deTraci's Greece Travel Blog

The National Archaeological Museum in Athens has expanded and reopened its Egyptian art display to include more of the 6,000 objects possessed by the Museum. While most visitors concentrate on the extensive collection of the finest Greek art, the Egyptian collection has often been overlooked. Even in its smaller form, it was well worth a look, but it is considered by some to be one of the best collections of Egyptian art in the world.

• AP - Athens museum to show its priceless Egyptian collection
• National Archaeological Museum

Traveling in Greece this week? You're facing some special challenges as unions choose this period to go on strike, hoping to pressure the government to meet their demands before the tourist season really gets under way.

• Olympic Airlines is anticipating more flight cancellations and suggests that all passengers in Greece call 210 966 6666 before going to the airport to confirm their flights will take place as planned. This is primarily affecting inter-island flights but some Olympic Airlines international flights originating in Greece may be affected as well.

• Driving in Greece? A strike by the gas tanker truck drivers' union has caused gasoline supplies to plummet and not all stations have fuel. It is hoped this will be resolved soon, but at this time, getting gas may be a problem, especially in more remote locations.

• Finally, a strike by guards will close all archaeological sites in the country on Sunday, May 17th, unless it is averted by last-minute negotiations.

There's no shortage of packing tips for Greece - here are plenty of them. But how about UN-packing tips? Here's my list of what NOT to pack for Greece. When you're dragging your luggage up to that charming fourth-floor budget room, you'll be glad you read this now.

Rembetika master Markos Vamvakaris was born in the village of Ano Syra on the island of Syros on this date in 1905.

Over 1200 passengers and crew on the cruise ship Aquamarine got a nasty jolt on Thursday when their ship struck a pier in Heraklion, Crete, ripping a hole in the ship as it pulled out of the harbor during high winds. The vessel continued on to the island of Milos where the damage was inspected more closely.

This is the second major incident involving a Louis Cruises vessel - last year their cruise ship Sea Diamond sank in the waters off of the island of Santorini, killing two passengers in the process.

More
International Herald Tribune: Greek cruise ship damaged, officials say 1200 on board safe

Could the Olympic Games come back to Athens for 2008 if political protests prevail? Athens is keeping quiet - they remember all too well being on the wrong side of a similar discussion back in early 2004. That was when outside observers doubted that the Greek Olympic facilities would be ready in time for the Summer Olympic Games and some started suggesting the Games go back to Atlanta instead. But the Greek Olympic facilities are still in place, largely underutilized, and a few travelers who stayed home from the marvelous Athens Olympic Games in 2004 may indeed be wishing they'd have a second chance in 2008. Dream on....

But if you do want to have a Greek Olympic-style experience in 2008, consider attending the Nemean Games in Nemea on June 21st-22nd. The Nemean Games are a recreation of a different ancient sporting event which is open to all and happens every four years.

Hundreds of athletes from around the world don traditional ancient Greek garb to participate, victors are crowned with wreaths, and more than 10,000 spectators are there to cheer them on. It's a unique, special, and very humane take on athletic competition.

The "Other" Olympics - The Nemean Games 2008

Flags decorating a nearly-empty Olympic venue in 2004. Photo: deTraci Regula, licensed to About.com

May 5th and 6th offers the Locust Festival of Epidaurus. You can celebrate the salvation of Epidaurus during this festival that commemorates a miraculous moment when a plague of locusts left the town when icons were carried through the streets on the feast day of the Seraphim, celebrated now.

The iconic procession is recreated on the night of May 5th, with a festival on the sixth.

While Epidaurus is renowned for its excellent ancient theater, this takes place in the seaside town itself.

Greece has over 140 inhabited islands, and if you count every rocky outcropping, the total soars to about 5000. One will be just perfect for you.

• Greek Island Finder - Find out what island group your fave island is in, essential for managing ferry routes.
• A Quick Guide to the Cycladic Islands - Chances are you'll visit one or more of these on your trip.

Still trying to make up your mind? See what island is currently most popular with other readers.

Inhabitants of the Greek island of Lesbos are taking the Greek Gay and Lesbian Union to court, arguing that the use of the term "Lesbian" for gay women has inflicted immense psychological harm on the residents of the island. Australia's Herald Sun reports that the case is promoted by Dimitris Lambrou, an activist on the island of Lesbos.

How this will affect tourism on Lesbos, long a kind of pilgrimage spot for gay women wanting to visit the home of famed poetess Sappho, is unclear.

Each year many women travel to Eressos and other places on the island in honor of the "10th Muse", as Plato called her. Sappho's poetry praises the loveliness of women, among them some of the students sent to her for education by prominent Greek families of the time.

Sappho herself is said to have died after throwing herself from a cliff over the lost love of a (male) sailor, but this may instead be a mangled memory of the ancient story of Britomartis, who was said to have hurled herself from a cliff to escape the attentions of a male pursuer, and who then had to fight off the advances of a fisherman who rescued her from the waters.

More recently, Sappho was the subject of a novel by American writer Erica Jong, who wrote "Sappho's Leap".

More:
Herald Sun: "We're the true Lesbians", say islanders.

Constantine P. Cavafy, an Alexandria-based poet of Greek ancestry, was born on this day in 1863. His erotic poems celebrating his passion for other men were groundbreaking, and other famous poems explored moments in Greek history. Among his most renowned works are "The City" and "Ithaca", said to have been the favorite poem of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. It's an especially apt poem for travelers to know, and I think of it every time I journey in Greece.

Coincidentally, Cavafy died on his own birthday in 1933.

In 2008, on April 29th, the Gennadius Library in Athens is hosting a special exhibit of photographs, manuscripts, and other items related to Cavafy. And the Cotsen Concert Hall, also in Athens, is presenting a special concert celebrating the connection between Cavafy and Greek composers, many of whom have been inspired by his work. Actress Claire Bloom will read a new translation of Cavafy on May 8th at the hall at 9 Anipiron Polimou street in the Kolonaki area. The reading starts at 8pm.

Books By and About Cavafy
Poems and Prose Blog - Ithaca