Date: March 27, 2007
Partners for the day: Kyle Jazwa ‘08(text) Kinsey Stewart ’08 (images)
Athens – Free Day
Weather: Warm and Sunny
Question Answered: A
Dear Weblog,
Today we all experienced a true free day. With nothing to do all day and few options available in
Athens (due to our extensive itinerary), I decided an adventure would be most appropriate. While most people were still in their beds, I woke up early and went on an invigorating run through Monastiraki, Kerameikos, the Zappeio Gardens and up Lykavittos Hill. When I returned, Kinsey Stewart ‘08, Brooks Smith ’08 and Mike Holmes ’08 told me that they were planning to visit a nearby island in the Saronic Gulf, Salamis. Reports of their journey detail a trip to Piraeus, the ancient harbor of Athens, a ferry ride to Salamis and a little bit of wandering. Salamis is famous for an ancient naval battle that took place in the waters around the island in 480 BC between the Persians and the Greeks. This battle proved to be the turning point of the Perisan War. During this battle, the Persians lost their naval fleet and were left unable to supply their large army. Just a year later, the Greeks fully defeated the Persian forces at the Battles of Plataea and Mycale, effectively ending the Persian War. Although there are no remnants of the naval battle at Salamis, Kinsey, Brooks and Mike appreciated this rarely visited island and the history wrapped up within it. Although not listed in any guidebooks, the island proved to be a fertile stomping ground for exploration.
During the other group’s visit to Salamis, Liz Stamoulis ‘08, Ben O’Donnell ‘08, Pete Kitlas ’09, and I (Kyle Jazwa ’08) decided to venture to the island of Aegina. Although our FSP group will visit the island, Professor Rutter explained to us during the previous evening that our travels will be limited to one small town. He further mentioned that the island is a veritable treasure trove of history and scenic beauty with the monasteries of Moni Agiou Nektario and Monis Hrysoleontissas, among others, and an impressive volcanic cone, Mt. Nikolaki. Our plan was to head over by ferry and rent bicycles in order to cover a large portion of the island. However, our plan was thwarted by our late arrival to the port and the even later scheduled departure time of the ferry.
In response to our predicament, we decided to set out on an epic journey that no Blue Guide would ever recommend. We started off by exploring the ancient harbor of Athens, Piraeus. At the beginning of the fifth century BC, Themistocles convinced the Athenians to fortify the harbors and make Athens a true naval power in preparation for the impending Persian attack. At the end of the century, Piraeus continued its role as the main vein of Athens; loss of the harbor would mean a Spartan victory in the Peloponnesian War because of the Athenian dependence upon her navy and ability to get supplies by sea. After the Roman conquest of Greece, Piraeus’s position as a maritime power went into decline while the harbors of Rhodes, Delos and Alexandria came to overshadow Piraeus. In 1832, Greece gained its independence from Turkey and Piraeus officially became a leading port and the second largest city in Greece.
We were all a little hesitant to visit any more museums after our marathon British Museum/London run during the past week, so we decided take in the local culture and explore the area. We walked over to Zea Marina to see the yachts in the harbor. On the way, we took our time at the Greek Orthodox church of Aghios Spiridonas and admired the art and architecture. Eventually, we came to the conclusion that we had a lot of time to kill and a lot of words to fill in this weblog, so we decided to walk from Piraeus back to Athens in quest of our epic adventure (later, we discovered that the journey is ca. 13 kilometers).
First, we walked to the Church of the Holy Trinity and came to the road “Pireos” which we correctly assumed would lead us back into Athens. This area fell outside the realm of any guide book and we were on our own, without a map. Trekking along a route few, if any, tourists will ever traverse, we were able to see a section of the Athens area that few foreigners see. The noise of the cars and factory workers was nearly deafening and trash, abandoned cars and collapsing buildings lined the road. This created an interesting juxtaposition next to the images of the Acropolis and the Plaka that most people conjure up when they hear the name of “Athens.” We were able to witness a modern city, bulging at its natural boundaries from urban growth and experiencing all the growing pains of a modern city. Present day poverty and decay were in front of us while the view of ancient opulence, the Parthenon, became larger and larger with every step. It gave us all an awareness of the underside of Athens and its inhabitants.
Finally, we arrived at the Kerameikos and Odos Ermou. Because my run took me through area earlier in the day, I was finally sure that we would make it back to the hotel – alive. Public housing and factories were buttressed against the park of the Agora as we entered the tourist section of town. With the seedier section of town still fresh in our memories, we happily strode past the outdoor cafes and street vendors of Monastiraki and arrived exhausted at the Hotel Pan. In celebration of our great walk, we decided to give each other celebratory chest bumps and names of famous ancient Greeks with which we will refer to each other in the future. I became known as Theseus, Ben, Epaminondas, Liz, Bouboulina (also a rode we walked on in
Piraeus), and Pete, Zorba ’09.
I then asked the rest of the FSP for stories from their free day. Joshua Drake ’08 and Ray DiCiaccio ‘09 explored the Temple of
Olympian Zeus. We had walked by the temple yesterday, but were unable to visit it because it was closed. Kelsey Blodget ’08 and Liz Sigler ’08 tried to do their laundry Athenian style, but failed and ended up watching a true non-Greek movie, “Sense and Sensibility.” Nick Ortiz ’08 attempted to visit the War Museum and the Byzantine Museum, but was thwarted at both places by Tuesday closings. Gahl Rinat ’09 decided to work on his ISP and the others explored Athens.
Tomorrow our lives return to the FSP gods. Our free day was much appreciated but we look forward to our visit to the Acropolis tomorrow.
Love,
Kyle Jazwa ‘08
In the fine tradition of FSPs past, Kristina starts off her free day catching up on some much-needed sleep.
Balcony view from our hotel on Mitropolis. With seven flights of stairs between it and the lobby, one learns to appreciate both it and elevators.
Mike (left) and Brooks survey the modern-day port of Piraeus.
Brooks and Mike on the ferry to Salamis Island.
Brooks looks out at one of the small islands in the strait. Spartan soldiers lay in wait to slaughter whatever Persian soldiers managed to make it to shore.
On Salamis, Mike buys lunch from a local fruit vendor.
Away from the shore, the town quickly dissolved into scrubland, dotted with wildflowers and rusting bits of tin roofing.
Waiting for the return ferry to Athens, Kinsey puts her Dartmouth education to work.
Chris and Ray pause on one of the side streets of Plaka. Lykavitos, which the group climbed the day before, rises in the background.
The Temple of Olympian Zeus. Because of various periods of halted construction, the temple took over 600 years to complete.
Josh provides human scale for the temple’s massive columnnade.
Liz, Ben, and Pete begin their long walk from the port of Piraeus back towards the hotel.
The group was taken away by the fine scenery to be found along Pireos.
Liz, Ben, and Pete marvel at the wonder of the Pantheon and their ability to walk to Rome in under four hours.
Exhausted from their long walk, Pete takes his cue from one of the many local strays.
Geia sas!
FINAL COMMENTS:
After a long day’s adventuring, the group headed out for dinner. It has been discovered that the trick to a good deal is to linger questioningly outside of the desired restaurant, looking with general skepticism at the menu, and to allow the restaurant hustlers to offer you a discount. Thankfully for those of us still struggling with Greek, many restaurants provide English translations, though for descriptions of some of the more untranslatable local dishes we must turn to Liz.
