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NB: It is now October and we are home after a wonderful trip. I could not continue the blog while traveling because the Greek technology and my iPad did not work together. However, I do want you all to share our amazing experience and excellent (if we do say so) photographs. So I'll do an entry each week until I have as complete a record as is reasonable. Stand By... Liz
We arrived at Heraklion, Crete, after 12 hours flying, waiting, customs, etc. without sleep -- but we were happy to have finally arrived! However, we got an unpleasant surprise. Because we were tired, hot and carrying luggage, and the pavement was irregular, Sue took a header with a three-point landing, and badly sprained her right hand. Although nothing was broken, it warranted a trip to the Heraklion Hospital the next day, to have it bandaged and braced, and thus began her experience in learning to do everything one-handed. A scary and upsetting way to begin.
Heraklion is a port city with the endless blue Aegean right from out hotel window, but it's basically a jumble of grey and yellow stone buildings, many covered with graffiti, a commercial-looking harbor with gi-normous ships, and the usual European mix of narrow streets and zooming cars and loud motorcycles, which ooze around pedestrians and stop for nobody, even each other. The one thing I wanted to see there was the Archaeological Museum of Crete, home of the original frescoes, religious and household artifacts from the Minoan Period c. 3500 to 1500 B.C. (Bronze Age), the oldest civilization in Europe. As Sue went off to the hospital, I set off by foot for the museum. Downtown Heraklion is really not much bigger than Salem, but it's confusing to navigate. Two streets may seem parallel and contiguous on a map, but one will be by the sea, and the other on a cliffside. With my sense of direction, a ten-minute walk took two hot hours, but I did see a great deal of Heraklion,some of which is quite nice -- palm-lined roads and bougainvillea. I arrived at the museum only to be told by a little grey-haired lady that the museum was "closed" for renovation. I think she saw I was about to explode because she quickly told me that around two corners was a small collection of Minoan art which had been saved out in an available room during the renovation. Thus began the high point of the day. It's hard to convey in words the strange beauty of these artifacts from so long ago. Typical is the figurine of the Minoan snake goddess, earth mother, bare breasted and holding a snake in each hand in an outstreatched position of benediction. The beautiful fresco of the bull leapers was there in all its glory, showing an enormous, speckled bull charging, while boys and girls tried to grab its horns head-on (hence the phrase "taking the bull by the horns"), somersault over its back, hoping that a team member would catch them on the other end. Of course, some of the young dancers didn't make it. The bull was a sacred animal so this dance was a combination of religious ritual and blood sport. Also there were numerous pictures of priestess/goddesses dressed in long skirts but little on top except a shoulder shrug and their long, curly locks. I asked a young German couple to photograph me with my camera, in front of one. Spontaneously, I imitated the goddess's position, swinging my arms and turning my face to the side. The couple giggled as they snapped the shot, but a lady guard rushed at me, shouting "No posing!!" Later, she looked at me as if I'd done something totally reprehensible, and I wondered if she thought I intended to bare my breast in imitation. Unfortunately, it was too late when I thought of it!
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janetkroll Hi Liz! How nice to get this! So sorry to hear about Sue's hand but glad nothing was broken. Can't find our e-mails; I wish we'd discussed Heraklion in more detail, that museum has been closed snce 2004!! but glad u got to the "temporary room" -- actually it contains all the important pieces, so you saw all the good stuff! Fab isn't it ... gives such insight into goddess-worship, so KEY to understanding ancient Minoan crete. I look forward to your next installment!