Travel Diary, Third Day in Athens (Acropolis, Parthenon) 

Monday, May 2nd 2005

Our first day with the rest of the tour group!

After the usual hotel breakfast buffet consisting mostly of crackers and several kinds of feta cheese, a bus whisked us to the foot of the Acropolis at 9:30, saving another long hike. We had our exercise, however, making a rapid forced march up the winding Greek path and Roman steps to the Propylaia.

From there the city stretched out below, with another fine view of the Temple of Hephaistos and Agora and the modern city beyond. We hurried past the empty cage of white scaffolding (carefully painted to match the local marble) marking the ghost of the Nike Temple above us on our right, the columns of the north wing of the Propylaia that housed paintings in antiquity on our left (see photo). Then we passed through the Propylaia itself and caught our first glimpse of the Parthenon.

The bedrock of the Acropolis was slick underfoot, streaked limestone slick as marble from centuries of pedestrian polish. Ahead was the west end of the Parthenon; at left the Erechtheion with its famous karyatid porch. Scaffolding was everywhere, as were gleaming blocks of fresh marble being cut to fill gaps in the latest round of repair.

The Parthenon was massive, powerful, yet as familiar as my hand. There it stood high over Athens in the blue sky, sun, and open air. The wind was gentle, yet its soft breath added a sense of timeless presence and the natural world. Birds added a lively presence to silent stone: pigeons, doves, magpies, sparrows and swallows.

The old marble is faint gold. How many have walked there? I nearly shed my shoes again, but we had to keep moving. Our guide, Anna, provided a quick orientation to the Acropolis: the sack by the Persians, the Periclean building program (Parthenon's dates: 448-447 BCE), the Parthenon's use and the damage it suffered in recent millennia. She described its gold and ivory statue of Athena facing east towards sunrise, the back room serving as treasury, the famous carved pediments depicting the birth of Athena and the contest between her and Poseidon, and the modern reconstruction program using the same quarry. The fresh blocks are white, but in a few decades will oxidize to a pale pinkish-gold.

My Parthenon and Erechtheion Flickr Photo Gallery 

Click on the thumbnails for full-sized photos and descriptions.

West end of Parthenon. Through Propylaia on right...

Erectheion, SW corner. Through Propylaia on left...

SE corner of Parthenon. Acropolis, Athens...

SE corner of Parthenon. Acropolis, Athens...

SE corner of Erechtheion; Parthenon just out of sight at left...

Famous 'porch of the maidens', S side of Erechtheion facing Parthenon...

Recommended Links on the Acropolis and Its Monuments 

In the prehistory of Athens, Mycenaeans built a palace on the fortified hill later known as the Acropolis ("high city"). By classical times the palace was long gone, the inhabited part of the city had spread out below, and the Acropolis had become a sacred precinct for important temples and monuments. Here are several good websites on the Acropolis and its famous buildings.

Kenneth Hall's Acropolis Lens

Easy-to-read overview of the Acropolis, Parthenon, and Erechtheion.

Wikipedia entry: Acropolis

Non-scholarly but good simple guide to the Acropolis, with 3-D reconstructions.

Parthenon Page on Ancient-Greece.com

Good description and history of the Parthenon.

Hellenic Ministry of Culture: Parthenon

Official website for the Parthenon, including photo gallery, description, and visitors' information.

Perseus Architectural Library: Parthenon

Detailed info, plans, and photo gallery of the Parthenon. Click on the links for the Friezes, Metopes, and Pediments for descriptions and photo galleries of all surviving sculpture. Resource for student/scholar.

Travel Diary, Third Day in Athens (Archaic Art in Acropolis Museum) 

Monday May 2nd, 2005

We moved to the small Acropolis Museum, half-buried in the hill just east of the Parthenon.

Now brace yourself, because I'm going to sneak in a little Art History 101! It will help you get more out of my photos.

Below are several photos of Archaic Greek sculpture from the 7th and 6th centuries BCE, just before the flowering of what we think of as classical art. Archaic statues are stiff yet regal figures with enigmatic smiles, almond-shaped eyes and hair like Egyptian wigs. The "kouroi", youths with arms at their sides and one foot forward, may have been inspired by Egyptian art -- the ancient world also had its tourists! Later, Classical Greek sculpture evolved into a blend of realistic anatomy, idealized beauty and attention to the swing and rhythm of limbs.

