Itinerary
From July 2002 to November 2003, I traveled Europe and the Middle East. I summarized the experiences and published as a pilgrimage essay (Shinpuusha "Another Europe"). But I could not insert the pictures to hold down the expense and the volume. Then, I will show the photos taken during the travel in this site. These pages have many 100KB size pics, so I recommend a broad band line to read them. JavaScript required. All the pics will be moved to Picasa Web Albums of Google.
Greece
Aegina-Crete Athens Delphi Eleusis-Peloponnese Lesbos-Rhodes Mycenae-Troy Thermopylae-Salamis-Plataea ThessalonikiTurkey
Istanbul Seven Churches-PatmosAthos
AthosEgypt
Amarna-Alexandria Luxor Cairo SinaiGreece
Aegina-Crete
 |
| Greece1(Ae |
In Greece we must enjoy cruising the Aegean sea. Beautifu and wonderful panoramas are waiting.
The Cretans is the first country which controlled the Mediterranean sea before the Greeks. King Minos had governed the island, so they are called the Minoans. The tale that the Greeks conquered Minoan people remains as the legend of Minotaur. It has not yet become clear of what kind of race is the Minoans. Linear A has not been decoded. It has become clear that linear B is Greek. Moreover, the strange tablet was found from Crete. It is called the "Phaistos Disk".
The Phaistos Disk, looking into it, we will lapse into the illusion as if inhaled by something mysterious. The pictorial symbols (signs) were spirally drawn on both sides of the disk. Such a beautiful mystical tablet is not two in the world. Since it was discovered from the trace of a shrine, it seems whether it was used for a certain magic, but this has not been decoded, either.
It is interesting what kind of faith the Minoan people had, who had left
the free and realistic pictures. Ring of Minos allowes a guess. The ornament is given to the ring in an elaborate technique.
From the patterns, the faith of the tree of life and the eternal paradise can be grasped, which was common to the Oriental people. It can be guessed whether they were the pioneer of the Phoenicians. Ring of Minos is unbelievable that the golden rings are more than 3,500 years before works. Is who is dancing a goddess or a maiden?
Labyrinth. Knossos was destroyed by not an eruption of Santorini but the Greeks ( the Mycenaeans ). Bull worship became the basis of the Minotaur legend.
Athens
 |
| Greece2(At |
Since the Greek people went south to the Mediterranean, it has passed 4,000 years. Saying that the course of Athens is the course of Europe is not an overstatement. Speaking of the sightseeing of Athens, we see the articles of the classic ancient time in the Archaeology Museum, reach up Acropolis watching the Parthenon, and of course, have a cup of coffee or tea in Plaka.
Athena the Guardian Goddess of Athens is a Virgin God. Virgin God worship is characteristic of the Caucasoid, i.e., the European. In ancient times, a goddess is a fertile God and a productive God, and, usually produces the world by sacred marriages with man-gods or humans. It is interesting why Virgin God worship prospered in Europe. "Parthenon" means "a maiden's room". The Persian unit, climbing the cliff of the north side, released fire, and Acropolis was destroyed.
However, if you are Christian, you better also visit the churches. The Greeks not only produced Heracles and Plato, but also produced a large number of great Apostles and Church Fathers. In the Byzantine church in Athens most tourists take no interest. Although the appearance is modest and dirty, they survived for 5 centuries under the Islamic rule.
The Monastiraki Square became fair, where the subway station was built. Speaking of Greece, white churches, but it is because mortar was applied to sightseeing in fact. They were such touch wholly also as before.
But I want them to prize the color of the Byzantine style individually. In Agora the ancient shrine and the medieval church live together. Kitties in Acropolis. All the carnivorous mammals in the world are cats. Old mitropoli. The relief which tells the effect of an ancient church is used. To the chapel built in a corner of the site of a building, Sundays, people visit to pray. It is small, but a relief around the 4th century is used on the door. From the Lykabettos Hill the whole view of Athens can be commanded.
Because Greek Orthodox respects "seeing God in silence (Hesichasm)", there are big monasteries in the suburbs. However, since the immense heavy tax was imposed on the freedom of faith, many monasteries have fallen into ruin in the Ottoman era. Caesariani (Kaisariani) Monastery is one of them.
The Greeks have left the most distinguished services to European culture in Christianity as well as in paganism. There is no doubt for that they are the greatest race in the world history, although we can not feel the old glory for the present-day Greek people. Rows of houses of the foot in Acropolis : It is quiet when you take a step toward a back street. The intricate alleys seem to be a maze.
Delphi
 |
| Greece4(De |
Delphi.It was a holy place in Greece.The Apollon shrine: The sacred weapon which Herodot described was in the shrine, but it is mystical.The Persian army was repulsed, although going to pillage the treasures of Delphi, for the rocks of the Parnassus collapsed with the explosion of the sacred weapon. Mt. Parnassus: We can see the trace of landslip.
Osios Lukas ( Hossios Loucas )Monasteryis near by from Delphi. It is the model of a Byzantine type.
Eleusis-Peloponnese
 |
| Greece5(El |
Eleusis.It was the most holy place of the Mediterranean world of the Hellenism period. Orphism was the goddess worship based on the immortality of human soul. Dionysos (Bacchus): In the Hellenism period it came to be expressed in a feminine manner. Roman emperors like Nero and Hadrian are referred to have received the initiation here. The defeat of Persian army in the naval battle of Salamis was also predicted.
Now, Sparte is a local town which an expressway does not go. Mistra in the suburbs was a Byzantine fort city. The monastery built in the side of a mountain. The Holy Eye of the sanctuary perceives our thought? There are some abandoned churches. The statue of the last Byzantine emperor, Konstantinos the 11th. He was killed in the battle of Constantinople in 1453. The Roman-Byzantine imperial history of 1,500 years closed the curtain here.
The district of Sparta is also called Laconia or Lacedaemon. Laconia was famous as a producer of beautiful women. Because Sparta held the national isolation policy and maintained the pure blood principle for a long time. The appearances of the Spartan beauties were found useful in sculptures and pictures. The Laconia beauty might be real,the legend of peerless beauty Helene who caused the Trojan War.
Lesbos-Rhodes
 |
| Greece6(Le |
It seems that there are no optional trips in which we can visit Lesbos even when we travel Greece by tour. But the airways are performed several times a day, and one day trip from Athens is easy. As for means of sightseeing, you may be able to arrange them, if you ask an agent. I negotiated with a taxi driver at the airfield. From at 6 in the morning to the early afternoon, to go half round the island costs 150 euros with meal and tip. Since it was before the Olympic Game, probably it was slightly comparatively high-priced. If I were a woman, I would get a discount. A Greek man is kind discriminatorily to a woman anyhow (much more than an Italian man).
