and trade ceased. The Christians arrived in Egypt in the 4th century. By the 19th century the trade was finally revived. Mohammed Ali helped Egypt fight off the French soldiers in the 19th century. On July 23, 1952 Egypt revolted, had King Farouk sign an abdication, and became a republic with a President. Another revolt erupted on January 25, 2011. In September they will elect a new Parliament and in December they will elect a new President. Now the people realize they need the police that belonged to the previous government under Mubarak. At first they policed themselves, but they still have to work and can't do both. But there's a feeling of hope now that Mubarak is gone.
Alexandria is the result of the Nile River Delta Valley, the first place civilization developed. Egypt is called the Gift of the Nile because the river bestows rich life along its banks. The Nile River starts at Lake Victoria in Africa which floods from the snowmelt of Africa's greatest mountains into the White Nile River. The rotted vegetation flows down through Sudan and merges with the Blue Nile River flowing from Ethiopia's Lake Taua with nitrates and phosphates. This is the perfect fertilizer. Every year the Nile floods in a 7-9 foot width all along its banks and adds rich silt to the fields.
In 3100BC the ancients developed a reliable calendar by watching the sun and moon. Within one generation, they developed written numbers, letters, accounting, geometry, architecture, astronomy, reservoirs, canals, and taxation. The labor before 2200BC on the pyramids was not by slaves, but by farmers and craftsmen who needed jobs when the Nile flooded. This ensured the entire society was at work during the off season.
The Mosque of Mursi Abul Abbas is the largest with 4 domes and a minaret. Egyptians are mostly Muslim. Muslims must pray 5 times a day and must clean their whole body before they pray. Then they must kneel and face the east to pray. The minaret sends out a chant over a loudspeaker when it is time to pray. The devout stop what they are doing and prepare themselves for prayer.
Pompey's Pillar is really a Roman Memorial column dedicated to Diocletian; it is not Pompey's tomb.
In 31 BC Julius Caesar entered Egypt and married Cleopatra, who was the ruler at 16 years of age. They had a son, Caesarium. But Romans killed Julius Caesar and Cleopatra and her son had to be smuggled inside a carpet back to Egypt. Then Cleopatra married Marc Antony. He was killed; then she took her life and left a 13 year old son who was killed also. Then Egypt came completely under Roman rule.
The catacombs in Alexandria were built by a Roman family who adopted the Egyptian style, but added a banquet hall because family and friends that visited would stay all day. They brought food from home and broke pottery when finished. It was okay to bring pottery in, but wouldn't take it back to their house because it had been near the dead. In the banquet hall are 3 benches for the family to sit and lay down on because they always reclined when they ate. For the first 100 years it was private. After that it was opened for anyone. the Greeks and Romans cremated the bodies, but in the catacombs are mummies. The Greeks and Romans wanted to be like the royals and pharaohs, so they started doing mummies. The catacombs has a central shaft. Leading to 3 underground levels; but you cn only access the top 2 levels because an underground stream has deteriorated the 3rd level. Once it was discovered everybody started using it as a cemetery.
We drove through the streets and saw many markets. they stack their wares on the sidewalks and streets so full it's difficult for the bus to pass by without hitting them. You can buy anything here: bread, sponges, clothing, veggies, fruits, purses, shawls, curtains, etc.
Khakotis Village is one of Upper Egypt's towns which Alexander the Great built in 293AD. First the Christians lived here, then it became a Greek community. The Egyptians worshipped animals. The Greeks worshipped animals in a human form. Pompey's Pillar was the highest and largest when it was built. It was made in Aswan and floated down the Nile when it flooded to Aleaxandria. The Greco-Roman Museum used to be a private home in 1922. It was sold to the American Embassy in 1952.
In 3000BC Egypt was divided into 2 countries: Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. This was the time when writing started. It encompassed the old, middle and new kingdoms with the intermediate periods scattered in between when Egyot was attacked many times by the Asians, but not occupied. Queen Hatshepsut was the princess of Moses I. Moses II married his half sister to be able to rule legally. She was 20 and he was 69. She started to wear the double crown to represent both upper and lower Egypt. She reigned for 22 years and it was the most peaceful time Egypt had known. When she died her stepson scratched out her name everywhere.
The Persians were the first people to attack and occupy Egypt. When Alexander the Great arrived in Egypt he told them he was the son of their god, Amon, so they would accept him. Then he helped them defeat the Persians. ST. Mark was the first Christian to visit Egypt and spread Christianity. In the 4th century AD Christians were allowed to practice their religion. They were called Coptic Christians. In the 7th century AD the Arabs entered bringing Islamic culture with them. They made Cairo the capitol.
Alexandria is the result of the Nile River Delta Valley, the first place civilization developed. Egypt is called the Gift of the Nile because the river bestows rich life along its banks. The Nile River starts at Lake Victoria in Africa which floods from the snowmelt of Africa's greatest mountains into the White Nile River. The rotted vegetation flows down through Sudan and merges with the Blue Nile River flowing from Ethiopia's Lake Taua with nitrates and phosphates. This is the perfect fertilizer. Every year the Nile floods in a 7-9 foot width all along its banks and adds rich silt to the fields.
In 3100BC the ancients developed a reliable calendar by watching the sun and moon. Within one generation, they developed written numbers, letters, accounting, geometry, architecture, astronomy, reservoirs, canals, and taxation. The labor before 2200BC on the pyramids was not by slaves, but by farmers and craftsmen who needed jobs when the Nile flooded. This ensured the entire society was at work during the off season.
The Mosque of Mursi Abul Abbas is the largest with 4 domes and a minaret. Egyptians are mostly Muslim. Muslims must pray 5 times a day and must clean their whole body before they pray. Then they must kneel and face the east to pray. The minaret sends out a chant over a loudspeaker when it is time to pray. The devout stop what they are doing and prepare themselves for prayer.
Pompey's Pillar is really a Roman Memorial column dedicated to Diocletian; it is not Pompey's tomb.
In 31 BC Julius Caesar entered Egypt and married Cleopatra, who was the ruler at 16 years of age. They had a son, Caesarium. But Romans killed Julius Caesar and Cleopatra and her son had to be smuggled inside a carpet back to Egypt. Then Cleopatra married Marc Antony. He was killed; then she took her life and left a 13 year old son who was killed also. Then Egypt came completely under Roman rule.
The catacombs in Alexandria were built by a Roman family who adopted the Egyptian style, but added a banquet hall because family and friends that visited would stay all day. They brought food from home and broke pottery when finished. It was okay to bring pottery in, but wouldn't take it back to their house because it had been near the dead. In the banquet hall are 3 benches for the family to sit and lay down on because they always reclined when they ate. For the first 100 years it was private. After that it was opened for anyone. the Greeks and Romans cremated the bodies, but in the catacombs are mummies. The Greeks and Romans wanted to be like the royals and pharaohs, so they started doing mummies. The catacombs has a central shaft. Leading to 3 underground levels; but you cn only access the top 2 levels because an underground stream has deteriorated the 3rd level. Once it was discovered everybody started using it as a cemetery.
We drove through the streets and saw many markets. they stack their wares on the sidewalks and streets so full it's difficult for the bus to pass by without hitting them. You can buy anything here: bread, sponges, clothing, veggies, fruits, purses, shawls, curtains, etc.
Khakotis Village is one of Upper Egypt's towns which Alexander the Great built in 293AD. First the Christians lived here, then it became a Greek community. The Egyptians worshipped animals. The Greeks worshipped animals in a human form. Pompey's Pillar was the highest and largest when it was built. It was made in Aswan and floated down the Nile when it flooded to Aleaxandria. The Greco-Roman Museum used to be a private home in 1922. It was sold to the American Embassy in 1952.
In 3000BC Egypt was divided into 2 countries: Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. This was the time when writing started. It encompassed the old, middle and new kingdoms with the intermediate periods scattered in between when Egyot was attacked many times by the Asians, but not occupied. Queen Hatshepsut was the princess of Moses I. Moses II married his half sister to be able to rule legally. She was 20 and he was 69. She started to wear the double crown to represent both upper and lower Egypt. She reigned for 22 years and it was the most peaceful time Egypt had known. When she died her stepson scratched out her name everywhere.
The Persians were the first people to attack and occupy Egypt. When Alexander the Great arrived in Egypt he told them he was the son of their god, Amon, so they would accept him. Then he helped them defeat the Persians. ST. Mark was the first Christian to visit Egypt and spread Christianity. In the 4th century AD Christians were allowed to practice their religion. They were called Coptic Christians. In the 7th century AD the Arabs entered bringing Islamic culture with them. They made Cairo the capitol.
Sunday 5/15/11
Today the ship docked at Port Said, Egypt. Most of the passengers were taking tours into Cairo. We have already been there, so we stayed on the ship. It was extremely warm out anyway. Ray and Carol went on a tour of the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx. The buses were put into a caravan with the military stopping traffic to enable the buses to stay together. We are the first Princess ship to enter Egypt since their unrest started. The Egyptians protect their tourism.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Saturday, 5/14/11
Up on the Mount Beatitudes a church was built to mark the spot where Jesus did all of His teachings. Here He did the 8 Beatitudes and the church is on the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is 170 feet deep. You can see the Kaffir Mountains from another window. The 8 Beatitudes are written in stained glass at the top. Every window in the church is exactly in the middle so you can see the Sea of Galilee wherever you sit. The windows are not tall rectangles but long horizontal rectangles. The church was built in the 20th century from 1924 to 1976. From this church you can see all the places where Jesus performed His miracles: the water into wine in Canaan, turning the loaves of bread and a few fish into an amount to feed a multitude, when He calmed the Seas while they were in the boat, and when he walked on the water, the village where He gave life to a small child, when He healed Peter's mother-in-law. There is a gorgeous mosaic floor with all kinds of symbols displayed: a diamond on it's side means holy place, a 6 with it's open side laying down means water, little tiny squares put together in a 3 x 3 grid means land. There is no marble to be found naturally in Israel, so any building with it has been brought from outside.
There are 7 springs here that flow into the Sea of Galilee. The town Capernaum is on the Sea of Galilee. This is where Jesus found His first five disciples, Matthew, Peter, James, Andrew and John. The church here is called TABA which means 7 springs. It has a door engraved with pictures of Jesus' miracles and His life. The altar in the church is built on top of where Jesus performed the miracle of the bread and the fish. On the floor are mosaics with a peacock, other birds and plants. these are the older mosaics. The newer mosaics have animals, the Nile River and symbols from Egypt because the artist was from Gaza, Egypt. One mosaic is a snake wrapped around a stork's leg. This means if you are going to sin, snake'll get you! the old Christian sign is a Y with an arch over the top. Then the cross was used with slight differences between the Greek, Roman and Russian. The Greek cross has 2 equal lines crossing. The Roman cross has the vertical line longer than the horizontal line. The Russian cross is the same as the Roman except they add a diagonal line towards the bottom to support Jesus' feet.
