Day 4 - 3rd June 2008, Tuesday
Corinth Canal is a canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea which is mainly used for tourist traffic. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland, thus effectively making the former an island. The builders dug the canal through the Isthmus at sea level; no locks are employed. It is 6.4 kilometres in length and only 21.3 metres wide at its base, making it impassable for most modern ships. Because of that, it now has little economic importance.
The Lion Gate, the two lionesses flank the central column. Inside, we viewed the tomb of Clytemnesta.
We stopped for lunch at 12.30 noon, the restaurant not far from the ruins.
As soon as everyone finished with their lunch and back to the bus, we headed to Naufplio for photo.
Nafplio is a seaport town in the Peloponnese that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the capital of the First Hellenic Republic, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the regional unit of Argolis.
The theater was designed by Polykleitos the Younger in the 4th
century BC. The original 34 rows were extended in Roman times by another 21
rows. As is usual for Greek theatres (and as opposed to Roman ones), the view
on a lush landscape behind the skene is an integral part of the theatre itself
and is not to be obscured. It seats up to 15,000 people.
The theatre is marveled for its exceptional acoustics, which permit almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken word from the proscenium or skênê to all 15,000 spectators, regardless of their seating. Famously, tour guides have their groups scattered in the stands (like ours) and show us how easily we can hear the sound of a match struck at center-stage.
to be continued...
The bus pick us up at 7.55am and as usual the bus shall stop at numerous hotels to pick-up other tourist. After 3 days, we saw familiar faces on the bus to to Argolis. The pick up bus sent us to another Argolis pick-up point which leaves Athens at 8.45am. There were 2 Asian family in the group with us, a family of 3 from India but migrated to US. They looked very pleased to see Asian faces.
Argolis is one of the regional units of
Greece. It is part of the region of Peloponnese, situated in the eastern part
of the Peloponnese Peninsula. Most cultivation land lies in the central part of
Argolis. Its primary agricultural resources are oranges and olives. Argolis has
a coastline on the Saronic Gulf in the northeast and on the Argolic Gulf in the
south and southeast. Argolis has land borders with Arcadia to the west and
southwest, Corinthia to the north, and the islands regional unit to the east. It was a very long journey and we are all very happy when the bus finally made a quick stop for photos and coffee break at Corinth Canal.
Corinth Canal is a canal that connects the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf in the Aegean Sea which is mainly used for tourist traffic. It cuts through the narrow Isthmus of Corinth and separates the Peloponnesian peninsula from the Greek mainland, thus effectively making the former an island. The builders dug the canal through the Isthmus at sea level; no locks are employed. It is 6.4 kilometres in length and only 21.3 metres wide at its base, making it impassable for most modern ships. Because of that, it now has little economic importance.
The area has been developing for tourist stop for toilet, coffee break and souvenirs’ shop. After photo shoots and refreshments, we went for shopping for souvenirs. The shop owner had pack few items for the tourist guide to have a Q&A session with us to keep our long bus ride cheerful. Nasrul managed to answer 1 and received laudable response from everyone in the bus. It made him felt very special, indeed. After almost 2 and a half hours of bus ride, we arrived in Mycenae at 11.30am.
At the entrance of the ruins of Mycenae, our lady tour guide called everyone four head count to buy an entrance ticket for everyone. She asked Syahirah how old was she and Syahirah responded that she's 16. The lady turned to me and asked for my age in front of everyone. I had to say "I'm the mother" as I was too embarrassed by her sudden question. My answer made everyone laughed, its hilarious (my face turned red).
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| Treasury of Atreus, outside view |
Mycenae is
an archaeological site in Greece, located about 90 km southwest of Athens, in
the north-eastern Peloponnese. In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of
the major centres of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated
much of southern Greece. The period of Greek history from about 1600 BC to
about 1100 BC is called Mycenaean.
The Lion Gate, the two lionesses flank the central column. Inside, we viewed the tomb of Clytemnesta.
We stopped for lunch at 12.30 noon, the restaurant not far from the ruins.
Thinking that nobody was looking, we picked the peaches from rows of peaches trees just outside the restaurant and was caught by our smiling bus driver who later gave us a handful's of what he picked earlier :)
As soon as everyone finished with their lunch and back to the bus, we headed to Naufplio for photo.
Nafplio is a seaport town in the Peloponnese that has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf. The town was the capital of the First Hellenic Republic, from the start of the Greek Revolution in 1821 until 1834. Nafplio is now the capital of the regional unit of Argolis.
The above photo is a castle of Bourtzi, located in the middle of the harbour of Nafplio. The Venetians completed its
fortification in 1473 to protect the city from pirates and invaders from the
sea. The Greeks regained it from the Turks on June 18, 1822, from where they
assisted in the siege of Nafplio. Until 1865 it served as a fortress. It was
then transformed into residence of the executioners of convicts from the castle
of Palamidi. From 1930 to 1970, it served as a hotel. Since then, it is mainly
a tourist attraction hosting occasionally parts of the Summer Music Festival. After everyone finished taking picture, we continue our journey to Epidaurus. At 3pm, we arrived at Epidaurus Colosseum.
Epidaurus was a small city in ancient Greece, at the Saronic Gulf. Since 2010
they belong to the new municipality of Epidavros, part of the regional unit of
Argolis. Epidaurus
was independent of Argos and not included in Argolis until the time of the
Romans. With its supporting territory, it formed the small territory called Epidauria.
Reputed to be the birthplace of Apollo's son Asclepius, the healer. Epidaurus
was known for its sanctuary situated about five miles (8 km) from the town, as
well as its theater, which is once again in use today.
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| Our lady tour guide in the centre |
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| The boy from our group performing classical song with his amazing voice |
The theatre is marveled for its exceptional acoustics, which permit almost perfect intelligibility of unamplified spoken word from the proscenium or skênê to all 15,000 spectators, regardless of their seating. Famously, tour guides have their groups scattered in the stands (like ours) and show us how easily we can hear the sound of a match struck at center-stage.
Nasrul was exceptionally hyper active that day. He was changing seat to the back and front in the bus and been running around at the theatre rows. The 2 photos evidenced how hyper active he was and friendlier to the Indian family who came along with us.
The bus dropped us at our hotel around 6.15pm. By 9pm we dosed off early due to a long tiring journey.
to be continued...
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