Day 15 - Olympia and Bassae

Day 15 - 24 September 2016

Olympia and Bassae

Yesterday I arranged with a taxi to be taken to Bassae. He was to fetch me at 09:00, take me there and leave me to my own devices for an hour and then bring me back to Olympia. All for €90.00.
I got up at 07:30. It really was weird because by force of habit, I was awake at 06:00. Showered and went to breakfast. Cheese, cold meats, egg, bread with honey and jam, and cake. Very light, but also very filling. Finished off with some coffee. At 09:00 exactly, my taxi driver, Christos was there. The temple is only 65km away, but it took us 1hr 50min to get there. The entire route was through the mountains, ever upward. The temple is 1 310 meters above sea level. It's so isolated, that is was only rediscovered by 'archaeologists' in 1767 who proceeded to loot it. You need to go to the British Museum to see the pediment decorations and the metopes.

A word about the temple: it was designed and built by the same architect who designed the Parthenon. The people of the valley prayed to Apollo to spare them from a plague that was ravaging the area. Somehow they escaped unscathed and had the temple built on top of the mountain top. Today we know it as The Temple of Apollo Epikourious, or Apollo the healer. With the advent of Christianity, the temple fell in to disuse and earthquakes did the rest.

There have been conservation attempts since 1902. In 1987, a decision was made to cover the temple with a tent in order to protect the ruins from the extremes of winter.

I was so happy to be there, I took a selfie!

The temple has now settled and it is being dismantled piece by piece down to the foundation which is then leveled out and it is then rebuilt, with new pieces inserted in order to steady and anchor the temple. It's slow painstaking work that will still take many years and a lot of money.

It's a breathtaking site when you duck under the flaps and see it in its enormity. I would love to see it without the tent, but this is the only way to see it at present. Talk about isolated - there were 2 other people with me and as I left, 4 more arrived. It is very much off the beaten track and not many people go there. On the way back, Christos stopped at his mothers cafe and we had Greek coffee. Strong, but really good. I met his mother, his wife and brother. All very nice people. And then we were off again. I eventually arrived back in Olympia at 13:20. Much later than I expected but I really didn't mind.
He dropped me off at the pension. I paid €120.00 which I know is the going rate if I had simply gone down to the square and looked for a taxi. I freshened up a bit and then I went to the Museum of the History of the Ancient Olympics.

Bonus - all museums and archaeological sites are free today and tomorrow! The last weekend in September are European Heritage Days. I saved €18.00 today. Back to my day. By this stage it was 15:50 and I was starving! I had a delicious toasted baguette and a sprite (€4.50) at a very nice cafe. Tummy full, off to the Archaeological Museum of Olympia. It really was interesting. I'll go back tomorrow to take photos. By that time it was 18:00 and I went back for a rest before dinner. At 20:00 I went out. Had vegetable marrow cakes with yogurt for a starter and for my main I had Papoutsakia which translated means little shoes. With a sprite, it cost €13.00

It's eggplant stuffed with ground beef and tomato and covered in a cheesy bechamel sauce. Baked in the oven and served. It was delicious. Once I'm done here, it's off to bed as I need to be at the archaeological site at 08:00 tomorrow morning to avoid the crowds.

Bassae - The Temple of Apollo

Museum of the History of the Olympic Games in Antiquity