There is a church in Capernaum called ST. Franciscus done in all black and white volcanic stone. In front of this church is where Jesus gave Peter the staff which became the Church. Today the Pope carries this inside his staff. This is one of the things that Hitler wanted to get. there are carvings on the outside of the church of Jesus' miracles. In this town is Peter's mother-in-law's house. She was a very large woman and when Peter took her to Jesus to heal, he had to lift her out of the roof. They only receive rain during spring, so the roof is remade every spring after the rains. For the first 350 years the Church and the synagogue were in the same building. After Constantine, the shape changed from the central column of The synagogue to 6 columns in the shape of a fishing boat. The steps leading up to the church were 2 small steps then 1 big step. You had to concentrate on climbing the steps to avoid falling, therefore, it forced you to take time to prepare your heart for God. All synagogues around Galilee have 3 entrances.
The Jewish people have to follow 470 laws everyday. They also had to buy their first born from the Rabbi. therefore, they placed a coin under the floor when they built the house. In the synagogue the women had to sit up at the top so they would not distract the men. The Jews say the men are weak. There is a separate room next to the synagogue where the young boys must study the Torah.
The upper mountains of the Golan Heights are snow covered. The snowmelt flows into the Jordan River and then into the Sea of Galilee. The rainy season is in spring. if they don't receive rain then, they won't get any. Between 2 and 5 PM waves from the Mediterranean Sea flow into the Sea of Galilee and it becomes extremely rough. When the Jordan River is brown colored it is because of the sand from the farms.
We visited the Jordan River where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. People pilgrimage here to be baptized in the same spot. the water is a pretty shade of green blue. There were many fish of all sizes there and people were feeding them. Also there were muskrats all over. they are not native to here, but were brought here from South America and have no natural enemies, so they are multiplying rather quickly. The weather here is too warm to use their skins for clothing.
In Nazareth there is 1 church built on the spot where the Angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell of the Immaculate Conception. The door has the whole story of Jesus engraved on it. It starts with Gabriel, Mary marries Joseph, Elijah and Elizabeth, Jesus' birth, Gabriel and other angels telling the shepherds of His birth, Jesus' miracles, Jesus turning over the tables in the synagogue, His crucifixtion , His resurrection. This church was destroyed 3 times, but always rebuilt. On the west wall is a statue of Jesus and on the east wall is one of Mary. Mary has the 3 stars above her head. Mary the Church of the Annunciation is built on top of the grotto where Mary lived with her parents. This is the second tallest church in the world. The tallest is in ST. Peter's in Rome. There is no central column because it is centered over the grotto and it needs to have natural light on it. You have to look down into it. There is also the grotto where Jesus lived with His parents, Mary and Joseph.
There are 7 springs here that flow into the Sea of Galilee. The town Capernaum is on the Sea of Galilee. This is where Jesus found His first five disciples, Matthew, Peter, James, Andrew and John. The church here is called TABA which means 7 springs. It has a door engraved with pictures of Jesus' miracles and His life. The altar in the church is built on top of where Jesus performed the miracle of the bread and the fish. On the floor are mosaics with a peacock, other birds and plants. these are the older mosaics. The newer mosaics have animals, the Nile River and symbols from Egypt because the artist was from Gaza, Egypt. One mosaic is a snake wrapped around a stork's leg. This means if you are going to sin, snake'll get you! the old Christian sign is a Y with an arch over the top. Then the cross was used with slight differences between the Greek, Roman and Russian. The Greek cross has 2 equal lines crossing. The Roman cross has the vertical line longer than the horizontal line. The Russian cross is the same as the Roman except they add a diagonal line towards the bottom to support Jesus' feet.
There is a church in Capernaum called ST. Franciscus done in all black and white volcanic stone. In front of this church is where Jesus gave Peter the staff which became the Church. Today the Pope carries this inside his staff. This is one of the things that Hitler wanted to get. there are carvings on the outside of the church of Jesus' miracles. In this town is Peter's mother-in-law's house. She was a very large woman and when Peter took her to Jesus to heal, he had to lift her out of the roof. They only receive rain during spring, so the roof is remade every spring after the rains. For the first 350 years the Church and the synagogue were in the same building. After Constantine, the shape changed from the central column of The synagogue to 6 columns in the shape of a fishing boat. The steps leading up to the church were 2 small steps then 1 big step. You had to concentrate on climbing the steps to avoid falling, therefore, it forced you to take time to prepare your heart for God. All synagogues around Galilee have 3 entrances.
The Jewish people have to follow 470 laws everyday. They also had to buy their first born from the Rabbi. therefore, they placed a coin under the floor when they built the house. In the synagogue the women had to sit up at the top so they would not distract the men. The Jews say the men are weak. There is a separate room next to the synagogue where the young boys must study the Torah.
The upper mountains of the Golan Heights are snow covered. The snowmelt flows into the Jordan River and then into the Sea of Galilee. The rainy season is in spring. if they don't receive rain then, they won't get any. Between 2 and 5 PM waves from the Mediterranean Sea flow into the Sea of Galilee and it becomes extremely rough. When the Jordan River is brown colored it is because of the sand from the farms.
We visited the Jordan River where John the Baptist baptized Jesus. People pilgrimage here to be baptized in the same spot. the water is a pretty shade of green blue. There were many fish of all sizes there and people were feeding them. Also there were muskrats all over. they are not native to here, but were brought here from South America and have no natural enemies, so they are multiplying rather quickly. The weather here is too warm to use their skins for clothing.
In Nazareth there is 1 church built on the spot where the Angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell of the Immaculate Conception. The door has the whole story of Jesus engraved on it. It starts with Gabriel, Mary marries Joseph, Elijah and Elizabeth, Jesus' birth, Gabriel and other angels telling the shepherds of His birth, Jesus' miracles, Jesus turning over the tables in the synagogue, His crucifixtion , His resurrection. This church was destroyed 3 times, but always rebuilt. On the west wall is a statue of Jesus and on the east wall is one of Mary. Mary has the 3 stars above her head. Mary the Church of the Annunciation is built on top of the grotto where Mary lived with her parents. This is the second tallest church in the world. The tallest is in ST. Peter's in Rome. There is no central column because it is centered over the grotto and it needs to have natural light on it. You have to look down into it. There is also the grotto where Jesus lived with His parents, Mary and Joseph.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Friday, 5/13/11
Today we docked at Ashdod, Israel to go by bus to Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the largest city and the capital. The second largest city is Tel Aviv and Haifa is the third largest. In 1200BC the Philistines migrated from the Aegean because they couldn't obtain access into Egypt. They are considered the "mysterious sea people ". They called this land Palestine. Ashdod is the ancient city of the Philistine Confederation. They were always a powerful foe of King Saul and David. In fact, they never defeated the Philistines.
Israel is the bridge between Europe, Asia and Africa. Jerusalem is holy to the Jews, Christians and Muslims. The central focus for all 3 religions is Mount Moriah, the highest point. This is where Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son to God. King David built an altar here. King Solomon built his Temple around the altar. When it came under Roman rule, King Herod made it his temple. The Romans annexed Judea and Jerusalem into the Roman Empire because they realized its importance. When the Roman Empire fell, the Ottomans took over the temple. This was where Mohammed ascended to heaven from Mount Moriah. They built a dome over the spot and it is called Dome of the Rock and is holy to the Muslims. There is only the west wall (main support wall) left from the original temple of Solomon and this is now in Jewish control. It is called the Wailing Wall where the Jews pray to God and leave pieces of paper on which their requests are written. Israel gained it's independence from Palestine in 1948 and for 63 years now the country is divided into an east bank and a west bank. In 1967 they had the 6 Days War when they regained the Wailing Wall from Palestine.
The walled city of Old Jerusalem was built on 7 hills and has 7 gates into its city. The Lions Gate is the gate Jesus passed through on Palm Sunday. This is the 1st station of the cross. The Mercy Gate (Golden) is never opened. Jerusalem is surrounded by 2 valleys; the Garden of Gethsemane is in one of them. The Desert of Judea goes to the Dead Sea which is 400 meters below sea level and has no outlet. The Negev Desert covers 30% of Israel. Lake Galilee is fresh water and the Jordan River flows out of Lake Galilee and into the Dead Sea. Everything from the Jordan River east is the East Bank and under Palestinian rule. The West Bank is under dispute, but now is under Israel's control. Israel has no natural resources. Oil is all around it, but not in their country. They receive 30 days of rain in the winter. It rains each day for 30 - 45 minutes.
The population of Israel is 8 million. All females from 18 - 20 years of age must serve in the military. All males from 18 - 21 years of age must serve in the military, then they must go into the reserves until they are 30. Israel's main industry is diamonds which they buy rough from Africa, cut, polish and set for sale. There are 3 languages spoken here: Arabic, Hebrew and English. Their currency is the shekel which goes back 2000 years. The city of Jerusalem is a city of layers. Whenever you dig somewhere, you always find something from the past. Today's sidewalks and streets are 20 - 30 feet higher than they were 2000 years ago. Jerusalem is a town that is more than 3000 years old. So the hill of Golgotha is below the street level and is actually inside a church; now called the church of the Holy Sepulcher. It has a large gray dome. This is also a country of contrasts between 3 different religions. All 3 religions call Jerusalem Holy, which leads to many conflicts. After seeing how close all these Holy places are to each other, we can understand why there is always conflict in this region. Judaism is 5078 years old; Christianity is 2000 years old, the Muslim religion is only since the 7th century AD. For the Jews this is where Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, Issac, where David built the altar to God and where King Solomon built his Temple which contained the 10 Commandments and the Arc of the Covenant. For the Muslims, this is Holy because Mohammed ascended up into heaven on a horse from on top of this same hill. They built the Dome of the Rock here covered in gold 500 years ago. They made sure their minaret is higher then either the Jewish or Christians churches. For the Christians this is where Jesus was raised, preached and was crucified. So it is their Holy place also. All 3 of these Holy places are all inside the walls of Jerusalem and in the same spot. Friday at 6PM is the start of the Jewish Holy Day, Shabatz, on Saturday. They are not allowed to work, cook, smoke, drive, etc. and must pray 3 times a day. The strict Orthodox Jews make up 20% of the population. The Muslims Holy Day is Friday and that is today. When we rode by a Muslim Temple there were military guards surrounding it. You can hear the Muslims being called to worship with a chant from a loud speaker on top of their minarets. They follow the Koran and must pray 5 times daily.
