The host at
our hotel looked at our three backpacks, the rucksack of souvenir guidebooks,
and my enormous green drag along suitcase and offered to take us to the
ferry. We did without the morning
breakfast of bread, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers and cheese, that has been our
daily routine for four weeks, and by 10:30 we were in sunny Kos. We got into our hotel right away, bagged all
of our laundry and had it sent out– I didn’t ask the cost, and now I’m
frightened – then explored the amazing town of Kos.
Kos
was a regular Greek fishing village, looking like any other, until it was
levelled by an earthquake in 1933, especially the Chora neighbourhood. People were surprised to find an almost
intact ancient Greek town hidden just below the surface. It has since been excavated, and some very
interesting mosaics, frescoes, and buildings have come to light. We also explored Kos
harbour – lots of little fish – and climbed all over the crusader castle. We saw the plane tree of Hippocrates (the
medical oath guy) and the mosque and hamam that testify to the long residence
of Turks in the area. For me, the
highlight of the day was sitting in a seaside café in the brilliant and
too-long-absent sunshine, enjoying a Greek salad in Greece, with happy people all
around us. I have had to stop myself
from saying “Thank-you” and “excuse me” in Turkish, and am working on my Greek
phrases. “eef chaer-ee-STO’! Dinner was in the wonderful Ideal Diner, just
a block from our hotel, and full and happy we are ready for a nice long
sleep. If every day in Greece is a
lovely as this one, we are in for a wonderful stay.
The boat that
brought us from Turkey to Greece,
as seen from the castle.
The view from
our hotel Balcony
The
agora. There were many temples in the
area, which used to stand right on the harbour.
However, because there were very few interpretive signs, and no guide
books, we were left to imagine what most of this had once been.
Ian reading
about the Chirch of St, John the Baptist, which served the cruader castle, but
turned out to have been built right over the temple of Aphrodite. It was moved in 1945 by dismantling it,
numbering the stones, and then putting it back together again. Quite a feat!
All of these
rocks were thrown up onto the beach in last night’s storm. Apparently the storm in Turkey was pretty awful -- lead story on the BBC news.
Us, on the
rampart of the Crusader castle.
The picture below is for my mother, who loves Marguerites, which grow rampantly here. In this picture, it covers an archeological site which is being protected until further excavations can be made. Isn't it a lovely protective yellow blanket, Mom?
This is the plane tree that Hippocrates used to sit under, apparently, to see his patients. Although it is only 570 years old, it is most likely a descendent of the original tree of 2400 years ago. A protective framework has been placed all around it. People here are very aware of the effects of climate change: it froze in Bodrum for the first time this year, and the rains are less frequent, but very heavy when they arrive, so the water runs off into the sea, rather than filling cisterns and wells.
We were
surprised by the many wonderful mosaics, most of which have been covered with
felt and gravel to protect them, with here and there a section peeled back to
see. The one in what we think are the
bath had patterns very similar to the synagogue in Sardis.
the remains of a recognizable town, with streets, and agora, temples,
and a bouleterion can clearly be seen.
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| A small section of the mosaic |
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| Overview of the town. Th square building to the right protect the nymphaem, closed to the public, as is the apparently very good archeological museum. People whisper that it is due to cutbacks. |
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| The stoa |
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| Here are my feet, on ancient tiles / Walking through Greece's valleys green. |
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