Carter had a great 11th Birthday. We went to Athens and went shopping and to the movies. We got to see "Meet Dave". The kids were glad to see a little bit of Americana.

We are leaving tomorrow with both sadness and gladness. Of course we can not wait to see everybody, especially our NEW cousins! But we will miss our Greek friends. As Ike says, we are not really tourists any more. This has been an incredible chapter in our GREAT AIRHART ADVENTURES ...

We crossed the isthmus of Corinth to get to the Epidarous Theater. It was built in the 4th century B.C. and is amazing for several reasons. It is the only INTACT Greek theater, the Romans altered all the others to conform to their standards. Also many were pilfered for their marble, this one remained because it was in the country side and not accessible. It is also studied by architects, even today, for its incredible acoustics.

The play itself, a modernization of Oedipus, was not great. We still are not speaking or understanding Greek but in a theater of 14,000 people (it was packed) there were droves leaving at the intermission. I over heard one lady say in English that she had been coming here for 20 years and she had not seen anything so bad. The experience was well worth the visit though and I was very impressed that the Greeks continue to support and patronize this venue. It is truly a national treasure!

Tom got off work so we were able to add several sites to add to our adventures this weekend. The first interesting thing was crossing the Isthmus of Corinth. We have driven over it before but it goes by in a blink from the toll way. We exited the tollway to drive down the east coast of the Pelopones and were able to get out of the car and see the bridge in action. The bridge is actually submersable, lowered by huge hydrolic motors to a depth is 8 meters.

The boys!

The canal was completed in 1893 after several failed attemps including one by Nero in the first century. It is 6.3 kilometers long and connects the Saronic Gulf and Aegean Sea. Between the first and ninetenth centuries a Diolkos or portage road was used to haul boats and goods across the isthmus.

Athens has the most lovely Summer concert/drama series. The Airhart's and Bornos (AKA AirBorns) attended a concert by the National Orchestra. It was a beautiful evening, perfect for soaking up an outdoor venue. We are planning to attend another one in the Peloponese this weekend.

We arrived a little early.

The boys acting goofy before the show.

Happy Birthday to Ike! We celebrated Ike's 9th birthday at a water park in Athens. The kids had a blast and we had a great Italian dinner in Kifisia, a suburb of Athens. It was a big time and he asked several times if he would get to have a "friends" party when he got home.

I couldn't resist a few more pictures of Meteora. The Airharts outstanding on thier rocks. In Greece there are no signs saying "danger - Keep away" so you must use your good judgement. There was one woman sitting way out on the edge of the rock meditating and another huddled against the opposite embankment and she could not even enjoy the view. We tried to be reasonable and stay somewhere in the middle. It is pretty scarry for a Mom though.

If it seems like you have seen Meteora before, James Bond had a great scene filmed here in For Your Eyes Only.
I am trying to come up with a campaign slogan for Student Council based on this picture but I don't quite have it.

Some sights are just so amazing that it is impossible to describe. Meteora is one of them. In the 1200 and 1300's some monks decided to build some monastaries on these granite pinnicles rising up out of the valley. Since each stone had to be hoisted up with an extensive pulley system you would wonder if this seemed like the smartest location. It turns out that this was an inspired decision since the Turks arrived in 1453 and this remained the only sanctuary for Christianity and Byzantine-ism, unaccessable to the Turks through out their rule. The pinnicles are amazing in themselves and the monisaries even more so. If you are ever in Greece, don't miss it!
A view of the Monastary of St. Barbara. What a great namesake.

Mom's shot of the family on the bridge overlooking the gardens of St. Barbara. There were a few stairs involved in this expedition.

The results of the volcano allow for some of the most beautiful settings on earth. The sunset over Ia, a small village on the North side of the island.

Santorini (AKA Thera, but the modern word Santorini comes from Saint Irene) is an obligatory tourist stop, but for good reasons. It is a beautiful volcanic island that has a fascinating history. Any time a huge volcano explodes it is interesting but like Pompeii it preserved an amazing culture that leaves us with some very intriguing questions. The island had a strong relationship with the Minoans in Crete, a great trading, ship faring nation (3000 - 1250 b.c.).

Any time you have a chance to visit an active volcano, if you are the Airharts and Bornos, of course, you take it. You are allowed to take a small boat to the volcano and hike up. The water is super blue against the black lava.

A good hike up the volcano. The gang makes it up.

Our guide shows a picture the pre-explosion Santorini. It is easy to see why Thera was such an important island. It is called a "caldera" the Spanish word for cauldron, almost circular with an opening to allow ships into the protected harbor. We are on the mouth of the volcano in the center of the picture and the inhabited part of the island is the large part to the east. After the explosion which was around 1450 b.c., there are several more openings making 4 different islands.

The volcano was huge and changed the world weather for an extended period of time. They said there was evidence of climate change seen in the Red Woods of California and even lava ash as far as Ireland. There is always mention of the myth of Atlantis in association with Santorini. However none of the guides give it an credence because Plato very plainly states that it is to the West of Gibraltar, which would but it in the Atlantic. This probably makes more sense because it is called Atlantis.