It is legendary that all the nations warred for only one woman Helen. As for a season of sightseeing, Greece is so anywhere, Lesbos is also a very special island of Sappho for the Europeans, tourists washes from Germany and Britain in summer, so the off season of spring or autumn is quiet. But this is not necessarily likely to be a holy place for the lesbians. Probably, it will be quite cold in winter, since Lesbos is northern in the Aegean Sea. If you see and turn around the islands, it will be enough if you stay one night. Generally to turn around Greece, a rent-a-car will be best.
Lesbos is famous as the island of Daphnis and Chloe as well as of Sappho. It was in the 2nd century the golden age of the Roman Empire when Longus (Longos) wrote the love story of the shepherd boy and girl on the stage of this island. It has been loved as a typical work of the idyllic literature. The dawn: The opera music which Ravel wrote is also famous. The music of a dawn was the view which I actually experienced.
A group of livestock grazing in the pasture. The Roman aqueduct has grown dim in the distance. The atmosphere of the period when Longus lived remains. The characteristic of Hellenism is in idyllicism. Originally idyllicism was the simple pastoralism of the Greeks, but it evolved into a ideal view of the world as the Romans controlled the Mediterranean. Idyllicism is a pantheistic praise of nature, that is, a thought which makes an aesthetic ideal of a harmony or a fusion of nature and a man, nature and a city, nature and a nation, and nature and a civilization. The sense of reliability for the harmony and order, i.e., the cosmos behind nature, serves as a base. The firm belief of the Roman cosmopolitans is that Pax Romana is what the gods want. The influence of the Hellenistic idylls has also attained to Judaism and Christianity. There is a small canon "The Song Of Solomon" or "The Song Of Songs" in the Old Testament.
Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth,
where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon:...
I am the rose of Sharon, and the lily of the valleys. (SOL 1:7,2:1)
Although it is gift songs of the man and woman who love each other, in the Old Testament it is a preeminently hedonistic and peaceful content, and is the writing like a oasis in the desert. This canon was written in Alexandria or around Palestine of the 2nd century B.C. earnestly, though it gave the name of Salomon. and it is a love paean filled with Hellenistic lyricism.
Moreover, the Lord Jesus Christ compared himself to a shepherd. In the early Christianity of the 2nd and 3rd century, they understood Evangel in the style of idyll. Even now, the clerics are considered to be those who lead a group of the sheep, the believers correctly. The fort of Molivos: In the ancient times they attacked neither a city nor a country side and once the castle was carried, the war was settled.
The Lemonas Monastery: some churches and monasteries are located in Lesbos and there is a peculiar air in them. The city of Mitilini. There is a splendid cathedral.
Rhodes was the island where the Aphrodite worship was prosperous like the Cyprus island. It was famous with one of the Seven Wonders, Colossus. In the relation of Christianity it is famous bacause the base of the Knights Hospitalers of St. John was temporarily placed. The castle of the Knights Hospitalers:
Mycenae-Troy
 |
| Greece7(My |
The Mycenaeans, who ruined the Minoan civilization and grasped the hegemony of the Mediterranean, installed the colonys in many places and monopolized the sea trade. The ruins in Mycenae: It is the fortification which even the Greek people considered later superhuman.
The lion gate in Mycenae. It is said that lions were also in Europe till the last around second millennium B.C. The lion extermination of Heracles does not seem to be a lie, either. The Argolid plain looked down on from the King Agamemnon's palace. I was caught by the illusion for a moment as if I were a king.
The people against the Mycenaeans appeared. It was Troy which was at the entrance to the Black Sea in the Dardanelles. Troy imposed the tax on the merchant vessels of Greece and gained the immense profit. The Black Sea district was indispensable to supply of gold, iron and grain for the Greek people.
Agamemnon ordered all Greece to perform the expedition to Troy, which got impudent to Mycenae. Of course, it is a fiction by Homer that Alexander royal prince of Troy pillaged queen Helene of Sparta.
Troy: Alias Ilion. According to this comment, Troy is historically as old as the dynasties of Ancient Egypt. The fortification had been built over many layers on the hill.
But the castle of Troy is not so big and does not have such high walls as seen in the figure. When we read Homer, he makes us feel as if it were an very impregnable fort city. In short, although Homer may actually have visited Troy, his imagination and depiction should be admired.
The view from the hill : The sea had been near to the fort at the time of the Trojan War, although the seashore has retreated several kilometers ahead. The acropolis: There was a splendid altar till the early stages of the Byzantine period.
Troy, the relay point which connected the Black Sea to Greece, had monopolized the trade profit, but that touched King Agamemnon of Mycenae. Although the Mycenaeans defeated Troy, they began to decline rapidly because of exhaustion by the expedition, and they got soon absorbed by the Dorians.
Some of the Mycenaeans, the "Sea People" damaged and turned around the seashore district from Egypt to Turkey. The enemy of the Israeli,
the Palestinians ( in the Bible, the Philistines ) at this time resided permanently in the Canaan district with the Greeks.
Although the Trojans beaten by Greeks had also joined the Sea People, they resided permanently in the Italian Peninsula soon. Virgil wrote the epic poetry "Aeneas". Later, their descendants built a city called Rome by the border of the Tiber River. That is, the Roman ancestors are the Trojans. When Rome justified the conquest of Greece as the revenge of their ancestors.
Thermopylae-Salamis-Plataea
 |
| Greece8(Th |
Persian War is the cause for Herodot to write "History". The Achaemenid Persia unified Orient from India to Libya. Only the Achaemenid dynasty accomplished unification of all Orient including Turkey until the present age. This must be a great work. Xerxes the Great commanded the land-and-sea army of 1 million (the supply units included) to invade Greece. It was the multinational force conscripted from all the subordinate nations. Probably, there have been no other large-scale expeditions like this. The Persian army had constructed the bridges over the Dardanelles and went across it into Europe.
Although it broke through Thermopylae and devastated Athens at last, its fleet was destroyed out in the Salamis Strait. Xerxes, who feared if he might be uable to retreat with the bridges of the Dardanelles destroyed, withdrew to Asia panickedly. The 300 militants, whom Spartan King Leonidas selected, died an honorable death literally with a lionheart. Those days, the sea was near the road and the hot spas were springing to along the seashore.