The Acropolis Museum's rare stash of Archaic art is the remains of temples razed by the Persians. These relics were too sacred to throw away, too damaged to keep on display. They were therefore buried in hollows of the Acropolis.

Flash photography is forbidden in Greek museums, so I had to rely on none-too-steady hands.


Left: Fragments of an Archaic winged Gorgon (Medusa), probably perched atop the pediment -- the gabled end -- of the old Athena temple destroyed by the Persians. Acropolis Mus. 701, c. 575-550 BCE.

Right: High Archaic sphinx, c. 560-550 BCE. Acropolis 630.

Left: Moschophoros, the Calf-bearer. People set up portraits of themselves near temples as pious offerings and, of course, as a form of self-promotion in a public place. Here a nobleman, Rhonbos, brings a calf as a sacrificial offering. Acropolis 624, c. 560 BCE.

Right: Acropolis 670, c. 520-500 BCE. A beautiful kore -- "maiden" -- holding out an offering. In the Archaic period, deceased girls are often represented as Persephone, serving as an offering to the goddess and a public memorial. According to the Perseus website, she may be by the sculptor of the Archaic Athena I showed in Part I, also in this museum.

Archaic Art on CafePress 

Like the Kore shown above? So did I. Here's a few items from my Cafepress Shop featuring her.

Goddess Persephone Organic Cotton Tee

Price: 18.99

Goddess Persephone Women's Cap Sleeve T-Shirt

Price: 17.99

Travel Diary, Third Day in Athens (Acropolis Museum) 

Monday May 2nd, 2005

Left: Peplos kore, named for the type of dress. According to Perseus, her sheath-like peplos resembles that worn by Archaic statues of Artemis. As usual, this kore would have held out an offering such as a fruit or flower, but the attached forearm is lost. High Archaic, c. 530 BCE, Acropolis 679.

Right: Kritios Boy, named after the sculptor. Famous and surprisingly small statue of a kouros (youth) that marks the transition from Late Archaic to Early Classical. 480 BCE, Acropolis 698.

Now it's time for a few bits of the Parthenon Frieze. Most are in the British Museum, the Elgin Marbles. There's a new museum being built at the base of the Acropolis with space reserved in the hope that they'll be returned soon, and according to recent news reports it sounds like the British have finally agreed (Elgin had purchased them from the Turkish occupation government, saving them from the ravages of war and pollution but inflicting his own Victorian tastes on them, bleaching off the remains of the original paint because he thought it looked messy).

The Parthenon Frieze circled the top of the temple's wall behind the columns. It is carved in shallow relief with bronze added for details (melted down long ago). It shows a city festival in Athena's honor: people bringing offerings, warriors engaging in chariot and horse races to simulate battle maneuvers. The chap with the shield is hopping a chariot.





Next is an Athena I can't identify -- I wish she hadn't lost her head! -- who looks Roman to me. Holes were for bronze (or gold?) snakes, and she probably held a spear. A stylized head of Medusa adorns her breastplate. This symbol, called a "Gorgonian", is supposed to scare off enemies just as a jack-o-lantern scares off evil spirits.
At right, one of the Erechtheion's karyatids. My diary says, "massive and enigmatic, they seem to have a share of Athena's power." The light at the top of her column is a reflection.

Recommended Links on Art in the Acropolis Museum 

Sculptures from the Acropolis Museum

Another page sharing photos and brief blurbs on two dozen objects in the museum.

Perseus Project Catalog of Acropolis Museum

The Perseus Digital Library has detailed archaeological information on every piece in the Acropolis Museum: dimensions, materials, description, inscriptions, and where scholars can go to read up on them. Not for the casual browser! I've given the catalog numbers for each piece.

Travel Diary, Third Day in Athens (Exploring the Acropolis) 

Monday May 2nd, 2005

Acropolis Art From My Online Shop 

Greece 2-Sided Tote Bag

The Parthenon on one side, the Mourning Athena on the other.

Price: 15.99

Athens, Greece Mini Poster

My photo of the Propylaia seen at the top of this page, with the caption "Greece" in Greek and English. Perfect art for classrooms!

Price: 9.99

Mourning Athena Journal

Blank journal with this famous portrait of the goddess Athena on the cover.