Via Dolorosa, the Sorrowful Way, is the winding road of Jesus' walk carrying the cross. It is also called the 14 stations of the cross. At the end of the walk is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Inside this church is the hill of Calvary, also called Golgotha. During the Roman Empire Hadrian destroyed it, rebuilt it as the Temple of Venus. Where Jesus' body was prepared for burial after His crucifixion is called The Stone of the Anointing. Hadrian placed the Temple of Adonis here. Jesus was placed in a tomb carved out of the hillside and a stone was rolled in front to cover it up. hat was typical of their burials 2000 years ago. There are no cemeteries inside the city because of diseases. The Garden of Gethsemane is in a valley and it is filled with olive trees. They have it cordoned off so you don't walk on it, but can see it perfectly. It looks exactly the way the picture in my Bible shows it with the trees and the big rocks. Olive trees can live 3000 to 4000 years; therefore some of the really old olive trees we saw were here when Jesus prayed the Lord's Prayer on Maundy Thursday and sweated tears of blood here. It is SO moving being here!!! Jesus' cross was made of olive wood and they sell many small crosses as momentoes of the cross and they are made out of olive wood also. It takes 7 years for the olive wood to dry enough to carve. There is that magic number 7 again.
Constantine's mother, Helen, was a Christian and found all of the places where Jesus was, identified them and built a church in the 4th century AD. The Church of All Nations, the Basilica of Agony is Roman Catholic. Every nation helped to built it. The altar has the stone from Gethsemane on which Jesus prayed. There are 3 mosaics inside: 1- Jesus with the apostles, 2- Jesus in Gethsemane, 3- Judas kissing Jesus. Jesus had holes in his hands and his feet, and a Roman soldier pierced his chest with a sword to be sure He was dead. Jerusalem has a special cross made of 5 crosses to represent the 5 wounds, the 5 nails and the 5 countries. On the back is written the word Jerusalem. This can only be bought in Jerusalem. This symbol was also the symbol of the 5 countries of the Crusades as they were trying Ta save all the Holy places from the Muslims.
There are 14 stations of the cross. The first is at the Lions Gate where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The 5th station is the rock where Simon leaned against when. The 6th station is where Jesus fell 3 times carrying the cross. it is now inside the Church of Holy Veronica. He was crucified outside of the city and a crucifixtion typically lasts 6- 7 hours. There are 4 stations inside the Holy Sepulcher church which has been rebuilt several times. Jesus lost 1 drop of blood from the cross when He died. When that drop of blood touched the earth an earthquake occurred. It split the earth all the way down through the hill of Golgotha. They couldn't find a grave in which to bury Jesus, so a nobleman named Joseph gave his to Jesus. Station 14 is the tomb. A mausoleum was built in 1810 by the Russian church on top of the tomb. Then the disciples had to hurry before they closed the gates back into the city because it was Friday and the Jewish Sabbath started at 6PM. The statue of the Lion of Judea on his hind legs holding an olive branch is the symbol of Jesus.
We then drove to Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity built in the 4th century AD by Constantine on top of the stable where Jesus was born. it was rebuilt in the 6th century. When the Ottoman Turks took over they made the doorway much shorter to prevent horses from entering.There is a painting on the outside wall of the 3 Wise Men coming from Persia. Since they were from Persia, the Turks didn't destroy it. The mosaic floor was laid during Constantine's reign. Later on Pope Justinian raised the floor up and added 44 columns in the 12th century The frescoes are done during the Crusades and Byzantine eras.
Christianity has 13 denominations. The original manger is in Rome in ST Mary's Basilica. The stall marks the spot where the stable was. The stables there 2000 years ago were caves. The stable is divided into 2 parts: one small where the manger was and one larger. All of the different denominations of the Christian church wanted the single oil lamp and the church over the stable. But they ended up sharing all of it. So there are several denominations represented in this church. When the radio broadcasts the Xmas Eve service, it comes from this church. Priest Jerome from Rome translated the Old Testament of the Bible from Hebrew to Latin. Then he translated the New Testament from Greek to Latin, called the Latin Vulgare. He stayed in this cave for 34 years to do these translations. He was buried there, then moved by Constantine to Rome. In the 4th century when the Hebrew was translated to Greek to make the split from Judaism, they also wrote the Greek language from left to right.
Haifa, Israel is the third largest city and it's port was built in 1976. They pipe water from the Sea of Galilee to water their crops. There are not many trees here because when the Ottomans were in control for 401 years, they cut down all the trees. Now they supply veggies for all of Europe in the winter.
Israel is the bridge between Europe, Asia and Africa. Jerusalem is holy to the Jews, Christians and Muslims. The central focus for all 3 religions is Mount Moriah, the highest point. This is where Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son to God. King David built an altar here. King Solomon built his Temple around the altar. When it came under Roman rule, King Herod made it his temple. The Romans annexed Judea and Jerusalem into the Roman Empire because they realized its importance. When the Roman Empire fell, the Ottomans took over the temple. This was where Mohammed ascended to heaven from Mount Moriah. They built a dome over the spot and it is called Dome of the Rock and is holy to the Muslims. There is only the west wall (main support wall) left from the original temple of Solomon and this is now in Jewish control. It is called the Wailing Wall where the Jews pray to God and leave pieces of paper on which their requests are written. Israel gained it's independence from Palestine in 1948 and for 63 years now the country is divided into an east bank and a west bank. In 1967 they had the 6 Days War when they regained the Wailing Wall from Palestine.
The walled city of Old Jerusalem was built on 7 hills and has 7 gates into its city. The Lions Gate is the gate Jesus passed through on Palm Sunday. This is the 1st station of the cross. The Mercy Gate (Golden) is never opened. Jerusalem is surrounded by 2 valleys; the Garden of Gethsemane is in one of them. The Desert of Judea goes to the Dead Sea which is 400 meters below sea level and has no outlet. The Negev Desert covers 30% of Israel. Lake Galilee is fresh water and the Jordan River flows out of Lake Galilee and into the Dead Sea. Everything from the Jordan River east is the East Bank and under Palestinian rule. The West Bank is under dispute, but now is under Israel's control. Israel has no natural resources. Oil is all around it, but not in their country. They receive 30 days of rain in the winter. It rains each day for 30 - 45 minutes.
The population of Israel is 8 million. All females from 18 - 20 years of age must serve in the military. All males from 18 - 21 years of age must serve in the military, then they must go into the reserves until they are 30. Israel's main industry is diamonds which they buy rough from Africa, cut, polish and set for sale. There are 3 languages spoken here: Arabic, Hebrew and English. Their currency is the shekel which goes back 2000 years. The city of Jerusalem is a city of layers. Whenever you dig somewhere, you always find something from the past. Today's sidewalks and streets are 20 - 30 feet higher than they were 2000 years ago. Jerusalem is a town that is more than 3000 years old. So the hill of Golgotha is below the street level and is actually inside a church; now called the church of the Holy Sepulcher. It has a large gray dome. This is also a country of contrasts between 3 different religions. All 3 religions call Jerusalem Holy, which leads to many conflicts. After seeing how close all these Holy places are to each other, we can understand why there is always conflict in this region. Judaism is 5078 years old; Christianity is 2000 years old, the Muslim religion is only since the 7th century AD. For the Jews this is where Abraham was asked to sacrifice his son, Issac, where David built the altar to God and where King Solomon built his Temple which contained the 10 Commandments and the Arc of the Covenant. For the Muslims, this is Holy because Mohammed ascended up into heaven on a horse from on top of this same hill. They built the Dome of the Rock here covered in gold 500 years ago. They made sure their minaret is higher then either the Jewish or Christians churches. For the Christians this is where Jesus was raised, preached and was crucified. So it is their Holy place also. All 3 of these Holy places are all inside the walls of Jerusalem and in the same spot. Friday at 6PM is the start of the Jewish Holy Day, Shabatz, on Saturday. They are not allowed to work, cook, smoke, drive, etc. and must pray 3 times a day. The strict Orthodox Jews make up 20% of the population. The Muslims Holy Day is Friday and that is today. When we rode by a Muslim Temple there were military guards surrounding it. You can hear the Muslims being called to worship with a chant from a loud speaker on top of their minarets. They follow the Koran and must pray 5 times daily.
Via Dolorosa, the Sorrowful Way, is the winding road of Jesus' walk carrying the cross. It is also called the 14 stations of the cross. At the end of the walk is the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Inside this church is the hill of Calvary, also called Golgotha. During the Roman Empire Hadrian destroyed it, rebuilt it as the Temple of Venus. Where Jesus' body was prepared for burial after His crucifixion is called The Stone of the Anointing. Hadrian placed the Temple of Adonis here. Jesus was placed in a tomb carved out of the hillside and a stone was rolled in front to cover it up. hat was typical of their burials 2000 years ago. There are no cemeteries inside the city because of diseases. The Garden of Gethsemane is in a valley and it is filled with olive trees. They have it cordoned off so you don't walk on it, but can see it perfectly. It looks exactly the way the picture in my Bible shows it with the trees and the big rocks. Olive trees can live 3000 to 4000 years; therefore some of the really old olive trees we saw were here when Jesus prayed the Lord's Prayer on Maundy Thursday and sweated tears of blood here. It is SO moving being here!!! Jesus' cross was made of olive wood and they sell many small crosses as momentoes of the cross and they are made out of olive wood also. It takes 7 years for the olive wood to dry enough to carve. There is that magic number 7 again.
Constantine's mother, Helen, was a Christian and found all of the places where Jesus was, identified them and built a church in the 4th century AD. The Church of All Nations, the Basilica of Agony is Roman Catholic. Every nation helped to built it. The altar has the stone from Gethsemane on which Jesus prayed. There are 3 mosaics inside: 1- Jesus with the apostles, 2- Jesus in Gethsemane, 3- Judas kissing Jesus. Jesus had holes in his hands and his feet, and a Roman soldier pierced his chest with a sword to be sure He was dead. Jerusalem has a special cross made of 5 crosses to represent the 5 wounds, the 5 nails and the 5 countries. On the back is written the word Jerusalem. This can only be bought in Jerusalem. This symbol was also the symbol of the 5 countries of the Crusades as they were trying Ta save all the Holy places from the Muslims.