The Athenians abandoned the city, made the women and children escape in the Salamis island, and risked all on the naval battle. It is because there was an oracle "the wooden forts will never fall" from Delphi. The strait serves as a seaside industrial zone. On the hill along the strait, Xerxes the Great witnessed the total destruction of his fleet, and he looked up at the sky. When you take a photo carelessly, since the Salamis island has been the base of the Greek navy, you need special attention. I was also suspected to be a spy, and brought to the police station (~_~).
The Persian units retreated to the Plataean plain from Attica. Although the Persian army rearranged the formation and tried to recover the organization, it was completely beaten by the Greek allied forces, and the intention to conquest Greece disappeared in the dream. The Persian army and the Greek army confronted each other across the river. Now, there is no flow in the river and reeds grow luxuriantly.
The victory in the battles for defending the freedom and independence of the states has become a trigger of decline also at irony. After repulsed mighty the Persian Empire, Greece burst into the civil war in which the two great nations of Athens and Sparta disputed each other. Soon, Macedonia governed Greece. Neither Athens nor Sparta was able to recover the hegemony of Greece.
Alexander the Great invaded to the Achaemened Persia and ruined the huge empire in several years. However, the Alexander's era did not continue for a long time, either. When Rome buried Carthage, it also subjected Macedonia and stored all Greece in its hands. And Rome absorbed Hellenic culture as delirious with fever. The Appian Way was the road which linked Rome and Greece directly. The famous Roman poet recollected fully, "The Romans were conquered by those who it conquered". In this way, Greece occupied the special position also through the period of the Roman Empire.
Thessaloniki
 |
| Greece9(Th |
Even in summer, I expected it would be cooler around Thessaloniki in northern Greece, but it was hotter than in Athens. It must be much colder in winter. As for the Byzantine churches in Thessaloniki,there are many more splendid things than the type in Athens.
Thessaloniki is the home of Alexander the Great. The ancient Macedonia is not the present state Macedonia. The macedonians became the Greeks in the Hellenistic period. Their wealth and art was very high level. The Derveni Crater is the masterpiece of the Macedonian culture.
Turkey
Istanbul
 |
| Turkey1(Is |
Istanbul originates in Byzantion (Byzantium), which was a Greek colonial city. It had been called Constantinopolis (Constantinople) after Constantine the Great transfered the imperial capital to it. The Egyptian obelisk : This square was a circuit for horseracing. The Marmara Sea: It is like a inland sea inserted into the Dardanelles and the Bosporus.
The Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara will be separated from the Aegean Sea in a glacial epoch. What seems to be the wreckage of a wrecked ship was on the seashore. Probably, it might be a difficult sea for the sailors from the ancient times. Lots of ships and loads from the Minoan��Mycenaean period should be sunken in the seabed. Probably, archaeologically and artistically, they amount a terrible value. Constantinople became the center of politics and religion after establishing of Christianity in the 5th century. The principle of the unity of Church and State was based on the theory of "Blessed Emperor". That is, the emperor is who receives the Love of the Lord Jesus Christ and he is the only terrestrial proxy for Him.
Hagia Sophia had reigned the Christendom as the head church over 1,000 years. Hagia Sophia means "Holy Wisdom", i.e., Evangel. It was converted to a mosque so the interior is miserable. It was glittering covered with mosaic. The minarets were built in the Ottoman period. The basilica of the Constantine era was excavated.
It is so dark inside that we can not see the dome, which is about 60 meters across and how incredible that it was built 1,500 years before. It has fallen down some times in the past because there are many quakes in Turkey. Then the dome was suported by the iron bars in quarter. The dome : The blue seraphim are at the corners. They have a golden face. The apse : The Virgin and Child. It was mortared while the church had been being used as a mosque. The stained glass is Islamic. The Orthodox churches have no stained glasses originally. Upstairs : There are a few splendid mosaic works escaped from destruction.
Constantinople fell in 1453. That Hagia Sophia was no longer a church impressed a complicated impression also on the Roman Catholic world. Till then, there was tacit comprehension that Hagia Sophia was the first church in the world. However, now, it has been lost. The sense of crisis that the supreme church in the world must be built became strong. Then, San Pietro (St. Peter) of Vatican has replaced Hagia Sophia. The design of San Pietro by Bramante and Michelangelo was a Greek Cross (Square Cross) type which was strongly influenced by Hagia Sophia.
But the design of Michelangelo was changed into a Latin Cross type by Bernini. Hagia Irene : It is said that Constantine the Great erected it for his mother Helena. It is behind Hagia Sophia. Hagia Sophia was the model of a holly building in Islam and Buddhism. The Blue Mosque built across Hagia Sophia is also one of them. The Blue Mosque: The contrast of red and blue is brilliant. Justinian's empress Theodora was a prostitute and presupposedly an Arian, so she was very disreputable, but probably Hagia Sophia might not be built, unless she encouraged Justinian.
The Golden Horn : It supported the prosperity of Constantinople. Constantinople had been keeping the wealth of the Eastern Mediterranean trade to itself before Venice came to the fore. The library is conspicuous in the Fener area. The new city is almost European. I got on a traditional tram for the first time. The Bosporus: High-class hotels and villas stand in a row. A part of ramparts is in this side. The Rumeli fort: Mohammed the 2nd considered it as the base of the capture of Constantinople.
The Theodosian Wall : The huge rampart which had been defending the empire from invasion by the different races. The Fener area: It is the Fener site that the Greeks lived in the Ottoman period. St. George is the head church of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Although the facade is modernized, when we turn to the back, we can see it is the Byzantine style. The inside is solemn although it is never big. In recent years, as interest for the Orthodox Church has been increasing in Europe and the United States, the students from the U.S. came and received the lecture this day.
Seven Churches-Patmos
 |
| Turkey2(Th |
The Seven Churches to which John the Evangelist wrote in "the Revelation" were all located in present Turkey. But it is uncertain that the old churches and the ruins are the Biblically mentioned places. Pergamom. The Dynasty of Pergamum prospered in the Hellenistic period. The city was the center of arts as well as Alexandria of Egypt. The church of Pergamum : It was a Serapic temple in the Roman period. St. John blamed the Jupiter alter as Stan's seat. The alter, moved to Berlin, is exhibited in the museum.
Thyatira. Thyatira prospered in merchandising. The church of Thyatira : The ruin is surrounded by the houses. Sardis. Sardis was a capital of Lydia. It prospered in trade with the Greek colonies (Ionia). The Church of Sardis : The chapel is behind the ruin of the Artemis shrine where huge columns are lying easily. The scenery of this is Asian somehow. The Ruins of a huge public bathhouse. Philadelphia. The Church of Philadelphia : The appearance like a park in a residential town. The huge pillars remind us of splendor of the old days clearly.
