Weekend Trip: Ioannina & Meteora

Saturday and Sunday there was a school sponsored fieldtrip to two towns in Greece: Ioannina to see the famous Perama Cave and a castle where Ali Pasha once lived, and then on Sunday to Meteora to see the famous monasteries "Suspended from the Sky" (literal translation of Meteora).

Thessaloniki to Ioannina is about 2.5 hours. From there to Meteora
was about 2 more hours.

To get to Ioannina we traveled on Egnatia Road, which was originally constructed in the second century BC by the Romans and is known as the road from Rome to Istanbul. The actual road that crosses northern Greece that we traveled on was only just completed in the last five years. The town of Ioannina is located in Epirus and has about 120,000 inhabitants. It was established in the 6th century AD by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian and is situated around Lake Pamvotis. It's a beautiful city with mountains surrounding the lake and a fortress built through the city. Some of the students climbed on the ruins without noticing the large rope sectioning them off--I don't think the Greek man yelling at them was too happy. But who knows? We couldn't understand him and all Greeks seem to yell when the speak anyway... at least we got some cool photos. 

STAY OFF the ruins... oops

                                                                                                                                

                         

                           Lake Pamvotis from downtown Ioannina looking out toward the mountains

Sheep crossing

Later we went to a Perama cave to check out the stalagmites and stalactites. It's an "active" cave so we couldn't take photos because we might disturb nature's natural processes, but I managed to find one online: 

                   

Perama Cave

On Sunday we headed to Meteora by bus through the mountains. It was a very strange experience because the road was a lot of tunnels varying in length (some up to 2.7 km) and when we came out of the tunnels cutting through the mountain the weather would have changed completely. We went from sunshine and green everywhere to snow covered trees in a matter of minutes. Then we would enter another tunnel and we came out into the densest fog I have ever seen. I don't know how we continued to drive at that point. We made it to the town of Kalambaka, which is where the monasteries are located. 

Now imagine you can see through the fog to the little monasteries sitting on top of these huge rocks.

These were an amazing site to see. Situated on the tops of rocks there are now only six monestaries remaining and still functioning. At one point there were 24, but many were destroyed during WWII. Starting around the ninth century hermits had begun living in the rocks in the cracks and crevices. How they got to the tops and built the actual monasteries I am still not sure. We had a lot of climbing to do to get there, but roads have been built today that will get you close. We went to two of the monasteries. The Holy Monastery of St. Stephen was built in 1545 and is run by nuns. The second and largest of all is The Holy Monastery of Great Meteoron, built in the mid 1300s. Only ten monks live there now and it is still the largest number of any of the monasteries. Prior to the 1990s the only want to reach it was by net (yes, net) and this cable they have strung from one rock to the next. Now they have a convenient set of very solid stairs you can take.

Great Meteoron and the stairs leading up to it

Being a monk is not a profession that is in high demand, hence the low numbers living in the monasteries. Their day consists of eight hours of prayer, eight hours of work, and eight hours of leisure (sleeping, hobby, etc). Once the monks die in the monastery there is very little space for burying them on the giant rock so they'll bury them only for seven years, allowing the body to decay, and then exhume it. Then they take the skeleton apart and they end up like this:

Yes, they are real. And yes they still do this.

We weren't allowed to take photos inside the actual churches in the monasteries, but they were very ornate and colorful. Every inch of wall and ceiling was painted with vibrant scenes from the Bible in very great detail. We learned that this was how the illiterate learned about their religion, since they could not read it themselves.

The view from the top, looking down.

Tsiknopempti: Burnt Thursday

February 24th marked one of the important carnival days in Greece--Tsiknopempti or Burnt Thursday. It's celebrated eleven days before Lent begins. The burnt part refers to the cooking of massive amounts of meat, which everyone then consumes before they have to give it up for for Lent. People gather at the Tabernas and there was a parade in Aristotle Square, as well as parties throughout the day and night.

 


At school we celebrated with a BBQ with souvlaki (meat on a stick, the only way they seem to eat meat here and I won't be particularly sad if I never see again) and a costume contest. Easter, to the Greeks, is the most important holiday of the year, so they have many celebrations prior to Lent and of course once Easter arrives. Next week we get Monday off from school for Shrove Monday (Clean Monday) which marks the beginning of giving up all non-fasting foods and leaving behind our sinful attitudes/begins the countdown till Easter!!

Strike Notification

We receive emails keeping us up to date on current events in Thessaloniki...

Dear all,

 

I hope you are doing well.

 

I would like to inform you about a general strike by general workers union this coming Wednesday, February 23.

The buses will run without problem from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm. Before 8:00 am and after 9:00 pm there will be bus disruptions.