There are 14 stations of the cross. The first is at the Lions Gate where Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. The 5th station is the rock where Simon leaned against when. The 6th station is where Jesus fell 3 times carrying the cross. it is now inside the Church of Holy Veronica. He was crucified outside of the city and a crucifixtion typically lasts 6- 7 hours. There are 4 stations inside the Holy Sepulcher church which has been rebuilt several times. Jesus lost 1 drop of blood from the cross when He died. When that drop of blood touched the earth an earthquake occurred. It split the earth all the way down through the hill of Golgotha. They couldn't find a grave in which to bury Jesus, so a nobleman named Joseph gave his to Jesus. Station 14 is the tomb. A mausoleum was built in 1810 by the Russian church on top of the tomb. Then the disciples had to hurry before they closed the gates back into the city because it was Friday and the Jewish Sabbath started at 6PM. The statue of the Lion of Judea on his hind legs holding an olive branch is the symbol of Jesus.
We then drove to Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity built in the 4th century AD by Constantine on top of the stable where Jesus was born. it was rebuilt in the 6th century. When the Ottoman Turks took over they made the doorway much shorter to prevent horses from entering.There is a painting on the outside wall of the 3 Wise Men coming from Persia. Since they were from Persia, the Turks didn't destroy it. The mosaic floor was laid during Constantine's reign. Later on Pope Justinian raised the floor up and added 44 columns in the 12th century The frescoes are done during the Crusades and Byzantine eras.
Christianity has 13 denominations. The original manger is in Rome in ST Mary's Basilica. The stall marks the spot where the stable was. The stables there 2000 years ago were caves. The stable is divided into 2 parts: one small where the manger was and one larger. All of the different denominations of the Christian church wanted the single oil lamp and the church over the stable. But they ended up sharing all of it. So there are several denominations represented in this church. When the radio broadcasts the Xmas Eve service, it comes from this church. Priest Jerome from Rome translated the Old Testament of the Bible from Hebrew to Latin. Then he translated the New Testament from Greek to Latin, called the Latin Vulgare. He stayed in this cave for 34 years to do these translations. He was buried there, then moved by Constantine to Rome. In the 4th century when the Hebrew was translated to Greek to make the split from Judaism, they also wrote the Greek language from left to right.
Haifa, Israel is the third largest city and it's port was built in 1976. They pipe water from the Sea of Galilee to water their crops. There are not many trees here because when the Ottomans were in control for 401 years, they cut down all the trees. Now they supply veggies for all of Europe in the winter.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Wednesday, 5/11/11
Ephesus, the ancient name, is Kusadasi, Turkey. This is the coast of Asia Minor that ST John could view from the Cave of the Apopylypse while he wrote Revelations. It is on the Aegean Sea, which is an extension of the Mediterranean and is very salty in the summer, with a Mediterranean climate of hot summers (110) and mild winters. It is close to Didymo, Priene, Miletos and Pamukkale, the ancient Greek thermal spas. Ephesus is the most and best preserved ancient city of the world. The ancient city had marble streets and inside the Magnesia gate is the entrance to Hadrian's Temple, Trajan's Fountain, the baths of Scoloastika, the ancient theater and library.
Turkey is a country of 70 million people with 250,000 living in Kusadasi. It is a beach town with a statue of the patron saint of the Ottoman Empire above the town. The oldest part is the castle which is now a hotel. Financially, there are no mortgages; just cash on the table. So young couples need to borrow money from grandparents to be able to buy a home. The houses we can see are terrace homes of the rich for $250,000. There were many apartments further into the city. Alongside an apartment building and the road we were riding on was a horse eating grass. They produce cotton, linen, peaches, apricots, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives, oil, soap, pine nuts, saffron, Turkish cotton and blue jeans. In Turkey 95% are Muslim and 5% is Jewish. The Muslim ladies wear burkas, long black dresses and cover their hair. 70% of the marriages are chosen by the parents.
In 37 - 42AD when Mother Mary and ST John came here Christians were being persecuted; so they lived outside of the town. Mary's house was built in the 1st century AD for protection in the Moissommi Mountains. When you look up into the mountains all you see are rocks, trees and shrubs. You cannot tell that a house is up there. It wasn't even found until a German nun saw a vision of Mary in that area. A Basilica was built on this spot in the 6th century AD by Emperor Justinian with 6 domes. In 1304AD the Ottoman Empire conquered and turned it into a mosque. It was reconstructed in the late 18th century. Excavations in 1869 revealed a fortress with a large statue of Mary where Paul used to preach and the foundations of her house. The statue of Mary is the largest in the world. The Muslims call her " Mother of Miracles" and consider her holy; but Jesus is just a prophet. They say there are no bones for Mary because instead of dying and being buried she rose up to heaven at this location. Our guide informed us that a lot of young women pray to Mary here to bless them with a child. Now it is in really good shape and they keep it spotless and the shrubbery well trimmed.
Ephesus was founded 800 years before Christ with a tribe of Amazons. During the Roman era, Jews and Christians had visited here. The ruins show they had marble streets and a colosseum to hold 24,000 people. In 300BC they had lead sewer pipes to push the waste out and the drinking water in. They also had a smaller theater to hold only 1400 people. The floors of the rich homes had central heating with separate pipes for hot and cold water between the floors and the floors were mosaic. The Turkish carpets copy these mosaics. In 7AD they had a population of 250,000 and an outbreak of malaria set in. Then a level 10 earthquake occurred and the town was leveled. Whoever was still alive left the town. There was another earthquake from 1365-1370. Nobody lived here until the railroad came through in 1869 when they uncovered the ruins. They used the ruins as quarries for their building materials. In 1927-1930 the Austrian government did the excavations. Ephesus is only 25% excavated and renovated now.
The ruins have Doric (200 BC and vey simple) , Ionic and Corinthian columns. They found a wall of a hospital with markings of herbal treatments. At the gate are columns and a statue of Hercules holding a lion in his hands. There is a statue of Dr, Alexandros without a head. When the Christians had to meet in secret they found symbols written in the marble to direct them where to go. It was a circle with a cross inside. Then it was bisected 2 more times with the ends connected together with 8 curved lines. So what you see is a cross with 8 fish around the circle. The fish and cross represent Christianity. The Fountains of Emperor Trajan is in front of a 2 story building with a statue of Trajan with his foot on a ball which represents the world. The statue of Aphrodite is in front of the building also. Greek mythology has a goddess Neke, which is the goddess of sports; where our Nike comes from. The Temple of Hadrian had a tiny relief of statues in a pediment on the top. The statue of Lady Medussa is on top of the arch with the power of her "evil eye" watching everybody. Inside of the arch is the town's bathroom with 44 toilets for both sexes. They all wore togas so nobody could see anything; therefore, no separate stalls. This was the place to go to hear the latest news!
The Greco-Roman library built by Celsus is the second largest in the world. It is 2 stories and has a space between the floors and walls to keep the humidity away because of the manuscripts and books. When it caught fire, the wooden ceiling between the floors burned. Inside the library was a secret tunnel that led to the brothels. So the males could say they were going to the library and really go to the brothels. Outside the library was the Agora gate that led to the marketplace where slaves were sold. Slaves were prisioners of war, born slaves, sold as a slave by a parent or an African slave. This was a popular lectrue spot. ST Paul shaved his hair and changed his toga color and preached here. When he was put into jail on top of the hill he wrote the book of Ephesians. This was 1 of the 7 churches the saints speak about. During the 4th century AD it became a Christian area.
In the 6th century AD they brought the body of ST John from Rome to be buried here. It is a simple grave with 4 columns.
Turkey is a country of 70 million people with 250,000 living in Kusadasi. It is a beach town with a statue of the patron saint of the Ottoman Empire above the town. The oldest part is the castle which is now a hotel. Financially, there are no mortgages; just cash on the table. So young couples need to borrow money from grandparents to be able to buy a home. The houses we can see are terrace homes of the rich for $250,000. There were many apartments further into the city. Alongside an apartment building and the road we were riding on was a horse eating grass. They produce cotton, linen, peaches, apricots, figs, grapes, pomegranates, olives, oil, soap, pine nuts, saffron, Turkish cotton and blue jeans. In Turkey 95% are Muslim and 5% is Jewish. The Muslim ladies wear burkas, long black dresses and cover their hair. 70% of the marriages are chosen by the parents.
In 37 - 42AD when Mother Mary and ST John came here Christians were being persecuted; so they lived outside of the town. Mary's house was built in the 1st century AD for protection in the Moissommi Mountains. When you look up into the mountains all you see are rocks, trees and shrubs. You cannot tell that a house is up there. It wasn't even found until a German nun saw a vision of Mary in that area. A Basilica was built on this spot in the 6th century AD by Emperor Justinian with 6 domes. In 1304AD the Ottoman Empire conquered and turned it into a mosque. It was reconstructed in the late 18th century. Excavations in 1869 revealed a fortress with a large statue of Mary where Paul used to preach and the foundations of her house. The statue of Mary is the largest in the world. The Muslims call her " Mother of Miracles" and consider her holy; but Jesus is just a prophet. They say there are no bones for Mary because instead of dying and being buried she rose up to heaven at this location. Our guide informed us that a lot of young women pray to Mary here to bless them with a child. Now it is in really good shape and they keep it spotless and the shrubbery well trimmed.
Ephesus was founded 800 years before Christ with a tribe of Amazons. During the Roman era, Jews and Christians had visited here. The ruins show they had marble streets and a colosseum to hold 24,000 people. In 300BC they had lead sewer pipes to push the waste out and the drinking water in. They also had a smaller theater to hold only 1400 people. The floors of the rich homes had central heating with separate pipes for hot and cold water between the floors and the floors were mosaic. The Turkish carpets copy these mosaics. In 7AD they had a population of 250,000 and an outbreak of malaria set in. Then a level 10 earthquake occurred and the town was leveled. Whoever was still alive left the town. There was another earthquake from 1365-1370. Nobody lived here until the railroad came through in 1869 when they uncovered the ruins. They used the ruins as quarries for their building materials. In 1927-1930 the Austrian government did the excavations. Ephesus is only 25% excavated and renovated now.
The ruins have Doric (200 BC and vey simple) , Ionic and Corinthian columns. They found a wall of a hospital with markings of herbal treatments. At the gate are columns and a statue of Hercules holding a lion in his hands. There is a statue of Dr, Alexandros without a head. When the Christians had to meet in secret they found symbols written in the marble to direct them where to go. It was a circle with a cross inside. Then it was bisected 2 more times with the ends connected together with 8 curved lines. So what you see is a cross with 8 fish around the circle. The fish and cross represent Christianity. The Fountains of Emperor Trajan is in front of a 2 story building with a statue of Trajan with his foot on a ball which represents the world. The statue of Aphrodite is in front of the building also. Greek mythology has a goddess Neke, which is the goddess of sports; where our Nike comes from. The Temple of Hadrian had a tiny relief of statues in a pediment on the top. The statue of Lady Medussa is on top of the arch with the power of her "evil eye" watching everybody. Inside of the arch is the town's bathroom with 44 toilets for both sexes. They all wore togas so nobody could see anything; therefore, no separate stalls. This was the place to go to hear the latest news!
