Just as it was unusual to visit a pipe organ factory in Barcelona, I think what was out of the ordinary today was a visit to an icon workshop in the Meteora region. The owner, a Greek Orthodox priest, was occupied with church duties today, so his son gave us the tour (yes, Greek Orthodox priests can be married!) Many family members are involved in the business.
He started out by explaining the different kinds of woods that are used, and that the painting is done not directly on the wood, but on a linen canvas. Paint is purchased from Germany and real gold leaf is used to decorate the canvases.
In the morning we stopped at the Museum of Royal Tombs of Aigai, unusual because the museum was built atop the actual archaeological site. These tombs were not discovered until 1977 by Manolis Andronikus, and to his surprise, the tombs were undisturbed and intact. One of the tombs was of Alexander’s teenage son, who died about 4 BC. He was murdered, along with his mother. I was impressed by all the gold decorations and by the intricately carved ivory objects which were found in the tombs. The ivory looks large in my photos, but in reality, they were only a couple of inches wide.
We also made a stop at Vima Apostolou Pavlou, the site where St. Paul preached in Veria. According to historical resources, Paul the Apostle had visited Veria at least twice between 50 AD and 57 AD in order to teach the life of Jesus to the people of the region. The Apostle of the Nations was warmly welcomed since his first visit and his preaching had a great impact on the Verians and the Jews. This monument was constructed to honor his preaching here.
Today we learned about the tragic accident suffered by Jeannette Johnson, wife of Early Music Hawaii’s Ian Capps, who is fighting for her life after being crushed by her car in the guest parking. Ian credited the incredible people at Queen’s Trauma Center for keeping her alive after three surgeries so far, with another one tomorrow. However she is still critical as they repair her ribs and much more.
We send healing thoughts and pray for her recovery.
Thank you Kathy for these wonderful descriptions and pictures from one my earliest beloved countries. I was most interested in the icon artistry. As an 18 year old, I was given a diamonitirion “passport” to spend ten days walking from monastery to monastery on Mount Athos. Besides monasteries, there also skitis or mini villages of the devout. One such was called “The Holy Paintinghouse of the Sons of Daniel” where they copied the finest icons to sell to Orthodox churches all around the world, earning big money for the individual monasteries.