This lady was a raisin with white hair!

12-23-2011

Well, I have to sum up Greece before I fall too far behind in this journal. I just want to share my absolute favorite experience that I was lucky enough to take from Greece.

We visited during the off season so, especially on Santorini, there’s really not that much going on. It’s a small island too so, with a rental car, a lot can be covered in a day.

As we were driving around with no particular plan, Jim and I saw a large stone building on top of the highest point on the island. We wanted to know what it was so we drove up the mountain. I was impressed that we could point to a place in the distance and my husband Jim could find it.

It was a monastery! The Elias Monastery is like a fortress. Walls surround all sides. The only thing open when we first got there was a tiny chapel located on an exterior wall. Of course I had to climb the crumbling staircase and enter the tiny stone room to light a candle or two.

Outside the main gate there was a sign that said service was at 17:00 on Wednesdays and Fridays. It just so happened to be Wednesday afternoon so we decided that we would head back later to try and get inside the walls of the monastery.

When we returned to the monastery the gates were still shut. The area surrounding the monastery was dead silent. It was eerie. There was nobody around and no noise.  We couldn’t figure this place out. We came back at the right time but we could not find any openings to get inside the religious compound.

We got back into our car and started back down the hillside. Just as we rounded a corner we saw a woman driving an old, small, white car and she was headed up the mountain. This was the first sign of life we had seen on that mountain all day so we turned the car around and followed her.

This time when we got to the top, a small sliver of a doorway in the center of the gates was open. We saw the woman hurry through the tiny entrance as Jim put the car in park but we couldn’t see which way she went. After we slipped through the entrance ourselves we saw no sign of which direction she may have gone.

Inside the walls it was still quiet. We started trying doors on the building which the walls were designed to protect. We tried door after door with no luck. Finally, the second to last door opened to a small room. The small room was attached to a tiny hallway and that was attached to another room and so forth. After we passed through a second doorway, a tiny raisin of a woman welcomed us in Greek. She only spoke Greek as she led us across another courtyard. Now we could hear the chanting from the worshipers inside.

The woman was very old but had a lot of pep in her step! She moved swiftly. She smiled non-stop. As she kept motioning us to follow with her tiny wrinkled hands she continued to speak in Greek. Once in the smaller, internal courtyard she opened the door to the church. Ahh, finally.

The chapel was dimly lit with candles. Other “brothers” and “sisters” knelt down on the floor as the service was conducted. They remained there in a tiny area at the entrance to the chapel. We ventured to the adjoining room. It was larger and had ornate décor hanging from the ceiling. There were holy relics and pictures everywhere.

The children were mostly quiet while the monks recited their chants. Sometimes the worshipers would move around the room and every time a nun passed us she touched Asher and smiled. Again, the Greeks love babies!

At the tail end of the service, the tiny old raisin, lady took Chloe by the hand and showed her how to do the sign of the cross. She then led her around the room and showed her which relics and pictures to kiss.

The service was surreal. The whole experience was so moving I couldn’t help but get a little emotional. How lucky am I, that I get to witness and partake in such beautiful sites and rituals around the world!

Other than the monks and nuns, there were four adults taking part in the service that evening. Two of them were me and Jim.

After the service a younger nun spoke to us in Greek and we answered in English. She then smiled and said “follow me”. So we did!

It was now very dark outside as we followed the nun through the courtyard and a large walkway. We then went up some stairs and we were suddenly welcomed inside a very well-lit sitting room. This room was much larger than the fashion that we had seen in the rest of the monastery.

The brothers and sisters offered us dairy-free chocolate as we sat on the antique sofa and chairs. Brother Timothy was a (senior) monk there and he explained that they don’t eat dairy this time of year. He spoke pretty good English in a quiet and soothing voice. He came across as one of those guys with entirely too much patience to actually be human.

He told us that six monks live at the monastery and the nuns were from a nearby (dependant) building. He told us of their hopes to build a nearby museum to display some of their ancient artifacts. With a history worth preserving as enough reason for the museum, they also hoped that the revenue would help keep the monastery in operation.

I told him that we desired to learn more about the Orthodox religion and he gave us a book to read. Along with the book, he handed us two wrapped gifts. Christmas presents for the kids! He said they give all the children Christmas presents and he wanted to include Chloe and Asher.

Since it was so dark, Brother Timothy showed us to our car using a shortcut through a spare kitchen. The thing I remember most about the kitchen is the abundance of potatoes. I wondered if that’s mostly what they ate since it was so inexpensive. I still wonder…what’s with all the potatoes?

What an amazing experience! I wish I could describe the service better.

Overall, Greece has been one of my most pleasant travel experiences yet! They are the nicest people EVER! They LOVE babies! The men are the BEST looking! LOL!

Things worth noting: Gas was about $10 a gallon on Santorini. It is not uncommon to see donkeys used for travel and hauling freight. You can’t drink the water.

Beautiful! You MUST go!

I wrote that excerpt while in Tel Aviv…here is the rest of the entry:

Today was our first official day in Israel. We checked into the Tel Aviv Hilton at about 2am this morning. We got some sleep and now the children are watching the Disney Channel in Hebrew as Jim and I plan the itinerary for our “Holy tour”.

Tel Aviv is a very modern city. Our hotel is right next to the ocean with plenty of pathways for us to walk around if we want. Perhaps later we will take the kids to a park next to the hotel.