Hierapolis. Hierapolis was a resort city naxt to Pamukkale. The hot springs of Pamukkale : The rich class of the Roman Empire came to the hot-spring cure. Now, hot water is not supplied to every terrace because the output of the hot spring decreased. And it is an unparalleled view. There are a few such scenic spas in Japan.
The main street: Brand shops as we say had stood in a row. This side is the Roman gate, and that is the Byzantine gate. The public bathhouse : The public bathhouse which was a Roman amusement was diverted to the churches in the period of Christianity. The theater : It is a splendid Aphrodisiac style in the later Roman period. Aphrodisias was a town of art near by, and the artists here used elegant and delicate vortical patterns abundantly.
Besides Laodicea lots of ruins and remains should be buried in Turkey which was a crossroad of the civilizations. Probably, especially by the advance of Turkey, treasures like precious metals are hidden in the ground where the Byzantines withdrew. Because they planned to dig them again when they returned someday. Laodicea. The Church of Laodicea : Although it is close to Pamukkale famous for hot springs, it is hardly unearthed.
Ephesus. It was the capital of Asia of the Roman Empire. Excavation is going on. Seven Sleepers Monastery : In the Roman period the Christians might have lived a life together escaping from the persecution. The House of Virgin Mary : This was rebuilt in the 20th century but many old houses and graves of the 1st century have been found around here. Some claim strongly that this is where John the Divine and Virgin Mary met their end.
The Basilica of St. John : Ephesus is related to John. There was a huge Latin-crossed basilica. A very beatiful rossete treasury This is a baptistery. The tomb of St. John : There are no evidences that he was buried here. Smyrna. It is thought as Homer's hometown. The church in Smyrna : Smyrna is the town of St. Polycarp who was a disciple of John.
When John was confined in Patmos Island, he received the inspiration by Gabriel and wrote the Revelation (Apocalypse).
I John, who also am your brother,
and companion in tribulation,
and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,
was in the isle that is called Patmos,
for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.(REV 1:9)
It will be tight to go to the monastery if not by bus. I could go down on foot anyhow.
Patmos Island : The monastery of having been founded in the 11th century rises high. The chapel of the cave : The cave where John was confined is located beneath the monastery, and a chapel is on it. The end of the 1st century was the period when the persecution to Christianity by the Roman empire had become strong. Jesus Christ saw his dearest Disciple John would be exposed to the sufferings as the last of the Twelves. Moreover, John worried that serious divisions began to arise also inside Christianity. In the situation full of troubles in and out, he just wrote the Revelation from a sense of mission as an Apostle.
Athos
Athos
 |
| Athos |
Athos is the Holy Place of Greek Orthodox. It is the religion nation of Akti Peninsula in Khalkidhiki Peninsula in east from Thessaloniki. It takes about 5 hours from Thessaloniki on bus. It is far than expected. Uranopoli is a small port town.
The early monasteries were constructed in the 9th century and developed successfully with the imperial support. Nowadays Athos is an politically independent state, which is closed to women in consideration of the Presence of St. Virgin Mary. I hear we are not permitted to enter for mere sightseeing, but only for the reason of doing the practice and study.
Only in the summer time, the boat excursion is available to also women. There are about 20 monasteries in the peninsula, but 5 or 6 of them are to be seen from the sea. You had better buy a photobook, though it is heavy. The monasteries are so colourful that they look like romantic palaces. It is just one hour cruise, but you can enjoy the spectacle.
There is Mount Athos at the point. On the rough sea of Khalkidhiki it was chilly in slight rain mixture. The holy mountain Athos appeared only for a moment.
Egypt
Amarna-Alexandria
 |
| Egypt1(Ama |
Frankly speaking, Amarna is not worth going for those who are not interested in the history of Egyptian religion and art. Therefore, this is a report, which I do not recommend. First, to go there is not easy. Along the Nile River from Cairo we drive at least 5 hours passing the check point, and in guidance of an armored car,we cross the river and reach there at last. The visit of the spot is also accompanied by the guards. It seems that there are lots of extremists and terrorists.
Moreover, although there are many troubles suffered, there are few so outstanding things. There are some tombs and palaces which do not have such impressiveness like Giza or Luxor. The reason with importance of Amarna is that the first monotheism was performed here, as long as it is left in the historical record. Aten was worshipped, which is the Sun-God. That is, it was Sun worship rather than God worship.
But polytheism is dominant in ancient times and it is epoch-making that one god system was accepted. This faith of the one god may have been inherited to Hebrew Judaism. Because it is trustworthy that many Hebrews were in Egypt of those days. After the Amarna period was finished in only 20 years, through Tut-Ankh-Amun, in the 19th dynasty the Ramses family ruled.
And the Hebrews are overworked as a slave, and the Exodus story in which the people got out of Egypt commanded by Moses is connected. That is, the preliminary moves for formation of Judaism may have suited the Amarna period.
However, at present, the corroborations which connect the Jews to Amarna have not been found yet. The tombs are located in the river terrace which had been green once. Wonderfully, many of the tombs are cruciform.
Nefertiti's palace is the splendid structure which has a swimming pool in a courtyard. Truth is unknown although it is said that she was not Semitic but Hurrian or Aryan. The Amarna period was a time when epoch-making development was seen also for arts. Such surprisingly realistic statues were produced. Behind, through Greek Rome, this tradition that tries to project man plainly is inherited to the Renaissance, and leads to the present age.
Alexander the great let dozens of cities named with himself constructed, of which Alexandria of Egypt prospered best.But Alexandria in the highest prosper suffered huge loses with a huge disaster, hit by a big tunami from the earthquake in 365 A.D. Alexandria was a cultural center of the Mediterranean world, overwhelming Athens in the Hellenistic age.
Luxor
 |
| Egypt3(Lux |
Luxor was the capital of the kingdom of Egypt. And it is a holy place for the Egyptian people. There was the biggist religious complex. It seems that the structure of the Carnac shrine of Luxor using many columns deeply impressed the Greek people, although it was what Herodotus has also suggested. The Greek architecture represented in the Parthenon refines the Egyptian style more. Although the columns of Egypt were being drawn and colored, the Greeks succeeded in brewing higher and nobler atmosphere by striping the columns.
