Mar 2007

My blog name is Iaremia. Why? Because that is my name in Greek and to Greece I am going.

Follow my travel progress here:
http://www.travellerspoint.com/member_map.cfm?tripid=22846&stopid=61421

I have never been to Europe (besides the 15 minutes of glory I spent running around Picadilly Circus in London after a long excursion out of Heathrow Airport.) Why am I going? I'm not getting any younger and I'm not orphaning any children if I mysteriously disappear. I've had my share of travelling in other countries – Guatemala, Philippines, Mexico, Canada and South Africa but have never been anywhere for an extended period of time just to travel.

I have been reading much of the history of Europe for the last several years from King Leonidas' stand at Thermopylae in the 5th century BC (yes I started reading Tom Holland's book "Persian Fire" long before "300" came out in the theater) to Ataturk's creation of the modern state of Turkey in the early 1920's (see "A Peace to End All Peace" by David Fromkin). I have to say that I am most interested in Greek history – the twists and turns of demokratia (democracy) in the face of dominating Persian monarchy to the incorporation into the Roman Empire and the pinnacle of Greek culture and ideology in the Byzantine Empire under Emperor Justininian. Hagia Sophia (the Church of Holy Wisdom) built by Justinian in the 530's in record time in Constantinople (modern day Istanbul) is definitely one my top destinations. Considered one of the 8 wonders of the ancient world, it still stands today as a museum in the heart of Istanbul. The church was the symbol and the center of the Byzantine Empire for almost 1000 years until the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmet II took Constantinople by siege. The Sultan hired a Hungarian engineer to build around 14 cannons to destroy the 1000 year old walls. Ironically, the Hungarian had appealed to the Byzantine Emperor previously to make cannons for the Greeks, but the Emperor did not have the funds to build the cannons. Constantinople withstood over twenty sieges previously including Attila the Hun in the 400's and Muslim invasions in the 700s. For an amazing non-fiction read, I recommend Roger Crowley's "1453", an in depth account of the siege of the world's greatest city of late antiquity and beyond. The city, when it was looted systematically for 3 days under Islamic Law, contained few of the treasures the Turks hoped to find (the Byzantine Empire had been in decline for 300 years and was past bankruptcy). The high altar of the church, the icons and the huddling survivors were taken from the church as spoils and slaves respectively.

When I visit in late May, I hope the museum curator can take down the scaffolding they've had up for years sitting idly and blocking the views of the amazing central dome of the church. I also can't wait to see many of the mosaics that have survived.

Enough ranting about history for now. Stay tuned for my Athens blog coming soon!!!