Lake
Forest College
Program
in Greece and Turkey
2001
2001:
A Greece & Turkey Odyssey
Students
and Itinerary (very roughly!)
Byzantium
& Beyond
Sailing
to Byzantium
(or
from Samos, Greece
to Kucadasi,
Turkey,
and
then by way of Ephesus
to Constantinople-Istanbul)
|
the program makes a chronological,
cultural and spiritual leap from the Hellenistic age, still dominated by
the ideals and practices of Greek antiquity, to the Byzantine age, the
complex and multifaceted phenomenon of the endurance of Greek influence
through the expansion of the Orthodox (in opposition to the Holy Roman
Catholic) Church. The Greek Orthodox church and the sprawling, volatile
secular network of empires and powers in which it developed--as one dominant
culture within an increasingly fragmented and dynamic world--not only succeeded
the Roman-Greek centered European civilization that straddled the start
of the 'Common Era,' but also fused constitutive elements of that world
with Christianity, pan-Mediterranean influences and its own creations to
form a unique Roman Empire of the East, or 'Byzantine synthesis,' that
endured for more than a millennium
|
 |
 |
Hagia Sophia (Arabicized interior)--ISTANBUL--Sultanahmet
Camii (Blue Mosque) at dusk
dazzling and rich Arabic calligraphy, visible throughout Turkey as
a heritage of
the Ottoman empire, although modern day Turkey is not an Arabic-speaking
nation. Professor Turner's late father, a renowned linguist, was still
learning Turkish on his deathbed, as his fourteenth language
Angela before the Blue Mosque
|
'Fez' up: dinner at restaurant Cemmet was fun, despite the macarena
|
Professor Turner with students in an olive grove overlooking SPARTA,
of which very little remains from classical times (below). On this windswept
ridge gazing down at a later (Hellenistic) agora excavation, one is impressed
at how this militant and domineering force in classical-era rivalries with
Athens has been so extensively obliterated. No evidence of that visit that
Telemachus paid to Menelaus and Helen either!
across the Lacedamonian plain and in the rugged hills of Mount Taigetos
lies MYSTRAS,
a
major Byzantine fortress built in 1249 by William II of Villehardouin and
a complex center of religious, political, mercantile and administrative
power
MONEMVASIA
A
Brief History of Tony Andros--Because He Was There
the Sultan of Swing reclining; leaning in a Golden Gate doorway
spreading the Gospel of St. John at Ephesus; a whiter shade of pale
the "Passion" of Mr. Andros' big toe; slowing down with reptile friend
on his noctural way to a Kazantzakis rave; impressionistic Frito Bandito
island hopping; he came from outer space with that tie-dyed parachute
it's Clockwork Orange time at the Hotel Dioskouros,
returning with gifts from Turkey
the isthmus of Corinth, where we entered the Peloponnese,
and cliff hugging Monemvasia, where we left it
tangled up in blue
the azure blue of the Aegean, our Zen cloud
against a cobalt sky, at least 6 shades of blue
Please
check out the official web page
http://www.lfc.edu/academics/greece/index.html
of
the Lake Forest College Program in Greece & Turkey
for the Greece
& Turkey Program 2001:
our thanks to oi theoi
Daimon, Tyche, Elpis, Anangke,
Eros, Agape, the Moirai, the Musai,
the Horai, Sophia and the Eumenides
soundtrack by Jordan and Michael
lighting, clarity, balance by
Phoebus Apollo
meteorology and hospitality
courtesy of Zeus Xenios, Zeus Herkeios,
Zeus Beelsamem, Zeus Soter
water temperature March - June
by the good graces of Poseidon
good vibes thanks to Pallas
Athena, Hera, Dionysus, the Naiads and
the Nereids
catering by Demeter
rooming assignments c/o Artemis
and Aphrodite
e-mail connections facilitated
by Hermes
bronze shields supplied by Hephaistos
complaints to: Ares
blessings from the Anointed
One
to synagogues, mosques, churches
and places of worship everywhere: Peace may God bless our students, our
faculty/staff/director/program team,
Greek antiquity, the Byzantine
Synthesis,
the sovereign nations of Greece
and Turkey,
Lake Forest College and the
United States of America
pics contributed by Angela,
Lindsay, Danielle, Tony, Michael and Richard
A [hu]man of humanity is one
who, in seeking to establish himself, finds a foothold for others and who,
desiring attainment for himself, helps others to attain.
--Confucius
YASAS!
Richard
Fisher, 09/'01, revised 10/'01, 11/'01