Demonstrations in Thessaloniki will be held down town (Kamara Arch, Venizelou and Egnatia, Aristotelous square) ...Please avoid the areas of demonstrations, and if you find yourself too close to a demonstration, move in the opposite direction.

 

Have a nice week.

Lady! LADY!! Apple Tea?

I’m not sure where to begin… this weekend was incredible and definitely my favorite so far. About half of the study abroad kids went to Istanbul, Turkey, on the overnight bus and we stayed at hostels around the city. My friends Andrea, Hannah, Jaime, Nick, and I left Thursday night at ten and arrived exhausted, but ready to explore the city at eight Friday morning after a ten hour bus ride. Apart from all the standing in the cold at three in the morning at the Greece-Turkey border and being shepherded around to get visas and passports stamped, the bus ride wasn’t completely terrible.

The first thing we did was head to the Sultanahmet area of the city where the famous Blue Mosque and Ayasofya are located. They are both incredible, inside and out.

Blue Mosque 

Ayasofya 

Besides those two rather impressive buildings, the first thing I noticed was the abundance of cats (Emma would love this. I tried to find a Turkish Van since I was in Turkey and it’s her favorite type, but I’m not sure what it looks like). Apparently there is a Muslim saying that says, “If you’ve killed a cat, you need to build a mosque to be forgiven by God.” At one point I was sitting in a café and was able to see nine different cats without turning my head. They are all well-cared for and not considered a nuisance at all. They come right up to you if you are sitting outside, they wander through the Ayasofya, and one even came inside the restaurant we were eating at and curled up on my coat. Kinda gross...

Turkish Kitten at lunch. Is it the water loving Turkish Van??

Apart from the abundance of cats, there is also an overall attitude of hospitality bordering on being almost overbearing that is present throughout the entire city. Within minutes of being in the area we were approached with dinner discounts from waiters trying to get us into their restaurants. I got a free toy and a picture with a boy selling them, not to mention about 50 different business cards from shops owners. Everyone in Istanbul has business cards. I’m thinking of making my own and handing them out to everyone I meet like they do. We were also inundated with apple tea, a very sweet drink symbolizing 40 years of friendship when you are given it. I swear I had at least 25 cups in the short time I was there. So hospitality is an integral part of the culture, but it got to the point where making eye contact wasn’t possible if you wanted to make it up the street. At one point we were in a jewelry/glassware shop because I made the mistake of talking to the owner, then he passed us along to his leather maker friend’s shop (where we had a fashion show, but were too poor to buy anything, although without trying very hard we got the price down from 950 TL to 400 TL for a jacket). Finally we were handed off to this second guy's restaurant friend. And each one made sure we had plenty of apple tea while we were there. It was definitely an experience, but also got old pretty quickly (at least by the Sunday).

                                       

                                    Boy who gave me the yo-yo toy! He wanted us to take a picture together

First of many glasses of apple tea with the jewelry man!

Leather jackets and apple tea

Here are some picture from the Blue Mosque and The Tomb of Sultan Ahmed, which we saw on the first day we were in Istanbul. The photos don’t do the Blue Mosque justice at all, but that’s what you get with a cheap camera, or really any camera. When you enter the Mosque you must remove your shoes and women have to cover their arms and usually their hair, but the man at the gate let us through without a scarf over our heads. Throughout the day, starting very early in the morning (it woke me up on Saturday) there are five prayer calls. They were slightly startling at first and can be heard throughout the city coming from the Blue Mosque, but I soon became accustomed to them—check out the video below of the first one we heard. The boy at the end was the one who gave me that toy. I guess I won his heart…

Prayer call

                                  
                                                 

                                                            The Tombs

Blue Mosque again

Inside the Blue Mosque 

The Ayasofya and the Blue Mosque, which were built to compete with each other (spoiler alert: the Ayasofya is way better), are separated only by an open square and fountain; they two landmarks across from each other are an impressive site. Their grandeur can be partly contributed to the rivalry between Christians and Muslims. 

Two other attractions in the city are the Grand Bazaar and the Egyptian Spice markets. The Grand Bazaar has over 4,000 shops and covers 64 streets, making it one of the largest covered markets in the world, as well as one of the biggest tourist traps. The first thing to know upon entering is to keep your purse close to you—pickpockets are abundant. I wasn’t that impressed with the Bazaar, apart from its sheer size. The Spice Markets were much more authentic and more locals tend to shop there. This is where I bought my own supply of apple tea, and made many more friends with the local shop-keepers. I got roses from rose tea given to me, a free “evil eye” hemp keychain (to ward off evil following me), and a couple of souvenirs as well.

