Rhodes, Greek Islands

This is the entrance to the walled portion of the city of Rhodes built during the Christian Crusades (1470s). We really liked the other Greek Isles (especially Mykonos) but Rhodes was absolutely beautiful.

Some of the narrow streets were barely wide enough for a guy riding a scooter, while the doorways lead right out onto the street. Some of the streets were paved with the original rounded cobblestones that after a couple hours of wandering around were very uncomfortable to walk on.

The people of Rhodes have perfected fitting rectangular doors into the old arched doorways. Notice where stone has been added to narrow this doorway.

A heavy iron gate with windows for allowing the breeze in and for seeing who is outside without having to open the door.

Shady and outlined with ivy, this doorway was one of the more inviting we found.

A scene typical of Rhodes, this woman sits in the shade selling her wares.

Sitting in her stone doorway while there is an empty chair?

Mykonos, Greek Islands, Aegean Sea

The tour guides told us Mykonos has over 600 churches. Most are very small and were built by local sailors hoping they would bring them protection from their dangerous life on the seas.

Everything on Mykonos seemed freshly painted for a photo opportunity including this door and shutters. According to our guide, Kodak used to sell more film on Mykonos than any other place making it the "most photogenic" place on earth.

What can I tell you about this photo? We stopped to watch the sunset on a balcony overlooking the water and have a cool drink after our long and very windy trek around the seashore. As we left, I asked our waitress if she could close the door for just a moment so I could get a photo. She misunderstood me and I didn't have the heart to explain so this is what I got. After all, Mykonos IS the most photogenic place on earth. That is my story and I am sticking to it!

Our seaside window view.

I highly recommend you visit Mykonos if you ever have the opportunity. My photos do not show its true beauty.

Blue Star Ferry Door

Hotel doors have ways to get out of the building if they are on fire. So it makes good sense when you travel via a ferry or cruise ship you get instructions on how to don a floatation device. We found this poster on the door to our berth when we took a car ferry from Bari, Italy across the Ionian Sea to Petra, Greece.

Bronze Door - Rome, Italy

Erin standing in front of this door gives you more perspective on what I term a "massive" door.

Yet another impressive and massive door. This building and the one with Erin above are both just a couple hundred yards from the amphitheater and very near the site where Julius Caeser was cremated.

Flavian Ampitheater - Rome, Italy

ADozens of extremely high-arched entryways led Rome's citizens to the seating area of the Coliseum. Completed around 80 A.D., it is one of the grandest of all Roman structures and seated up to 80,000 spectators. I have never been to a place where the thought, "...if these walls could talk..." spoke to my conscious more loudly than this amphitheater.

Vatican Museum Entryway

This very impressive entrance to the Vatican Museum is no longer used. I don't believe it could handle the crowds of the modern era waiting in line to pass through Vatican City. When we arrived the line in front of the high wall stretched a long city block and was growing by the minute. The tour guide told us Rome's population doubles in the summer months.

The Green Door - Rome, Italy

Another grand villa entrance in Rome.

Villa Doorway - Rome, Italy

The entrances to inner-city Roman family villas are very ornate and grand in every sense of the word. In the old days, the first floor of the villas had the family business, kitchens and servant quarters. The families resided above where it was generally a bit breezier, cooler and somewhat quieter. Most doorways have a balcony where the house owner could survey the city street from above. Note the perfume shop on one side and the laundrymat on the other.

A closer view of this beautiful doorway.

Unaizah Antique Gate

This antique gate in Unaizah, Qassim, Saudi Arabia, has an Amish flavor in its paint.

UnBelizeable

Stowage locker door to Eric & Clifford's fishing boat down in Belize. Their sticker may say "Original Bad Boy" but those two guys are first rate guides who have always shown us everything we asked to see and more.

Unaizah - Bayt Al-Hamdam

A photo of the local sheik is posted to the men's guest room door in the home of Ibrahim Al-Hamdam located in Unaizah, Qassim Region, north-central Saudi Arabia.

Inside the guest room are thick walls lined with cushioned seating and artfully decorated window shutters.

Doggy Door - San Pedro, Belize

I saw a really nice coffee table book in a bookstore in Riyadh that focused on doors & gates in Saudi Arabia. Borrowing the idea, I thought it would be interesting to include some of the photos from our travels this summer.

Canines are usually fierce defenders of their territory. We noticed they mostly leave humans out of their territory disputes on the islands in Belize. However, I've read accounts recommending humans take the Teddy Roosevelt approach of "tread softly and carry a big stick" in some places due to agressive dogs. Maybe it is the laid-back Ambergris Caye island attitude? While strolling down the beach we didn't see this little guy but he saw us. Wisely choosing his battles, he didn't even mumble a bark until well after we had passed. I bet if the gate was closed he would've given us heck.

Famous Colonnade

2,000 Year Old Colonnade

According to Chris (& the Encyclopedia Britannica), while the Apostle Paul was in Ephesus about 53-54 A.D. he was likely imprisoned in the hilltop jail seen beyond this colonnade. There he wrote Galatians, I Corinthians, Philippians, and probably Philemon. Some believe Ephesus is also where Mary, mother of Jesus, lived until her death. According to our guide, Marc Antony, later in his life, had his headquarters in Ephesus and rode in a procession down this street with his "Queen of Kings" Cleopatra.

