CULTURAL ACTIVITIES PLANNED FOR GCP GREECE- 2014 1 1) CULTURAL ACTIVITY NUMBER ONE: Visiting Domaine GeroVassiliou (http://www.gerovassiliou.gr/) Winery and Wine Museum. This is a half day excursion on our second Friday. Students are exposed to the history of wine making through antiquity . The actual visit and tour is enhanced by a professional tour guide. More information on the winery museum and text taken can be found here: http://www.gerovassiliou.gr/en/museum 2 The stories narrated unfold through the two main Museum collections: the collection of corkscrews, bottles, vessels and pieces of an ancient Greek symposium and the collection of viticulture, vinification, cooperage and bottling tools. The proximity to the vineyards, the winery and wine-tasting rooms, as well as the view of alternating seasons, intensifies the visitors' experience. 3 The first room named "The corkscrew" houses the Museum unit "The wine travels...", which follows various wine routes through time and examines the vessels used for its transportation. It explains the need to make special vessels and special corking tools that would maintain the quality of the transported wine. 4 The unit "Stories with corkscrews" presents the corkscrew collection in three ways. Initially, the greatest part of the collection is exhibited, following the internationally acknowledged classification of corkscrews, in non-mechanical and mechanical ones. Texts and photographs illustrate their function and social use. Then follows a small selection of exhibits, the collector's favorites, which are pieces that are either rare or unique in a way. The third way of presentation is seven circular show cases, scattered in the room, where corkscrews are grouped according to their use by men and women, their relation to the consumer's habits, the leisure industry and different trends and artistic movements of the 19th and the 20th century. 5 In the unit "Wine and food" three-dimensional wall-mounted "ghosts" recommend to the visitor how to combine Gerovassiliou wines with specific dishes. The unit "Words" on the long wall helps the visitors familiarize with the vine and wine glossary through the use of touch-screens. 6 In the second room called "The wine", the unit "Stories about wine" touches upon the economical, social and symbolic significance of wine through the ages. The following units, "The vine", "The wine-making", "The barrel" and "The Maturation", comprise collections of tools and vessels, which are accompanied by text, pictures and moving three-dimensional drawings, and bring to life the whole process of wine- making. 7 2) CULTURAL ACTIVITY NUMBER TWO: Spending a day at the beach. Team bonding with the local team members. This is a full day excursion on a Sunday. Students are exposed to all beach related activities including: Swimming; Snorkeling; Beach volleyball; Wind surfing; Scuba diving; Distance from the city 50 miles. Location: Sani Resort and Marina; Kassandra, Chalkidiki. http://www.sani-resort.com/en_GB 8 9 3) CULTURAL ACTIVITY NUMBER THREE Sailing the night and candlelight dinner. This is a night trip to a local beach where we watch the sunset while enjoying a candlelight dinner. Distance from the city 15 miles. Location: Perea, Thessaloniki. 10 11 4) CULTURAL ACTIVITY NUMBER FOUR. VISIT ANCIENT MACEDONIAN ROYAL PALACE AND BURIAL SITE: This is a day-long excursion on our second Saturday. All students are exposed to a lecture on the topic before departure to the site. The actual visit and tour is enhanced by a professional tour guide and a traditional dinner at a local tavern. The Entrance to the Underground Museum 12 THE HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PLACE OF OUR VISIT: (TEXT COMES FROM WIKIPEDIA) Around 650 BC (that is 2,664 years ago), an ancient Greek royal house led by Perdiccas I, fled from Argos and established their capital at Aigai, thereby also establishing the Kingdom of Macedon. Archaeologists were interested in the hills around the town of Vergina as early as the 1850s, supposing that the still missing site of Aigai was in the vicinity and knowing that the surrounding hills were burial mounds. Excavations began in 1861 under a French archaeologist, sponsored by the Emperor Napoleon III. In 1937, the University of Thessaloniki resumed the excavations. More ruins of the ancient palace were found, but the excavations were abandoned on the outbreak of WWII. After the war the excavations were resumed, and during the 1950s and 1960s the rest of the royal capital was uncovered including the theatre in which Philip II was assassinated at the wedding of his daughter Cleopatra to King Alexander of Epirus. A Greek archaeologist became convinced that a hill called the Great Tumulus concealed the tombs of the Macedonian kings. In 