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Week 13
Albania
We start our week of in Albania and as we walk, we realized we are not alone. In the evenings, the locals like to walk. But it’s not just a walk. Known as xhiro, it’s an official evening walk where every resident comes out to stretch their legs and catch up with their neighbors. In many towns, the roads close to cars for certain hours! Apartment blocks empty and everyone gathers at various places, walking and talking until nightfall. As we interact with some of new Albanian walking buddies, we realize that when an Albanian is agreeing with you, he or she will shake their head, and when they are disagreeing with you they will nod. Confusion reigned.
We make our way to Tirana, the capital of Albania, which has a lot of things in common with other European capitals – except one. It’s one of the only capitals without a McDonalds (another is Vatican City). We check out Blloku where there are great bars, as well as the grand boulevard with interesting relics from the Ottoman Empire. We discovered that if you are indeed craving an American style hamburger, go to Kolonat, an Albania fast food chain that has a logo suspiciously similar to McDonald’s.
As we make our way across Albania, we notice bunkers everywhere. Albania has over 750,000 bunkers spread out across the land. They were all built during the dictatorship of Enver Hoxha in order to protect the country from an invasion. An invasion which never actually happened. Most are a bit of an eyesore and many Albanians dislike them because they are a reminder of 50+ years of isolation. But a few have been repurposed into cultural museums, artistic canvases, and business ventures.
We finish our time in Albania by heading to the Ionian coast, the Albanian Riviera, which features traditional Mediterranean villages, ancient castles, churches, monasteries, secluded turquoise beaches, bays, mountain passes, seaside canyons, coves, rivers, underwater fauna, caves, and orange, lemon, and olive groves. During the classical times, 48 BC during his pursuit of Pompey, Julius Caesar set foot and rested his legion at Palasë. He continued onto Llogara Pass in a place later named Caesar's Pass.
Olympia, Greece
From Albania, we head into Greece and the Peloponnesian Peninsula. Our first stop is Olympia, the site of the first Olympic Games in 776 BC. The ancient Olympic Games were originally a festival, or celebration, of and for Zeus and included events such as a footrace, a javelin contest, and wrestling matches. They continued to be celebrated every four years (an Olympiad, which became a unit of time in historical chronologies) until the Roman emperor Theodosius I suppressed them in AD 393 as part of the campaign to impose Christianity as the State religion of Rome.
During the celebration of the games, an Olympic Truce was enacted so that athletes could travel from their cities to the games in safety. The prizes for the victors were olive leaf wreaths or crowns. The games became a political tool used by city-states to assert dominance over their rivals. Politicians would announce political alliances at the games, and in times of war, priests would offer sacrifices to the gods for victory. The games were also used to help spread Hellenistic culture throughout the Mediterranean. The Olympics also featured religious celebrations.
We visit the site of the Statue of Zeus at Olympia which was a giant seated figure, about 41 ft tall, made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC and erected in the Temple of Zeus. A sculpture of ivory plates and gold panels on a wooden framework, it represented the god Zeus on a cedarwood throne ornamented with ebony, ivory, gold and precious stones. One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the statue was lost and destroyed during the 5th century AD. Details of its form are known only from ancient Greek descriptions and representations on coins.
Kalamata, Greece
All the activity in Olympia worked up an appetite and someone says “olives”. So, we head south to Kalamata, home of the olive. Despite being known as 'Greek black olives,' they are in fact deep purple in color and compared to green and black olives, they are bigger in size and have a plumper, oblong shape. Growers pick these Kalamata olives by hand to avoid bruising the fruit.
The perfect Mediterranean climate of Kalamata gives way to some of the most delicious produce in the world, and we find there’s no better way to dive in than visiting the city’s central market. Bright colors, friendly people, and interesting new flavors are abundant. We try spanakopita, spinach pie, and some of their special mountain tea brewed with wild and fragrant herbs.
Sparta, Greece
Given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the leading force of the unified Greek military during the Greco-Persian Wars, in rivalry with the rising naval power of Athens. Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War (between 431 and 404 BCE), from which it emerged victorious. This Spartan rivalry ranks second to the rivalry with the Wolverines where the Spartans have had much less success.
Sparta was unique in ancient Greece for its social system and constitution, which were supposedly introduced by the semi-mythical legislator Lycurgus. His laws configured the Spartan society to maximize military proficiency at all costs, focusing all social institutions on military training and physical development. Spartan men underwent the rigorous agoge training and education regimen, and Spartan phalanx brigades were widely considered to be among the best in battle. Spartan women also enjoyed considerably more rights and equality with men than elsewhere in classical antiquity.
Athens, Greece
We say goodbye to the Peloponnesian Peninsula and head to Athens.
Athens is Europe’s oldest capital with records showing the city’s origins going back to around 3,400 years ago. Athens is home to the first known democracy which was established around 500 B.C. It was based on a direct democracy system, in which eligible citizens directly voted on laws. While known as the birthplace of democracy, Athens has also experienced almost every form of government including a monarchy, democracy, socialism, capitalism, even communism.
Athens was named after Athena, the Greek Goddess of wisdom and war. Legends indicate that Athena and Poseidon, God of the sea, fought over who would become the patron of the city. Each offered a gift to the city and a decision would be made by who gave the better gift. Based on different versions of the legend, Poseidon offered a horse or water. But in both versions, Athena won by her gift of an olive tree.
Situated on a rocky outcrop above Athens, Greece, the Acropolis is a citadel featuring some of the greatest architecture of the classical world. The most famous structure there is the Parthenon, a temple dedicated to the city’s patron goddess, Athena. This sacred temple has known some hardship. During its lifetime, the temple has been used as storage for munitions, converted into a church then a mosque, and widely looted. It also served as army barracks and was bombed by the Venetians in 1687.
We finish our time in Athens at a local taverna dining on souvlaki and sampling Ouzo, the “national drink of Greece”, which tastes like a mixture of turpentine and licorice but makes us sleep like babies. Before dozing off, we entertain ourselves performing taverna science experiments. Ouzo is a clear liquid. However, when water or ice is added, ouzo turns a milky-white color. This is because anethole, the essential oil of anise, is completely soluble in alcohol at approximately 38% ABV and above, but not in water. Diluting the spirit causes it to separate, creating an emulsion whose fine droplets scatter the light.
We covered 750 miles this past week and continue to make great progress. This coming week we'll walk through Bulgaria and Romania among other places. We're still very much on track to get to Bethlehem by Christmas. Keep up the great work!