Across the Nile is the valleys of the kings and queens, which includes the tomb of Tut-Ankh-Amun. Many of the royal and noble's graves being cruciformed are also meaningful. The cross-shaped tombs are seen in the ancient Etruria etc. They are the proof that the ancients had a presentiment of Jesus Christ.
Cairo
 |
| Egypt2(Cai |
Cairo took the lead in Egypt after Alexandria was ruined. We can clearly see the 3 pyramids of Giza also from in the city. It not merely accumulation of the stones, but precise calculation. It proves how the design and survey technique of the Egyptians of those days was excellent. The trials and errors were also taken in the Step Pyramid of Sakkara etc. If we go close, we will feel actually how huge they are. Although it seems that the sphinx has been considered to be a thing like the guardian dog of the shrine, these days, some researchers claim that there is a more original meaning.
But there is a more fundamental secret in the 3 pyramids. In fact, the 3 pyramids located in a line predict Jesus Christ's Crucifixion on Golgotha. We can find the crosses expressed on the pyramids from above. The pyramid of King Khafre in the central, built particularly in the higher ground, expresses Jesus Christ's Cross. Probably, the cross of the burglar who was taller than Jesus was larger since the size of the cross was made according to the build, although Khufu's Great Pyramid is the maximum in size actually. It is more important that being built in the central and highest place. The ancient Egyptians also expected the Savior's coming.
But still more time was required before humans came to be clearly conscious of Jesus Christ. That is, Israelis' Exodus, establishment of the Judaism by Moses, etc. must be prepared. Till Jesus Christ manifested himself, all things were carried. Jesus went to Egypt shortly after being born, and He felt satisfied looking at the pyramids.
In Christianity of Egypt, there are two groups, Greek Orthodox, Alexandrian church and Coptic Church.Roughly, they are the church of the Greco-Roman and the church of the Egyptian. "Copt" means "ancient Egypt". Geometrical patterns are conspicuous of the Coptic churches. The precise and delicate decorations of the Coptic Church has had big influence on the Islamic art. People say that the Coptic Church has monophysitism.Therefore, it has been considered as heresy also from Catholicism or Orthodox. El Muallaqa is called "the Hanging Church" and loved. St. Mark is the 1st Patriarch.
Mali Girgis (St. George) of Greek Orthodox is a huge rotunda (cylinder building). In the Middle East, The religious groups differ by the race in many countries. It should not be admired that Christians carry nationalism into the church since they should be cosmopolitan. Probably, integration will be difficult, for there is a long history from the Byzantine period and the doctrine is also divided. The old city in Cairo (Old Cairo) : There are quiet rows of houses when we step in. Abu Serga: The crypt is the cave whrere the Holy Family stayed.Zeitoun : The Holy Family took a rest here before they went into Cairo.On this church St. Mary was seen. Mostorod : When Joseph and Mary took Jesus into Egypt they bathed Him here.
Sinai
 |
| Egypt4(Sin |
It takes 8 hours to continue running intently across the Suez Canal from Cairo. The desolate climate of Sinai is the opposite of Japan. It is hot in the desert. Our blood also seethes and our heart bursts into flames. The road to Sinai. The ground where only wormwood is allowed to grow. A desert, though it is vast land, does not induce wealth.
But Anyone cannot get rid of it anyway if it is holy. Revalatory monotheism also has the function which binds humans in such land. But it is worth considering whether living in rich and green land is good for humans. Such an environment is not meaningless for us to remember something important. In fact, a desert is not barren. Truly it is capable to be cropped only with water. Moreover, it can produce civilization and cultur to make new life. It produced Jesus Christ. A desert has potencial.
Catherine who was a daughter of an Alexandrian distinguished family did not follow the Roman emperor, and got executed with the torture of being fastened to a wheel.It is said that her body was buried in Mt. Sinai after death by the angels.The Monastery of St. Catherine : After the fortification was built in the 6th century, it remains as it is.
Inside: There is mosaic which escaped iconoclasm in the Apse of Catholikon. It is said that there is also a mosque within premises.Although it is historical and traditional that Islamic community excludes neither Christianity nor Judaism, the economical reason is also important.Since they are human, there are lives.The Charnel of the monastery : The skulls of the ascetics who have sacrificed himself to faith are easily accumulated also over 15 centuries.
Israel
Galilee
 |
| Israel1(Ga |
Jaffa-Masada
 |
| Israel2(Ja |
Jaffa (Joppa Ioppa) is the trading port which prospered from the Minoan period. It was a contact point of Europe and Asia (the concepts of Europe or Asia did not still be in the Minoan period).
Old city: The churches are built quietly and crowdedly.The Mycenaeans (the Greek people, Achaeans) were also visiting. This is the legendary stage where Perseus rescued Andromeda. For the Greek people of those days, the Canaan district was considered as Ethiopia.
The fort which Napoleon built : As for the last, only the churches remained. Tel Aviv in twilight : The sun is setting in the sea of Canaan.It is the sunset which St. Peter also was watching.
On the way from Jerusalem to Masada, there is Qumran. Here, the Qumran scrolls were discovered and the oldest Hebrew Bible was found. The rock in Qumran: The documents had been kept in the cave. The ruins of Qumran: It turns out that there were many pools. They were bathing themselves eagerly. Although the Judaists also bathed themselves in order to wash off impurity on coming back from outside, but It seems that it was much more ritualized in the Qumran group.
In the first Jewish War, the Roman army filled the back with earth, and pulled up a huge machine to destroy and carry the ramparts. But when the Romans rushed into the inside of the castle, all the rebels had already killed themselves. The fort of Masada: It was the castle where Herod the Great resided.
Jerusalem
 |
| Israel3(Je |
 |
| Israel4(Je |
Ein Carem: There is a church connected with John the Baptist. Yad Vashem: There is the Holocaust Museum.
The town of David is originated in Zion. The City of David : Now, it is outside the Old City. Since it is a sloping ground, it is slightly dusty. "The Church of Dormition of Virgin Mary" is in front of the Zion gate. The Tomb of David is also located in the corner in Zion.The actual grave of David is underground and nobody has seen it. The room of the Last Supper is also near. The Old City is divided in the Christian, Armenian, Jewish and Muslim quarters. The Armenian quarter is quiet. The Jewish quarter is well-arranged and rows of houses are often renewed. Going into the Muslim quarter, the atmosphere changes to an Middle Eastern market.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher (The Mother Church) : It is the church built on Golgotha (Calvary).The sanctuary of Golgotha. In the Jesus' period it was a hill slightly elevated outside a rampart.Since it is taken into the town and covered by the building entirely now, there is no touches called a hill.The rock of Golgotha is whitish like a limestone. It can be checked also from "Adam's chapel". Although the place of the execution of Jesus Christ had been unknown, St. Helen the mother of Constantine the Great discovered the Holy Cross, and it became clear that this was Golgotha. Constantine pulled down the shrine and made the church built.
