Taking the Bull by the Horns in Greece

Literally, taking the bull by the horns. I saw this fresco on the Greek Island of Crete, which was the home of the ancient Minoan civilization. The Minonans thrived between 2600 to 1100 BC and were incredibly advanced. The largest structure they left behind was the Knossos Palace, which had over 1,000 rooms. Let's just say that there is nothing even close to that size and complexity on Crete today.

Knossos Palace as it is believed to have looked

Knossos Palace floor plan

Fragments of some of the frescoes that decorated the walls remain. I loved the fresco showing the Minoan sport of Bull Leaping. Not only did the Minoans wrestle with bulls, one guy did acrobatic flips on the bull's back while the other held the bull by the horns.

A reproduction of the fresco hangs on the wall in the Knossos palace (first photo at the top of the page).

The surviving pieces of the real fresco are on display in the Heraklion Archeological Museum (below).

Ancient Fresco Fragments, pieced together and incorporated in a reproduction in Heraklion
Archeological Museum

Detail of Fresco

Although the bull-by-the-horns hijacked my attention, Minoan art is best know for pottery. Check out the detail on these leaves...

...and on this octopus. Their art is known for its inspiration of subjects from nature.

These were made more than 1,000 years before Christ was born.  The Minoans had come and gone, and engineered solutions before the Romans even started to think about aquaducts and sewers.

Key to the Ancient Minoan Language (but someone needs to figure it out)

The Minoans built a thriving civilization on the Island of Crete. They lasted for over 1500 years, from 2600 to about 1100 BC.

But they disappeared. Scholars are not certain why. A popular theory is that a volcano erupted, perhaps in nearby Santorini. The destruction it caused did not wipe out, but rather severely crippled the civilization economically. The Minoans became vulnerable to invasion, which, as the theory goes, is what did them in. Although the Minoans' writings remain, and would solve many mysteries about their great history, we have no key to decipher their language. It is lost to our understanding today.

In the Heraklion Archeological Museum, an intact hieroglyphic disc is on display, suggesting that interpretation of the written language is possible, but has not yet been done.

Stumbling Onto Pre-Wedding Photography in Santorini

Santorini is gorgeous. It is a photographer's dream. It is stunningly sunkissed, blindingly white and dreamy blue. Naturally, as soon as I dumped my suitcase, I took my camera and my husband for a walk. We were staying in the town of Oia (prounced "EE-Ya"), which is the icon's icon of a hilltop town crusted with white dwellings overlooking the Aegean Sea. It is even more gorgeous than it looks in photos.

Oia's main walking street fills with crowds of tourists mid-day, as day trippers from cruise ships rush through, clicking cameras and cell phones, trying to capture the special feeling of being there.

As we strolled along, or shall I say, jostled along, the narrow walking street in Oia, we passed a bride and groom walking in the other direction.

I thought it odd to see a couple in their wedding clothes just after lunch on a Thursday, not accompanied by a throng of family or friends. Strange, I thought. Maybe they eloped? Not more than five minutes later, another couple in full wedding dress walked by. This time I stopped. I charade-motioned to them, asking if it was ok to take their photo. They consented and smiled broadly. These appeared to be alone, except for a photographer with large and professional-looking equipment draped on his shoulders.

When my husband and I reached our destination -- the Castle of Saint Nikolas, on a precipice at the end of Oia's walking street, we encountered a third couple in wedding clothes, also posing for professional photos.

It took three of these encounters to figure it out.  Apparently, we stumbled into the trend of pre-wedding travel photos, where engaged couples travel the world to have their pictures taken.  They hire a photographer to follow them around and produce a montage to be shown at their wedding.  

We watched this photo shoot. The bride got quite a workout in her hoop skirt, climbing the rocky steps and walls. 

She is not looking very happy.  I hope they find somewhere good to go for their honeymoon.