The Achilleion Palace on the island of Corfu, Greece is our destination for today. The palace was built in 1890 and was named after the Greek mythical hero, Achilles. This image is of the patio in the rear of the palace. The patio's black and white marble squares reminded me of a life-sized chess board. The numerous large marble statues were lined up in similar manner as the start of a game. The early morning light and shadows enhanced the scene.
Dilapidated
Today we visit Corfu, Greece, the second largest of the Ionian Islands. The island's Greek name, Kerkyra, is related to Greek mythology, namely Poseidon, the god of the sea. In 2007, the island's old city was designated for the UNESCO World Heritage List. The old city, where this image was taken, is a labyrinth of narrow streets paved with cobblestones. The buildings, as one would expect, are old and, while a lot of them are kept up, there are a few like this one that shows it's age.
Palace Walk
The Achilleion Palace on the island of Corfu, Greece was built in 1890 by the Empress of Austria, Elisabeth of Bavaria. The palace was named and designed after the mythical hero, Achilles. The palace itself is a monument to Achilles with paintings and statues of him throughout the building and its surrounding gardens. The back of the palace is impressive with its checkerboard marble patio that is surrounded by impressive statues. Off to the side of this patio is a terraced walkway that leads to a viewpoint that overlooks the surrounding countryside. This image was taken from the viewpoint looking back toward the palace. It was early morning and the light was streaming through the gardens leaving streaks of light and shadow on the terraced walkway. I was taken with the textures of the stone and wanted to make sure I composed as much of it as I could leading toward the vanishing point of the walkway.
Ruins
We only had a day to spend in Athens, so with so many options, we had to narrow down where to visit to a couple of things. Of course, you must visit the Acropolis but what to do next? For something a bit different from the bustling activity of the city, we decided on taking a bus to Cape Sounion to visit the ruins of the Temple of Poseidon. Along the way to the cape, we passed some stunning coastal views as well as many great beaches. Pulling up to the entrance of the temple, it was obvious why the temple was built on this site. The ruins are situated on top of a rocky hill where views of the beautiful Aegean Sea are visible in almost every direction.
The Temple of Poseidon was built around 440 BC and these columns are all that remain. According to Greek legend, Cape Sounion is where Aegeus, king of Athens, leapt to his death off the cliff, thus giving his name to the Aegean Sea.
I chose this composition as I thought the colors of the columns would contrast nicely with the cloud cover.
Strolling the Acropolis
No visit to Athens is complete without a visit to the Acropolis, the home of the Parthenon. "Acropolis" means city by the edge and the site was likely picked for defense against invading forces. Acropolis "Hill" towers over the city of Athens. Although there are numerous acropolises in Greece, only the one in Athens is known solely as the Acropolis. The history of the Acropolis is the stuff of Greek mythology. For a more detailed look at the Acropolis, visit Matt Barrett's Athens Survival Guide On this early Sunday morning, we took a tour bus which dropped us on this street just outside the Acropolis. It was an overcast day with a bit of on and off raindrops. As I looked down the street, the skies, while looking ominous, has some very nice beams of light. I thought that the scene was a great backdrop and the two lone people walking on it gave it some interest (by the time we were done, there were people everywhere).
Hilltop Nirvana
Last fall, we were lucky enough to embark on a Mediterranean cruise. When we were planning for the cruise, the only destination that was a requirement was Santorini, Greece. Being a photographer, I have seen hundreds of photographs of the blue domed churches built into the side of the cliffs and I really wanted to visit and photograph them. Photographs of these churches can usually be found on the covers of most Greek Island travel guides. When the cruise ship approached Santorini, I was a bit discouraged as it was raining and windy. We had to anchor on the other side of the island because of the rough seas and take very unsteady tenders to the dock. We were met there by buses which drove us to the town of Oia at the northern end of the island.
The streets of this hilltop town are extremely narrow and, although it was October, it was quite crowded (probably all cruise ship passengers). The rain had stopped and I snuck off of the main thoroughfare to walk along the houses. As you can see, there was no one in sight except one woman coming out of her house (see if you can find her). I was mesmerized by the cliff "dwellings" and wished that I was able to stay for a couple of days to catch sunrise and sunset. I guess I'll have to go back someday to experience that thrill.
Click to find out more about Santorini and the famous town of Oia