The Greco-Roman library built by Celsus is the second largest in the world. It is 2 stories and has a space between the floors and walls to keep the humidity away because of the manuscripts and books. When it caught fire, the wooden ceiling between the floors burned. Inside the library was a secret tunnel that led to the brothels. So the males could say they were going to the library and really go to the brothels. Outside the library was the Agora gate that led to the marketplace where slaves were sold. Slaves were prisioners of war, born slaves, sold as a slave by a parent or an African slave. This was a popular lectrue spot. ST Paul shaved his hair and changed his toga color and preached here. When he was put into jail on top of the hill he wrote the book of Ephesians. This was 1 of the 7 churches the saints speak about. During the 4th century AD it became a Christian area.
In the 6th century AD they brought the body of ST John from Rome to be buried here. It is a simple grave with 4 columns.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, 5/10/11
Early this morning we sailed into the Straits of Messinna on the eastern side of the Aegean Sea. We docked in the harbor of Sklara, a little fishing village the size of Manhattan with a population of 3000 on the island of Patmos, Greece. Patmos is one of the many Dodecanese (12) islands that hug the coast of Asia Minor far away from Greece, but they are of Greek heritage. Patmos became part of Greece in 1948. This is a small, rocky volcanic island with only 1 other town, Hora. The white houses are perched on the cliffs. In the past all of the houses were built out of natural stone to keep the rats away. Now they are painted white to reflect the sun. The roofs are flat in order to collect the rain water.Today it is not sunny, but hot. According to Greek mythology Leto (a Titan lady) and Zeus had an affair. Their issue were Apollo and Artremis. Celine, the moon goddess, swayed Artremis to raise Patmos out of the sea; therefore Patmos is named after Artremis. The island to the north of Patmos is an all rock island called Ichyrus, after Greek mythology. the pine trees growing here are native, but the eucalyptus trees were brought by Australian soldiers during WWII.
At the top of this rocky island in the medieval capital town of Hora is a monastery to ST. John the Theologan founded 1000 years after ST John was here. It is a 1600 year old Byzantine structure with great frescoes where 6 monks reside. They are Greek-Orthodox and it is considered the Jerusalem of the Aegean. It was founded in the 11th century, but the courtyard was built in the 17th century. In their bakery they use a horse trough as a kneading table for their bread In the museum was a huge 1300 year old handwritten book of Job! This is the oldest painted manuscript in the Mediterranean. It consists of 400 pages and was written on codex, a parchment which took the skins of 30 goats to make. This is the most important possession of the monastery. The library was founded in the 11th century also. Books were actually printed in 1494 in Germany, so this was many years before. The man that built this monastery was granted this island by Constantine in 1088. This monastery of St John was built out of the stones from the Temple of Diana. Halfway between Hora and Sklara is the Cave of the Apopcalypse where ST. John wrote the book of Revelations. ST.John is referred to as the son of Zebedee, brother of James, John the Evangelist, John the Apostle. He was a fisherman born in Galilee and was a disciple of John the Baptist before he was an apostle of Jesus. He was with Mary at the cross when Jesus entrusted Mary into John's care After the Assumption John took Mary on foot through Asia to Ephaseus to live. The Apostles, Peter, James, John and Paul were traveling all over the world spreading Jesus' word. In 51AD they met at the first Apostalic Council to decide how to better spread God's word. John was declared a pillar of the church because of his work in Europe and Asia. Paul, being a rabble rouser, was denounced by Demetrius, a silversmith outside the Temple, and put into prison. The Emperor deported John to Rome to be boiled to death in oil, but instead he was banished to the island of Patmos for 18 months. While on Patmos John had a vision in a cave on Hora and dictated the book of Revelations to his pupil. St. John saw 7 golden candlesticks (which stood for the 7 churches), centered over Jesus were double edged swords (heaven and hell), and 7 stars for 7 angels. As soon as the vision was completed, the roof of the cave split into 3 pieces from the Voice of God, the Trinity! He wrote the 22 chapters of Revelations in Greek because that was the easiest way to spread the Word. There are mosaics just above the entrance to the cave. The cave is small, enough room for an altar, bed and stove; but they say he didn't live in the cave. He could see the coast of Asia Minor from inside the cave. There was a rock like a desk that he used as the altar. Then the cave was forgotten until it was found in the 11th century. It was reconstructed during the 18th century. During the 19th century people started living at the port of Sklara.
ST. John returned to Ephesus and lived 40 more years until 100 AD when he died a natural death. He was buried at the Basilica of St. john in Ephaseus , Turkey under plain stone slab with 4 columns.
At the top of this rocky island in the medieval capital town of Hora is a monastery to ST. John the Theologan founded 1000 years after ST John was here. It is a 1600 year old Byzantine structure with great frescoes where 6 monks reside. They are Greek-Orthodox and it is considered the Jerusalem of the Aegean. It was founded in the 11th century, but the courtyard was built in the 17th century. In their bakery they use a horse trough as a kneading table for their bread In the museum was a huge 1300 year old handwritten book of Job! This is the oldest painted manuscript in the Mediterranean. It consists of 400 pages and was written on codex, a parchment which took the skins of 30 goats to make. This is the most important possession of the monastery. The library was founded in the 11th century also. Books were actually printed in 1494 in Germany, so this was many years before. The man that built this monastery was granted this island by Constantine in 1088. This monastery of St John was built out of the stones from the Temple of Diana. Halfway between Hora and Sklara is the Cave of the Apopcalypse where ST. John wrote the book of Revelations. ST.John is referred to as the son of Zebedee, brother of James, John the Evangelist, John the Apostle. He was a fisherman born in Galilee and was a disciple of John the Baptist before he was an apostle of Jesus. He was with Mary at the cross when Jesus entrusted Mary into John's care After the Assumption John took Mary on foot through Asia to Ephaseus to live. The Apostles, Peter, James, John and Paul were traveling all over the world spreading Jesus' word. In 51AD they met at the first Apostalic Council to decide how to better spread God's word. John was declared a pillar of the church because of his work in Europe and Asia. Paul, being a rabble rouser, was denounced by Demetrius, a silversmith outside the Temple, and put into prison. The Emperor deported John to Rome to be boiled to death in oil, but instead he was banished to the island of Patmos for 18 months. While on Patmos John had a vision in a cave on Hora and dictated the book of Revelations to his pupil. St. John saw 7 golden candlesticks (which stood for the 7 churches), centered over Jesus were double edged swords (heaven and hell), and 7 stars for 7 angels. As soon as the vision was completed, the roof of the cave split into 3 pieces from the Voice of God, the Trinity! He wrote the 22 chapters of Revelations in Greek because that was the easiest way to spread the Word. There are mosaics just above the entrance to the cave. The cave is small, enough room for an altar, bed and stove; but they say he didn't live in the cave. He could see the coast of Asia Minor from inside the cave. There was a rock like a desk that he used as the altar. Then the cave was forgotten until it was found in the 11th century. It was reconstructed during the 18th century. During the 19th century people started living at the port of Sklara.
ST. John returned to Ephesus and lived 40 more years until 100 AD when he died a natural death. He was buried at the Basilica of St. john in Ephaseus , Turkey under plain stone slab with 4 columns.
Monday, 5/9/11
Today we slept in because it is a sea day. The only thing we have to do today is eat and play pinochle with Ray and Carol. It's the girls versus the guys. This tournament will continue for the whole trip.
Daddy and I ate meat balls and veal for dinner. On the isle of Capri Carol and Ray bought a handmade end table from the same carpenter their other one was from. The last one they lost in their house fire. I couldn't find a thimble that I liked in Pompeii. But, Carol bought one from Capri for me that I really like. It was very sweet of her!
Daddy and I ate meat balls and veal for dinner. On the isle of Capri Carol and Ray bought a handmade end table from the same carpenter their other one was from. The last one they lost in their house fire. I couldn't find a thimble that I liked in Pompeii. But, Carol bought one from Capri for me that I really like. It was very sweet of her!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, 5/8/11, Mother's Day
Today is Mother's day and we could have ordered a champagne breakfast. We didn't, but we did order breakfast to be brought to the room. That way we can try to stay on our diets, somewhat. At least we'll stay away from the pancakes, waffles, and sticky buns. Room service provides a really good oatmeal and fruits.
Our port of call today is Sorrento, Italy. The Ancient Greeks and Romans called it "Surrentum". The name Sorrento' means "sirening mermaids" which are spoken of in their folk tales. The land mass is sheer rock cliffs full of scented lemon groves dropping down into the sparkling water. The whitewashed villas cling to the sides of the cliffs. Part of the Amalfi Coast, this is a top tourist destination for the jet setters. The Amalfi coast includes Sorrento, Isle of Capri, Ischia (rock and volcanoes), Positano (expensive), Amalfi Ravello (a town high on a hill), and Salerno( a lovely old medieval town). Amalfi was the first maritime village in Italy.
Pompeii is an hour and a half drive from Sorrento where the rich lived 2000 years ago when Mt. Vesuvius erupted. It is a little hazy outside now, so Vesuvius is not quite visible. Sorrento has lemon trees, oleander, cactus, aloe, bird of paradise, cypress and pine trees growing on the sides of the cliffs. In 1544 poet Tasso was born here and now the Piazzo is named for him. The streets are very narrow and winding with walls of stone. Regular sized buses will not fit onto these streets, so we were transported in large mini vans up to the top then transferred to regular buses for the drive to Pompeii. In 1752 a palace was built of the stones from Pompeii called molte la terra which means milk of the earth or limestone. A very delicious liquor called lemon cello is made here from the rind of huge lemons that look surprisingly like my Pondersosa lemons on my tree that Daddy killed. If I had known we could make this from those lemons, maybe it would still be living! Originally, this was only made on the island of Capri. The soil around Mt. Vesuvius produces sweet wine. They also grow artichokes, oranges, peaches, limes, figs, olives, apricots and prunes. They are known for their lemon and cream cake and the coral they harvest from the sea. The lime trees have thick trunks but their tops are trimmed off to sprout again and trained onto arbors like grape vines. On the terraced slopes are growing olive trees, fig trees and veggies. They use row covers over their crops to protect them from the birds and the intense sun. The flowers visible are roses, palms, sago palms, succulents, yucca, acanthus, poppies and morning glories. They can grow so many things because their soil is volcanic. In the 17th century the first pasta was dried here by the sun and wind. The first Napoli pizza came from here with tomato, garlic and olive oil. A popular Xmas treat here is a dried fig filled with nuts and covered with chocolate. In the town of Sorrento you can see the flat roofs and people on top hanging clothes to dry.