Price: 9.99

Travel Diary, Third Day in Athens (Erechtheion, Sacred Olive) 

2nd May 2005

At the west end of the Erechtheion I found Athena's sacred olive, said to be sprung from the original tree.



The Greeks prized Athena's gift of the olive dearly, for olives were the source of lamp oil and a major staple of their diet.

Olive saplings grow for decades before they bear fruit, so losing one is quite costly. One of the dramatic moments of the Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta was when the Spartans burned the olive groves around the city in sight of farmers taking refuge within Athens' walls at the command of its leader, Pericles. It was an early test of siege warfare and a testament to his charisma that he dissuaded them from rushing out to their deaths.

I also recall a lengthy court speech by the orator Lysias defending a man accused of digging up an olive stump, which was a capital crime! Apparently olives have been known to sprout from old roots.

So much for history. I savored a final sight of the Parthenon peeking through olive branches and dark leaves.



Looking back, I'm amazed I wasn't frustrated by the fleeting time we had to spend in that sacred space.

Twenty years ago, a school group's bad planning meant that my first visit to the British Museum was curtailed to 27 minutes. For years I suffered a sort of tourism interruptus from that tantalizing glimpse -- just enough time to pay homage to the Rosetta Stone, Elgin Marbles, and mummy gallery. Yet my visit to the Acropolis was different. I knew the site so well that it felt like a brief stop at an old friend's house.

I pelted off the Acropolis in twelve minutes, despite pausing to kick off my shoes and stand on the true bedrock for a moment. As I hurried down the hill, I barely had time to note the sights we'd passed on the switchback Roman road up to the Propylaia. Here and there under bushes and trees next to the curbs were stray dogs dozing, not forlorn or bony, but well-fed and treated as communal pets by the locals. There were also a few Greek soldiers in colorful traditional garb with kilts and tassels -- no time for photos, alas!

My legs were aching by the time I reached the bus, but I wasn't the last one down! At last the herd was gathered, and we rumbled down the Pnyx hill on a hill on a cobblestone street for a quick tour of the city.

Recommended Websites on the Erechtheion 

Dr. A. Lesk: Erechtheion Study

Readable summary of her dissertation on the Erechtheion, with a few good photos and a 3-D reconstruction. Link to full dissertation as well!

Wikipedia: Erechtheion Precinct

Fairly sound information on the Erechtheion and environs.

Perseus Architectural Library: Erechtheion

Detailed architectural information, plans, and photos of the Erechtheion. Resource for scholars/students.

Recommended Books on Greek Art and Archaeology 

These are the books I used in my undergraduate classes to learn the history of Greek art. They also teach you the history of the period. They cover a great many of the sites, individual scuptures and vases I saw during my trip.

The Archaeology of Greece: An Introduction

by William R. Biers

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Greece in the Bronze Age

by Emily Vermeule

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The Art and Culture of Early Greece, 1100-480 B.C.

by Jeffrey M. Hurwit

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Art and Experience in Classical Greece

by Jerome Jordan Pollitt

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Greek Sculpture: The Classical Period, a Handbook (World of Art)

by John Boardman

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Travel Diary, Third Day in Athens (National Museum, Mycenaean Gallery) 

2nd May 2005

After a quick bus tour of the city, past the Corinthian temple of Zeus, Hadrian's Arch, and the stadium of the first modern Olympics, we arrived at the National Museum, Athens' largest collection of ancient art.

The rooms are arranged in chronological order, and contain a hit parade of art history students' "must know" artifacts.

The first room covers the Mycenaean period, remembered centuries later in myths, cults, and Homeric epic. This was the time of the Trojan War. The Mycenaean period for classical Greeks was like the age of King Arthur for us, a time of great kings and legendary warriors.

Many of the objects in this room were discovered by the famous early archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890), whose exuberant earth-moving habits were more of a treasure hunt than proper excavation. Convinced Homer's Troy was more than just a myth, he was catapulted to fame by his discovery of the legendary city. He went on to locate several other sites mentioned in the Iliad and Odyssey, including Mycenae and Pylos.

From shaft graves in Mycenae, Schliemann dug up fine metalwork including gold and silver chased daggers, beautiful cups, and golden death masks including one he romantically named the "Mask of Agammemnon" (right, Athens National Museum 624). Wishful thinking on Schliemann's part, since the shaft graves date back to the 16th century BCE, about three centuries before the Trojan War.

