Planty of the Hamchuks

June 12 2026 - sacred spaces, public spaces and a little song

The signage on this was vague yet interesting. This was a (very) small, two roomed building. Apparently the original gods/guardians are unknown. Then in the 5th-4th cent BCE Apollo and Artemis were just kind of plopped on top and boom, new religion, new gods, new protectors.

Apparently this hasn't fully been excavated, but the fact that the monastery was built like 30 ft away and all their additional buildings has complicated the process.

AND THEN

we went to an amphitheater!!! So this is hard to explain but my entire early life was all about music, every single moment my life was just soaked in it, and one of the things that was hammered into my head was about the unbelievable acoustics in these amphitheaters, and how they hadn't been replicated or figured out.

I remember daydreaming in school, wondering how amazing they must be. They were just this crazy mystery and suddenly I found myself in one and was welcome to just walk about. There was a clear center disk to stand in. We all started testing it out, but cautiously, with little awkward shouts. I had my turn and it was REAL that sound BOUNCED.

Omggggg!!! I was gently coaxed to do more, so even though I haven't warmed up my voice in years or done anything in ages, I sang the first thing that came to my head, a haunting and obscure Christmas carol (in a minor key, of course).

I never ever ever ever ever thought I'd get to have this experience in a million years!!! V took a video so we have it recorded for posterity. This was serious bucket list stuff, and it was all - completely - a surprise.

The impromptu audience applauded but we had to run or at least trot at a healthy pace to get back to the tour bus, of which we only had a vague idea what direction it was in.

BTW this picture trips me up. In my head, I look absolutely nothing like this. I do have a small frame though.

Leaving Aptera - did I mention it was dry and hot? This climate was unnerving.

June 12 2026 - wildflowers, ruins, and stuff

Driving up to Aptera.. so very dry. We were told this is a pretty delicate ecosystem, especially up on the higher mountains, and they are all protected areas.

Wildflowers and a sign. I've learned that when you're busy traveling, and more importantly, traveling with busy or just incurious people, you have to take pictures of the signs of info and keep running, with the hope you'll read it later.

"The ancient Aptera is one of the most important city-states in Crete. It is already referred to in the linear B tablets (14th-13th century BCE). Its excellent location has proved ideal for its development into a powerful commercial and political centre. Its two harbors, Minoa (present Marathi), and Kissamos at both sides of the entrances of the Souda bay secured the control of naval activity.

In the 4th c. BCE, as most independent cities of Crete, it was capable to mint its own coin. The era of its greatest peak was during the Hellenistic period. According to the epigraphic and philological testimonies, the city has developed foreign relationships with the large centers of the Hellenistic territory during the 3rd and 2nd cent. BCE.

During the Roman period, as a result of the enforcement of the "roman peace", the city experiences a new period of peak which is verified by the big public buildings preserved until today.

The city continued to be inhabited until the Byzantine period (7th cent. AD), when it was destroyed by a powerful earthquake. To its final destruction contributed the Saracens pirates' raids.

In the 11 cent. AD, the existence of the monastery of St. John the Theologian is reported at this site. The monastery was founded at a central part of the ancient city and functioned until 1962."

Abandoned monastery but hey there were interesting public restrooms, for which we were grateful.

It was so dry.

Papaver

The ancient Roman baths - or was it the cistern? If memory serves, men were allowed in at certain times, and women at other times, but kept entirely separate.

June 12 2026 - let's check out the church in the monastery

The pictures of the front area didn't come out well so let's just barge right up here and look up. Eastern Orthodox churches take their ceilings very seriously and this one did not disappoint. It's probably hard to see here, but the to the right and the left, the ceilings were dark blue with small gold semi-shiny stars painted all over.

It was very 90s whimsy-witchy-goth delightful.

There was a lot going on here.

This was a very ornate carved wooden thing.

I don't really have words for this. I'm not Christian, and I didn't feel a thing when I was there. But looking at this picture from my comfy chair in my room with appropriately American levels of cooled air, I can - and almost feel - the visible language of devotion here. It's in every intricate level of detail.

It's like.. it's the opposite of what I feel when I go into a southern Baptist church. A southern Baptist church (at least the ones I've been to) are full of cheap ass plastic shit because their idea of devotion is saying saucy or hateful shit about the neighbors about the emotions one is supposed to be feeling, or more precisely the intense experience (?) of faith they claim to be having. And maybe there's some cotton velvet cushions here or there but nothing too plush or fancy.

Here devotion is in the beautifully artfully carved wood. Here the devotion is in the embroidery. Here the devotion is in the amount of gold leaf applied to all these surfaces. It doesn't mean that everything you see is 100% gold or anything, but the art itself is valued as a form of religious expression, and often seems to be custom or hand made. Like this religious tradition valued artists! Vs the mass-produced and identical white Jesus painting I've seen in sooo many protestant churches in the southern US.

