Even though we spend most of our time at sea, particularly on this trip where we are doing long-mile-days trying to get to Finike, our far away destination in Turkey, as quickly as possible – we do get to see a bit of the amazing archeological sites of the area. On Naxos we (thankfully) “had” to sit in the harbour for a few days to wait out a Meltemi, the strong dry north wind of the Aegean sea, so we rented a car and got to see a few great sites.
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- The landmark of Naxos is the Portára, thought to be the remains of an Apollon Temple. The Temple never got finished and was misused by the Venetians as a quarry for the construction of their fort.
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- Naxos was known for its marble in Antiquity. In several of it’s ancient quarries there are half-finished gigantic statues which got damaged during transport called “Kouros” left behind more than 2000 years ago.
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- Temple of Demeter, the goddess of grain, corn and the harvest on Naxos
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- Posing with Opa on the walk to Demeter’s Temple on Naxos
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- Pastoral view from the site of the Temple of Demeter on Naxos
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- Leonie in front of the Temple of Demeter on Naxos.
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- Naxos is the biggest of the Kyklades. You might have read about Ariadne of Naxos in Greek Myths: Theseus left Ariadne on Naxos after she had helped him to find his way through the labyrinth of Knossós to kill the minotaurus. Then he left her on Naxos where she gravely lamented her destiny until the god Dionysos married her.
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- Ancient Delphi impressed us most. The setting is spectacular and natural.
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- Situated amidst ravines, rocky bluffs and cliffs one can still feel the mystery of the site and imagine why it was considered the Centre of the World in Antiquity. These are remnants of the temple of Apollo, one of the gods that was worshipped in Delphi.
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- Delphi also has an amphitheatre (and a sports arena).
Hi Bill and Gabrielle – ancient sites….would that be their banks? Have a safe fun trip!
It is so great to be able to “follow you around” and experience some of the great sights of ancient Greece.
I wonder, if you can feel the stress and the tension of the people who are in such a terrible financial crisis at the moment. We hear about it on the news every day.
Hopefully, you are oblivious to all of that and you are able to enjoy a wonderful holiday. Can’t wait to see you back and hear all about it.
Ingrid