Jan 18 –At Sea on the Mediterranean. I forgot to put this in the Malta entry. Maltese is the co-official language of Malta with English. Our guide said that most of the schools on the islands teach in English as does the University. Maltese is a bit of an odd language in that its Semitic (descended from Siculo-Arabic, the Arabic language that developed in Sicily) but it is the only Semitic language written in the Latin alphabet.
Same sea day routine except substitute church service for Bible study. This evening's show was presented by the Rotterdam Cast. Titled 'Variations', it features Pop, Opera and some new arrangements of classic songs. The cast is very good. The young lady that sang Nessun dorma has and excellent voice.
Jan 19 – Piraeus-Athens, Greece. Diana and I have been to Athens multiple times so we opted to stay in Piraeus today. Piraeus is a major Mediterranean port. I was historically separated from Athens but today they are one large metropolitan area. The only clear line of demarcation between the two is a canal that separates them at the seacoast. One side of the canal is Piraeus, the other Athens.
We had heard about a train-like tram that gives a tour of Piraeus and that was our plan. The hop-on, hop-off bus goes to Athens. When we arrived at the bus hub the lady told us that the tram is not running today, no driver was available. She offered us tickets on the hop-on hop-off but we told her we didn't want to go to Athens. I suspect that they didn't have a tram driver on purpose so they could sell you the much more expensive ticket on the bus. Or maybe the driver just didn't show up. Either way, welcome to Greece. No wonder they're bankrupt and seeking more loans from the EU.
We did manage to find a taxi driver, Yiannis (John) Voglis who took us around the city for an hour. He was a good tour guide and his English was perfect. We stopped at several churches. The grandest was the Church of the Holy Trinity. It's the Metropolitan of Piraeus' home church so it's reasonable to expect it is the city's finest. The Metropolitan is roughly the Eastern (Greek in this case) Orthodox equivalent of a Roman Catholic Archbishop, as in the Archbishop of Los Angeles. Not really the same but close enough.
Because the original church was destroyed in 1944 by Allied bombing, this structure only dates from 1956 but it's a very beautiful structure. On the inside, as is Greek Orthodox tradition, every inch of the walls is covered with murals. The four semi domes in the corners of the building have murals of the Annunciation, the Nativity, John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan River, His Transfiguration, Crucifixion and Ascension. Just like journalism, the big stories get prominent placement.
The dome has the usual Christ the Redeemer Icon in the center surrounded by a ring of angels, which in turn is surrounded by 24 Saints. The Iconostasis (the partial wall separating the sanctuary from the high altar, is a simple two row structure. The mural over the apse represents the Holy Trinity, as you would expect in a church of that name. The royal doors are ornately carved wood as is the tympanum above them. This is somewhat unusual in that the area over these doors is usually reserved for a representation, icon or mosaic, of the Last Supper.
There were several beautifully robed icons at the rear of the church. The finest and oldest was of the Madonna and Child. As is traditional, a fine gold robe covers everything but their faces and hands. The most interesting icon, from the Western point of view, is of the 'Holy Trinity of the Old Testament'. In the Eastern tradition, Abraham's three visitors at Mamre (recounted in Genesis 18) represent the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Thus the icon shows three men seated at a table with Abraham as Sarah brings them something to eat. It was during this visit that Abraham was told that Sarah would have a son even though she was well past childbearing age. This incident is not really stressed in the Western orthodoxy, but is a big deal in the Eastern.
From the Holy Trinity Church we drove across town and up a hill to the Kastella. This area is named for the castle that once stood here. It's the highest point in Pireaus and from one side you can look down on the new harbor and downtown and on the other side you can look down on the old harbor, Zeus Marina and in the distance Athens including the Parthenon. We made photo stops and Yannie took our picture at several locations.
At the old harbor, atop a small hill just where the breakwater starts, surrounded by trees is the former seaside home of Ari Onassis, second husband of Jackie Kennedy. The old harbor is now home to private boats, mostly sailboats probably because it has easy access to open waters.
We drove to the other side of the Kastella and looked down on the Zeus Marina. In the distance you can make out the Acropolis and also the Parthenon. To be honest to see the Parthenon you really needed Diana's binoculars or the camera's zoom. Zeus Marina has two parts. One section is close to open water and has mostly sailboats. The inner section (the marina looks like the number 8, the smaller circle is closest to the ocean and the inner circle is further inland and the connecting channel is fairly narrow. The inner marina is where the action is, mostly very large custom yachts and motor sailors, many easily over 200-feet long. The largest was a three-masted, computerized motor sailor. The three vary tall masts each had 5 crossbars that contain automated sails. She was sleek and low and I'll bet with all 15 sails fully extended she'd really move.
We drove down to the Zeus Marina and along the shore to take a look at the canal that separates Piraeus and Athens. We encountered a large religious celebration that was being held on a footbridge over the canal. Many people were gathered on the Athens side of the canal. Scattered throughout the crowd were people holding the processional standards of their church. I counted 7 in the group I could see. I would imagine that they represented various member churches under the leadership of the Metropolitan. It appeared to me, based on headgear, that there were four very important priests present. They had on very ornate miters that appeared to be adorned with jewels and enameled panels. There were many priests in attendance. They wore different shapes and styles of hats but they were all black. The area was decorated with Green flags and a yellow flag with a black two-headed eagle with a crown over its head. Could this be related to some royalist movement or just a historical flag? I'm going to have to do some research to check. There was a large banner hanging on the footbridge but my Greek is not good enough for me to read it.
After another drive through town with Yannie pointing out various sights (he had plenty of time to do that as traffic was terrible and the signal lights very long) we arrived back at the Rotterdam. Close by the harbor is the blue and white Church of St Nicholas, the patron saint of sailors. The Russian Orthodox church has the same relationship.
We had some time to rest up and then get ready for dinner with the captain. Captain Marco Carsjens and the Hotel Manager Bert van Mackelenbergh have invited Diana and I to join them and 5 other couples for dinner in the King's Room. I was seated between Diana and Lucy, the Future Cruise Consultant. She was born in Argentina and still lives there when between contracts with HAL. Like me, she's from a small town in a rural area. It was on the other side of Lucy were Mr. & Mrs. Crowe from Australia. Turns out he was a career pilot in the Australian Air Force so we had something in common. Not the Australian, career or pilot parts, just the Air Force. The food was extra good and the conversation better.
After dinner, which didn't end until after 9pm, we headed back to the room. Me to write and Diana to sleep.
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