The word Pompeii means 5, but they don't know 5 what! It is Greek in it's heritage, not Etruscan like the rest of Italy.
Mount Vesuvius was 10,000 feet tall when it erupted on August 24, 79AD. Now it is only 3000 feet high. They estimate that 12,000 - 15,000 people died in Pompeii from the gases that escaped during the eruption and the 30 foot of ash that covered them. The area was left alone for 1600 years. The eruption lasted for 3 days and 2 nights. The people were preserved with their hands trying to cover their eyes and noses from the gases. Mount Vesuvius erupted again in 1962. The oldest amphitheater in Italy is here and could hold 20,000 people who could see Mt. Vesuvius. It is built into a natural hill and has perfect acoustics. The limestone colonnade was pre Roman. The town was built on a layer of lava that is from 6BC.
What the archeologists have learned about Pompeii is just amazing. They have been excavating for 250 years now and will continue. I remember being in elementary school, reading an article about Pompeii in My Weekly Reader and being in awe how well preserved those bodies were! It was a rich community with so many advancements: hot and cold running water piped into their homes, one-way and two-way marked streets, cement that doesn't deteriorate as fast as modern day cement, fountains throughout their city, spas, marble toilets, and wooden sliding doors. When they unearthed a marble plaque with Latin inscriptions, they assumed their language was Latin.
Pompeii had 37 public fountains with a face shape drawn around the water pipe (as if the pipe was the nose) with running water. Each fountain had an additional drawing to signify what street it was. At the public baths they had a vestibule, changing rooms, massage rooms with pottery to hold oils, a hot rock massage room and hot and cold running water all with marble floors. The Roman aqueduct supplied the water when the rain didn't. The lead pipes leading into the houses you see every once in a while on the edge of the sidewalk are plumbed into the houses. the public baths were popular because it was the place to hear the news.
The town of Pompeii's streets always sloped up to Mount Vesuvius. The streets were marked by the fountains and had stones placed in the street to signify if they were one- way or two-way. Three and four stones meant it was two-way because the chariot wheels straddled the stones with the center stone separating like a center line. One stone meant it was one-way. I 0 0 0 I or I 0 I. You can see some of the ruts carved into the limestone from the chariot wheels!
At the top of Pompeii is the Main Square with the town halls, the Basilica of Judgment, the first courthouse, a supermarket of fruit, veggies and fish. The top is open on the gallery. Part is covered with a canopy to protect the people from the sun and rain.There are columns, arches, open porticoes and marble floors. The frescoes drawn on the walls tells what was sold in that spot of the market. The markets have many pottery vessels that seem too heavy for 1 person to carry up from the bottom of the town. it is assumed they were carried by 2 slaves with a stick passing through the top of the vessel to enable the slaves to handle it. There are several temples here: the Temple of Jupiter, the Temple of Augustus with Corinthian capitals. The Temple of Apollo and Diana has 48 columns, a lava altar to sacrifice animals in the center. The Temple of Venus protected the merchants of the sea. It was covered in gold. The sundial was a white column that cast a shadow on the huge marble floor to tell the time. From the toppled columns you can see the red brick with the 2000 year old cement and then where the Romans came and added marble to the outside of the columns with a sort of cement that doesn't deteriorate like present day cement does.
They have excavated 25 private homes called Domuses. Each Domus has 3 steps up into it. All of the Domuses had slaves that slept on the bottom floor for protection of the owners. The largest Domus in Pompeii had a vestibule in front with an open roof to collect the rain water. They had a bathroom with a toilet that drained to the outside and away from the house. In their dining room was a mosaic floor and the walls had no windows; but there were frescoes painted there of fake windows with pretty scenes.They sat around a stone table with benches on 3 sides only that would hold 3 people each. Across the street from one Domus was a bakery with a huge oven. The houses have stoves with carbonite present. You can see where the people started to build with bricks to reinforce their framing after an earthquake. We saw an old factory because it was 3 stories and had windows on just the 2nd and 3rd floors. Pompeii had a red light district. the rooms were very narrow and the stone walls had frescoes of sexual positions drawn so foreigners could point to their preferences!!!! The price of a girl was the price of a bottle of wine. more comfort means more bottles of wine! Obviously, prostitution was legal! If a street had a phallic symbol drawn on it, that meant only men were allowed in that area. There was a hotel with a stable and small rooms with stone beds. The sign outside said "hospilivm". The serpent symbol for drugs was even used here too.
Our port of call today is Sorrento, Italy. The Ancient Greeks and Romans called it "Surrentum". The name Sorrento' means "sirening mermaids" which are spoken of in their folk tales. The land mass is sheer rock cliffs full of scented lemon groves dropping down into the sparkling water. The whitewashed villas cling to the sides of the cliffs. Part of the Amalfi Coast, this is a top tourist destination for the jet setters. The Amalfi coast includes Sorrento, Isle of Capri, Ischia (rock and volcanoes), Positano (expensive), Amalfi Ravello (a town high on a hill), and Salerno( a lovely old medieval town). Amalfi was the first maritime village in Italy.
Pompeii is an hour and a half drive from Sorrento where the rich lived 2000 years ago when Mt. Vesuvius erupted. It is a little hazy outside now, so Vesuvius is not quite visible. Sorrento has lemon trees, oleander, cactus, aloe, bird of paradise, cypress and pine trees growing on the sides of the cliffs. In 1544 poet Tasso was born here and now the Piazzo is named for him. The streets are very narrow and winding with walls of stone. Regular sized buses will not fit onto these streets, so we were transported in large mini vans up to the top then transferred to regular buses for the drive to Pompeii. In 1752 a palace was built of the stones from Pompeii called molte la terra which means milk of the earth or limestone. A very delicious liquor called lemon cello is made here from the rind of huge lemons that look surprisingly like my Pondersosa lemons on my tree that Daddy killed. If I had known we could make this from those lemons, maybe it would still be living! Originally, this was only made on the island of Capri. The soil around Mt. Vesuvius produces sweet wine. They also grow artichokes, oranges, peaches, limes, figs, olives, apricots and prunes. They are known for their lemon and cream cake and the coral they harvest from the sea. The lime trees have thick trunks but their tops are trimmed off to sprout again and trained onto arbors like grape vines. On the terraced slopes are growing olive trees, fig trees and veggies. They use row covers over their crops to protect them from the birds and the intense sun. The flowers visible are roses, palms, sago palms, succulents, yucca, acanthus, poppies and morning glories. They can grow so many things because their soil is volcanic. In the 17th century the first pasta was dried here by the sun and wind. The first Napoli pizza came from here with tomato, garlic and olive oil. A popular Xmas treat here is a dried fig filled with nuts and covered with chocolate. In the town of Sorrento you can see the flat roofs and people on top hanging clothes to dry.
The word Pompeii means 5, but they don't know 5 what! It is Greek in it's heritage, not Etruscan like the rest of Italy.
Mount Vesuvius was 10,000 feet tall when it erupted on August 24, 79AD. Now it is only 3000 feet high. They estimate that 12,000 - 15,000 people died in Pompeii from the gases that escaped during the eruption and the 30 foot of ash that covered them. The area was left alone for 1600 years. The eruption lasted for 3 days and 2 nights. The people were preserved with their hands trying to cover their eyes and noses from the gases. Mount Vesuvius erupted again in 1962. The oldest amphitheater in Italy is here and could hold 20,000 people who could see Mt. Vesuvius. It is built into a natural hill and has perfect acoustics. The limestone colonnade was pre Roman. The town was built on a layer of lava that is from 6BC.
What the archeologists have learned about Pompeii is just amazing. They have been excavating for 250 years now and will continue. I remember being in elementary school, reading an article about Pompeii in My Weekly Reader and being in awe how well preserved those bodies were! It was a rich community with so many advancements: hot and cold running water piped into their homes, one-way and two-way marked streets, cement that doesn't deteriorate as fast as modern day cement, fountains throughout their city, spas, marble toilets, and wooden sliding doors. When they unearthed a marble plaque with Latin inscriptions, they assumed their language was Latin.
Pompeii had 37 public fountains with a face shape drawn around the water pipe (as if the pipe was the nose) with running water. Each fountain had an additional drawing to signify what street it was. At the public baths they had a vestibule, changing rooms, massage rooms with pottery to hold oils, a hot rock massage room and hot and cold running water all with marble floors. The Roman aqueduct supplied the water when the rain didn't. The lead pipes leading into the houses you see every once in a while on the edge of the sidewalk are plumbed into the houses. the public baths were popular because it was the place to hear the news.
The town of Pompeii's streets always sloped up to Mount Vesuvius. The streets were marked by the fountains and had stones placed in the street to signify if they were one- way or two-way. Three and four stones meant it was two-way because the chariot wheels straddled the stones with the center stone separating like a center line. One stone meant it was one-way. I 0 0 0 I or I 0 I. You can see some of the ruts carved into the limestone from the chariot wheels!
At the top of Pompeii is the Main Square with the town halls, the Basilica of Judgment, the first courthouse, a supermarket of fruit, veggies and fish. The top is open on the gallery. Part is covered with a canopy to protect the people from the sun and rain.There are columns, arches, open porticoes and marble floors. The frescoes drawn on the walls tells what was sold in that spot of the market. The markets have many pottery vessels that seem too heavy for 1 person to carry up from the bottom of the town. it is assumed they were carried by 2 slaves with a stick passing through the top of the vessel to enable the slaves to handle it. There are several temples here: the Temple of Jupiter, the Temple of Augustus with Corinthian capitals. The Temple of Apollo and Diana has 48 columns, a lava altar to sacrifice animals in the center. The Temple of Venus protected the merchants of the sea. It was covered in gold. The sundial was a white column that cast a shadow on the huge marble floor to tell the time. From the toppled columns you can see the red brick with the 2000 year old cement and then where the Romans came and added marble to the outside of the columns with a sort of cement that doesn't deteriorate like present day cement does.
