geek – Page 32 – Geeky Girl Engineer

Greece: Naxos Countryside

Posted on July 9, 2015 by geek

This morning we went on a hike in the Naxos countryside through a few small villages. Our destination was the Kouros, but really the journey was the best part. We walked along a rather small road, which should almost be put in quotes but they do drive on it. There was a small aqueduct running alongside the road that appears to convey water from mountain runoff and springs to farms below.

Rural area

Farming area

Olive tree

Metal gate to yard

Donkey

Aqueduct

Aqueduct waterfall

Lily of the Nile

Kouros

Greece: Naxos

Posted on July 9, 2015 by geek

We visited Naxos today. We spent the morning walking around the town and then spent the afternoon swimming in the Aegean Sea. The town has the classic Cycladic white stucco architecture with bright blue trim and doors. The downtown area has few streets and mainly has alleys on which we continually got lost. Most porches and entries and potted plants and bougainvillea. I love how these old cities areas have no green space, so most people put as many potted plants near their house as possible. The downtown area is highlighted by a castle that is really now part of the town. Just off of the harbor is the unfinished Temple of Apollo.

Castle

Half gate on stairs

View from Temple of Apollo

Shaded balcony

Umbrellas decorate alley

Man walks past gate

Ultimate Greek house

Temple of Apollo

Castle tower

Bougainvillea

Potted plants on stairs

Fenced gardens

Beach

Greece: Mykonos

Posted on July 8, 2015 by geek

We spent the afternoon in Mykonos. It has the classic white washed stucco, boxy, architecture of the Cyclades islands. Mykonos is famous for its historic windmills, which are unique and fun to photograph. It has hundreds of tiny little churches everywhere. I was underwhelmed by Mykonos. It is really touristy and famous for its party scene. As I am not into the party scene, that did not appeal to me.

Famous Mykonos windmills

Mykonos harbor

Three houses together

Tiny alleys

Colorful doors and trim

Boats in harbor

Little church on the harbor

Dome of church at the harbor

Hotel Lefteris

Colorful pots in an alley

Pension Joanna

A famous Mykonos windmill on the hill

Up close view of the Mykonos windmills

Greece: Hermoupolis

Posted on July 7, 2015 by geek

This morning we visited the town of Hermoupolis on the Greek island of Syros, in the Cyclades. The entire town is picturesque. There are neo-classical buildings, building with Venetian influence, and as I am not an architecture expert, I am not sure what other styles there are. Many of the buildings are painted in beautiful pastels, and most have lovely metal railings. The alleys and streets are tiny, windy, and lined with stone. Bougainvillea climbs up houses and flowers in color that competes with the gorgeous blue sky.

Hermoupolis

Alley with views of the water

Art deco gate

Aqua fence

Blue shutters on house

Bougainvillea

Metal gate to church courtyard

Church on top of hill

Government building

Beautiful detail on balcony

Hermoupolis houses next to water

Lampshades cross on alley

Pink and green house

Cats at door

Blue dome on church

Greece: Icon Workshop

Posted on July 6, 2015 by geek

Today, we visited an icon workshop. They make all the icons by hand, and they showed us all the many steps involved. First, they start with blocks of wood, the type of wood depending on the icon.

Wood base

The wood is hand carved.

Hand carved wood

If the icon will have metal on it, the metal is then shaped into the desired form.

Silver plate

All painting is done on canvas, so the canvas is then stretched.

Stretching the canvas

The foil is then added.

Supplies including foil and brush for foil

Bright powder pigments are used for the paint, and duck egg and vinegar are other ingredients.

Powder pigments

The icon is then hand painted.

Hand painting

An example of a beautiful final product.

Finished icon

Greece: Meteora Monasteries

Posted on July 5, 2015 by geek

While visiting the Meteora area, we visited two Eastern Orthodox monasteries, Varlaam and St. Stephen. Varlaam has much older structures than St. Stephen, and Varlaam has monks, and St. Stephens has nuns. They are both beautiful monasteries sitting on top of the rock towers, in seemingly precarious positions. Before electricity, they climbed and used net baskets to get to the monasteries. I can’t wrap my head around how they reached them in the past.

Holy Monastery of St. Stephen courtyard

Candles at Holy Monastery of St. Stephen

Holy Monastery of St. Stephen entrance

Holy Monastery of Varlaam wood ceiling

Holy Monastery of Varlaam

Old rope lift at Holy Monastery of Varlaam

Lift at Holy Monastery of Varlaam

Wine barrel at Holy Monastery of Varlaam

Greece: Meteora

Posted on July 5, 2015 by geek

Today we visited Meteora, an area in central Greece, of beautiful, amazing rock towers. They are composed of sedimentary rock, and the towers are for the most part bare rock. Portions of the towers have crevices that have been created from erosion. In the 9th century, monks sought refuge and solitude in the caves, and later, monasteries were built on top of several of the towers. Until the introduction of electricity, monks accessed the monasteries via ladders or a basket suspended via ropes, and evidently very strong will and stomachs. Now, those of us with not quite that strength, can visit the monasteries via roads and stairs.

Meteora

Holy Monastery of Varlaam

Meteora

Greece: Athena Pronaia at Delphi

Posted on July 4, 2015 by geek

Right next to the Delphi archaeological site is the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia. It is a much smaller site, and I am not sure if it is technically considered to be part of the Delphi site. The main ruins at the site are those of the Thosos, which is a round building. A neat feature at the site is a mountain spring that flows onto the site and is channeled away in a small stone canal.

Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia with Delphi in the background

Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia

The Tholos

Lego pieces

Mountain spring

Channel for the spring at the site

Greece: Delphi Museum

Posted on July 4, 2015 by geek

After we visited the archaeological Delphi site, we visited the museum next door. All the artifacts are from the site, and there are some amazing pieces in it. The pieces are amazing and masterfully made. I also can’t get over the detail into some of the pieces, especially ones that were supposed to be on top of structure and thus never seen up close.

Sphinx

Athenian column

chariot driver

cornice

frieze

lion head

Omphalos

The Twins

Greece: Delphi

Posted on July 3, 2015 by geek

Today we visited the archaeological site of Delphi. Delphi is definitely one of the most amazing archaeological sites to which I have ever been. It is not the biggest. Olympia and the Athens Acropolis are probably bigger, and both of them are very impressive. I think what I found so awe-inspiring about Delphi was not just the ruins, which are impressive, but also the setting. It is nestled into the mountains, and it reminds me of Machu Picchu. As an engineer, I haven’t stop being impressed with the construction of these sites, and at Delphi, I found the Polygonal Wall to be just amazing. Polygonal Wall is built of carved stones set on top each other without any mortar.

Temple of Apollo

Delphi

View from Delphi

Polygonal wall and Athenian Stoa

Stadium

Theater

Treasury of the Athenians

Altar of Apollo

Omphalos