Last Thursday, we set out on a 3-day road trip through the Peloponnese, the beautiful peninsula south of the Greek mainland home to Mount Olympus and some of the world’s best olive oil producers. After a 6-hour drive down the western side of Greece, we arrived in Mystras, a fortified Byzantine, then Ottoman city founded in the 1200s. The ruins are spectacularly situated on a steep hill overlooking a Laconian Valley, just a few miles from ancient Sparta. The town was designed with security in mind because of the many prospective invaders from other parts of the Mediterranean. As usual, dinner was at a local tavern, where we had chargrilled chicken souvlaki, Greek salad, and bread. The next day, we visited Mycenae, home to a society that flourished from about 1600 BC to about 1100 BC. The Mycenaeans had diversified crafts and traded extensively with civilizations across the Mediterranean; some goods reached as far as modern-day Britain and Scandinavia. In Greek mythology, it was the Mycenaen king Agamemnon who launched the siege on Troy to recover Helen, his sister-in-law. We drove to Nafplio, a town taken by French crusaders in 1212, and then ruled by the Franks, Venetians, and Turks until Greek independence in 1821, when it served as the capital for 13 years. Throughout the town, there are remnants from the European and Ottoman worlds, such as bright churches, Arabic-inscribed fountains, and medieval streets shaded by bright flowers. The Palamidi fortress, protecting the town from above, was built by the Venetians in the late 17th century. We enjoyed panoramic views of the sunset from our terrace at the Chroma Hotel, then had dinner in the street at Aiolos Tavern. The next day, we took a trip to the Epidaurus Theater, a 2,400-year-old outdoor venue with fantastic acoustics and seating for up to 14,000 spectators. From the top row of benches, we could easily hear tourists testing out the natural amplification from the theater below. We returned to Nafplio to check out the small, pebbly beach, then climbed the steps up to the Palimidi fortress, rewarding ourselves after with some wine and snacks on the balcony. On the way to the Athens airport, we visited ancient Corinth, another incredible site that was eventually incorporated into the Roman empire. We flew to Rhodes, just off the coast of Turkey, where we are spending three nights in the well-preserved medieval old town. We had a large, cheap, and delicious dinner of chicken gyros and grilled halloumi at Hermes Grill House. The friendly owner gave us ouzo and fresh watermelon on the house.
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DelphiLast Tuesday, we began our road trip through the Greek mainland and the Peloponnese. We drove two hours north to Delphi, a 2,800-year-old sanctuary where ancient city-states from mainland Greece, the islands, and beyond dedicated monuments to Athena and Apollo. Before visiting the ruins, we had tomatoes stuffed with rice and herbs, chicken souvlaki, Greek salad, tzatziki, grilled pita, and lukumades (fresh Greek donuts with syrup) at Taverna Dion. According to legend, Zeus sent two eagles to Earth around 500 BC, and they crossed paths at Delphi, which was considered the center of the earth. Contradictory myths state that the site was already revered as the location of an oracle in the pre-classical Greek world (1400 BC). Either way, Delphi became the location for the Pythian Games, one of the inspirations for the modern Olympics, in which athletes convened from various surrounding city-states to compete once every four years. Delphi was also home to an oracle – an old woman through whom the god Apollo allegedly spoke. We spent the afternoon visiting the ruins and the accompanying museum of antiquities. MeteoraWe drove another three hours through winding mountain roads with expansive vistas to Meteora, a stunning rocky landscape that reminded us a bit of Zhangjiajie in China. Meteora is famous for its collection of precipitous monasteries built beginning in the 11th century (though most were constructed during the medieval period). We arrived in time for a late dinner at Skaros Tavern, a lively terrace without a menu serving lamb and chicken grilled over hot coals and homemade cheeses. After stuffing ourselves with grilled chicken, fried potatoes, Greek salad (we have it with nearly every meal), cheese “salad” (feta mashed with pimiento peppers), the restaurant brought dessert and after-dinner ouzo (licorice-flavored Greek digestif) on the house. We spent the next morning climbing up to one of the precipitously located monasteries located atop a sheer, rocky outpost. Though not quite as unbelievable as the hanging monastery we visited in China (this one was located entirely on top of the rock rather than hanging over the side on stilts), it was impressive nonetheless. It rained in the afternoon, so we returned to our cozy B&B to watch a movie, then went to Ουζερί Ρακαριό (we couldn’t find the English translation), which we noticed the previous night was packed with locals, for wine and snacks. After a lengthy trip to Athens from New York via London on budget carriers Norwegian Air and EasyJet, we checked in to our downtown Airbnb apartment and set out for a late (11:30pm) dinner