Crete

Hello!

I spent today in Crete--here are some pictures of the Palace of King Minos. I shall send more pictures later. It was very interesting. Here are some of my favorite facts: 1) As they cut the stones from a nearby mountain, they numbered each of the stones so they could match them back together 2) The walls on the first floor were so thick! The rooms were also extremely small--this was to help set the foundation for upper stories. The farther up the building--the thinner the wall, and the larger the room. I liked those facts.

I am currently on my way to EGYPT!!! I will be there in the morning. I will be away from the ship for 2 days and won't be able to communicate--but as soon as I can, you will hear from me--wait til I tell you what I saw!!!!!!!!!

Ask me some questions!

Terrace Houses in Ephesus, Turkey

Here is an interior of one of the houses

Here is a picture of an archaeologist working on restoring marble at the Terrace Houses in Ephesus, Turkey.

This mosaic was from one of the houses.

Nike

This is a carving of Nike at Ephesus, Turkey. Look very carefully at her wing just under her right hand. Our guide told us that this statue was used for Nike's wing symbol. Do you see it?

Library at Ephesus

Can you see the fine carvings?

Athens

I liked this image; the beautiful ruins on the Acropolis looking right over the hustle and bustle of the city. The red circle is a "Do not enter/ One- way" sign.

Above is the the view of the Parthenon from the hotel.

9-29 Greetings from ASIA!!!

Hello all!

I was so very excited to add a new continent to places I have visited. I am in Ephesus, Turkey. I have had another amazing day.

The city of Ephesus began prior to 200 BC and lasted until after 700 AD. The city had over 500,000 people. There were wide streets with beautiful columns. In fact, taller and shorter columns alternated. On the shorter columns were marble statues. On the taller columns, flames were lit at night! Street lights in BC times!

I was able to visit the "Terrace Houses". The site is currently under excavation. The houses are on a slope and mud covered the houses and preserved them until the recent excavations. Archaeologists have uncovered about 10% of what they think is there. These places were unbelievable; only very wealthy people lived in them. In one, the living room was about one and a half times bigger than my classroom!! The mosaics are still intact; I can't wait to show you!

The library was the 3rd largest in the world--there is a picture of it in the video you watched today. The second largest library was in a city farther north and the largest library in the world was located in Alexandria, Egypt. Well--Marc Anthony wanted to give Cleopatra a birthday present--so he took all of the scrolls from the Ephesus library along with all from the #2 library and gave them to her. She put them in the library in Alexandria--and during the Crusades, Crusaders burned down the Alexandria library leaving nothing left. Can you tell I can't wait to tell you the stories I am learning?!

After I toured these places, I went to a business and learned how beautiful rugs are made--there were certainly some beautiful ones for the comfy area! However, the $20,000 bill and the fact that it wouldn't fit in my suitcase prohibited the sale!

I also went to the central area of Ephesus and looked in the local shops. The people were very friendly and I had great fun talking with them. Most speak at least a bit of English. The form of money used here is a lira; anything purchased could be bought with lira, US dollars or euros. Every shop keeper had a calculator to figure out the cost.

The Mediterranean Sea is so beautiful; it is hard to describe all of the colors of blue--I hope the colors will show well through my photos.

I hope you are enjoying hearing about the trip:)

Hello/goodbye from Athens, Greece

Did you figure out that I was in Athens, Greece? It was a very beautiful city! My tour of the Parthenon was so wonderful--I can't wait to tell you the new stories I learned! Today I went to the Temple of Poseidon--I will show you pictures. I think you will find that it looks familiar--it was the scene used for the Athens Olympics. I will try at some point to upload a picture. It was so very windy at the top! It looked out over the Aegean Sea. At 3 o'clock, I boarded a ship and I am currently on the Mediterranean Sea--the colors are the most beautiful teals and blues! Tomorrow I shall be on another continent!

I forget to mention something about the trip over. On the plane, it would state our altitude, temperature, etc. The temperature outside was -74 degrees! I grew up in South Dakota--and I NEVER saw that temperature before!
Adio!