1977, Andronikos undertook a dig at the Great Tumulus and found four buried chambers, which he identified as hitherto undisturbed tombs. Three more were found in 1980. Andronikos claimed that these were the burial sites of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Andronikos maintained that another tomb was of Alexander IV of Macedon, son of Alexander the Great and Bactrian princess Roxana (killed 310 BC). Museum and the artifacts The museum, inaugurated in 1993, was built in a way to protect the tombs, exhibit the artifacts and show the tumulus as it was before the excavations. Inside the museum there are four tombs and one small temple. The 13 two most important graves were not looted and contained the main treasures of the museum. Golden Artifacts from the Museum Royal Tombs of the Ancient Kings of Macedonia. Tomb II of Philip II, the father of Alexander was discovered in 1977 and was separated in two rooms. The main room included a marble sarcophagus, and in it was the larnax made of 24 carat gold and weighing 11 kilograms. Inside the golden larnax the bones of the dead were found and a golden wreath of 313 oak leaves and 68 acorns, weighing 717 grams. In the room were also found the golden and ivory panoply of the dead, 14 the richly-carved burial bed on which he was laid and later burned and silver utensils for the funeral feast. In the antechamber, there was another sarcophagus with another smaller golden larnax containing the bones of a woman wrapped in a golden-purple cloth with a golden diadem decorated with flowers and enamel. There was one more partially destroyed by the fire burial bed and on it a golden wreath representing leaves and flowers of myrtle. Above the Doric style entrance of the tomb there is a wall painting measuring 5.60 metres which represents a hunting scene. Another burial site was also discovered near the tomb of Philip, which belongs to Alexander IV of Macedon son of Alexander the Great. It was slightly smaller than the previous and was also not looted. It was also arranged in two parts, but only the main room contained a cremated body this time. On a stone pedestal was found a silver hydria which contained the bones and on it a golden oak wreath. There were also utensils and weaponry. The other two tombs were found to have been looted. Tomb I or the Tomb of Persephone was discovered in 1977 and although it contained no valuable things on its walls, it contained a marvelous wall painting showing the abduction of Persephone by Hades. The other tomb, discovered in 1980, is heavily damaged and may have contained valuable treasures while it had an impressive entrance with four Doric columns. It was built in the 4th century BC and the archaeologists believe that the tomb belonged to another Macedonian leader Antigonus II Gonatas (239 BC). It was said of him that he gained the affection of his subjects by his honesty and his cultivation of the arts, which he accomplished by gathering around him distinguished philosophers, poets, and historians. 15 5) CULTURAL ACTIVITY NUMBER FIVE – SELF GUIDED TOUR OF THE CITY OF THESSALONIKI Top Ten Sightseeing Activities with one Bus Ride The material is taken from: http://www.thessaloniki-sightseeing.com/en/sightseeing-tours.html Bus # 50 stops at fifteen historical sites all over the city of Thessaloniki. The bus is touring every 40 minutes. Withr a Two-Euro pass, you get unlimited access to the bus. The bus tour includes a tour guide with live narration. 16 1) White Tower and Surrounding Area The most famous landmark of the city, the White Tower, is a 15th century fortification which was part of the city’s defenses. For years it served as a prison for condemned prisoners awaiting execution. Since then it has been reconstructed and it is now operating as a museum. Today the White Tower is used as a place of exhibition. From its roof, visitors can enjoy spectacular city views. 17 2) The Museums of Downtown (Archeological and Byzantine Museums) 18 The archaeological museum of Thessaloniki opened its doors to the public in 1962 by hosting findings from the area of Thessaloniki and the neighboring counties. The museum presents exhibits of the culture of Macedonia from prehistoric times. Visitors have the opportunity to walk around the five sections of the museum, through which they come into contact with the culture and people of ancient Macedonia. 19 3) The Arch and the Roman Palace of Galerius (300 AD). Roman Emperor Galerius ended the persecution of Christians. The Triumphal Arch of Galerius, is located on the upper side of the Via Egnatia, a short distance from the Rotunda. The Arch is a glorious monument, whose purpose was memorial and honorary. It was built shortly before 305 AD to honor the Roman Emperor Galerius, after his final victory over the Persians.