Just a 45 minute boat ride from Kusadaci Turkey is the Greek island of
Samos. I've been to Turkey four times, yet never across the Aegean Sea
to Greece, so we had to go!
This is during a time when refugees from middle east countries like Syria are also going to Greece, most of them through Turkey. In fact, many take the same trip from Izmir to Samos to get to Greece - albeit in rubber rafts or boats driven by opportunists. We saw a couple of families 'living' on the sidewalk outside of the Greek Coastguard station in Samos when we arrived. Two days later, they were gone - probably being processed through Athens for relocation to Europe.
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| The Turk is excited to go to Greece |
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| leaving the port of Kusadasi, and the castle on its own island |
We stayed in the west side of the island, where the road ends, in the port town of Karlovasi. This was a great location for mountain hiking and remote beaches. Our apartment hotel was across the street from the water, so of course I needed to jump in!
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| water was a bit chilly, but still nice |
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| Turk after successfully managing the Greek grocery store |
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| view from our balcony of nearby original town of Karlovasi with its church that we hiked to |
Samos is very mountainous (maybe this is true for all Greek islands?). We took a scenic drive up to the remote town Manolates to walk around, see the views of the Aegean Sea, and have an early dinner.
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| house that is not yet renovated |
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| ancient water fountains - with Christian markings - even exist here |
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| we keep running across communist signage -Italy and Greece. Interesting |
We explored the hilltop town near the modern Karlovasi that was the original town. The Greek Orthodox church on the hill was used as a lookout for pirates. It has an perfect view of the sea around this part of the island.
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| the hike up - we passed many stone homes |
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| smaller church on the way up with intricate pebble patio |
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| more detail of the colored pebble patio designs |
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| view of Karlovasi from the original town's church |
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| The town's original church - used to lookout for pirates |
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| altar |
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| sea stones were often placed in window ledges - not sure why |
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| a home in ruins - but the handmade ladder and blue doors and shutters are still visible |
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| closeup of a window frame |
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| most homes have vegetable, herb and flower gardens everywhere they will fit |
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| streets in Samos were often painted with whimsical designs |
From our vantage point, we could see more churches and decided to hike down to this one. It had a stunningly blue door with double cross. The latch was broken, and the door was held shut by a wire carefully wrapped around a catch. So I carefully unwrapped the wire to enter the small church. It was ornate and reverent and the art was beautiful.
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| smaller church with the port in the background |
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| church door with broken latch |
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| rich interior |
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| beautiful art work |
As we drove around Samos we noticed small monuments or altars along the roadside. I took pictures of a few of them. Each had an interior compartment where gifts or offerings were placed. It seemed like each of these was to honor someone special and the items in the compartment were associated with the remembered person. In most cases, they had some sort of illumination - a battery operated light, or a candle.
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| some items in one of the compartments |
Pythagorion is the home of Pythagoras, the famous geometry mathematician. This town is another UNESCO site and represents civilization from 10th century BC (Ionians) through the Hellenistic period when Samos lost a war with the Greeks and were exiled from their island - to be allowed back by Alexander the Great in 300 BC. Then was added to the Roman empire where pilgrims would visit the nearby Temple of Hera. As seen elsewhere, the sites remain active as they transitioned to Christianity in the Byzantine period. The Ottomans did not require the Greeks to practice Islam. Samos rebelled against the Ottomans in the 1800's but it remained under Ottoman sovereignty. Renewed funding of excavations in Pythagorion in recent times have unearthed a broader understanding of the island's early people and history.
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| Goddess Athena with some sort of helper |
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| BC vase |
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| Emperor Trajan - who we heard about in Pergama Turkey |
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| BC vase |
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| clay heads, mostly of women |
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| mosaic floor of home - recently excavated in Pythagorion |
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original
statues are in museum. these represent a family. placed along the Sacred
Way - the highway between Pythagorian to
the temple of Hera - and other assorted temples and statues. Generally
where people came to present offerings and commemorate relatives or
leaders |
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| still standing - partial column (half the original height) from Temple of Hera which was huge when it was standing |
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| mosaic floor of Roman home near the temple |
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| WWII bunker outside of the temple grounds |
Near Karlovasi is Potami Beach where the road ends. The beaches here are beautiful and further inland one finds waterfalls, an ancient castle and a small church. Our hike was cut short by driving rain. While this is the rainy side of the island, the rain was much more than a drizzle. We were deep into the woods and found a stairway to a restaurant. The stairway was probably 8-10 stories long and toward the top became a rickety ladder. In the rain, this started getting treacherous and we realized we would not be taking this same route back!
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| modern church stop Potami Beach |
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| Potami Beach |
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| mosaic pebble patio in front of church |
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| Turk looks over the beach from the church patio |
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| inside - brilliant green and paintings of the saints |
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| Ornate altar |
At the restaurant, we were greeted warmly by the owner, an older but very 'in shape' Greek man, a Polish couple who were also stuck, and an eclectic restaurant. The owner came out with home made white wine and crunchy, delicious bread. After some Greek coffee (which is the same as Turkish coffee), and some gesturing conversation with the Polish couple who spoke no English, we all realized the rain was not stopping. The owner offered, in Greek, to take us to our vehicle on the main road. We all squished into his rickety car and off we went on the twisty, bumpy road with loud rap music shouting to the trees. We were hit with the craziness of the situation and all of us - except the driver - laughed the whole trip down. Once we got to our car we all offered gas money to the owner, but he refused. The Turk and I took the Polish couple back to their hotel and later we joined together for local wine tasting. A fun, but soggy day!
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| beginning our hike - when we were dry |
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| walls of ancient church |
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| altar of the old church |
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| painting of Jesus |
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| ancient castle on one of the hilltops in the hike to the waterfalls |
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| Turk is on the lookout for pirates |
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| hiking along the riverbed toward the waterfalls, before the rain started |
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| this is how the bridges look |
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| inside our refuge - the restaurant atop the hill, after climbing the rickety stairway |
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| really pretty from up there |
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| our new Polish friends - and Greek wine |
Samos city is the main port and main city of the island. The largest church of the island is in Samos - so the Turk and I took a look.
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| the sliver charms represent body parts and causes that the owner wants prayers and blessings for |
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| Greece is ever the contrarian |
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| downtown Samos gas station |
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| Sunset over Samos on our last evening |