Turkish Delight (traditional sweet) at the Spice Market

Friday night was an interesting experience. We were told we had to try out the traditional Turkish Baths (Hamams) while in Istanbul so our hostel recommended Gedikpasa Bath and let me tell you that it was verrrrryyy traditional. I think letting the website describe the experience is best:

“Gedik Paşa Turksih Bath” is open everday from 06:00 ta 24:00 hours for male and famale costomers at the same time, in different parts. After paying the price ta the cashier section at the entrance, customers go to the changing cabins at the square section. After taking off cloths and lacking the content in the cabin customers taheir “peştemal”(a kind of long towel used in Turkish Bath) and go to “hot” (Washing Section) of the Turkish Bath. There is centre Stone (Göbek Taşı-a marbel platform) in the middle of this section and basins of the bath for washing surrounding the centre Stone and sauna at the opposite side of the centre Stone (Göbek Taşı) for a pealthy sewating. Ceiling of the bath is covered with several smal and big domes which were made in Horosan. Turksih Bath has a unuque pool for people who want to take a dip. After sweating in the sauna, our masseur comes ang gives you a message with you a message with coarsa bath glove for washing the body, on the centre Stone of the bath.After the message, you can wash yourself and take the advantage o a dip pool .After cleaning, one of the employee comes and dries your body with towels.             http://www.gedikpasahamami.com/default.asp

Obviously their English isn’t very good, but their baths were. It was very relaxing and we had a good/interesting time. When we returned to our hostel after our bath (which was later at night) we immediately passed out. The combination of the massage, lack of sleep on the bus, and the long day did us all in.

Okay this is starting to get excessively long. I’ll try and keep it brief. Saturday morning we did a boat tour of the Bosporus Strait. We got to see Istanbul from all sides, both the European and Asian parts. It was a little chilly and hazy, but still a different way to see the sites. The tour also included a cable car ride into the city from up on a hill removed from the main part of Istanbul, and then some shameless advertising—they took us to a leather shop and we watched an actual fashion show (of course we were given apple tea to sip) to try and get us to buy from this leather company. 

Fortress on the European side of Istanbul

Europe on the right and Asia to the left

This lady is from Singapore, lives in Sudan, and was traveling through Istanbul.
The Blue Mosque is in the background. 

                                    

Leather fashion show

We got dinner at a Karaoke restaurant on Saturday night. It was fun, but the guy who was running it was slightly crazy/had a flame gun that shot fire into the air whenever he felt like spicing things up or that things were getting too calm. We sang Mamma Mia and won the Karaoke contest. Not that there was a lot of competition though, just a German girl singing German songs, some girls from Colorado, and a couple Turkish guys. Easy victory. 

On Sunday I went to the Ayasofya, a cathedral converted into a museum, which was meant to rival the Blue Mosque. It was rebuilt three times, after burning down twice. Each time it was constructed to be more and more impressive and definitely beats out the Blue Mosque for the site you need to see in Istanbul. At one point the Muslims converted the cathedral into a mosque and covered all of the beautiful mosaics up. There was a restoration process that was undertaken to try and restore the church to it’s original self, but elements of the Mosque can still be seen. Once again my photos don’t do it justice, and my camera died halfway through....

Imperial Gate mosaic above the entryway reserved only for emperors. It depicts Leo VI bowing down to Christ asking for his sins to be forgiven. Mary is pictured on the left and the Archangel Gabriel is on the right. 

From the balcony looking toward the alter

Dancers outside of the Ayasofya

Night outside the cathedral with the fountain lit

The final excursion on a out trip was to ASIA. Part of Istanbul is in Europe and part is in Asia (the touristy parts are in Europe) and our goal was to have lunch in Asia (for the story of course). So we decided to take an afternoon trip to another continent. We made a lot of jokes about it… Nick, Andrea and I took a very cheap ferry (less than $1 and 15 min) to get to the Asian part of the city. Dinner here was my favorite meal by far and much more of a challenge. The restaurant we chose didn’t speak a work of English, but they were extremely friendly and with some gesturing and patience we were able to order our meal. The menus were in Turkish so we had to guess at what we were ordering. I managed to get chicken kebabs and know it was chicken by the waiter flapping his arms like wings. The other two got lamb, but if you know me at all I’m not a big meat eater and lamb was just too big of a step for me. Dessert was delicious; it’s called Künefe. It was shredded wheat in honey with a soft cheese in the middle and some form of cream and pistachio on top. Probably the best sweet I’ve had abroad and I have had a lot. It even beat out baklava.

