マンハッタンビーチ在住のグリーンウッド氏の旧友ロンが2002年４月に訪れたエーゲ海の旅行写真と紀行文を送ってくれたのでここに紹介します。グリーンウッド氏はアテネは30年前訪問したことはあるが、エーゲ海やペロポネス半島の遺跡群はまだである。
We had a great trip to Greece. It was organized by the Univ.
of Minnesota Alumni. As you could guess they kept us pretty busy. They had very
informed lectures in the hotel most days, talking about everything from ancient legends to
modern Greece.
The first lecture was 8:30 AM the day after we arrived! (We didn't even wake up until 8
AM, so gave that one a miss). Many of our other travelers were late, which isn't
surprising. Before leaving on the trip, they sent us small notebooks and we wondered
why. When we saw some of the more committed travelers taking copious notes, we
understood. And we thought we were going for a vacation!
After that rather busy start, things slowed down to a sustainable pace. The lectures
were very good and helped us understand what we were going to see. The biggest
impression we had is the sheer beauty of the islands (Athens seems to be just another
modern w. European city - more torn up than most, because of preparations for the
Olympics). The Aegean sea is very clear - similar to that on the Barrier Reef!
Apparently there is an upwelling circulation which keeps it very clean. Not too good
for fishing we were told, probably no nutrients in the clear water.
As you know we stayed on Poros which is 50 miles and about an hour by hydrofoil from
Athens. Later in the year it gets very crowded by Greeks on their weekends off, but
was comfortable when we were there. Poros is still rather unspoiled, but
discreet developments of big houses are beginning to appear near the town. I expect
it'll soon get very built up with weekend "villas". I have no idea if the
figures are accurate, but one Greek said a small house in Poros goes for only 10,000
Euros, a "big" one for 30,000. Some mansions (probably bigger than his
"big") we saw must be more than 600 sq. m. Incidentally, almost all the
new houses, and many of the old ones, had both solar water heaters and heat pump
heating/cooling units. The climate and cost of energy may be close to Tokyo's and
most houses had only the one heat pump - probably in the bedroom, like yours.
ポロス島
ポロス島の小さな半島上の集落。背景にはペロポネス半島が見える。
ポロス島とペロポネス半島
非常に美しい。ポロス島と狭い海峡の向こうのペロポネス半島。
ポロス島のウォーターフロント
写真では分かりにくいが、4月というのに観光客で席が半分埋まっているウォーターフロントのカフェ群。
Each day we went to one or other island or historical sights.
I didn't realize before, but there are many "Acropolis' " (Acropoles?) in
Greece. It simply means "city on the hill" and there are many of them.
One of the most impressive was in Mycenae - dating back almost 3500 years. Traveling
over the roads in the Peloponnese you can easily understand why the Greeks used stones to
build their walls - the ground is covered with stones and boulders of all sizes, even
today.
I'd also been under the impression that the arch and the dome were Roman inventions.
However in a couple of tombs from before 1000 BC there were what I believe to be
arches and domes. It'd be interesting to get a professional opinion.
All-in-all, a wonderful holiday. As a time of year to visit I definitely recommend
April. Crowds are still sparse and the temperatures were ideal (highs 18 - 20 C).
Apparently it can reach over 40 C in the summer, even on the islands (humid, too, I
expect, being in the sea). Fall is also supposed to be good.
イドラ島
18-19世紀に建てられた船長たちの邸宅が多く残っている。現在は金持ちたちの観光地。ここでは自動車は禁止でロバが運送手段。ロバの後の灰色のクルーザーは金持ちの持ち物。
エピダウロスの円形劇場
BC4世紀、ポリクレイトスによって造られた円形劇場。古代のまま完全な姿をのこしていて、現在でも劇場としｔれ使用されている。 55段の観客席、15,000人収容。音響効果がすぐれていることで有名。2002年夏の出し物はアリストファネス作「鳥」
You really can hear someone speaking in the center from the top of the stands where I took this picture. Our guide is the small black figure in the center of the circle. She was reading a poem. (Note 28 mm lens was too narrow for the span of the auditorium).
ミケーネの獅子門
シュリーマンによって発見されたミケーネの遺跡の獅子門。トロヤ戦争の総指揮官だったミケーネの王、アガメムノン(about 1250 BC) の父アトレウスの墳墓などがある。4月というのに観光客が多い。BC2000にはミケーネがペロポネス半島を手中におさめ、エーゲ海にも進出するが以後次第に衰える。
A massive citadel on a high bluff overlooking one of the richest plains in Greece. The walls were originally twice as high. Later Greeks believed only the Cyclops could have raised these massive stones.
アクロポリスのエレクティオン神殿
オリンピックに備えアクロポリスの神殿はパルテノンを含め、目下修復中。このパルテノンの隣のエレクティオン神殿は修復が完成した。白く見えるのが新しく挿入した大理石。左に見えるカリアテッドの像も模造品と入れ替え本物はこれ以上の劣化を防止するため屋内に保存されてしまった。（30年前グリーンウッド氏が訪問したときはまだ危惧されながらもオリジナルが風雨にさらされていた）ベネチャ軍やトルコによって破壊されたパルテノンは現在では大気汚染でさらに劣化しつつある。遺産保護という面では1801年、英国のトルコ大使エルギン卿がパルテノンの主要な彫像を大英博物館に持ち去ったことも評価されよう。
パルテノン修復中のクレーン
修復中のパルテノン。解体した石が番号をふって積んである。
(Construction Engineer's comment: On all the Greek sites we visited, the only items of protective clothing we saw were sunglasses - not even one hard hat! - Even where masons were chipping away marble blocks with power tools high overhead on scaffolding. I wonder how many will lose eyesight and limbs, perhaps life before the Olympics start in 2004.)
I'd also been under the impression that the arch and the dome were Roman
inventions. However in a couple of tombs from before 1000 BC
there were what I believe to be arches and domes. It'd be interesting to get a
professional opinion.
All-in-all, a wonderful holiday. As a time of year to visit I definitely recommend
April. Crowds are still sparse and the temperatures were ideal (highs 18 - 20 C).
Apparently it can reach over 40 C in the summer, even on the islands (humid, too, I
expect, being in the sea). Fall is also supposed to be good.
25/06/02