LIFE: Part 2

Current Location: Olympia, Greece
Current Position: 37 38.61 N 021 37.76 E Click to view map.

 

A welcome to Katakolo, the main port for visiting Olympia.

As we were arriving in Katakolo late afternoon. That day they had 3 cruise ships in. After a crazy med mooring again on the town quay it was time for a sun downer, and watch the busy docks with the people all getting back to their ship.

 

 

The harbour and waterfront street. After the liberation war, in 1821,  the place flourished from the 1830’s to 1860’s and the area experienced wealth. Katakolo was also home to a Raisin Treatment and Packaging Factory. Raisins were the main cultivation and here at this port is where the warehouses were to store them and to be exported mainly to England and France. Today they live only from tourism. Cruise ships line up to get into buses and train running to Olympia as the main attraction.

 

 

Our boat can be seen here. The one with the tallest mast in the town quay.

 

 

The shopping street behind all the restaurants in the waterfront. Busy on the days that cruise ships are in, but otherwise is very quiet

picturesque little village. We really enjoyed the stop over.

 

 

 

Young man came to our boat when we arrived and told us he had a nice variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. He told me to take the stairs up the hill from the main street. I told him I would go the next day. Since there is only one street, not a problem to find. But as I keep going and going up this long flight of stairs with some amazing views I ended up in this cute place and cute old man and wife and no Exit.

I really thought I was at the wrong place because I was expecting some kind of a fruit stand. Well… The couple were very friendly and he spoke some English. I was trying to tell him what I wanted to buy and if I was a the right place and he kept saying how much you want??? And then the young man showed up….it was the son. They made me sit down right at this table with some wine and olives, while the son packed away  all these  vegetables and fruits from their garden, including olives, olive oil, eggs  till I couldn’t carry anymore. What a beautiful spot !!!

The doors on the right are rooms that he rents out for 22 euros a night. With his broken English he told me he visited Vancouver Seattle and many of the States, he worked on a ship more than 30 years ago.

Welcome to Olympia!

It was here more than 2500 years ago that the first Olympics were held.

The games began in 776 BC to honour Zeus. Pelops, the king of the Peloponnese was, according to mythology, their founder. The athletes that competed had to be “true-born” free Greek men. Women were not allowed to watch. We overheard a tour guide telling some students that women competed as well, 1 month before the men, not “true born” free, but with a short dress that was angled from one shoulder over the chest on the chest showing one breast. But who watched??? The men !!!!

The winners were crowned with an olive brunch that grew in front of the Temple of Zeus.

The temple at the center was, of course, the focal point of the whole area. The temple was like all the other temples in ancient Greece, like those at Selinunte and Agrigento in Sicily. But THIS one had a HUGE statute of Zeus at one end. The statue is gone, but this picture shows it. By huge, I mean HUGE – 12 meters tall, made of ivory and gold. One of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

 

 

 

Side tracking a bit…….. above is another example of why we don’t have many pictures of us together. Each time we ask someone to take a picture of us…they don’t get it!!!! Why would he have all the dirt in the foreground, and then cut off the top of the monument? And this was his second attempt! We won’t even show you the first one.We have now realized the best tactic is to ask a person who has the biggest camera.  They usually know how to frame a good picture. But we don’t always see them near by

ok..ok…we can take our own with camera on timer, but you cant do it in these crowded areas, you’re lucky if you can get in front of the monument without screaming at people to get out of the way!!!! And you have to take turns.

 

Here is the Gymnasium. A rectangular building with a large yard. Here the athletes practiced  running and other events such as the javelin, the discus etc.

 

 

 

 

 

The site named Altis, meaning also (grove)  is enclosed by a wall and inside are many temples and sanctuaries, auxiliary buildings, priests’ houses, baths, the areas for the preparation of the athletes, guest houses along with other buildings.                                                                                 It was a beautiful walk trough the Ancient Park surrounded by olive trees, oaks and many other trees.

 

The Palaestra. A square building with an open courtyard and rooms all around it where they housed visitors and also athletes trained here for wrestling, boxing  and jumping.

 

The 5th century A.D.  baths. They even had in-wall heating. You can tell they were post-Roman rather than Greek, as they are built from bricks, not giant stones.

 

A vaulted passage way into the Stadium.

 

The  Ancient Stadium where the Olympics took place. It has a track 212.5m long by 28.5m wide. It could fit up to 45,000 spectators, although it had no seats, they just sit on the grass all around in the embankment

 

A walk into the Ancient Museum

The Museum has an amazing display of the finds from the archaeological site. From bronze cauldrons to equipment of the soldiers for offense and defense, metal objects, pottery, beautifully painted terracotta, tools used for everything……all the stuff you find in Museums and more.
The most impressive are the all the Statues.

 

 

You think he’s phoning for help??? After all, the guy next to him just lost his head!

 

 

These are some of the most famous sculptures from the Temple of Zeus. In the middle stands the marble bull representing power. Reminds me of bull running in the Azores – all the people around the outside, and a bull running loose in the middle!

 

The famous statue of Hermes. Perfect polish of the Parian marble, is regarded one of the finest works of art of the Late Classical period. The statue has a gate around it. I stood in front, away from the statue posing for a photo and got whistled away by the guard. Not allowed!

 

Nike. This Masterpiece was a votive offering to Zeus. It’s over 2 m high and it stood in his Temple as well.

 

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