Restorations Progress in Ephesus

Beautiful 25,000 Seat Theater

The Library of Celsus

The Turkish government is still excavating and restoring some of the old city including the beautiful Library of Celsus and the 25,000 seat theater. We couldn't tour into the theater but, unlike Greece, we were able to go just about anywhere else we wanted. Though the theater was started much earlier, the finished structures were both built during the Roman rein of Trajan (98-117 A.D.). The library was reported to be the largest in the world during it's heyday until it was destroyed by fire.

Nike Goes Retro - Way, Way, Back

Our Tour Guide Describes the Attributes of the Greek Goddess Nike

I think the "swoosh" was represented by the folds of the curved cape. This bust was one of many displays we saw along the main walking street.

Kusadasi Turkey

Erina & Patricia Disembarked Under Sunny Skies & the Turkish Flag

Our tour took us to Kusadasi, Turkey where we visited the ruins of the ancient city of Ephesus, known for the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Ancient Wonders of the World and for the Apostle Paul’s New Testament writings to the Church at Ephesus. Xerxes left his children at Ephesus when he invaded Greece around 479 B.C. Alexander the Great conquered the city in 333 B.C. and then 200 years later the Romans had gained power.

Bull-Leaping

Chris demonstrates in front of a giant set of horns while Dave explains the Minoan "Bull-Leaping" Ritual

Often, I am sure it was nearly impossible for someone to tell the difference between fact and fiction while listening to Chris. However, despite the cloudiness of my ancient history lessons, our vacation wouldn't have been near as much fun without his hilariously warped explanations of culture, technology, ancient civilizations and "the unknown".

Awesome Hiding Place & Lots of Storage Space

Patricia viewing the large pithoi

The archaeologists and curators have painstakingly reassembled some of the very large Minoan pithoi back together. These ornately decorated jars were so large they had handles spaced across the entire surface to, I believe, distribute the load and enable them to be emptied or even moved.

A little know fact, according to Chris, is that in the past tourists were allowed to crawl inside the jars for awesome "photo ops." However, too many couldn't crawl back out so that practice is now prohibited. Hmmm........?

Crete

Patricia points out the bull-leaping ritual painted onto an ancient storage jar called pithoi.

I went to a traditional Saudi Arabian wedding the other evening and on looking back at my blog postings I really feel compelled to share a few more photos and stories from our summertime Italy, Greece, and Turkey vacation. We had such a great time touring with our new friends Kelli and Chris, Platt and all the young adults from our local high school and university.

On one cruise ship stop we negotiated for a cab to take us from the Crete port of Iraklion to the ancient Minoan palace at Knossos. The Minoans reached their technological and cultural peak around 1600 B.C. Their palace at Knossos even had bathrooms and running water.

Popcorn & A Movie Day

Dusty Outside View

Yesterday afternoon I stroked the golf ball around the compound a few times in beautiful warm sunshine. Even though I was alone & I didn't shoot particularly well, it was so nice outside, I played until sunset. The warmth reminded me of Spring trying to ward off the last winter days of cold back in the Midwest. I had so much fun I called my buddy Allen and arranged to play the next day.

Today I woke up to a shroud of thick choking dust. We have been having too many days of this junk. Just like the Midwest in Spring, here in the desert we seem to get one day you can only truthfully call glorious followed by a day where you dare not think about going outside for fear of damaging your health. I guess it is time to get out the DVDs and pop some popcorn.

Where Have I Been, You Ask???

Grades 1 - 3 Belleview Country School
My Mother JoAnn is on the left, ? in the middle & L.A. Fewins is on the right

Watching the sun set from a Mykonos seaside cafe.

I imagine some of you may have wondered where I have been for the last six months. Well........I've been living the life.

The year 2007 for my family held some of the best and worst times a family can have. We had the best of times vacationing a couple weeks in Belize, then for the rest of June we were touring Rome, Naples, Athens and the classic archaeological sites in Greece and Turkey while sailing around the Aegean Sea. Our high was quickly followed by the lowest of lows when we lost my mother to cancer a mere two months later. Words cannot describe how much we will miss her.

Mr. Biggs

We met the jovial “Biggs” at our scuba shop and sat down to talk while awaiting our next dive. He was always in a good mood.

Talking About Flat Land....

Sandy & Rich from Colorado

We met Patricia’s brother Richard and his wife Sandy in Dallas and then headed on down to Belize. It took less than a day to slow down to the Caribbean lifestyle and once we did it was hard to return to the US. They were a bit surprised to be able to see the water on both sides of the island when standing in the middle and the 10 feet of elevation when they are used to 5000+ feet.

Around Every Corner

My wife, daughter and I were fortunate to tour portions of Italy Greece and Turkey this summer. While in Rome, it seemed as though everywhere we turned we came across another beautiful relic of the past glory of the city. Parked in front of this relief decorating an ancient Roman wall was this new "Smart" car.