Monthly Archive for May, 2009

NEMRUT DAGI

Published on May 9, 2009 in General and Turkey. 3 Comments

Album: NEMRUT DAGI: a colossal folly

We hiked the few hundred (vertical) metres to view the tumulus at Nemrut Dagi summit at sunrise in freezing winds.

East Terrace

East Terrace


But there was no sunrise, and actually some snow, through which we traipsed at some points.
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Some of the giant heads of gods and kings were still surrounded by snow, which gave them an unexpectedly comical appearance.
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Somehow the bleak overcast made a fitting setting to contemplate the enormous hubris of King Antioch who had constructed for himself the biggest tomb monument since the Pharoahs. Continue reading ‘NEMRUT DAGI’

Nafplion is ridiculously historic and also beautiful.

Published on May 4, 2009 in General and Greece. 0 Comments

Nafplion is ridiculously historic – link to album

Nafplion was the first capital of Greece after the Independence War 1821-1828, and is only a stone’s throw from Mykinis where Agamemnon and others planned the Trojan War, in his Palace past the Lion Gate. The whole Argos peninsula reeks of history.

Ruins of Agamemnon's palace

Ruins of Agamemnon's palace


We made extensive use of Greece’s terrific bus system to get to Epidavros etc from our base in the cosy Pension Dafni.
Pension Dafni: women gather in the gathering dusk

Pension Dafni: women gather in the gathering dusk


The Dafni is only metres from where the first president of liberated Greece, Ioannis Kapodistrias, was assassinated outside Saint Spyridon church.
Continue reading ‘Nafplion is ridiculously historic and also beautiful.’