at Atitamos, a classic Greek taverna. Hungry from a cummulative 10.5 hours of flight, we started our trip with Greek salad, spicy eggplant dip, tzatziki, fried zucchini, grilled haloumi cheese, lemon and thyme roasted chicken, and a carafe of Greek red wine. We had complimentary baklava and mestika, a light, slightly sweet digestif. On our busy street, we also had a taste of frozen Greek yogurt with honey from Lukumades, a dessert café named after the eponymous Greek donuts. Suffice to say, we were stuffed and happy by the time we went to bed at 1am, ready for two whirlwind days of sightseeing. Our first full day began with a walking tour of Athens, introducing us to the city’s history, culture, and ancient sights. Following a lunch of fresh chicken gyros, we visited the Museum of Cycladic Art, an uncrowded and exceptional collection of antiquities. The detailed and informative explanations were welcome after typically vague museum descriptions in China. We walked through the graffiti-filled and alternative (i.e. abound with anarchist and communist posters) neighborhood of Exarchia. Dinner was at Atlantikos, a seafood restaurant where we ate Greek salad, grilled seabass, shrimp pasta, and bread with white wine. Today, we enjoyed Athens’s incredible ancient history, starting with the Agora. The Agora was a public meeting place, legislative and judicial center, and neighborhood for citizens of ancient Athens. We had souvlaki on grilled pita for lunch at O Kostas, a famous joint operating since 1950. Then, we walked through the colorful, charming Plaka neighborhood to the Acropolis museum, where we got an introduction to Athens’s most famous site. We stopped to take a break for Greek coffee and orange pie at Lotte Café-Bistrot, recharging from our jetlag and intense pace. At the Acropolis, we saw the incredible Theater of Dionysus and Odeon of Herodes Atticus, two well-preserved ancient theaters, with VIP seating still intact. Crowning the Acropolis, most famously, is the Parthenon, dedicated to the goddess Athena, overlooking the whole of Athens. We enjoyed seeing the incredible ruins in the late afternoon light, then headed back through the cobbled, flower-lined streets of Plaka to Ta Karamanlidika tou Fani, a restaurant specializing in pastourma (Greek pastrami) and mezes (dips). Mashed oniony fava beans, smoked eggplant and paprika salad, stuffed grape leaves, fried Sachanaki cheese, cured meats and cheeses, and fruity red wine made for a delicious and filling meal. We had fresh yogurt and honey at Spani, a bakery founded in 1931, and took home some baklava for breakfast on our balcony tomorrow. We are headed out in the morning for Delphi and Meteora, north of Athens on the Greek mainland. After a 27-hour journey from Ulaanbaatar to Philadelphia via Beijing and Washington D.C., we spent a whirlwind week celebrating my graduation from Penn with both of our families (although we missed our brothers, Michael and Daniel). We had a fun group dinner at Zahav, an amazing Israeli/Mediterranean restaurant, with all of our parents, both of our sisters, and my grandma, and everyone came to see me walk in the College of Arts & Sciences ceremony on Sunday evening. The Kleins left that night, and my family stayed with Robert and me for the University ceremony the next day. We went out for more great meals and nostalgia-inducing walks around Philly with my family, before heading to New York to stay with Robert’s. After spending time with some of our favorite people, gorging on some of our favorite foods, and catching up on much needed sleep, we headed to JFK airport to fly to Athens via London. We spent our layover in a Gatwick lounge watching the royal wedding live (not Robert’s choice), and arrived in Athens two days ago for the next phase of our travels. Mongolia Part II: Ancient Capital, Buddhist Monasteries, and Horse Riding in the Orkhon Valley5/12/2018
After an amazing week in the Gobi, we said goodbye to our wonderful guide, driver, and the Australian couple we were traveling with, and met our new guide and Land Cruiser driver in Mongolia’s ancient capital: Karakorum. Karakorum was founded in 1220 by Genghis Khan (written and pronounced “Chinggis” in Mongolia). A center of Silk Road trading in the massive empire, Karakorum was extremely diverse for its small size, and home to people from all over the world. Despite his reputation for violence, Mongolians view Chinggis as a national hero, and emphasize his fair laws, religious tolerance, and successful leadership. Although Karakorum has long since been destroyed, we visited the Erdene Zuu Monastery, built from the ancient city’s ruins in 1585. We stayed at a tourist ger camp (in contrast to the nomadic families we usually stayed with), which meant we got to take one of the only two showers during our two weeks in Mongolia! In the evening, we watched a performance of Mongolian throat singing, in which performers make sounds I did not think were humanly possible, similar to a baritone instrument.
The next day, we visited the Karakorum Museum, where we saw artifacts from the destroyed capital. We then drove through the hilly, grass covered terrain of central Mongolia to the Ulaan Tsutgalan waterfall, where we stayed with a family.