Nevertheless, these artifacts give us a better idea what those remote times were like. They remind us that later portraits of Achilles and Odysseus wearing classical Greek armor are anachronisms just like medieval portraits of Julius Caesar wearing a doublet and hose.

Here are a small ivory portrait of a warrior (Athens NM 2468), an ivory boar's tusk helmet (left, Athens NM 6568), and a charming vase showing warriors trooping off to battle with a wife waving farewell (Athens NM 1426). Art like this helps us see how the ancient Greeks saw their own world.

Is it just me, or do the soldiers look like Olive Oyl clones?

Recommended Links on Mycenae and Mycenaean Art 

History Wiz on the Mycenaeans

Easy exhibit geared towards students about the Mycenaean period and Schliemann's discoveries. Don't miss the navigation buttons tucked discreetly above the photo, or you'll miss most of the site.

Scholarly Article on Mycenae

A more in-depth, scholarly discussion of this early Greek site: its history, buildings, art, and some of the things scholars are still arguing about.

The Warrior Vase

More than you ever wanted to know about the Warrior Vase, unless, of course, you study this stuff. Part of the same scholarly website.

My Photo Gallery: More Mycenaean Art 

Click on the thumbnails for full-sized photos and more detailed information about each piece.

Small fired clay votives -- art offered by devotees -- found near shaft graves

This painted fresco -- wall painting -- was recovered from the palace at Mycenae...

Fine gold jewelry, including butterflies and stylized buildings, from Mycenae ...

One of several gold-inlaid daggers in the shaft graves at Mycenae, Greece, where...

Gold ornaments from the shaft graves at Mycenae, Greece....

An Illustrated Timeline of Pre-Greek Art 

Minoan? Mycenaean? Cycladic? Help, I'm getting lost!

Here's a quick summary of three phases of "Bronze Age" art that came several centuries before archaic and classical Greece. Links point to photo galleries in the Tigertail Virtual Museum covering each period.

Cycladic Art: ca. 2800-2000 BCE

Simple, elegant abstract figures are some the earliest art found in Greece and the Greek islands.

Minoan Art: ca. 2000-1450 BCE

The great seagoing Minoan civilization arose on the large island of Crete and had settlements or influence all around the Greek isles and Mediterranean. Pottery, frescoes, and goddess figurines often feature animals or nature scenes or palace life.

Mycenaean Art: ca. 1500-1200 BCE

The mainland Mycenaeans conquered, or perhaps simply absorbed the Minoans after the older civilization declined. Mycenaeans were a warrior culture, remembered in the legends of the Trojan War that happened near the end of the period. Their sites are huge stone-walled citadels with palaces inside, a bit like medieval castles. They reuse Minoan art and continue its styles. They also have a lot of gold and weapons!

Travel Diary, Third Day in Athens (National Museum, Mycenaean and Cycladic Art) 

2nd May 2005

The distinction between scholar and treasure hunter was blurry in Schliemann's day. He and his crews raced through walls and tombs looking for gold and spectacular finds. Goblets fit for a king's table (above) emerged from one of Mycenae's shaft graves inside the walls of the citadel.



The twin golden Vapheio cups, found in a royal tomb in a neighboring kingdom of the same period, are especially important. Dated to the 16th century BCE, they depict men roping bulls, perhaps for sport. The one on the taller pedestal is Minoan, the other Mycenaean, and you can see here how Mycenaean artists imitated the earlier civilization's art. There are a few differences: slightly cruder work, greater emphasis on the bull's struggles (people make much of warlike Mycenaeans contrasted with international trade-minded Minoans, although that's a gross oversimplification), and less emphasis on wild nature.

So-called "Cycladic art" is another famous style of art from the earliest days of the Mediterranean, predating even the Minoans. The style is named after the Cyclades Islands where many such figures were found.

The discovery of these gracefully simple figures with their smooth and geometric forms inspired artists like Picasso, who marvelled at how different it was from later, classical Greek art.

Cycladic sculptures tend to look small in photos because their stubby shapes resemble clay figures despite being carved of marble. In fact, some sare several feet tall. Replicas stand starkly in the shop windows of Athens and many other cities. It seems that they have become fashionable again about 4000 years after they were last in vogue.

