Mycenae Sunset!

Through the 2 weeks I work with in the museum in Mycenae and Nemea, I got to know the town of Mycenae and made a lot of good friends there. I also love the way they grill meat there. Fresh lamb or pork grilled to give the flavor then deep fried until fat is crunchy. It's a very addictive flavor!

The Mediterranean sun is blazingly hot. Most shops and restaurants are close from noon until almost 5pm when the weather cools down a bit. I love to take a walk with my camera that time and capturing the town becoming alive and shepherds herding their sheep back home after a day’s labor. It’s a sense of simplicity, peacefulness and content in the air (if you pay attention, you can smell the grill lamb, too).

It's hard to link modernity to this, but that's the contrast of the aged and the new that I experience everyday in Greece.


This is the concert for one of the most famous singers in Greece.


Kostas! A good friend I met there. He also runs the internet cafe in the hotel where I stay!


Nicholas' wife!


Another shepherd couple!
Greek...................Donkey!! (Even though I didn't encounter any this time.)


Local kids like to pop the wheelys, not sure how that trend started. But when I picked up the flash and camera, the pull off some nice stunts for me!


Other than popping the wheelys, this is local street racer's favorite! It accelerates very fast due to the light weight. It seems that there is a whole street racing event based on this kind of scooter.

Olympics! The old school way!!

In June, I received the very exciting assignment that I worked very hard for, to go to Greece with the archaeology team from UC Berkeley. The project was to document the artifacts the archaeologists discovered and restored in both Mycenae and Nemea excavation during the last few years. As a side project, I would also document the re-enacted ancient Olympic game that archaeologists helped re-established.

June 22^nd, 2008, I arrived at Nemea for the Ancient Olympic Game. Nemea used to be one of the few cities that rotated to host the Olympic game back in the 500 B.C. The whole city was built with the only purpose of hosting the game unlike the other cities that had permanent political, commercial, or agricultural activities. The city/compound consists of a stadium, a temple, a whole bunch of dormitories, and some other supplemental buildings. In today’s terms, it’s an Olympic Village.

The re-enacted game follows the traditional protocol. Participants follow the ancient rule to prepare and compete in both short and long distance running in the ancient stadium (To gain broader acceptance, the wrestling and horse racing was not re-enact). In the Olympic year, participating in an event like this really made me feel the 2500 year link between the past and the present.

Sunrise at the Nemea temple, where the prayers and the opening ceremony took place.


The local ladies formed a chore and chant the wishes during the opening ceremony.


The local political leader light up the torch.


The changing room used to be stone and wood building back in the days. Now, with the foundation and few pillars left, the locals put up a very nostalgic feeling tent.


Back in the days, the athletes compete naked with olive oils applied to their skin both as sun block. In 2008, we made a little change called civilization.


The judge pull the rope to drop the gate and start the race.


See the drop down gate? By the way, no shoes are allowed!


The whole view of the stadium where participants !!


Crossing the finish line!


Runners for the long distance race come back to the stadium and finish their race.


This is what you win, the bragging rights!!


Closing ceremony!