Capt. Daley's Sea Stories

Transcription

1 Capt. Daley's Sea Stories Lemnos, Greece (1) 15 April 2008 Lemnos, Greece is the birthplace of my father s father and mother. I ve always wanted to visit the island. It far exceeded my expectations. It is beautiful, quiet, and far off the beaten path. We saw no other Americans the entire week we were there, and very few people who were not Greek. Lemnos is strategically located at the mouth of the Straits of Dardanelles, the only entrance to the Sea of Marmara leading to Istanbul and the Black Sea. It was strategic to the Trojan War, supplying the Greek troops in Troy (now in Turkey). It is the location of the ruins of the oldest known city in Europe, Poliochni, 6,000 BC. It is the island of Hephaestus, Greek mythological God of fire and is the focus of many mythological tales. It was the site of a crucial naval battle in World War II. Yet few people have ever heard of its name. (c) Capt. Gregory C. Daley, 2008 info@captaingreg.net These photos have been resized up from their original images. The original images are 3456 pixels by 2592 pixels with higher resolution. If you would like a copy for your personal use, please me and I will the original image to you at no charge. If you wish to purchase an image for commercial use, the charge is $100 US per image. Contact me at info@captaingreg.net

2 The capital of the island Lemnos is Myrina, with its large natural harbor and fort guarding it. Lucky for us, the resorts were closed and we stayed in the two-star Hotel Lemnos at the foot of the fortress. The hotel fronted the harbor and the view was incredible. Our room was the upper left room on the top floor.

3 The room was very functional with all of the amenities one needs on Lemnos. It even had a satellite TV that occasionally the owner would adjust to another channel in the middle of a movie. However, a call to the front desk and he would change back to the movie.

4 I consider the owner of the hotel a very good friend. He was instrumental in finding my lost relatives and arranging a meeting with them. Bill Strambolis was born in Lemnos, became a successful real estate investor in New Jersey, and returned to Lemnos to buy the Lemnos Hotel which he and his staff run. What a great guy!

5 The small inner harbor viewed from the hotel room. I can imagine the centuries of fishing boats coming in and out of this old small, well protected harbor. I wish I knew when it was built. My guess is that it was BC.

6 St Nicholas Church is on the other side of the entrance to the large harbor from the fort. The church and fort protect the harbor. St. Nicholas has become an important figure to me. He is the patron saint (in several religious denominations) of mariners. He is St. Nick, as in Santa Clause. In fact, in Holland, Santa Claus wears a bishop s hat to remind everyone of the religious connection to Christmas (St. Nick), long since forgotten in the United States. Look him up on You will be shocked to learn of his life s works and accomplishments.

7 This photo was taken from the church of St. Nicholas looking north to Myrina, showing only the southern half of Myrina. The Northern half of the town is on the other side of the fort. It wraps around the fort.

8 Driving north from Myrina we encountered this wind-powered water well. I ve always wondered how they worked. Here you can clearly see the vanes of the windmill furled when the well is not operating. To operate the well, unfurl the sails and the wind will pump the water up for you clever, huh.

9 There are only four statues on the island and this is one of the largest. She was the daughter of a king who was killed fighting the Turks, a thing the Lemnians spent a great deal of their history doing, being so close to Turkey. Upon his death, she picked up his blood drenched sword and rallied the troops to successfully defend the island from the Turks. She is quite the Greek hero. Her name is Maroula, daughter of Isidoros and Euphrosne Komnenos.

10 Hephaestus, Greek mythological god of fire and patron god of Lemnos was thrown from Mt. Olympus where the gods lived. He fell to Lemnos at this spot on the North shore. This huge open-air theater was built and expanded over the centuries. It is still used in the summer time for plays. It is in a totally deserted spot, very difficult to get to.

11 Studies show that worship at the Kabeiroi go back to very ancient times. The Kabeiroi were the children of Hephaestus and the daughter of Proteas Kbeiroi. The Kabeirian mysteries were mystic rituals conducted in their honor. These rituals were related to human birth, fertility of the earth, and the protection of SAILORS. The sanctuary was considered to be an awesome place and access was forbidden to the uninitiated. It is believed that for all those who violated the rules, the punishment was death. The following would take place during the rituals: All of the lights on the island were extinguished, and a holy ship would sail to Delos and bring back a new flame. It this way it was believed that new life started.

12 This sea cave under the Sanctuary of Kabeiroi is said to have been the home of a wounded Greek warrior whose smell few could tolerate. He was the only one capable of killing Paris in the Trojan War and he was persuaded to make the voyage to Troy to do just that. Today the tranquility of the Sanctuary is without compare. Tranquility is a long suit of Lemnos!

13 I asked our flight attendant what was the first thing she thought about when she heard the word Lemnos and she said Military. I thought she was joking. She was not. You don t readily see them, but they are there dug in deep into the mountains. The airport services more military planes than commercial. These photos are on the most northeastern end of the island, pointing directly at the Dardanelles. The word OXI means no and it is a celebration of the two or three times the Greeks said NO to other countries, declaring their independence.

14 The lighthouse is protected by armed guards and we could not go to the end of the cape. Lord knows what kinds of weapons are pointed at the Dardanelles dug into this mountain. Reminds me of the Greek film - the Guns of Navarone, starring Gregory Peck and Anthony Quinn, (which, by the way, is worth seeing).

15 The flowers in the cemetery were quite a surprise. Remember this is a small Greek island inhabited by fishermen and shepherds living in small villages. They have quite a respect for the dead.

16 Evelyn Kontellis and her son George were the best surprise of the trip. She is the daughter of the bother of the mother of my father. Sorry it is so complicated, but we were delighted to meet her and her son. Bill, the owner of the Lemnos Hotel, located them and set up the meeting for us.

17 Evelyn spoke no English, but George studied computers in London and was fluent in English. He decided he did not like the computer business and returned to Athens where he now lives. My newfound Cousin George is a famous Greek photographer, who has won many international contests.

18 George accompanied us to Baros, the home of my Father s mother s family. This is where Evelyn and my grandmother were born and lived. It is much larger than what is shown with a large garage in the back probably a barn back then.

19 When Evelyn married she moved across the street and lived here. George was born here and lived here as a child.

20 Fifty yards behind the house is another Church of St. Nicholas (patron of mariners). He is quite popular on this island of fishermen. George told us of his remembrances of the church as he grew up in Baros. It is typical of the Greek churches on Lemnos. There are hundreds of churches on the island which has only 3,000 inhabitants.

21 Inside the church was a beautiful icon of St. Nicholas. If anyone knows where I can buy one that looks like this one, please let me know. It has much relevance to me, my family, and my profession.

22 Inside the church the lectern had a picture of St. Nicholas with St. Irene. What is coincidental is that this is my mother s name.

23 Now even more coincidentally, there is an icon painted on the wall of St Gregory.

24 We went to Moudros and feasted on seafood, one of the best meals I ve ever had, not to mention eating outdoors next to the sea with my lost cousin from Greece.

25 After our huge lunch we had a coffee at a seaside coffee bar. Well really it was a bar type bar, but we had a coffee. There are a few happening places for the youth of Lemnos.