The other historical question that comes up is, "Did the explosion cause the destruction of the great Minoan Dynasty"? The volcano happened around 1450 b.c. and scientist believe would have included a devastating tidal wave that would have been directed at Crete 80 miles to the South. The interesting thing is that the Minoans did not fall until 1250 b.c. One guide explained that he thinks that the wave destroyed the palace a Knossos and the ships, which were vital to Minoan way of life. Then slowly over the next 200 years the empire went down hill and eventually collapsed. This theory made the most sense to me.

Ike and Yousef were a little disappointed that we could not look down into a boiling and bubbling volcano. It has a magma crust over the top and looks like regular soil. When you pick up a handful of soil, however, it is full of hot moist steam, almost to the point of burning.

Here we are at the top looking back a the main island formed from the volcano.

Sorry this is out of order. Look at the next blog first. This is our grilled fish.

Ellen finishes up the zuchini on the stove in the kitchen. We have decided that even though we can not build a fire and grill our own fish the Greeks would be very impressed with the size the American appliances.

This is the story of our fishing dinner. Ike and Mister Grandaddy Fisherman and Angelo's Dad bring in the fish.

Maria teaches Mom to clean and scale the fish.

The Greeks help the stupid Americans to grill the fish.

The fish are looking good over the coals. We think that it is Talapia.

The original Antikythra Mechanism, found in a sunken Roman ship off the coast of the island Antikythra.

This is a reconstruction of the Antikythra Mechanism build by a researcher, Solis de Price in the 1980's.

This is one of the most interesting things we have learned about. In our tapes we have been listening to, the professor compares and contrasts the Greeks and the Romans historically as well as by subject. One of the lectures is on Science. He uses the Antikythra Mechanism as the example to show how clever the Greeks were in the field of Science. While the Romans were interested in admininstration and "get-r-done", the Greeks have always been a people interested in the whys and hows of natural wonders. His quote to describe the Greeks is, "Damn clever chappies" (obviously he is from the UK). This mechanism was found in a shipwreck along with some incredible statues and is dated to about 80 B.C. Stolen from the island of Delos by the Romans to take back to Rome. Scientist now believe that it was a "computer" of sorts that would tell time based on the movement of the sun and moon and also predict movement of other stars and planets. It is made up of 32 gears and plaques inscribed with greek zodiac and month labels. Newer models and reconstuctions still continue as this device captures scientist's imaginations almost 2100 years later.

The sights of Athens are amazing but even more fun when you have a friend to share them with. We were so excited that the Bornos came to see us in Greece. As every tourist must do, we visited the Acropolis. The Acropolis means "rock" and it includes all the buildings and entire area around the Parthenon (the main buidling). The Parthenon was a project undertaken by the Athenians at the height of Hellenism. However, like many public works, there were numberous cost overruns and the Athenians protested for work to stop. The great statesman of Athens, Pericles, told the people that he would fund the rest of the building so that it would be finished, however, above the entrance it would read, "Built by Pericles". The Athenians were outraged and voted to complete the project with public funding.
The girls pose down in the Agora or market (at the base of the Acropolis) where there is still plenty of great dining and shopping.
The kids check out the "Mask of Agamemnon". A funeral mask excavated by Schlieman and proclaimed as that of Agamemnon, although dating has now put it 800-1200 years prior to when Agamemnon would have lived. Agamemnon was the leader of the Acheans (Greeks) who attacked Troy for kidnapping Helen, his brother's wife. On an aside note, there is a marker in our town Antikyra that states that at the time of the Trojan war this area was a ship building center and sent ships with Agamemnon and Menaleus to fight Troy.

I can not get the pictures to load right now but I will try again later!


We have returned from an incredible 3 weeks of island hopping. Although there are many adventures, I want to start with the last thing we did before returning. We met our friends from Lubbock, The Bornos, and visited Santorini, Naxos, Paros, and Crete. Each place of course has it's own charm but I loved Crete, (Creta with a short e).

Our big accomplishment for the Summer was trekking the Samarian Gorge (Samarian is a derivative of Saint Maria). Supposedly the longest gorge in Europe, it was an amazing experience. We had heard several horror stories from other travelers, so I was a little nervous, but I had made up my mind that we were going to do it. It is 19 km long, our guide said 21 km (12.6 miles), and 1250 m (.75 miles) altitude drop. One of the first things our guide, Demetri, said was that kids do great and he was right. The kids bounced down the mountain with hardly any problems. Ike fell once and popped back up. Ellen said dust yourself up and make sure you are OK. Ike responded with, "Live like a warrior, die like a warrior", with normal Ike attitude. It is down hill the whole way and at first it sounds like that is great, better than the alternative. However, after about the first hour your legs begin to shake. The terrain is also solid gravel rock, usually about 3-4 inch diameter, so all those muscles in your ankles that are never used get a wake up call. We made the trek in about 6 hours with several rests. We met the nicest girls, one was wearing an Aggie t-shirt and so I spoke to her. She and her friend were not Aggies but a math graduates from Dartmouth. They were lovely traveling friends and they were so patient and listened to Carter the whole time. After several days of being sore I am now recovered and of course the kids were fine after the first day back. What an absolutely amazing experience!