They have excavated 25 private homes called Domuses. Each Domus has 3 steps up into it. All of the Domuses had slaves that slept on the bottom floor for protection of the owners. The largest Domus in Pompeii had a vestibule in front with an open roof to collect the rain water. They had a bathroom with a toilet that drained to the outside and away from the house. In their dining room was a mosaic floor and the walls had no windows; but there were frescoes painted there of fake windows with pretty scenes.They sat around a stone table with benches on 3 sides only that would hold 3 people each. Across the street from one Domus was a bakery with a huge oven. The houses have stoves with carbonite present. You can see where the people started to build with bricks to reinforce their framing after an earthquake. We saw an old factory because it was 3 stories and had windows on just the 2nd and 3rd floors. Pompeii had a red light district. the rooms were very narrow and the stone walls had frescoes of sexual positions drawn so foreigners could point to their preferences!!!! The price of a girl was the price of a bottle of wine. more comfort means more bottles of wine! Obviously, prostitution was legal! If a street had a phallic symbol drawn on it, that meant only men were allowed in that area. There was a hotel with a stable and small rooms with stone beds. The sign outside said "hospilivm". The serpent symbol for drugs was even used here too.
Saturday, 5/7/11
Today is Embarkation Day . We are on the 9th floor in 9080. Ray and Carol are on the same floor, same side, just up in the front of the ship.Tthis is the refurbished "Love Boat". This ship is smaller than the other cruise ships we've been on, but our stateroom is really big. We have a full bathroom with a full size tub!!!!! Yea!!!!! There are so many drawers and closets I told Daddy I need mire clothes to fill them up! we have a big sofa and stuffed chairs and a balcony with a tiny dinette set with 2 chairs and 2 ottomans. A very comfortable cabin indeed!
Friday, May 20, 2011
Friday, 5/6/11
In 1929 Pope Pius and the Italian government formed a sovereign independent state with only 100 citizens and its own military called the Vatican City provided for under the Treaty of Lateran. The Pope originally was the bishop over all of Rome. Now the Pope's influence extends around the world and the popes have lived here for 6 centuries. The Vatican Museums were built where the papal palaces were in 1200AD and contain an enormous amount of treasures from antiquity and the Renaissance and the world's greatest art collection. before it was the papal palaces it was the mausoleum for the first century emperors, then it was turned into a fortressThere is a statue here of a warrior scraping olive oil and sand off his body. This is the first example of the Romans imitating the Greeks. There are many statues of Greek gods: Troy, Homer, Apollo, Athena, Hercules, and the Trojan Horse. The ancient Greek and Roman statues of animals represent fertility. Also there is a statue of Moses and the statue that Michelangelo used as his prototype for Jesus. The Vatican Library is richly decorated and only open to qualified researchers. The Vatican Gardens separate the Vatican from the outside world on two sides and covers 58 acres. It is filled with lush gardens, brilliantly colored flowers, massive oaks, many fountains and pools. It still has the medieval fortifications from the 9th century. The wall surrounding the Vatican was built by Pope Leo IV in the 9th century AD for protection. It is 10 feet thick and has a secret protected passageway the Pope escaped into the Castel Sant' Angelo, which is Hadrian's tomb, in 1537 when Rome was attacked. Piazza San Pietro, St. Peter's Square, gateway to the world's largest church, St. Peter's Basilica, is a 384 Doric pillared colonnade with 140 gesticulating saint statues on top. The statue of St. Peter shows him carrying the "keys of the kingdom", a story which the Popes invented. Nothing is written in the Bible to support it. An Egyptian obelisk from Heliopolis on the Nile River Delta is in the center of the square and is flanked by two 17th century fountains. Bernini needed to take down the old bell tower of the first St. Peter's in the 1620s to stabilize the Vatican since the land below it is marshy. The catacombs below are very moist and the priests buried there are now gone. The wall surrounding the Vatican was built from the 9th - 10th centuries by Pope Leo IV for protection. In the 12th - 13th centuries the King of France forced the papacy to move to Avignon, France. Surprisingly, the Lovre is patterned after the Vatican City. Pope Scion IV realized they needed a chapel to hold religious things so in 1475 he started the Sistine Chapel with a secret conclave to protect their treasures from thieves.. It was completed in 1481 and Pope Scion died in 1502 The Pope felt all the frescoes should represent righteous ethics: 1-the law of Moses, 2- the law after Moses, and 3- the law after Jesus Christ. Artists of the early Renaissance were the teachers of Michelangelo and Raphael who were the artists of the SIstine Chapel. The frescoes were painted in fresh plaster that dried in 10 minutes. Michelangelo hated to paint, but he was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint ceiling frescoes from Genesis from 1508-1512. He was on a scaffold 24-7! Michelangelo was paid when he had completed the whole chapel. He painted fake wooden beams to separate the panels, but you have to look really hard and still cannot tell the difference. If he hated to paint, can you imagine what he could do with a sculpture???? After he had completed the first 3 panels, Pope Julius pulled him down to floor level to show him how small he had made the figures. The other 6 panels he painted larger. In the first panel with the Garden of Eden Michelangelo painted a fig tree instead of an apple tree. The Bible never actually said an apple tree. Around the center panels are saints from the Old Testament predicting the coming of Jesus. One panel has Jonah and the whale, this signifies an afterlife. The marble gate at floor level originally marked where the 1st original sin was painted on the ceiling, and separated the priests from the people. Michelangelo went to Florence for 20 years and came back to paint the Last Judgment. Michelangelo was criticized by Monsignor Biagio because 1-Jesus looked too barbaric with a beard and 2- the people were naked and floating all around with no demarcation line between heaven and hell. So Michelangelo painted one of the nudes to look like Biagio and placed jackass ears on him in hell. When Biagio complained, the Pope said he had no jurisdiction in hell. Pope Clements II aligned with the French emperor and when they attacked the Last Judgment was destroyed. The Last Supper painted by Michelangelo shows Judas Iscariot on the other side.of the table from Jesus and the other disciples. We've never seen it presented that way.
The Vatican Museum, built of yellow stone which is now extinct, has many works of art from all over the world: Greek, Roman, statues of Homer, Apollo, the Trojan Horse, Moses, Athena, Troy and Hercules. The Romans loved Egyptian sculptures and Greek gods, therefore included chariots on a lot of their friezes. There are 2 Roman copies of the Egyptian sphinxs here. There is a statue of a warrior scraping olive oil and sand off his body. This is the first time the Romans imitated the Greeks. The Pope wanted the arm raised on the statue of David. Michelangelo, being a master of the torso, didn't agree because it would place the body out of proportion. But he had to do what the Pope wanted, so he knocked the arm off and recreated it. When the statue was excavated in the the 1960s, sculptor Pollack found the original arm and placed it on there not raised. The ancient Greek and Roman animal statues represent fertility. The Romans believed Romulus was from Euripedes and came here during the Trojan Wars. Therefore the Romans adopted the Greek statues and gods as their own (Apollo, Athena and Ajax). The Rotunda is a huge room similar to the Pantheon with mosaics. Here is a bronze Hercules with a club made from an olive tree and holding a lion's skin. This survived the Middle Ages even when everything else was melted down. Someone buried it under a marble slab and marked it with a symbol representing lightening. Margaret Usinof has written a book describing this. There is a huge tapestry room with works of art that are so detailed you cannot imagine how they could have been made by hand with threads. It is amazing that threads can show all the shades and shadows, almost as if it were painted! It takes needlepoint to a whole different dimension. In the Map room are ancient maps created by saints, one for each area of Italy. They were drawn by the two Dentis brothers sitting on top of donkeys. Surprisingly, they are 86% accurate! After they drew the maps, artists painted them.
There are 4 Basilicas in Rome: ST. Peter, ST.Paul, ST. John of Lateran, and ST. Mary Maggiore. To be considered a Basilica it must have a relic. The Basilica of ST. Peter is the largest church in the world. When you enter you just gasp at it's size and magnificence. in ancient Rome ST. Peter was crucified just to the left where the Circus of Nero was located. He was buried here in 64AD and in 324 AD Constantine had a basilica built over his tomb. It was rebuilt in the 1500 - 1600s in the baroque style. this was the time of MRtin Luther's Reformation and it was the way the popes needed to answer Luther. Baroque is what's old is polished up with a new dress. In the church is the famous Pieta that the French ambassador had Michelangelo sculpt when he was 23. He portrayed Mary as a young woman to convey her purity even though she was middle age at the time of Jesus' crucifixtion. Many people were in line to kiss the feet of the 13th century bronze of ST. Peter. The altar designed by Bernini has the largest, heavy stones at the bottom, halfway up it becomes bronze and at the top it is gold, pure light. This represents the passage from the human body and life with sins into heaven with all sins forgiven. The original wooden throne from the first ST. Peters is inside the bronze throne. The round red stone where Charlemagne was coronated is the only piece of the first ST. Peter's Basilica in the newer one. When a priest is embalmed the practice is to place the visceral into bottles which are stored in the church.
ST. Paul's Basilica is the second largest church in Rome and was built on top of Paul's grave outside of the city walls. It was expanded on in 510AD, but in 1823 a fire destroyed it all. It has been rebuilt exactly as it was in the 1300s. Outside it was a very pastoral setting with umbrella and Mediterranean pines that supply edible pine nuts and was the wood from which pinocchio was made.The palm trees planted represent Palm Sunday. There are additional holy days celebrated here: January 25th for Paul's conversion and June 29th for Paul's death.
On the Basilica's pediment are the Lamb of God and 12 smaller lambs to represent the 12 disciples.The Holy Door on the right is opened for one year every 25 years. This Byzantine Holy Door has 54 panels of the life of Jesus. It is 1000 years old and survived the fire. The windows are alabaster stone to allow in the most light but have the look of stained glass. A triumphant arch divides the nave from the altar. Jesus is in the center with Paul on the right and Peter on the left. At the altar in a box are the chains that held Paul in prison. Paul's sarcophagus and the one oil lamp that survived the fire are there also. These are the relics. The original wall from the first Basilica is in the back. Outside are placed pieces of the original marble and columns incorporated into the newer brick wall.
ST. John's Basilica of Lateran was the first Christian Basilica built in 314 AD. It was the original church of the popes and was built on top of the stables of the imperial guards defeated by Constantine. This is where the Pope celebrates Mass on certain Holy Days and it has been rebuilt many times. At the top are statues of Jesus and the apostles which are characteristic of the 18th century. Inside is the altar of the first 33 Popes when they prayed in secret. Borromini redecorated for Pope Innocent X: the ceiling is completely gold covered, the columns are doubled, are inside and the Popes are buried inside them. Traditionally, a Priest must sit on this throne before he can become the Pope. The relic here is a piece of wood from the Last Supper table placed above the altar.
