Photo Report: Classic Greece & the Agean Sea, Maldives & Indian Ocean, the Orient
Here is the first installment of a photo report on my latest RTW. Today, we are visiting Athens, the capital of Classic Greece. Let me take you with me on this photographic journey through time back to the glorious Classic Period.
The Acropolis of Athens
Ancient Theater at the Acropolis of Athens
Views from the Acropolis of Athens
City of Athens
The Parthenon of Athens
The Temple of Zeus
Reconstructed Agora (market)
Scenery of other temples and ruins of Classic Athens
In the next installments, we'll be begin the vist of Greek Isles onboard of the Silver Cloud. The Agean Sea is trully a romantic and memorable place - only if one can catch a glimpse of the Classic times, with its mythologies, tales and heroes. We'll be following the footsteps of some great people like Alexander the Great. Please stay tune for the next installments!
Great pics -- thanks! It looks like the Acropolis is still under construction. You'd think, after several thousand years, it would be finished by now.
The buildings on top of the Acropolis are being restored. They were finished long time ago but due to passage of time, human actions and etc., they need to be repaired in order to restore their former glory
This is a very busy cruise as we dock to a port every single day - that's the way I like it. Although I have cruised before, this is the first time on Silversea. Along with Seabourn, these two are considered the ultimate 6 star cruises, with a pricing that goes with that. Silversea, unfortunately, stopped to serve complementary caviar onboard sometimes in January of this year. It makes you appreciate airlines who still serve caviar on board even more and scold those who don't...
I have always wanted to visit the Greek Isles, this trip is a dream come true...
Our first stop today is Nafplion, the first capital of Greece after their independence from the Ottoman Turkish Empire in the early 19th century. Greece was ruled by the Ottomans for over 400 years during which time Greece almost ceased to exist. Greeks today credited their existence to the Greek Orthodox Church, which held the country and people together during the Ottoman occupation. There is a saying: "To be a Greek is to be an Orthodox." As a result, Greeks today are one of the most religious countries within the EU today. Nafplion today is a small town. It did not retain the title of being the capital of Greece for very long as the King decided that Athens was much better suited to be the capital for its size and infrastructure.
Town of Nafplion
View from the Port of Nafplion
We went to shore by tenders. Only smaller cruiseship like Silversea could visit tiny ports like Nafplion. The ship holds about 300 passengers comapred to some of the bigger cruiselines which can hold up to 10 times more but also making many of the Greek Isles inaccessible to them as well. In other words, there is no cheap way to visit Greek Isles in comfort.
Ruins of Ancient Corinth
Corinth as you may recall is a major port and city-state during the Classic Greece. Its strategic position means controlling Corinth will control the sea trades of the Agean Sea. With trades, come prosperity and money - making this city one of the richest. Strategically, controlling Corinth also means reaching all over the eastern Mediterranean and the rest of Greece from a military standpoint. That's exactly what the Romans did, on their way to conquer Greece.
The first Temple in Greece dedicated to the Olympian Gods
Inside the Museum of Ancient Corinth
Marvellous fresco in a classic theme
Classic Greek statue depicting a young man
Some precious antiquities of the museum were actually stolen by theives over 15 years ago but they somehow managed to get most of them back. Inside of it, there is an open courtyard with a lot of statues depicting Olympian gods, heroes and people. One of the main features of classic Greece is its emphasis on the natural beauty of human body and nudity. They certainly got it right as 2,300 years after the end of that period, we are still mesmerized by their beauties. Even those statues with broken parts project an unspeakable natural beauties after two millenia.
Ruins of the market of Corinth
We now head to Myceanae, one very ancient city-State dated over 1,200 BC which is another very important part of the Greek folklore.
Views of Myceanaen ruins and hills
Lions Gate to the tomb of Argamenon
Argamenon was a Mycenaean king who participated in the Trojan war. At the time, Mycenae was very powerful, thus he was selected as the leader of the united Greek forces. When he returned from the war, he was poisoned and murdered by his wife and her lover. His tombs are said to contain an enormous amount of riches and golds. As you can imagine, most of the royal tombs have been raided by now and the treasures, missing. Even the heads of the Lions on the Gate you see in the picture are missing because they were thought to be made of gold as well.
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Wonderful pictures, was on MSC Musica in Athens/Piraeus two weeks ago. Much bigger ship but have been tempted by Silversea, could you post some pics of the cruise ship too?
Wonderful pictures, was on MSC Musica in Athens/Piraeus two weeks ago. Much bigger ship but have been tempted by Silversea, could you post some pics of the cruise ship too?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BiziBB
If it isn't crowding the TR forum, could you put the cruise pics on a different thread?
This is such a good report, I'd like to see it purely destination-focused, if this suits Guava.
Thanks for the pics above!
I did not take any pictures inside the Silver Cloud. The reason was simple, there was nothing to write home about. Yes, you hear that right. Despite being an ultra-luxurious cruiseship (aka. 6 stars), it doesn't compare to some of those luxurious hotels you'll see on land, not even close. Frankly, I was somewhat disappointed by the quality of the accomodation and food given how expensive Silversea is. I can't believe some people pay over $20,000 for a 7 day cruise (due to higher suite category). Thankfully, it was my first time on Silversea and I will not likely step on another one anytime soon. Overall, I found it to be poor value for money. Unless your itineary is not served by any other cruiseline, which is likely in some of the more exclusive destinations like Seychelles, I don't recommend anyone trying Silversea due to the cut backs and the poor value for money. Another factor that may have played in my judgement is also my age. I am 27 and the average age of my cruisemates is about 55~60, many are older than that, some are really old. I did meet some really nice people though and there is a German couple that we got along really well that I consider I made some new friends. However, some people definitely made it known that I was too young to be on that cruise even though they didn't say it verbally.
There is a couple from Calgary that we got along really well as well and they told us that they found Seabourn to be slightly better. Another British couple who is obviously some super rich people, they do nothing but travel in ultra luxury year round whether on a ship or in the air (there are lot of those people on board) told us that they too found Seabourn slightly better at times, if ever so slightly in food. I may still give Seabourn a try if the itineary and the price are right. But Silversea, not for me and I am sorry to say that.
Photo Report: Classic Greece & the Agean Sea, Maldives & Indian Ocean, the Orient
Ancient Corinth, Mycenae and Nafplion