The basilica of Constantine: Golgotha was still exposed. Catholicon (the Dome): The present building is a thing of the Crusade period. The chapel of Helen. In the crypt there is a chapel where the Holy Cross was discovered. Innumerable crosses which the pilgrims minced remains on the wall of stairs. Under the Anastasis dome there is a chapel called "Aedicula (Aedicule, little house)". Entering the chapel, there is a part of the gravestone which had closed Jesus' tomb. The gravestone was removed by the angels on the Holy Sunday morning when Jesus Christ resurrected.
Twice, every Friday morning and evening, the Franciscans walk back and forth on Via Dolorosa (the Way of the suffering, the Passion Way). The Jaffa gate has a touch of the front entrance. The tower of David: The rampart of the present Old City is a thing of the Sulaiman the Great era, and is not related to David. I want to look at the ruins of the older period.
The Lion Gate: Although it has become like a back gate, it is open in the direction of Gethsemane. Gethsemane is the place where Jesus Christ was arrested. There is much green and we feel relieved. Here, a wonderful song was heard. It may be the hymn which Jesus Christ sang with the Apostles in the night of the Last Supper.
Gethsemane and Mt. Olives : Jesus and the Apostles went and came around here. The slope is the Jewish graveyard, from which a whole view of the city of David can be commanded.
"The Tomb of Virgin Mary": There are also many places good for praying.
"The Cave of Jesus Christ": Many mysterious stars on the ceiling are drawn.
"The Church of Dominus Flevit": It is the design which imagined a teardrop.
"The Church of All Nations": The rock on which Jesus Christ grieved is left behind.
The monastery of Mary Magdalene, Russian Orthodox: There is seen a beautiful nun.
Bethesda : There is a sanatorium behind Moriah. Jesus Christ cured the sick persons here. It does not matter whether Jesus Christ walked on this way actually shouldering the cross.The floor of the Hadrian era : The present old city is a place where the Judaists and the Muslims work rather than the Christians. It is almost a Muslim town. There seems to be many Christians whose expectation is betrayed, and there is a word "Jerusalem syndrome". Speaking of Jerusalem, we are reminded of the explosions by the terrorist, but there are no explosions in the old city at least. Here, because the Christians, the Muslims and the Judaists are living shoulder to shoulder. There might be troubles always. It is a model of the world. The situation was that the robot mobilized and fired
But as it was often, even the Jews were disgusted. The Palestine man roared out, who might be doubted criminal. It was inhumane. The blockade of the street: The street in front of the hotel was blocked. Many Christians have got impressed deep and special to the city Jerusalem. It is natural. Because Jerusalem is just the town where Jesus Christ was crucified and resurreted. The reality of terrestrial Jerusalem is complicated. The 3 revealed religions cross at one dot. The 3 Covenants are logically incompatible. But the believers are able to live together worldly.
But it is another matter whether the safty is enough or not, and when you walk on a narrow alley, be careful. You should not follow a strange person only by talking. Christians are not so prosperous except for the period of the Crusade in this town, after losing Jerusalem in the 7th century. For non-Muslims 2 million dollars a person is admission fee in Temple Mount, and only rich men can enter. Has Jesus Christ deprived Christians of Jerusalem? Although unknown, it is certain that Heavenly Jerusalem belongs to only Christians.
Bulgaria
Plovdiv-Nesebar
 |
| Bulgaria1( |
Plovdiv is a city in the central Bulgaria. Now it is famous for the Bulgarian rose. This was the country of the Thracians. They worshiped Dionysus(Bacchus). Some interest ruins tells us their lifestyle, religion, arts.
Plovdiv is a very confortable city at a glance. especially in summer season, it is worth of visiting. We can see some beautiful churches around here.
Nesebar is a amall island in the Black Sea coast. In the Byzantine time, there were tens of churches.
Sofia-Veliko Tarnovo
 |
| Bulgaria2( |
Sofia is a capital city of Bulgaria. It is known as hometown of Contantine the Great.
Tarnovo is a very historical town of Bulgaria. It was the center of the Bugarian Empire. Many of the Bulgarians feel such dearness as many Japanese people feel for Kyoto and Nara.
Romania
Bucharest-Constanta
 |
| Romania |
Bucharest is a capital city of Romania. The legend tells us it origins from home of shepherd Buchur.
Constanta is a city in the coast of the Black Sea. Roman poet Ovid, who wrote "The Metamorphoses", was exiled here.
England
Canterbury
 |
| England1(C |
Canterbury, which is located southeastern from London about 1 hour by train, is now on the Christmas time. It has been a spiritual place from the Celtic age.
The Jesus Christ Church is the center of the cathedral.
London
 |
| England2(L |
I see, London is the city of smog.
The British Museum has many evidences of the prophecy of Jesus Christ.
France
Chartres-Avingon
 |
| France1(Ch |
We can visit the Chateau de Versailles and the Cathedral of Chartre in a day. They are located in the same district from Paris.
Avignon is the city which is a long way from Paris, but we can visit it very easy in a day by TGV. The Papacy was moved to Avignon in the 14th century. Petrarch met Laura for the first time here.
Paris
 |
| France2(Pa |
Paris is a nice city doubtlessly. It is not only beautiful but strategical. People can see the old city in the underground.
Paris has several famous churches. Of course, Notre Dame is the best to see. But some churches are also to be visited. Sainte-Chapelle has wonderful stained glasses. Saint-Denis was the royal church, where the kings and queens were buried. It is the earliest Gothic style. Montmartre is the mount of the martyrs. Saint Denis was martyred here.
As for the Christian exhibition of the Louvre Museum, the finds of the Egyptian monasteries are fine.
Germany
Switzerland
Geneve
 |
| Switzerlan |
Italy
Assisi-Parma
 |
| Italy1(Ass |
Assisi is connected with Saint Francis, who gave Giotto of Florence a big inspiration. The basilica is now restored finely, although it suffered damage from the earthquake and the Giotto school's fresco also crashed. San Francesco: Francis is the most popular Saint in Italy. There is the Tomb of Francis in the crypt. Although living in the medieval town is so inconvenient probably, there is likely to be a feeling of happiness which is replacable with nothing.
The chapel : Everytime we want, we pray.