Sites

I had an incredible time touring yesterday. My tour guide was excellent and gave me many new stories! In class today, students will see the "top ten" sites of this city--I managed to see all of them over the weekend!!! I saw a site that is being excavated--the archaeologists have dated the city to the 11th century BC. They found this site when they started building a new museum--so they built the museum with glass floors so all can watch the excavation going on. Very neat. Today I go on an excursion to see a temple of Poseidon and then to the port where I will begin cruising around the Mediterranean!
Adio!

People

This man played a caliope as he walked down the street

I have enjoyed people-watching! The policeman was a man with a very large stomach! He moved the crowd back by pushing everyone with his stomach!

These boys played music for money--they were quite talented. Hmmm..haven't figured out how to get the caption by the photo!

breakfast

I wanted to share my breakfast view with you! I gazed at this site while eating fresh figs, a soft-boiled egg, and broiled tomato. In about an hour, I will be there in person exploring the site!

photos of changing of the guard

changing of the guard

This morning I was able to witness the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. There was a marching band; it was all men in white uniforms playing an anthem. The ceremony itself was very different from the changing of the guard at Arlington Cemetary in Washington, DC. The soldiers wore traditional uniforms I was able to be in the front and took some good pictures which I am trying to figure out how to upload for you.

What a day!

The plane landed this morning at our destination; little sleep was had on the all-night flight! I have been pinching myself all day. The hotel is absolutely spectacular--right across the street from the Parliament Building and Syntagma Square. The ceiling in the bedroom must be at least 15 feet high; there is gorgeous artwork and marble everywhere. We went to the rooftop restaurant--I was astonished at the beautiful view of the city. Then, I turned--and there was the Parthenon--right there--right from my hotel. I was in such awe--it took my breath away! I had the best salad ever--filled with olives and feta cheese! I took a long walk around the Syntagma area. We had a wonderful dinner at an authentic restaurant in the Plaka district. I had lamb that was so tender, it fell off the bone. The baklava was outrageous--not as sweet as what I have had in America. Tomorrow is when touring the sites begins. I am ready for a good night's sleep! Have you figured out where I am?

I'm leavin' on a jet plane...

I am packed and ready to go! Are you ready to join me?

It is after 11 pm and I leave in 6 hours for the airport--I am too excited to sleep! I had a wonderful day at school--filled with hugs and good wishes. I have left the students in great hands with Mrs. Likens.

I am not disclosing my itinerary; the students will need to figure out daily where I am through the latitude and longitude coordinates I have left for them. I will arrive to my first destination on Saturday morning. It is likely I won't have computer access until Monday. Be sure, however, I will write the first chance I get.

It's here! This amazing adventure is here!

Countdown is on!

A big thanks to H.S. who came into class yesterday stating, "Mrs. Bain, you leave in TEN days!!" Gosh, I hadn't realized my Magic School Bus is leaving so soon! To make it even more exciting, I had a meeting and received all of my documentation last night. It keeps getting better every day!

For those of you who don't know--I leave a week from Friday for the educational trip of a lifetime. Although I have been teaching about Athens, Rome, Turkey, and Egypt for YEARS--I have never visited them--until NOW!

When I was in 6th grade, my teacher--Miss Brown--taught me about Pompeii. For the first time, I realized I loved the stories of history. The stories brought history alive for me. Not only will I be visiting Pompeii; I will have a private tour with a scholar. I will also have a private tour (again, with a scholar) at the Vatican. I can't even begin to describe how amazing this adventure will be for me.

My wonderful classes headed to ancient Egypt this week. Do you know how truly awesome it is stand in the hall between classes and have middle-schoolers grin and tell you how much they love your class? Just as when I was in 6th grade, it is the stories that bring history to life.

I hope you will join me on my journey. I will do my very best to try to get to a computer often and blog about my experiences. My plane leaves Sept. 25th...first stop--hmmmmmmm....

09-09-09

Isn't this a great date!

This week we are learning about the Old and New Stone Ages with a quiz on Friday. Here is a news flash the students do not yet know--on Monday we begin the study of ancient Egypt!