Ancient Mediterranean Antiquities

Friday October 11, 2024 Had to have Napoli style pizza on our final night! Soooo good!!! Fun Facts about Italy Romans are said to adore their feline friends so much that they are considered “a bio-cultural heritage.” Anyone convicted of killing a cat – owned or a stray – could face a €10,000 fine and up to 3 years in prison. It is estimated that Rome alone is home to around 300,000 cats – the only residents who are permitted to explore the ruins whenever they like. (Cats s

Thursday October 10, 2024 The Trevi Fountain, Rome Fun Facts about Italy The Italian Police Force uses Lamborghinis (sometimes). The famous car brand and the Italian police have been working together for 20 years. Lamborghini provides cars to be used for special services that need extra fast support, such as the transportation of organs to patients. An Italian superstition says you will receive good fortune if you hear a cat sneeze. Italians believe it is unlucky to place br

Tuesday October 8, 2024 Fun Facts - Naples Pizza was invented in Naples in 1889. The toppings were designed to reflect the colors of the Italian flag - red tomato sauce, white mozzarella cheese, and green basil. The actress Sophia Loren was born in Naples. According to legend, Castle dell'Ovo (the oldest castle in Naples) is said to have a magic egg buried in a secret location within the castle that has protective powers surrounding the castle. You'd think the smell of a rea

Monday October 7, 2024 This is the Astronomical Clock of the Cathedral of Messina. Absolutely amazing! More information below. (It may not officially be a spire, but it is close, and it made a good title.) Fun Facts: Sicily, Italy Legend has it that the phrase "between a rock and a hard place" came from boats passing through the narrowest part of the Strait of Messina between Sicily and mainland of Italy. At that point the strait is only 1.9 miles across. Mt Etna, on the i

Saturday October 5, 2024 Fun Facts Legend has it Zeus was born in Crete. His mother, the Goddess Rhea, hid him away there to protect him from his father (the God Cronos) who wanted to eat him. (Weird - right?) Most people in Crete own guns, but they are only fired in celebration of weddings. Crete is actually a very safe city. Crete is also known for having a very healthy population. Coincidentally, or not, Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine was born in Crete. Kal

Friday October 4, 2024 Ancient Public Toilets! Fun facts about the Mediterranean Sea (these are sort of science y...hopefully still fun): Biodiversity - The Mediterranean Sea is home to many iconic species and habitats, including monk seals, loggerhead and green turtles, Red Coral, and Spiny Lobsters. It is also home to over 700 species of fish, almost 10% of the world's marine species, and eight different species of whales (fin and sperm), dolphins, and porpoises, and sever

Thursday October 3, 2024 We're back! We enjoyed a relaxing day yesterday with no timelines (except when waiting for our laundry to be done) and just enjoyed hanging out on the ship. One of the highlights yesterday was dinner at Manfredi's (the Italian restaurant onboard). The dinner was very good, and the dessert was delicious! Above is Carmello, one of the best desserts I have ever eaten. It was made with crispy laminated dough, fudge bites, vanilla gelato and hot cara

Tuesday October 1, 2024 View from the Acropolis Fun Facts about Athens With 148 theatrical stages, the city of Athens has the most stages in the world, beating out London’s West End and New York’s Broadway. It’s fitting for Athens to hold this title since it’s the place where the art of acting and theater was born. Athena is the Patron of Athens, and also the Goddess of warfare, strategy and wisdom With a history of more than 3,000 years, Athens, is the oldest inhabited city

September 30, 2024 What Are These 2 large pottery pieces? (answers below) Fun Facts About Crete: An olive tree in Crete is possibly the oldest living olive tree estimated at being anywhere from 2,000-3,000 years old. Every 1,000 years Crete grows 1 centimeter due to the Sahara dust blown over by the Southern winds. Jennifer Aniston, the actress, lived in Crete and Athens when she was five years old. Her father, also an actor, was born in Crete as Yannis Anastassakis befor

Sunday September 29, 2024 This is the point of land in Rhodes that marks where the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea meet. Fun Facts About Greece The Greeks love dancing so much, there are over 4,000 official traditional dances in Greece. They originate from all over the country. Traditionally, Greek children do not celebrate birthdays – they celebrate their ‘name day’ on the day of the Saint they were named after. In ancient Greece, beauty standards were slightly different than t

Saturday September 28, 2024 Kusadasi, Turkey Fun Facts About Turkey Oil wrestling is one of Turkey's national sports. It is one of the oldest sports in Turkey and has been held competitions annually since 1346. The sport is similar to regular wrestling, except here, the competitors are covered head to toe in olive oil. There are no mats either – the matches all take place in an overgrown grassy field inside a stadium – and more than a dozen fights take place simultaneously,

Friday September 27 Fun Facts About Turkey Tulips come from Amsterdam, right? Wrong. These pretty bulb-shaped blooms were introduced to the Netherlands by traders from Türkiye. Santa Claus is from Turkey: Saint Nicholas was born in Patara, Turkey, not the North Pole. Turkey has the youngest population in the European Union. The average age in Turkey is 31 and only 9% of the population is over 60. Today we are docked in Çanakkale, Turkey. (Pronounced Sha-knock-a-lay). This c

Starting in Istanbul September 26. 2024 Fun Facts - Istanbul: Istanbul has seven hills, just like Rome, except that each of Istanbul's hills is topped by a mosque. Agatha Christie wrote "Murder on the Orient Express" at the Pera Hotel in Istanbul Istanbul used to be called Constantinople, and it is NOT the capital of Turkey, Ankara is. We made it to Istanbul! Mostly the trip was easy and flights were on time. A little tired but looking forward to learning about a new area