This probably has a name? And it must be important since there's a microphone. There's something similar in the mosques.

The carved out words looked pretty cool.

This reminds me of some wooden carved furniture I've seen from the 1800s but I really have absolutely no idea how old this is. Wait a minute -

hey look a familiar archangel face! A little chubbier cheeked and slightly more happy than the ones in the Hagia Sophia.

This very small church had lots and lots of art, and the guide explained that people were still donating lots of money to have the art made in here. This art was super interesting and I'm so annoyed Tumblr stripped out the details. It had a red glowing pyramid up top with a seeing eye. All the people in here looked dark skinned!! I'm sure it was chock full of references to stories but since I'm not Christian I have absolutely no idea what's going on here. The colors were very rich and vibrant.

Although we didn't see the whole monastery, we have another place to get to. Checking out the gardens with more Sansievieria and Aloes and what looks to be bird of paradise and yet more extremely happy Bougainvillea..

I'm not sure if my phone couldn't handle the colors, or if it really had red flowers and yellow foliage.

Lots and lots of little potted plants...

Many many many olive trees. V is missing. I am waiting on the bus for him we are all waiting on the bus for him. He and his new pal are feeding the monastery kitties LOTS AND LOTS OF CHICKEN from our meal last night. He can't stand to see hungry kitties! And I think he brought tons of food just to give away, anyway. The mini-fridge in the hotel room didn't really keep things very cold, anyway.

We sit near his new pal and his wife. New pal turns out to be something of a kindred spirit, although they are both globe trotters whereas we are gardeners with our hearts firmly in the Appalachian mountains.

They are very sweet and smart and all-around delightful people, and used to study and live and work in the USA. In fact, they were part of USAID but were literally fired by DOGE... they were now in Berlin, studying their German as quickly as possibly and trying to make a new life there ASAP. But they wanted to join Chipmunk and her new husband and this big celebration in Crete.

June 12 2026 - Chipmunk hired an excellent tour guide

So we're up above Chania and she's talking about history from the most recent 100 years because she thinks that's what we want to hear about, and there's statutes and stuff relating to recent history. I'm hanging onto her every word since I do like history, but it's quickly made clear to her that no one here gives a shit about recent history. She's quite pleased about this. She's very charming, extremely knowledgeable, and also well dressed for the climate. IDK if I got pictures of her outfit but it was a great combo of flattering, professional, and practical.

Next up, tour of an old monastery. If I'd written this up right when we came back I'd remember a lot more details...

The entrance. There was a monastery man up front wearing the black robes. To V's delight, there were cats! Do you remember how I mentioned that we ordered an insane amount of food at the restaurant the night before? He'd brought a ton of leftovers. He tried to offer the food to people we were on the tour with (Chipmunk and husband's other friends and work colleagues we did NOT know), but they didn't go for it.

Through the front entryway. I wish I could tell you how old this place is, all I can remember the tour guide telling us is how the monasteries are dying off due to no one wanting to live in them anymore. How they need money and new blood, etc. etc.

You walk into this courtyard and turn to the right and see this magnificent multi-graft citrus tree. V and a new friend he is making are nowhere to be found. He's not much for paying attention to tour guides.

This was majestic!!!!

Beyond the majestic multi-graft citrus tree, there was another garden. This was in memory of a recently deceased uhhh monastery person or something. Priest? IDK? Not even certain if it was someone was actually a member here or someone higher up in the Greek Orthodox Church. It was very interesting being in this Christian space after Istanbul's Islamic spaces.

Aww yiss

Massive Flapjacks? IDK, a very very happy and beautiful succulent.

An Asparagus fern. I am staring at the planter and starting to better understand the aesthetics of one of my fave coworkers from work, who incidentally spends a lot of time in Crete and is of Greek heritage.

Next the tour guide says some polite stuff about Very Sacred Space in the monastery and we are all very quiet and polite and V and other rascals are off doing their thing. So I go into this little back room where you can see a room of how the monastery denizens live and then the sacred back room full of

BONES IT'S FULL OF FUCKING SKULLS AND BONES WHAT THE EVERLIVING FUCK

PILES AND PILES AND PILES OF SKULLS AND BONES

I am screaming internally and want to run out sprinting and also I do NOT want to start talking to the dead not here, not on vacation, also I don't speak Greek I want the FUCK out of here but I calmly walk out of the room and tell V and his pals to go check out the creepy as hell bone room. That gets their attention! Anyway I guess they don't bother burying the dead or there's only so much room so they just have an extremely not-charming Room Of Death in the back.

The Death is suffocating, I claw my way back to Life. Look! Let's look at the garden again!