These charming fellows are easy to miss, since the Cycladic art is tucked away in a smaller, darker room off to the right of the large Mycenaean/Minoan gallery.

My Photo Gallery, More Treasures from the Athens National Museum 

I got a little carried away taking pictures. There were just so many wonderful pieces, some well-known, others I'd not yet run across in my studies!

Mycenaean Greek vases...

Anthropomorphic vases...

Early Archaic kore (maiden)...

Early Archaic Kouros (youth)...

Early Archaic Kouros (youth)...

Early Archaic Kouros (youth)...

Early Archaic Kouros (youth)...

Antikythera Youth, front...

Antikythera Youth, back...

Triptolemos Relief...

Marble Grave stele...

Illustrated Timeline of Greek Art, Part II 

Here's the second half of my crash course on the history of ancient Greece and phases of Greek art. Again, links point to the excellent photo galleries of the Tigertail Virtual Museum.

Greek Dark Ages, ca. 1200-900 BCE

In the century or so after the Trojan War, Mycenaean civilization collapsed -- scholars are still debating the causes. Refugees scattered across the Mediterranean and settled on the coast of Turkey (Ionia). Greece was invaded by Dorians from the north, who settled almost everywhere except Athens. Arts and technology reverted to a primitive state, and writing was forgotten.

Archaic Period ca. 900-500 BCE.

Slowly, overseas trade and a semblance of civilization returned. Homer composed the epic poems Iliad and Odyssey, writing was rediscovered, and the Greeks began their love affair with increasingly realistic marble statues of the human figure. This is the period of the Kouros/Kore statues.

Classical Greek Art: ca. 500-350 BCE.

Classical Greek art encompasses a range of styles from simple, austere, and stiff-posed in the early period, to well-proportioned and idealized beauty in mid-century, to graceful S-curves and more experimentation with space, motion, and billowing fabric in Late Classical.

Hellenistic Period, ca. 350 BCE - 100 CE

Hellenistic art became increasingly dynamic, with figures twisting, turning, and extending their limbs into the space around them. Artists strove to show faces in the throes of passion, pain, strain, or other emotions.

Travel Diary, Third Day in Athens (National Museum continued) 

2nd May 2005

Next were the classical and Hellenistic art galleries. I could have spent days here. A few examples:

Bronze Zeus of Artemesion
(Taking aim with a thunderbolt)
Classical Period, c. 460 BCE

This imposing statue, like most bronze sculptures, was recovered from a shipwreck in the Mediterranean. Bronzes are very rare, since metal is usually melted down and recycled. Many sculptures are actually later copies, often by Roman artists. Added treestumps and supports are a clue that a sculpture is probably a marble copy of an earlier metal statue.

At right is another famous bronze, the Marathon Boy c. 340 BCE, fished out of the Bay of Marathon. It bridges the Late Classical and Hellenistic periods when idealized, well-proportioned beauty and more formal poses gave way to sinuous S-curves and full use of three-dimensional space.

At left is a typical Athenian grave stele, common marble monuments from the late 5th century BCE. They portray a deceased person bidding farewell to family members (sometimes including household slaves). These are touching snapshots of ordinary people, in contrast to imposing statues of gods and goddesses. There's no realistic wrinkles or flab in classical sculpture, however: figures are beautiful and ideally proportioned, as opposed to the greater variety of the Hellenistic Age.

To the right, an exquisite marble monumental head of the goddess Athena. It's definitely classical, but I haven't yet found any information on it. She would have worn a helmet. Perhaps a copy of the massive cult statue of the Parthenon?

Below, the head and shoulders of a marble Roman copy of the Diadoumenos, or "ribbon-binder", an athlete crowning himself after a victory. The original bronze (c. 420 BCE) was by Polykleitos, the classical Greek sculpture who invented the chiasmic pose with weight shifted onto one leg, the other bent and relaxed. Sculptors have been copying that pose ever since, the visual equivalent of a cliché.

My Photo Gallery, More Sculpture From the Athens National Museum 

Click on thumbnails for full-sized image and detailed information on each picture.

Diadoumenos by Polykleitos, Late Classical...

Monumental Marble Head of Athena, Classical...

Monumental Marble Head of Athena, Classical...

Marble Statue of Mounted Breeze, Late Classical...