The 28 Holy Steps brought to Rome by Helen, Constantine's mother, are the steps Jesus climbed when he was tried by Pontius Pilate. On the second step is the permanent stain of Jesus' blood. These steps used to be inside ST John of Lateran, but were moved across the street to the Palace of the Holy Steps in ST. John's Square. In order to be considered worthy you must climb the steps on your knees because you aren't holy enough to walk them. Also you must pray 3 prayers on each step which takes a minimum of one and a half hours. This is one of the holiest places in all of Christendom.
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (ST. Mary Major) is one of Rome's 4 major basilicas and was built by Pope Liberius in 358AD and rebuilt by Pope Sixtus III from 423 to 440AD. It was built on Equiline Hill because they had a snow storm in August and it laid on the ground in the shape of a basilica. It resembles an 18th century palace more than a church with the tallest campanile (bell tower) in Rome and 2 domes and 2 chapels. It is called Major because it is the largest of 26 churches in Rome dedicated to Mary. In the 1600s Rome had a bad plague. When Pope Gregory prayed to Mary and saw Archangel Michael in the heavens, the plague was lifted. Rome erected a column to Mary with an eagle and a dragon, the symbol of the Borghese family. Pope Paul V along with the Borghese family built the chapel and surrounded it with bronze angels.
The Holy Door is on the left because that is closest to the heart in a human body. The church's facade isn't fancy and elaborate as are the other 3 basilicas; so it's a surprise when you enter and view its treasures: the 5th century Roman mosaics in the nave, its coffered ceiling gilded with gold brought over by Columbus from the New World, its own "Sistine Chapel", and in the 17th century the Pauline Borghese Chapel. It has 36 original columns, of which 4 are granite. The stained glass is from the 20th century. The altar is from the 18th century, but the mosaics are from the 5th century. It is definitely a quilt of a church pieced together from different centuries. There is a painting of Jesus crowning Mary with both seated on a double throne. There are several scenes of Mary's life, including a scene with Mary crying for Jesus at his side after he was crucified and above it one with Mary holding a baby in white robes. The white means His soul is young in heaven. The relic is a piece of wood from Jesus' crib set in silver. Pope Pius 9th in 1854 is responsible for defining Mary as the "Immaculate Conception". In 1918 Pope Benedict hailed Mary the Queen of Peace to end World War I. The painting shows the dove of peace waiting to fly. Also is a painting of Mary holding up her hand to stop all war and Jesus holding up an olive branch.
Bernini's tomb is inside near the altar. if you don't know where to look, you will miss it. It is so simple when he did so many elaborate fountains and helped with the Sistine chapel. Bernini is the man who changes the look of Rome with his magnificent fountains. A bit of trivia: Bernini had 11 children and one son became a priest at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
In conclusion, after viewing Rome you must understand that religion played a dominant role in shaping the world then as it still does today. Religion basically sets the moral rules that we live by. That is important to remember.
The Vatican Museum, built of yellow stone which is now extinct, has many works of art from all over the world: Greek, Roman, statues of Homer, Apollo, the Trojan Horse, Moses, Athena, Troy and Hercules. The Romans loved Egyptian sculptures and Greek gods, therefore included chariots on a lot of their friezes. There are 2 Roman copies of the Egyptian sphinxs here. There is a statue of a warrior scraping olive oil and sand off his body. This is the first time the Romans imitated the Greeks. The Pope wanted the arm raised on the statue of David. Michelangelo, being a master of the torso, didn't agree because it would place the body out of proportion. But he had to do what the Pope wanted, so he knocked the arm off and recreated it. When the statue was excavated in the the 1960s, sculptor Pollack found the original arm and placed it on there not raised. The ancient Greek and Roman animal statues represent fertility. The Romans believed Romulus was from Euripedes and came here during the Trojan Wars. Therefore the Romans adopted the Greek statues and gods as their own (Apollo, Athena and Ajax). The Rotunda is a huge room similar to the Pantheon with mosaics. Here is a bronze Hercules with a club made from an olive tree and holding a lion's skin. This survived the Middle Ages even when everything else was melted down. Someone buried it under a marble slab and marked it with a symbol representing lightening. Margaret Usinof has written a book describing this. There is a huge tapestry room with works of art that are so detailed you cannot imagine how they could have been made by hand with threads. It is amazing that threads can show all the shades and shadows, almost as if it were painted! It takes needlepoint to a whole different dimension. In the Map room are ancient maps created by saints, one for each area of Italy. They were drawn by the two Dentis brothers sitting on top of donkeys. Surprisingly, they are 86% accurate! After they drew the maps, artists painted them.
There are 4 Basilicas in Rome: ST. Peter, ST.Paul, ST. John of Lateran, and ST. Mary Maggiore. To be considered a Basilica it must have a relic. The Basilica of ST. Peter is the largest church in the world. When you enter you just gasp at it's size and magnificence. in ancient Rome ST. Peter was crucified just to the left where the Circus of Nero was located. He was buried here in 64AD and in 324 AD Constantine had a basilica built over his tomb. It was rebuilt in the 1500 - 1600s in the baroque style. this was the time of MRtin Luther's Reformation and it was the way the popes needed to answer Luther. Baroque is what's old is polished up with a new dress. In the church is the famous Pieta that the French ambassador had Michelangelo sculpt when he was 23. He portrayed Mary as a young woman to convey her purity even though she was middle age at the time of Jesus' crucifixtion. Many people were in line to kiss the feet of the 13th century bronze of ST. Peter. The altar designed by Bernini has the largest, heavy stones at the bottom, halfway up it becomes bronze and at the top it is gold, pure light. This represents the passage from the human body and life with sins into heaven with all sins forgiven. The original wooden throne from the first ST. Peters is inside the bronze throne. The round red stone where Charlemagne was coronated is the only piece of the first ST. Peter's Basilica in the newer one. When a priest is embalmed the practice is to place the visceral into bottles which are stored in the church.
ST. Paul's Basilica is the second largest church in Rome and was built on top of Paul's grave outside of the city walls. It was expanded on in 510AD, but in 1823 a fire destroyed it all. It has been rebuilt exactly as it was in the 1300s. Outside it was a very pastoral setting with umbrella and Mediterranean pines that supply edible pine nuts and was the wood from which pinocchio was made.The palm trees planted represent Palm Sunday. There are additional holy days celebrated here: January 25th for Paul's conversion and June 29th for Paul's death.
On the Basilica's pediment are the Lamb of God and 12 smaller lambs to represent the 12 disciples.The Holy Door on the right is opened for one year every 25 years. This Byzantine Holy Door has 54 panels of the life of Jesus. It is 1000 years old and survived the fire. The windows are alabaster stone to allow in the most light but have the look of stained glass. A triumphant arch divides the nave from the altar. Jesus is in the center with Paul on the right and Peter on the left. At the altar in a box are the chains that held Paul in prison. Paul's sarcophagus and the one oil lamp that survived the fire are there also. These are the relics. The original wall from the first Basilica is in the back. Outside are placed pieces of the original marble and columns incorporated into the newer brick wall.
ST. John's Basilica of Lateran was the first Christian Basilica built in 314 AD. It was the original church of the popes and was built on top of the stables of the imperial guards defeated by Constantine. This is where the Pope celebrates Mass on certain Holy Days and it has been rebuilt many times. At the top are statues of Jesus and the apostles which are characteristic of the 18th century. Inside is the altar of the first 33 Popes when they prayed in secret. Borromini redecorated for Pope Innocent X: the ceiling is completely gold covered, the columns are doubled, are inside and the Popes are buried inside them. Traditionally, a Priest must sit on this throne before he can become the Pope. The relic here is a piece of wood from the Last Supper table placed above the altar.
The 28 Holy Steps brought to Rome by Helen, Constantine's mother, are the steps Jesus climbed when he was tried by Pontius Pilate. On the second step is the permanent stain of Jesus' blood. These steps used to be inside ST John of Lateran, but were moved across the street to the Palace of the Holy Steps in ST. John's Square. In order to be considered worthy you must climb the steps on your knees because you aren't holy enough to walk them. Also you must pray 3 prayers on each step which takes a minimum of one and a half hours. This is one of the holiest places in all of Christendom.
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (ST. Mary Major) is one of Rome's 4 major basilicas and was built by Pope Liberius in 358AD and rebuilt by Pope Sixtus III from 423 to 440AD. It was built on Equiline Hill because they had a snow storm in August and it laid on the ground in the shape of a basilica. It resembles an 18th century palace more than a church with the tallest campanile (bell tower) in Rome and 2 domes and 2 chapels. It is called Major because it is the largest of 26 churches in Rome dedicated to Mary. In the 1600s Rome had a bad plague. When Pope Gregory prayed to Mary and saw Archangel Michael in the heavens, the plague was lifted. Rome erected a column to Mary with an eagle and a dragon, the symbol of the Borghese family. Pope Paul V along with the Borghese family built the chapel and surrounded it with bronze angels.
The Holy Door is on the left because that is closest to the heart in a human body. The church's facade isn't fancy and elaborate as are the other 3 basilicas; so it's a surprise when you enter and view its treasures: the 5th century Roman mosaics in the nave, its coffered ceiling gilded with gold brought over by Columbus from the New World, its own "Sistine Chapel", and in the 17th century the Pauline Borghese Chapel. It has 36 original columns, of which 4 are granite. The stained glass is from the 20th century. The altar is from the 18th century, but the mosaics are from the 5th century. It is definitely a quilt of a church pieced together from different centuries. There is a painting of Jesus crowning Mary with both seated on a double throne. There are several scenes of Mary's life, including a scene with Mary crying for Jesus at his side after he was crucified and above it one with Mary holding a baby in white robes. The white means His soul is young in heaven. The relic is a piece of wood from Jesus' crib set in silver. Pope Pius 9th in 1854 is responsible for defining Mary as the "Immaculate Conception". In 1918 Pope Benedict hailed Mary the Queen of Peace to end World War I. The painting shows the dove of peace waiting to fly. Also is a painting of Mary holding up her hand to stop all war and Jesus holding up an olive branch.
Bernini's tomb is inside near the altar. if you don't know where to look, you will miss it. It is so simple when he did so many elaborate fountains and helped with the Sistine chapel. Bernini is the man who changes the look of Rome with his magnificent fountains. A bit of trivia: Bernini had 11 children and one son became a priest at the Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore.
In conclusion, after viewing Rome you must understand that religion played a dominant role in shaping the world then as it still does today. Religion basically sets the moral rules that we live by. That is important to remember.
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