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This month I am reviewing the two-week adventure through Italy, Greece and Turkey I took in October, an amazing experience rich in history and culture.
As I walked around throughout this journey, I let my imagination run wild as I was whisked away to a far off place — the romantic era of some of history’s greatest empires and lands rich in mythological and religious significance.
I traveled on a Carnival cruise ship, a new ship called the Splendor. And what a Splendor it was! This was my first cruise, and it is definitely a nice way to travel. The amount of ground we covered was tremendous for two weeks, being pampered along the way by the crew. Rates for cruises really aren’t too bad either, considering how much it would cost to cover that much ground on your own.
The trip began and ended in Rome, Italy, the center of the ancient Roman Empire. My uncle went on the cruise with me and his name is Roman too, plus my friend Ramon came as well, so now I can say I was, “Roamin’ Rome with Roman and Ramon.” Now that’s a tongue twister.
Rome is a huge city and the tour I was on unfortunately didn’t visit the Coliseum, Forum or Pantheon, except for a quick five-minute drive past. Fortunately I participated in the local tradition of tossing a coin with my right hand over my left shoulder into the Trevi Fountain, which is said to insure a return to the “eternal city,” so hopefully I will get to go back one day.
While I was in Rome, we took a trip to Vatican City, the smallest independent nation in the world, where I would visit St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest cathedral in the world. Stepping into St. Peter’s Basilica is intimidating. Everything is on such a grand scale that you feel tiny walking around.
The Parthenon sits atop the Acropolis in Athens, towering high above the city. The Parthenon was dedicated to the goddess Athena, and can be seen from just about anywhere in Athens.
The Vatican Museums are a rich storehouse of art that has been collected throughout the years, including, to my surprise, several pagan statues from the Classical Era that the church eventually accepted as art during the Renaissance Era. There were multitudes of Renaissance art from such great masters as Raphael, who did the Raphael Rooms, and Michelangelo, who designed the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica and painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Speaking of the Renaissance, another city I visited was Florence, Italy, which is said to be the birthplace of the Renaissance. Florence comes from the words “flower” and “blossoming.” There is still something magical about this city rooted deep in the heart of Tuscany, which has maintained its bloom since the beginning of the Renaissance Era.
During my time in Florence I saw Michelangelo’s “David.” Though most people have seen pictures of it, nothing compares to actually staring up at it to appreciate the intricacies of Michelangelo’s handiwork. I also visited the Duomo, the third largest cathedral in the world, and the Basilica of Santa Croche, where Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli, among others, are buried. One of the monuments in Santa Croche looks almost exactly like the Statue of Liberty, and is believed to be the inspiration behind it.
At the port of Naples, Italy, I ventured off down to the coastal town to Sorrento. Sorrento is said to be the place Odysseus encountered the sirens, the mythological seductresses in “The Odyssey,” and is the location of the only Greek temple to the sirens. The city is covered in lemon trees and is charming even without the charm of the sirens. Sorrento is one of the types of cliff-side villages that many people picture in the Mediterranean due to paintings, calendars and postcards. At this port I also visited Pompeii, the Roman city that was preserved by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. This was very educational and disturbing, as archeologists were able to make plaster casts of the eruption victims in terrified positions at the time of the eruption.
Another huge Roman city I visited was Ephesus, located in Turkey. Ephesus was not preserved in the way Pompeii was, but is in the process of reconstruction. An amazing thing about Ephesus is that only 13 percent of it has been uncovered, and what has already been recovered is immense. You can see massive columns sticking up out of the ground all around the city, waiting to be unearthed. I would like to come back here in about twenty years and see how far it has progressed. Up on a mountain next to Ephesus is the house the Virgin Mary is believed to have lived out her last days, and both Christians and Muslims hold this place very sacred.
Also in Turkey, I visited Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, which is the third largest city in the world. Also on world comparisons, here I visited the second largest palace in the world, Topkapi Palace, and saw the fifth largest diamond in the world, the Spoonmaker’s Diamond. I also visited the mosque with the second most minarets in the world, the Blue Mosque, and the largest shopping venue in the world, The Grand Bazaar. Istanbul is located in both Europe and Asia, and it is interesting to see the mishmash of Western and Middle Eastern cultures throughout the city.
From Marmaris, Turkey, I took a ferry over to the Greek Isle of Rhodes. Rhodes is the place where the Colossus of Rhodes once stood, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Rhodes is a medieval walled city where the crusader Knights of St. John set up residence in the Palace of the Grand Masters. This city is said to be the best-preserved medieval walled city in the world, and walking down the Knights Road definitely makes you feel like you are transported back to the Middle Ages.
Also in Greece, probably the greatest highlight of the entire trip was visiting the Acropolis in Athens. I imagined all the philosophers and politicians, wearing togas and sandals, discussing the creation of democracy and Western thought as I walked past the Parthenon and other massive temples. From the top of the Acropolis is a breathtaking panoramic view of this city dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena. It is interesting to see a modern city with ancient ruins scattered all throughout, and it is odd to think that this is normal for some people that see it every day. We just don’t have anything even close to being that old here in the United States.
This was an amazing trip, and though I could just briefly touch on the journey with highlights for this article, I kept a daily online journal at www.romanflis.livejournal.com that goes into much more detail.
Coming Up
Going on the one-year anniversary of Roamin’ with Roman, next month I will be visiting the Hixson area. I will be reviewing Black Friday at Northgate, as I did last year at Hamilton Place, as shopping season is about to kick into full gear for Christmas.
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