history – Page 9 – Geeky Girl Engineer

Turkey: Hagia Sofia of Istanbul

Posted on July 19, 2015 by geek

Hagia Sofia is an amazing piece of architecture and art. It was a church that became a mosque that became a museum. The interior is covered with beautiful stone panels, carved stone, mosaics, and painted plaster. Much of the mosaics were covered with plaster and then painted centuries ago, but the revealed mosaics are intricate and beautiful. The painted plaster is quite beautiful also. The stone panels demonstrate the beauty of natural stone. Besides the actual decorative interior, the actual architectural form of the building with all its domes and arches is gorgeous and also amazing from an engineering standpoint. Considering the age of the building and the number of earthquakes the area has suffered, it is amazing that the building is still standing. Some earthquake damage can be seen such as a leaning column in a photograph below.

Hagia Sofia

Arches

Central area

Carved stone arches

Central dome

Column leaning from earthquake

Front of interior

Hall

Mosaic revealed under painting

Stone panels

Virgin Mary mosaic

Turkey: Ancient Ephesus

Posted on July 17, 2015 by geek

Our cruise through the Greek Islands ended in Turkey, where we visited Ephesus. The ruins of ancient Ephesus are amazing, partially because of how much is left. The library is just gorgeous. Several streets are still present which gives you a really good feel for how the city used to be. The public toilets make me glad to be alive in the indoor plumbing age.

Street

Library of Celsus

Clay pipes

Columns

Odeon

Public toilets

Residential area

Temple of Hadrian

Theater

Residential area mosaic floor

Greece: Patmos

Posted on July 12, 2015 by geek

Today we visited the small Dodecanese island of Patmos. It is where St. John is believed to have written the Book of Revelation in what is known as the Cave of the Apocalypse. The island is very pretty with gorgeous, wonderful views from the hills. It also not too touristy.

View of town

Harbor

A rocky beach

View from monastery

Monastery of Saint John the Theologian

Greece: Kalymnos

Posted on July 11, 2015 by geek

This morning we went to Kalymnos, the sponge divers’ island. The island is in Dodecanese island group and seems be known for the sponge divers and that is about it. We visited Nautical and Folklore Museum. It was tiny but had some nice exhibits on the sponge divers and the history of them. According to the museum curator, the death rate among sponge divers was near 25%, which is depressing to say the least.

Kalymnos

Kalymnos harbor

Sponge store

Tile porch floor

Prefecture

Church

Blue and white house

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: 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: 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