EAT EAT, a helenic odyesy

Have spent a week in Thessaloniki and surrounds... very enjoyable

greek food: OH MAN!!!! did i mention the cheap giros, and bougatsa (Thessaloniki speciality)

We have done some exploring of Thessaloniki. It has a syrprısıng number of byzantıne ruıns and churches dotted amongst the tall apartment buıldıngs. Unfortunately everythıng ıs made of solid concrete, not the most thermodynamıc medıum. The horızon of each ıs clustered wıth tv antenas, a spiky forest ontop. Described as being in a wonderful trade location, and having changed hands many times in countless wars, although the locals claim that they are macedonian through and through. (that republic of macedonia has stolen the name and shall not be mentioned in everyday speak). the history is absent of poets and philosophers, aparently this was not there kind of town. It is the second largest city in greece and has a large number of byzantine relics including city walls, and countless orthodox chuches.

Bored with Thessaloniki we visted Dims cousin Popi in Paralia (sounds like pricess Leah) on the coast. It is flooded with tourista's, most from eastern Europe. Aparently the roads from germany and austria are clogged up in croatia and bosnai etc... when the area clears up the locals hope that the cash laden germans turn up again. for now it is rumanians and bulgarainas and russians and even poles.... And what do they buy?! Fur coats of course. countless opertunitys exist to model a fassionable mink or fox in the 36 degree heat... they are all crazy!

the beach has nice sand, and the water is warm, but swims with sea grass and is quite murky. the beach itself suffers from poplation pressure and is covered with cigaret buts bannan lounges and parasols... did I mention the swarms of tourists as far as the eye can see. The europeans like to let it all hang out. Let the world see their huge stomachs and red glazed flesh. have they not heard of sunscreen!

popi and her daughters wre lots of fun, hopefuly they will vist australia one day. I also got to meat yuana, her two monsters and aunt katina. Yuana's husband Nikos was lots of fun for a retired european chamion boxer.. firts one I have met with an unbroken nose!.. Am trying to learn greek to help with comunication, but my chardes are getting better and better. Nikos runs a cantina and has the best food in greece. I still tremble at the thought of his mouth watering souvalaki.


Sıght seeıng

Meteora:
we borrowed a car and set out to see some greece. We visited the Meteora, which is a cluster of pinacles each surmounted by a monestry or the remains of one... Very scenic and well worth the trip. each are sheer sided, and insanely high. Six of the 24 still function and are covered by termite like tourists, who scale each in turn. Two was enough for us, then we took off for the slopes of mount Olympus

Dina:
We visietd the ancient ruins of Dina, where there is a magnificinet examples of a 4000 year old city. the city was abandoned in roman times due to earth quakes and floods (300ad I think). it was here that Alexander the great sacrificed many a cow at the temple of Zeus before setting out to conquor Asia. It was here that 50 of his generals married indian brides, and the temple of isis is also to be found as egyptian influences threaded their way back from Alexanders campaigns. this was the capital of MAecedon, walking down its unearthed streets, stadia and villas was a real eye opener. As impressive as pompei, the ruins have been steadily excavated since 1922, but much has fallen victim to the same springs that teh city was founded on. many of the temples are now reduced back to swamps, and frogs and dragonflys skip between the statues of athena and isis.

Deep down inside I am just a archeolical geek.

A week spent with the relatives, playing tag with the airconditioner (aunt katina loves to turn it off, we love to tyurn it on), sucking in the polution of europe, and it was time to leave.... On to the agean and the island of Lesvos.

LESVOS!!

history leson:
settled in ancient times, populated by dionysyis worshiping wine drinking greeks, conquored by the persians in 500 bc before alexander the great moved in and cleaned their clocks. Romans turned up around the time of christ, and the byzatine empire ruled till 1300 ad... during that time the locals were reduced in number by many pirate raids etc.. then came the genoese (venitian merchants) they beefed up the defenses, provided some security and trade flourished. the island produced the best wine in europe, olive oil and ouzo, which it still does. (the grapes got destroyed in the 50's along with the rest of europe by that root sucking bug.)

any way... the turks moved in about 500 years ago, and turned all the locals into slaves.. well those that they did not masacre... that ended in the 20's when the turks were relocated and the greeks took independence again... known as the asia minor disater by the gereks, and the day of national independence by the turks... since then the locals have made enough from ouzo and the olives to be financialy independant.. they even apear friendly to the toristas that turn up. Did i mention the Lesbians?!

