Dion, Greece.

Yesterday, the weather was terrible with all-day rain and the temperature dropping to 54😱.

 

We even had to light the fireplace!

All was not lost though as we stuffed ourselves with delicious Greek food (rain or shine, they deliver,) watched movies and bonded even more.

The next day, the weather was great, so it was off to see the ruins at Dion and climb Mt. Olympus.

(Joan, my views: Magnificent Mt. Olympus (joan-myviews.blogspot.com)

They are still excavating the site!

The ruins of  ancient city of Dion are located at the foot of Mount Olympus in the north of Greece, once known as Macedon.

Houses in modern Dion are close to the museum

Legend has it that Dion was the burial place of Orpheus, the famous Greek prophet and musician.

However, the site was most important under Macedonian rulers, notably Philip II and his son, Alexander the Great as both kings celebrated victories there, and it was at this sanctuary that Alexander conducted sacrifices before his campaigns into Asia.

These marble mosaics were the actual floor of their famous baths.

 It shows the affluence of the period.

Dion is now an UNESCO heritage site, as in the 5^th Century AD, it was an important Holy Place for the emerging Christian philosophy and worship.

In Greece it is the second largest site of ruins after Acropolis and even today when we were there, we saw people still excavating ruins.

Remnants of the solid city wall that once protected Dion.

The stadium is still fairly intact. They held Olympic games here. They lasted 9 days.

Another view of the stadium.

Dion was first made internationally famous through the writings of the Greek poet Homer. It was destroyed by an earthquake in the 7th Century.  

Despite its importance to Greek history and mythology, serious excavation did not begin there until in the 1950’s.

The museum

The museum is only five minutes away and it has a comprehensive collection of artifacts from the period.

If you love Greek history, it's a must.

The mosaics from the baths are well preserved.

The female figures are clad and the males nude.

Busts of Greek philosophers.

A new town has sprung up around the museum. The ruins in the yard and the new homes and businesses in the area, make an interesting contrast.

I thought this was a vineyard but it's a Kiwi orchard

An aged horse gets a morning walk

new homes are right beside the ruins in the museum yard.

Magnificent Mt. Olympus

 It was the thrill of my life😊.

From as far back as I can remember, my father used to read Greek mythology to me, telling me about the Greek gods and how they resided on the peaks of Mt. Olympus,.

 I never dreamt I would actually get to see it much less hike in the area.

The Mt. Olympus range is 25 kms long and the peak some 10,000 ft. Although we only hiked to the top of the Enipea  Canyon through which the river by the same name runs, it was the thrill of my life. 

And it was not at all as cold as I thought it would be. 

Mt. Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece and the 2nd highest in the Balkans 

For this trip, our base was this cute, quaint, laid back little village of  Litochoro at the bottom of the mountain.

The Greek Easter starts May 5th and some households do "spring cleaning " in preparation. Here they are sunning their rugs.

The beauty all around is simply awesome.

Section of Greek Orthodox Church in Litochoro

A small shrine in the mountains 

I can't believe I am at Mt. Olympus 😊

The valley is so deep I was sometimes scared to look down 😲

Sections of Mt. Olympus 

A filter plant for the refreshing spring water

Enipea River

Sections of the town of Litochoro, beneath the magnificent Mt. Olympus

Enipea River runs down into the canyon

Can't get over how fat and well groomed stray animals are in Greece 

Met this mother and daughter from Tanzania. Nice people.

Filling up with spring water for the trek up the mountain.

This trek into the mountains made my trip to Greece the experience of a lifetime.

Thanks Gabby ❤️.