The valley leading down to Itea. Tim, this is not an easy trek.

The ruins of the Temple of Apollo.

A statue of Apollo, himself, sitting on the oracle’s stool. It was part of the decoration of the pediment.
When I first read about the Oracle that sat on a 3-legged stool, I had the image of a haggard, drugged out, witch looking woman on a milk stool. Not the case as shown in this vase painting of a very elegant woman on a very elegant 3-legged stool. She supposedly sat over a steam opening in the earth (no evidence can be found to confirm this), chewing some trance inducing herbs. Her responses were not in normal Greek tongue and needed to be interpreted by a council of 6 wise men from the council of Delphi.

-B.Lee

The Greeks, as well as many other cultures considered the Oracle at Delphi to be THE oracle. There were actually other want-to-bes, but Delphi had the whole package. A king wanting to know the true oracle sent out a message to a number of oracles at once asking, "What am I doing?" The oracle at Delphi replied with the correct answer of, "mixing the lamb and the pig", which was correct as he was making a stew with his own hands. Unusual because kings did not cook, nor was it acceptable practice to mix the two meats. There are many uncanny stories about the insights that the oracle had and prudent but cripted advice that she dispensed. It enjoyed prominence for a long time and I have several blogs to share on this subject. The ancient temple site is on the side of a fairly steep mountain and looks down over a valley of olive trees leading down to the deep harbor port of Itea, an absolutely majestic site. Delphi was considered the sacred “navel” of the world, i.e. center of the universe. The Airhart kids are touching a replica of the “navel” on the site near the temple of Apollo. This is an interesting artifact in that it’s shape is almost shadowless, tribute to Apollo, the sun god. I am also thinking that they had some messed up umbilical cord practices.
A reconstruction of the site of Delphi in it’s prime. A bustling religious sanctuary that also became a mecca for finances because, where better to store your treasury than under the watchful eye of the oracle. The treasuries are dotted up and down the mountain, the largest is the Athenian and one we thought was interesting the Sicilian. It turns out that the island of Sicily at the toe of the Italian boot was populated by Greeks fleeing a Persian invasion.

View from Mount Parnasas looking out onto the world! Hello world it is us the Airharties.

When in Rome, do as the Romans. When in Greece, do as the Grecians. We are learning the differences and similarities between these two sets of cultures with our trusty educational tapes, they are a bit geeky but still good. Indeed, there are many things that the Greeks do differently than us as well as the Romans. For example, both take a long siesta in the middle of the afternoon. We seem to have lost this wonderful work-free two hours somewhere in England or with the onslaught of trying to get ahead in the colonies. I am convinced we would do much better to recognize this nap as healthy and make it the national standard. This would mean a two-hour release for school, of course, that would give us a chance to go home, eat lunch and proceed with our nap.

The Greeks also have very nice okra, which we are currently cooking ia a soup. It has been in the sun in vinegar this morning (a trick we learned from our Greek neighbor last year). Some other Greek cuisine practices are the Moussaka, a layered dish of pasta, meat, and potatoes which everyone loves but me, and the habit of adding honey to the boiling pasta, creating a very interesting flavor.

Yesterday we went to Arahova and climbed on what are the ski slopes in the winter time. It was beautiful. The air was much cooler and we saw many examples of Greek wildlife, like butterflies, lizards, and bear poo. We thought it would be a nice place to visit in wintertime when it was covered with snow and the lifts were open.

It is an amazing thing to be able to be at the beach and then in fifteen minutes be at a ski resort. I am starting to believe this is the best place in the world to be and am surprized it is not a more major tourist spot. This is truly a wonderful land!

-Ellen

The Airharties next to our favorite Tabepna in the beautiful mountain town of Arahova.

The bell tower for this beautiful town! It is the village that supports the popular ski area at Mount Parnassas.

Tabepna = Tavern

It’s all Greek to me is an interesting saying. Greek is difficult. To start with the letters are Greek, although most signs have English letters underneath. Thank goodness for Sororities and Fraternities or we would not even know the alphabet. An interesting aside, the Collegent Greek system was based on, well, the Greeks. In particular the Spartans who would form groups of 15 to 25 individuals, leaving their families to be with this “band” around the age of 7. This was their fighting group, as well as their hanging out with group and they would keep this group for life. Back to the language. Even after you get passed the letters there are strange letter substitutions. Take the word tavern for example in Greek, with English letters, Tabepna. Certain letters are interchangeable, the b and the v, as well as the p and the r. Last year I would often look at the word Antikyra and be amazed at the number of different spellings that I could see. There was no standard. Now I am starting to realize that it is not random but the sounds are unique and the Greeks are not so sure which of our letters best represent the sound. The p = r sound is actually the rolled r as in Spanish. So now we have a little more understanding of something that seemed very difficult and still is but we are closer.