Siren, Late Hellenistic Funerary Sculpture...

Bronze 'Marathon Boy' of Praxiteles, Late Classical...

Late Hellenistic bronze of horse and rider...

Temple Statue of Poseidon, Hellenistic...

Roman copy of Late Classical Aphrodite...

Roman copy of Late Classical Aphrodite...

Aphrodite, Eros, and Pan, Hellenistic...

Grave Stele of Hegeso, Classical...

Grave Stele of Mnesagora and Nikochares...

Grave Stele of Young Girl, Classical...

Grave Stele of Mother, Classical...

The Diadoumenos on CafePress 

Like the statue of the athlete shown above? So did I. Here's a few items from my store featuring this photo.

"It's All Greek To Me" Large Mug

from "It's All Greek To Me" shop: Extra Items

Price: 13.99

"It's All Greek To Me" Tote Bag

from "It's All Greek To Me" shop: Extra Items

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"It's All Greek To Me" Organic Cotton Tee

from "It's All Greek To Me" shop: Extra Items

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Travel Diary, Third Day in Athens (Theater of Dionysos) 

2nd May 2005

Heads full of famous art, we were bussed back to the hotel for a late lunch. But food could wait -- Athens' archaelogical sites and museums closed at 2:30! I had seen something tucked against the lower slopes of the Acropolis that I did not want to miss.

I raced through Athens' narrow streets to the Acropolis on foot, bidding the Agora a promise to come back someday and explore. I reached the Theater of Dionysos ten minutes before closing!

Climbing the theater's steps, I sat down on ancient bleachers to catch my breath. The Acropolis loomed behind. Swallows danced above. Poppies and yellow flowers sprouted through cracks in stone. I gazed out at the remains of the stage and backdrop, and imagined the ancient dramas played out in the space before me.

In my mind I recited names of famous plays that had been performed here: Agammemnon, Eumenides, Oedipus, Antigone, Prometheus Bound, The Clouds. Each had been written to be performed just once for Athens' annual festival and drama competition in Dionysos' honor. The flowering of Greek drama was short-lived, just a handful of decades in the 5th century BCE. We are lucky that a few of the most famous scripts were preserved.

I scurried out with the last visitors and retraced my steps, passing the Roman Odeion, the Agora, and the Temple of Hephaistos one more time. I cut through the beautiful flowering groves on the Hill of Mars and landed back in the modern century. Wandering the streets and alleys, I indulged in a little shopping, enjoying the bad and better copies of Greek art that canny shopkeepers have been peddling since ancient times. I selected a small Attic red-figure vase with a good Athena inside and a miniature of the Versailles Artemis. Finally, I ate a late lunch in an open square where the Native American musicians from Taos were performing again.

I stumbled back to the hotel in time for Chris' 5 o' clock lecture on Demeter and Persephone.

Backstage wall of music hall,
Odeion of Herodes Atticus,
funded in memory of his wife Regilla 162 CE

Recommended Link on Greek and Roman Theaters 

17 Stunning Auditoriums & Theaters of the Ancient World

Casual survey of Roman and Greek theaters and amphitheaters, including some spectacular photos of the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, as well as the theaters at Delphi and Ephesus which you'll see in Parts IV and VI of Ancient Greece Odyssey.

The Journey Continues... 

Navigation of This Site 

There's much, much more to explore!

Ancient Greece Odyssey: Part One

Arrival in Athens, early explorations.

Ancient Greece Odyssey: Part Two

Back to the top of this page!

Ancient Greece Odyssey: Part Three

The sanctuary of Eleusis and the myths of Demeter and Persephone.

Ancient Greece Odyssey: Part Four

Delphi and the Oracle of Apollo.

Ancient Greece Odyssey: Part Five

Ancient Mycenae, Tiryns, and the medieval city of Nauplion.

Updates Blog for Ancient Greek Odyssey

Livejournal blog where I post links to new sections whenever I add more content. RSS available!

My Favorite Children's Books on Mythology 

There are probably better, more recent books, but I read these books over and over as a young'un. Parents, don't worry, they skip the naughty bits.

Mythology

by Edith Hamilton

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The Dolphin Rider and Other Greek Myths

by Bernard Evslin

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Tales of Ancient Egypt (Puffin Classics)

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My Mythology Blog

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Guestbook for Fellow Travellers 

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