Desert mmmm

So we left Asia and Istanbul behind. The bus ride back was pretty depressing, since it left Sunday night and we got back just in time for class on Monday morning, and of course we were leaving behind an amazing city that I feel like I barely got to see. I’m not sure I would like to study there (it’s too touristy like I’ve heard Athens is), but I would definitely like to return again and probably stock up on some more apple tea!

Here are some more photos for your viewing pleasure:

Woman selling food for the pigeons outside the spice markets

Men washing their feet outside a mosque before entering

This man carries this cat around everywhere on his head and spends his money on caring for other cats.
I saw him in the spice markets and one of the vendors told me about his love of cats.

                                        

                                                   On our hostel terrace looking out at the Blue Mosque

 Turkish toilet...aka a hole in the ground                                                                     Shalep--a delicious drink!

lazy sunday

This week I learned: 

1. The trains are on strike

2. The pharmacies are on strike

Today I went to a cafe to work on homework. My lack of Greek speaking ability once again got in the way of ordering and the old man sitting outside who took my order had to go fetch another person who spoke English. My goal this semester is to be able to order my coffee without help!

ελληνικός (greek coffee) + greek homework

Then I wandered toward the "old city" for a walk. The streets are really tiny--only big enough to allow one car to squeeze by. And on Sunday afternoon the place is eerily deserted. I felt like the only person in the city--except when a random stranger walked by and I got a little nervous and held my bag a little closer... (the other day a girl in my program got mugged outside our apartment so I'm on the lookout for that) 

                 

                      as you go up the hill the streets get narrower and narrower

random ruins i found on my walk

We have to go to class...??

I survived the first week of class at ACT! I'm well on my way to understanding the alphabet and am beginning to recognize words on store/street signs. I've got crepe, gyro, pharmacy, and cafe down. Hopefully I'll continue to expand my vocabulary. I'm also taking an International Economics class--the only one that will actually count for my major and it sounds like it will probably be easier than the classes at BC. I've been told grade inflation at ACT is common. Besides that I am in The World of Alexander and Greek Folklore, both of which involve field trips to various museums and a fire walking ceremony in May.

I think my favorite class is a Public Service Internship that I got involved in working with a group called from Street Kids to School Kids. In Thessaloniki there is the Roma community (the derogatory term is gypsies) who are extremely poor and considered outcasts. Children from around four to the early teens are on the streets and the attitude toward them is that of pests rather than victims. They is very little information on where they come from and a language barrier exists because they speak a dialect of Roma, which is not really connected to anything else. Thessaloniki, I was told, is actually the European capital for human trafficking (especially children). The Internship involves working with an NGO to rebuild a community center and help establish trust in the community. Just from the first week though, I can already tell there is a  lot barriers that we will have to deal with, but I think it will be an interesting challenge.

Here are a couple pictures of the view from my apartment and the from the stairs overlooking my campus:

Looking out toward the water and downtown Thessaloniki

                                            

My first gyro!! Pork, french fries, onions, tomatoes, mustard, ketchup, and pita. 

Week 1-Part 2

Feb 4 continued:

Later that night I went to a taverna and the Greek bartender said that the reason they know how to enjoy themselves so much is that: "Life is too short so we are always celebrating." He said that young people need to learn to live in the moment and not so much for the future. He also had a license plate from NE (and nearly every other state) from people who used have gone to his taverna. 

          

Feb 5: 

Our first free day! We took a tour of the traditional markets.

Greek Olives--you can get a ridiculous amount for 1 euro
They also have every kind of fruit and vegetable imaginable--
all fresh and all cheap. 

Greeks like to know where their meat comes from. No packaging it for them. 

The Rotunda (notice the graffiti--it's everywhere in the city. It usually says something along the lines of how much the people hate the police. Someone translated something for me that said, "with rocks, with knives, and guns" and it was referring to how they planned to take down the police.)

Roman Forum 

More of the forum 

Feb 6: 

It was beautiful today--sorry to everyone having to deal with the snow and cold. It was sunny and around 65 degrees and in the beginning of February!! I went for a run with some friends along the boardwalk which runs along the coast of the Aegean Sea. We got a lot of stares from people--apparently they don't run a lot here. 

There is a crepe place that is near the apartments and we go there a lot--it's cheap and delicious. I saw the guy who works there at another food place and he remembered our faces and said hi to us. He even ended up knowing where Nebraska was and his favorite bands are from there! He loves Bright Eyes and Eagle Seagull and knew all about where they were from. Most people are very friendly and it was all very "coincidental" as he said. 

Feb 7: First Day of School

Today I had Greek Folklore, Public Service Internship, and The World of Alexander the Great. Tomorrow I get to tackle Modern Greek 101 and International Economics.