Day 07 April 21, 2013 Sunday
Pella, Vergina , Makrgialos, Greece Three
ancient capitals of Ancient Macadonia
ITINERARY:
Early in the morning , Drive to Pella (home of Alexander the
Great (original capital of Macedonia) Visit the unlooted tombs opened in
1977…tomb 2 believed to be that of Alexander the Great ’s father. Tour
the two museums…historically important . In Pydna, late afternoon ,
visit the home of Laura and her husband Theo for coffee and a few
treats…Dr. Theodore Antikas, visiting professor at the Dept. of History,
Univ. of Washington and his wife Laura Wynn. They will give a
presentation on the history of the Macedonian kingdom from the 1st millennium
BC to the present. Possible to also meet a friend of theirs researching
ancient fabrics of Greece. Go to dinner after visit. Overnight in
Makrgialos . Laura’s e-mail is:lwynn@otenet.gr and
Theo Antikis is antikwyn@otenet.gr
Makrygialos: Hotel Achillion http://achillionhotel.com.gr
Tel: 0030 2353041210 and 41356
This hotel is right on the waterfront and a very short walk to all the
restaurants. It is also a 10 minute walk from Laura and Theo's home.
Short
after we left the hotel, we stopped at the arch of Galerius.The
road used to go through the arches and reached the huge round building
which was
used as a church after the Roman era and was converted to a
mosque during the 500 years of Ottoman presence in Thessaloniki. When we
walked down
the steps of this impressive and grand building we saw that
it was now again being used as a church. The mosaics in the
ceiling, the acoustics and
the grandness of the building, gave me a
feeling of a mystic location.
The group had noticed a cafe named Meli. We had our laughs. Out first stop is the Capital city of the Kingdom of Alexander the Great, Pella. Alexander was born in this city.The archaeological site was closed to the visitors because of the excavations but the museum was great. It was hard to believe that a man who was born in this tiny town could conquer all the known world 24 hundred years before our time.
In
In the most luxirous houses the splendid mosaic decoration of the floors was in most cases matched by the painted mural decorations. On the second floor there is a row of white pillars and red parapets, surmounted by a cornice and above the parapets the blue of the sky
The
next stop was Vergina.. After a usual huge lunch with salad, baked beans
cooked in small earthen pots, stuffed grape leaves, home made delicious
bread, cheese and more, we walked down to the royal tombs of the father
of Alexander the Great. The museum was built around the tombs which were
originally covered with earth making the home shaped tombs look like one
huge tumulus. The treasures found in the tombs which were luckily never
been broken in by the looters revealed the most exquisite gold
work and the purple cloth which was a wrap for the bones of Philip's one
of 7 wives was the highlight of the museum. Unfortunately we were not
allowed to photograph. so these images are taken in the souvenir shop
across the street from the museum. We were met at the corner of the
highway by Laura. We checked in to our hotel on the beach. We were the
only visitors in the whole town of
Makrgialos. Every one had the view of the sea. We had an exciting event
waiting for us. We quickly left the hotel and droved a short distance to
the small school in the middle of this tiny village. Including the mayor
of the town, all the dignitaries were there to meet us with an excellent
exhibition of woven and embroided textiles from their dowry chests. The
village ladies had prepared homemade snacks and drinks for us. The
folkdance show of the young villagers vas great. A professor from
Thessaloniki gave us a slide presentation on "textile in archaeology".
DR. KECHAGLAS DIMOSTHENIS TSIMISKI STREET 66, C.P. 546 22 THESSALONIKI,
GREECE. PHONE: +30 693 806 0722 E-MAIL deniskechagias@yahoo.gr
He was very warm, sweet knowledgeable person. We all loved to hear this amazing specialty. Of many things we learned from him is that the textiles could only survive hundreds and hundreds of years if they were mineralized. Our conversation with all of our hosts and hostesses continued over the dinner table. Laura's husband, Theo, who had put all this together made sure that we had 10 times more food that we could consume on the table. After such a huge dinner, we all appreciated the walk back to our hotel.