Bologna-Ravenna-San Marino
 |
| Italy2(Bol |
Bologna is where the Byzantine culture of Ravenna cherished academicism.
San Petronio : It is unfinished. The university centered on theology, law, medicine, and literature. Those who learned here became the driving forces of the Renaissance later. The University of Bologna : Petrarch learned here.
The tower : How does it stand well as it is?
Ravenna is a treasury of the Byzantine mosaic. The art of the Byzantine mosaic is revived and wonderful handicrafts are produced. It is because Italy escaped the iconoclasm and the Islamic rule why the Byzantine mosaic remains in Italy for no less than 1,500 years instead of Greece or Turkey. The Byzantine Empire emitted the Imperial edicts intermittently and destroyed the icons in the 8th or 9th century . The Iconoclasm widened the gulf of the Constantinople Church and the Roman Catholic Church. In converting a church to a mosque, the Ottoman Empire stripped off and smeared away the mosaic and the wall painting. Therefore, we can see the mosaic and fresco better in Italy than in Greece. San Apollinare Nuovo �� The churches in Ravenna are old-fashioned because they are not made up by marble.
San Vitale : The simple form of a positive octagon. The octagonal structure had established as a type of a baptistery in the Byzantine period. Since many churches have been rebuilt as the Romanesque or Gothic style on and after the medieval times, there are few examples existing as a pure Byzantine style, such as Santo Stefano Maggiore of Milan. The cross which made of two sqare crosses laid in 45 degrees is called a Baptistery Cross. Jesus Christ receiving a baptism is drawn on the apse. Does the picture of the Baptism of Jesus Christ have the strong influence of the Arians? Justinian the Great and theodora the empress :
San Apollinare In Classe : Although it is in the city limits, you can go by bus. You can buy a ticket in a stand as well as Rome. The Tomb of Dante : Dante also sleeps calmly in this old-fashioned Byzantine city. Ravenna accepted warmly the aloof and proud poet who had been banished from Florence.A poet lools better romantically dying in a foreign country.
San Marino is an independent state. The origin is in the period of Diocletian, who made the last and worst persecution to the Christianity by the Roman Empire. In order to keep faith, Saint Marino lived in this mountain. It is surprising that it kept protecting independence, although Italy was exposed to the invasion of the different nations and the foreign countries after the collapse of the Roman Empire. Only the violent military strength is not a means of self-defense. The town of San Marino: There was an atmosphere in which we cannot interfere the city in the misty depth. The Council: Self-government by the inhabitants is maintained in San Marino.
Florence
 |
| Italy3(Flo |
The Tomb of Galileo in Santa Croce�� He was under house arrest in his last years. In the visit of Uffizi Gallery, an individual is more advantageous than a group. Although a group has to stand in a line, an individual can enter immediately with a reservation on the previous day (Maybe better to make a reservation earlier in case of high season). Since you only get the number on the phone, no worry if you cannot speak English. The market �� Leather goods are popular.
The Arno River and the Ponte Vecchio : You may want to propose marriage. Pisa is the city which the Arno reaches. The bell tower is famous but the basilica is splendid too. The basilica and the Leaning Tower of Pisa �� That is the round baptistery in the front. It is 1 hour from Florence by train.
Milan
 |
| Italy4(Mil |
Milan is famous as a town where the Constantine the Great authorized Christianity and Augustine embraced Christianity. Although it is also old historically, there are almost no ruins. Although some churches also are prominent, They are not as many as Rome or Florence. A new city: In Italy, about 100 years is a touch during this period.
But Milan has also invited many famous artists including Leonard in the Renaissance. Speaking of Milan, it is the Duomo. "Duomo" means "dome". It will be up to men whether this grand Gothic building is beautiful. My first impression was "a hedgehog". But the facade was covered with a curtain under restoration and I did not watch it from the front thoroughly, then I might have felt it negative. Moreover, there may have been an easy prejudice "In Italy a Romanesque type is best". The fixed idea "a Gothic style should be in North Europe" may have interfered. Such a splendid and light Gothic style shall be in South Europe. I have a little regret.
Duomo : In the underground the ruins of the church and the baptistery before being rebuilt as the Duomo. Not only here but many storied churches have a crypt which can be watched. Although it is a graveyard in many cases, there are also some places where the ruins can be seen. Do not overlook, if you have a time. The history of the church is known.
San Lorenzo is a very old and famous octagonal church as San Vitale in Ravenna. The Church Father representing Milan is St. Ambrose. He blamed the Church of Constantinople which was generous to the Arians. In the 4th century the power of the Constantinople Church was overwhelming, so it was a very courageous accusation. He is who picked out Augustine the Church Father representing the Roman Catholic and let him convert to Christianity. Probably, he was very popular.
Sant'Ambrogio (St. Ambrose) : The church connected with Ambrose. The remains (the central white clothes) are exhibited.The mosaic of the chapel of St. Victor is a work around the 5th century.
Santo Stefano Maggiore (St. Steven Major): Santo Stefano is prominent as a church of the octagonal structure.
The Sforza Castle: It is a museum.Pieta of Rondanini : It is considered as Michelangelo's posthumous work. It is pathetic.
Naples-Montecassino
 |
| Italy5(Nap |
Since I only dropped in Naples by the bus tour to Pompeii, I hardly saw it. The Gulf of Naples : Since the hot springs came out in the Gulf of Naples, it prospered as a resort from the days of the Roman Empire. So many spas were dug that the town along the gulf sank.
Mt. Vesuvio has made the major volcanic eruptions in the 1st and 5th century, and the former explosion buried Pompeii and the latter finished the pagan civilization of the Roman Empire. Mt. Vesuvio : Although it was a green mountain of the Mt. Fuji type before the first eruption, the upper half of the mountain was blown away by the explosion. The dead body. : Is it the person buried praying in scorching volcanic ashes?
Montecassino is located between Rome and Naples. "Cassino" is related with the word "Kasios" which was worshipped as a mountain god in Syria and Egypt and means "mountain" by itself. The town of Cassino : There is a college and many students are seen. As in Japan there is a shrine on the mountain, which had been consecrated as the place next to the Heaven.
Probably there may have been a sanctuary in the Greco-Roman period on Montecassino. St. Benedict might have selected this place on such a background. Probably, it will be best to go by a rent-a-car from Rome or Naples. By train, I think that it took about 2 hours from Rome. Since there is no bus, I negotiated with the taxi. Although 50 euros with tip is pretty much, I could get satisfied, for it is worth visiting.