The nomadic owner of the ger took us on a two-day horseback journey through the Orkhon Valley, a stunning UNESCO-recognized epicenter of nomadic lifestyle and the ancient Mongolian empire. We rode stout, Mongolian horses (genetically unchanged since the time of Chinggis Khan) through the breathtaking landscape, while clad in traditional robes (del) to guard against the frigid wind.
We spent the night with a yak-herding family, then spent the next day riding back to the waterfall.
We had originally planned to go to hot springs, but as the pipes were still frozen, we spent the next two days visiting small sand dunes (a bit anticlimactic after the sand dunes in Gobi), staying with other families, and going for walks and hikes.
On our second to last day in Mongolia, we visited a massive statue of Chinggis Khan on horseback – the largest equestrian statue in the world. We climbed up to a viewing platform between the fearsome ruler’s legs, before driving to the beautiful Gorkhi Terelj National Park for our last night in a ger.
On the morning of our last day, we hiked to a recently constructed Buddhist temple in the Tibetan Yellow Hat style, then drove back to Ulaanbaatar. Tour complete, Robert and I spent the afternoon at the National History Museum and the Central Museum of Mongolian Dinosaurs, where we got to see some of the fossils that had been excavated from the Flaming Cliffs. We ate dinner at Silk Road Bazaar, an upscale restaurant that served an eclectic mix of Western food. After two weeks of potatoes, cabbage, and mutton in various forms, we ordered a huge meal of everything we were craving: chips and guacamole, arugula goat cheese salad, chicken piccata, margherita pizza, flourless chocolate cake, wine for me, Johnny Walker Black for Robert, and espresso with dessert. Thoroughly stuffed, we walked to the State Department Store, the one-stop institution for anything you might want to buy in Ulaanbaatar. We got a small, stuffed Gobi camel – one of the only souvenirs we could fit in the carry-on size backpacks we’ve been living out of for nearly five months. The next day, we traveled for 27 hours (via Beijing and Washington D.C.) to Philadelphia for my college graduation ceremony.
Our 12-day overland journey through Mongolia started with a dusty, bumpy, and spectacular drive through the Gobi Desert. We departed Ulaanbaatar with our guide and driver, Vampy (her nickname because she was a fan of vampires as a teenager) and Douka, as well as Ben and Catherine, an Australian couple. Mongolia's nomadic herder families still uphold the country's traditional lifestyle, moving their herds of goats, sheep, cows, yaks, camels, and/or horses as the seasons change. They live in gers, circular shelters centered around a stove, and can pack up all of their possessions and the house within a few hours. We enjoyed experiencing their lifestyle firsthand, eating mutton at just about every meal, as well as savoring many cups of salty milk tea. They speak the Mongolian language, which uses the Cyrillic alphabet, sharing all but 2 letters with Russian. Within a few hours of departing Ulaanbaatar, we entered the desert in our well-maintained Soviet-era van. Day 1: Tsugaan Suvarga (White Stupa)After 8 hours, we arrived at the stunning Tsugaan Suvarga (White Stupa). Our first stay in a ger was set under bright light from a full moon. The host cooked dinner and let us visit her herd of goats. The desert landscape is vast and surreal, silent but for the noises of goats' cries and sustained winds. Day 2: Yol ValleyMost days, we stopped in small towns for a supermarket visit. These small outposts were mostly quiet, with just some small markets, banks, and construction and fuel supplies. We fortunately managed to get a shower once during the 5-day Gobi tour! We visited the Yol Valley, home to the Three Beauties of the Gobi, rocky mountains with ice still frozen from the winter. We walked through the valley, passing groups of yaks, shaggy cow-like animals that are very shy, despite their size. Day 3: Khongor Sand DunesAfter a lunch stop, we spent an hour and a half climbing an enormous, steep sand dune. The view of the dunes from the top was breathtaking, as the light breaking through the clouds created shadows that highlighted the dunes' sharp curves. We arrived at the ger camp for a warm welcome with milk tea and dry cookies. Before dinner, we enjoyed a sunset camel ride through the desert, moving slowly on the backs of shaggy, two-humped camels. Day 4: Flaming CliffsOur next bumpy van ride took us to the Flaming Cliffs, where some of the world's most intact dinosaur bones have been excavated. It was the site of the first discovery of dinosaur eggs. We went for an evening walk near our ger camp, and came upon a herd of camels with their young. The camels formed a protective circle around their offspring as we approached. Day 5: Ongi MonasteryOur last stop in the Gobi was the Ongi Monatery, built in the 1600s and destroyed during the anti-Buddhist purge in the 1930s perpetrated by communists. The socialist Mongolian People's Republic was heavily influenced by the Soviet Union during its existence from 1924-1992. Mongolia is now one of Asia's freest, most democratic countries. We enjoyed a dinner of Mongolian barbecue, mutton and vegetables cooked with hot coals. |
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