Oct 7, 2011 - Mycenae & Epidavros

Today we toured both Mycenae and Epidavros on our way to the island of Hydra. Mycenae has one of the largest and oldest beehive tombs ever found, built in the 13th century B.C. There are dozens of these tombs surrounding the ancient city, but we only visited the largest, called the tomb of Agamemnon. These burial tombs for kings and filled with gold, tools food and anything else the dead may need in the next life. I had visited similar sites in Bulgaria last year, which were all much smaller than this one. The difference was that the tombs...

Dec 1, 2010 - Epidavros

@@@@@@@ Background The Hellenic Festival, usually held in late spring each year, has featured the Epidavros Festival as an integral part of its program for the past forty years. The ancient Greek classics are recreated in the beautiful and acoustically stupendous well-preserved theatre located in the pine-clad hills not far from Nafplio. Guests are treated to an experience that rival the performances of the historic Greek actors. However, it is not the 2,000-year-old theatre that earned Epidavos its UNESCO World Heritage listing, it is the...

Nov 23, 2010 - Exploring Nafplion & Epidavros

Today we go exploring the city of Nafplion and the surrounding areas. Starting from our hotel at 8am its a pleasant stroll along the port road, past numerous bars/cafes. We headed out to the lighthouse to get a better view of Bourtzi Island and its fort. Along the way there are numerous people out fishing (the bay is reputed to be one of the most fertile bodies of water in Greece). The air is cold and crisp, and the water dead calm. Te sun hasn't yet appeared over the surrounding hills so it seems like its about 6am instead of 8am. The...