It took 3 or 4 hours, I considered as good. Rather than it was tiring to talk about the fare. Montecassino : The monastery is hard to go up with on walk. The history of the monastery is a repeat of earthquakes and pillages. In the Second World War : the Allied Forces bombed it thoroughly and it collapsed cruelly. It should be called a large mistake although it was for the wrong information that the German army was shutting itself up. The motto of the monastery is "Peace (Pax)" for the history of such sufferings. If love was not contradictory, there is only peace in it.
Rome
 |
| Italy6(Rom |
 |
| Italy7(Rom |
They say there are 888 (801) churches in Rome. "888" is the number of "Jesus", and "801" is "Alpha-Omega (����)". The Seven Churches of Rome are San Pietro, San Giovanni, Santa Maria Maggiore, San Paulo, San Lorenzo, Santa Croce and Santuario della Madonna del Divino Amore. Catholic believers should not forget to make a pilgrimage to them. Present Rome has been made up baroque. The Spanish Square : People may get apart as fairly as in the cinema by eating gelato here. Let's say to ourselves, "Everytime we will not have a happy end in good life".
Once Constantine the Great authorized Christianity, the city of Rome has changed its look dramatically. The shrines were converted to the churches. Foro Romano : At the city center of Rome there are some converted temples.
Although the Romans inherited Greek culture almost totally, they had some originality. For example, an arch and a dome. The Greeks built only linear structures, but the Romans made round structures possible. This was a great device which had never been before. A round structure is best for expression of the universe or the heaven, which relates to the vision of the world and the cosmos. Pantheon : This is typical of the Roman round architecture. We can see a pile of arches in the wall. Mausoleum of Augustus : This might be the first model of a circle structure adapted for a mausoleum. Till the medieval period it might have been used for a sanctuary.
Sicily
 |
| Italy8(Sic |
Sicily is also an island like a clamp which connects Greece and Rome, Europe and Asia-Africa. It became a trigger opposing Rome to Carthage, and caused the Punic Wars more than for a century. Finally, Rome won totally and became the first step of imperialization. The city of Palermo: Although it is southern and mild in the day, it gets unsafe with no traffic in the night. Especially a woman should take care.
The Martorana Church: The facade which faces the open space is a thing of the baroque period, and is a dummy. Byzantine mosaic: Probably, in the Norman period they called for the craftsmen from Greece and let them make it. The Byzantine churches remains in Sicily, although in the Ottoman era they were broken in Greece and Turkey.
The palace of the Norman period : Cappella Paratina: The mosaic of the Paratine Chapel in the Norman Palace. We are astonished by the most luxurious interior design. What wealth is poured into unsparingly remains for a long time. Peter pulled out in the face of Nero. The Capuchin Catacombs reminding us of cappuccino is worth visiting. We can see thousands of happy skeletons, although it is regrettable that I cannot show you any pics. Those who dread death may change their mind soon. By this, dying might be happy. The graveyard: There are the Catacombs besides.
The museum is worth visiting although it is not easy to find. The courtyard with a corridor : With an atmosphere of a monastery or a church, it is good. A humanoid sarcophagus: It is one of the influences of the Oriental culture in Sicily. Egypttian coffins have human masks also. Did the ancients consider the sarcophagus as the entrance to the next world?
Catania is also never unpromising. But it is unsafer than Palermo. Catania : I went out, considering it is dangerous at night.Probably, it will be better not to stand long at a place with little traffic in the daytime.
Syracuse was called Syrakusai in the ancient Greek period. It is the town which produced Archimedes in the Hellenistic period. In the Greek era there was the strong influence of the Pythagorean school from Southern Italy to Sicily, and mathematical study was done. In developing idealism, Plato visited Syracuse specially and asked the Pythagoreans to teach mathematics.
Probably, it was not unrelated, although there were no records that Archimedes was a Pythagorean. The Pythagoreans had a secret organization, and were oppressed from the government. Since they set the immortality of the human soul and the circulation of the souls into the core of the doctrine, so they did not dread death. The thought and religion which does not fear death is troublesome for the rulers. It is because they resist not holding their life dear. Caesar (Cesar) has also pointed out this. Later, the Christians were oppressed from the Roman authorities because they thought martyrdom was most creditable. The theater : there is a spring in the back of the theater.
Ortygia : The rows of houses of the baroque. The Spring of Arethusa : The ancients imagined love also in a springwater. They imagined the earth was female. It is received.
Taormina is a town at the foot in Mt. Etna. It is famous as a town of a cliff. The magnificent view from the square: Since Daphnis the shapherd boy refused a nymph, he was blinded and threw himself despairingly here. Mt. Etna was not visible behind the clouds. You can go around the mountain on a tour railroad. The square: It seems that a fort is on the top of the mountain.
Venice
 |
| Italy9(Ven |
When you can stay some days in Venice, I recommend the bus (boat) trip as you please. In the ticket center in front of the terminal you can get the map. There are some ticketbooks. Murano isl : In the church we can see a big Venetian glass Crucifix. When you can stay some days in Venice, I recommend the bus (boat) trip as you please. In the ticket center in front of the terminal you can get the map. There are some ticketbooks. The buses are going round the large canals and the main islands very often and we will not be lost. We can enjoy relaxing with taking photos.
But we can not eat something by the law. Along the canal : The decolations of the houses are handmade. When you got bored of the bus, now walk. Let's stroll along the small and twisty canals. Unlike the gorgeous apartments facing the front, it turns out that there are popular apartments. The back street: In the old city of Venezia, decrease in population continues.
San Marco.San Marco (Saint Mark): The peculiar exterior which took in the Arabian design stimulates exoticism. The interior design is also glittering with golden mosaic.
The importance of the Mediterranean was lost by exploitation of the routes of the Cape of Good Hope or discovery of the New World. The presence of Venice also disappeared slowly. Happilly the beautiful rows of houses remained. Probably, many of them have been destroyed if Venice was rivaling Spain and Britain directly. The arsenal: It is the base of the Venetian navy which governed the East Mediterranean.
It is still active as the navy facility of Italy. Arsenal. Murano isl : In the church we can see a big Venetian glass Crucifix. Bucintoro : The symbol of prosperity of Venice. It is the fest ship of Ascension Day and means Venice which got married to the sea. The wealth of Venice was inherited from the Byzantine Empire. It has pillaged rather than succeeded.
Although Venice influenced the world economically and politically, there are few things outstanding culturally. Are they only the Venetian School Pictures and the Venetian glasses? The magnificent churches is also maintained by tourist income. But the compassionating charm is wonderful.
Vatican
Vatican
 |
| Vatican |