Day #4: 4 July 2013

Today was a fieldtrip day! We went to various places including a Gortona, an old Church named Agios Be Dekas, and Matala. We also were able to meet with the governor of Crete.

Gortona is a Roman Temple site which was really cool because it fulfilled all my dreams of visiting an old temple. There were toppled columns which had ornate designs and you could see all of the individual pieces that were part of the entire column (the base, the actual spherical column and the ornate top). It was also interesting to see the actual size of the temple. It reminded me of the architecture of a church with the different chambers off of the main area. Also, with the rounded windows and the dome ceilings reminded me of traditional Catholic cathedrals. There was even a bathtub where they did animal sacrifices.

The Ruins

The old Church was something out of The Da Vinci Code. The way that we could gain entrance into the church was by stopping at the main store of the small village. The store than called up the person who was holding the key for the day. She was a little old lady who opened the door for us and explained the history of the church and how there were ten martyrs that were killed there and the marble stone that they were kneeling on during their killing is still there as well as the pillar that they were tied to. The village Ayioi, where the church was located, is also so quaint. We met a woman there who gave us a taste of real Greek hospitality because we just came in her yard to pet her dog, and she wanted to treat us like guests and give us Raki and make us feel welcome.

The Church in the Sunlight

Matala was absolutely gorgeous. Because it is in the southern part of the country, the water was different than the water here, much bluer and colder. It was also rougher but that might have been because of the wind. We were able to walk around and eat at one of the local restaurants as well as explore some of the shops. The beach itself was rocky with small pebbles instead of sand. There were also caves in the mountain where there was a cemetery as well as refuges from people during WWII.

Matala and her Caves

I can’t wait to see what else this trip will bring!