yes the poet saffo made a name for herself praising the femine form form its beauty, and yes she did bat for the other side. her home town was eros on the this verys same island of Lesvos.. and yes that is where the name comes from. We met a couple of delightful lesbians from Australia who were makeing the pilgramage to her home town..... would you believe that one was a warfie!?

we are staying in the the township of molivos (AKA mithyma). the village clusters around a small mountain right next to the port. the sky line is dominated by the castle at its top. We are staying at the Naxos guest house (which i highly recomend). It affords excelent views accross the sea, and we get an excellent sea breeze to boot. It makes the scorchingly hot weather quite bearable. sun sets about 9:00pm, and turns a purple colour as it sinks into the polution haze of Europe. it actualy disapears before it reaches the horizon! the good news is that the water is pristine and pure, though rather salty and cold... i suspect that we are in a current that extends from the black sea through the bosforus and onto the med. At night you can see the winking lights of turkey. it is excelent.

Did I mention the vine covered markets? the narrow cobled streets criss cross the mountain slope, adn the market itself is covered by ancient trees, woven into a latice that shades the sun. the shopping is excellent, and the jewelery is vey beautiful(although it is a bit of a tourist trap, and overopriced.) Dim has put us further into debt, but has a fabulous new neclace!

Sights of lesvos:

petrified forest:

the island volcanic history has flattened several forrests through the ages. remanants of these forests have been preserved in a petrified form.. we ourselves were merely aprehensive! Much of the eastern island has these trees which date back 20 million years beneath the surface. we took a gander at forests that ha been flattened 20 million years ago, and thier offspring which grew up on their ash covered corpses, only to be flatened 15 million years ago.... humans have siince changed the climate, and tres are very few and far between.

winery:

years ago the vinyards of lesvos held the utmost respect in the courts of turkey and much of europe. they had a particular variety unique to trhe island...... that was yuntill they were wiped out by a bug... A winery in the centre of things has revesed this trnd. they have recovered a few vines from ancient stock, and grafted them onto bug resistant root stock. We took time out to investigate the winery and were greatly surprised. the wine is coloured like an anciet grape, aroma of a muskat, and tastes luike the sulphouros volcano that gave birth to the lands... We have a couple of bottles to polish off tonight. Buggar carrying them home!

Beaches:

the water is achingly cold, but crystal clear on most beaches, unfortunately there is very little in the way of sand. Each beach is made4 from pebbles that range in size from large salt crystals to base balls. A few beaches have sand, but it is gray and dusty.... luckily the weather is hot, and the water is a great relief. Chanced on a nudist beach the other day.... "When in rome"

Scenery:

the western side is a little more verdant than the east, but by verdant I mean dry yellow grass, a few trees, and not as many rocks. Some areas are little more than a bouldar garden, and some farmers seem to have divided their share of the rock with rock walls..... to what gain I no not. The terain is varied, but keeps a constant theme of ignious rock, dry grass, and pale dusty green oilive trees. Roads are narrow and windy, our hire car was lucky to be traveling at 60 km/hr. We managed to see alot of the island by car today, we even vistied Eros... a bit of a disapointment, lost of lesbians, but not as senic as where we are staying. We have not visited the capital of mitalyini, but feel that we have a good grasp of the inhabitants and teh island.

A word on greek nature...

Service... if it is paid for, it should be delivered with reluctance, in an ugly manner, otherwise they are wionderfuly friendly. money is not the objective, and a casual chat to a neighbor takes precedence over business.

buggar walking: the locals will drive 50m rather than walk, the sound of two stroke engines fills the night till late, as the locals shuffel around on their bikes between bar, beach, resturaunt and convienience store.

ques are not for us: greeks do not like waiting, and will regualrly form a wall rather than a line. The mılıtary art of the phalanx has not been lost, just replace the spears and sheild wıth coffee and a pack of fags.

greek language: I am begining to understand the elements of language, even the alphabet, but it has many anature that I am not so enamoured with. to speak greak well you must shout!, and even whine.. it all adds great charisma, and translates in a very humerous fashion when they speak english.

EAT EAT!: as each greek reaches 50 their waste line sudenly explodes. I am falling victim to the foods myself, and have put on at least three kilos. have made myself rather popular with the family over hear by eating copiuos quantitys of Giro and Giro and Giro.

off to turkey tommorro.... Staying at a place called Jimmy's.. they issue directions that include what not to beilieve. Aparently we are not to beiliev any one that says that jimmys has burnt down, under renovation, full, hosts on holliday, or does not know wher it is..... Will be an experience amonst the carpet salesman