What is the oldest most ancient site you have ever visited? Did you get goosebumps being there? Did you experience anything mystical?

I think I told you long ago that my dad lived on the island of Crete for several years before he and his parents came to America. They escaped from the Turkish attempted annihilation of the Armenian population and fled to Crete. That is where a delicious cheese "Halloumi" is made and I think that was also the location of the movie ZORBA THE GREEK. Did you get goosebumps D? Just thinking about it makes me giddy! I mean you might have walked on the same paths when you were there as my dad did many decades ago. Thank you for your reply and Happy Monday to you! :) ((hugs))

Who I live with use to have a home on the Akrotiri in that part of Crete and not that far from Stavros Bay where   Zorba the Greek was filmed...
.I've spent so much time swiming in that bay ,in my late teens and up  until around 2014 when we last went there and the real start of Greeces money troubles...
I was there when they had horrendous storms and minor earthquakes to....parts of old Chaina boat yards collapsed in the harbour ...We were in a restaurant on the harbour front and men were firing Kalashnikov machine guns into the water on New Years Eve.....It was the year when the Indian Ocean Tsuami happened Boxing Day that year... We actually watched it happen on the big Tv in the place where we were having coffee. 
I know that whole area of Crete really well...

I dunno what's up with me and thee D but every time you speak of your experiences on Crete I get goosebumps. I truly do. Because YOU are the only connection I have to where my dad lived many more decades ago than you have been alive. And yet there it is. I often wonder what the "odds" are of things. Happenstance chance serendipity coincidence? Or fate? Many years between our generations D but here we are peer to peer living in different countries but with a bond that is very strong from my point of view. I always seek connections between seemingly disparate things. Seldom find them though it doesn't mean they aren't there. It just means I haven't figured it out yet! Thank you for your informative and exceedingly helpful reply. I know of no one else who can talk to me about Crete but thee. ((hugs))

There is a Greek Monastery on the way to Chania airport...You can stop and visit it and drive up the mountain further and once up the top walk down God knows how far to the beach...A short way down is and open huge cave which is also part of the church ....it's as old as the hills its self to...
On the drive up to this place on the right hand side of the road is an olive tree that is hundreds of years old and still growing olives....The tree is rotted out in the space ter of the trunk an I think up to ten slim people could stand in the tree not squashed..
Chania city around the harbour is beautiful ,but just walking along the pavements is so dangerous...they have various short railing that are lower than my knees....if someone nudges you ,you can easilly fall over them into the path of passing cars...
There was a Greek wedding held close to Souda Bay harbour....They fire their machine guns into the air at events like weddings...one falling bullet hit the bride in her back and paralysed her....her new husband was never seen again..
A friend of my dads dad was walking down a street market in Tripoli during the Second World War when he bumped into someone he thought her knew.....it was his brother who he hadn't seen in 4/5 years....
Ive been to France on a booze run and heard  a friend  talking in the next isle of their Hypermarkets..

Do any of us ever know who we know or is famous is standing near us.... 

I cahn't stend it D! In a very good way. It's so mysterious and magical. Your words describing your own experiences so many decades after my dad passed away. He died in January 1960 at the age of 54. You know the thought that crossed my mind? What I'd give to have you and him chat about Crete as I sat by and listened. I know there is no possible way that could ever happen but still that has never stopped me from imagining before so it won't now. I thank you so much for taking the time to envelop me in an experience we can only share in our minds. If there is a hereafter I'd love for my dad to be looking over my shoulder reading your words. Maybe in some other universe/plane of existence such things ARE possible! I am so lucky to have you in my life. I kid you not. I've always regretted not asking my dad about his life prior to marrying my mom. Too soon old too late schmart! ((hugs)) As for your final question here's my experience. I worked at an architectural firm Flewelling Moody and Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler was rarely there. Turns out he was a very busy ART DIRECTOR on a bazillion EXCELLENT films I loved. LYLE WHEELER by name. I did not know then when I met him who he was. Now I get so excited every time I see his name. I wish I'd known but well I didn't so I blew it. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is aggravating annoying and disappointing! Especially when it's too late to do anything about it! :( This post was edited by RosieG at April 27, 2020 10:05 AM MDT

There is a place in Crete on the other side of Chaina called the Samariá Gorge...next to the Gorge is a dark grey granite mountain rising high out of the ground....to its left there is a 16 kilometres walk down to the sea ably excessible by foot or donkey ,once you hit the bottom ,you can only get back to where you started by boat and then bus ...

On the way up to the Gorge is a memorial  and it's of American solders I think the place was called Omalos and it was were the Germans killed all the Crete men,women and children in the village.. 
The views driving up to the gorge are breath taking Rosie...  Plenty of places to stop and get some halloumi cheese and molten Chese pies...  

Geez D! how lovely a picture you paint with your words. It's like receiving a postcard from you as you adventure your way each day. Crete is not that large an island so it is perfectly reasonable and logical for me to see your following paths my dad followed very long ago. Oh. Here's something I experienced just FYI. We visited Old School when he was living in San Pedro years ago and walked along a path overlooking the ocean. I got such a DEJA VIEW feeling as we did that it almost knocked me down. Why? Because I flashed back to my childhood and remembered that I had walked that very same path as a kid with my folks when we were there in San Pedro having visited relatives! It was an experience I will never forget. The very same path separated by decades! I walked it as a little girl and then again as an older woman. Thank you once again for your kind sharing of your experiences vis a vis Crete. Very nifty for me m'dear. Happy Tuesday to thee and thine D! :) ((hugs))

Checkout  a large town called Rethimno/Rethymnon on the north side if Crete Rosie...the roads are all black granite blocks as are the curbs and pavements...it's so beautiful and myth like old London use to be..lt here is the most beautiful smallish harbour there as well 
land  its  just amazing to wander around.....
Another place is called Kissamoss...it's east if Chaina/Hania...it's a Port to ,but its famous for its televised music and street dancing..
I love Zorbas dance and something called The Olive Grove.....Try and find it on Ytube Rosie , I'm sure you will love it and just float away in your dreams just listening to it...    

That is quite a list of things/places to check out honey for which I thank you. I wish I could repay you for the kindness and pleasure you've provided to me. Sharing your experiences is a splendid thing to do. Thank you. Oh I know. My favorite line from the movie Yankee Doodle Dandy with James Cagngy...
"My father thanks you my mother thanks you my sister thanks you and I thank you". Especially my dad wherever he is thanks you! :)

There is a place called Souda Bay near Chaina/Hania....it's the huge bay right next to the airport.....

In one of the most violent storms I've ever witnessed,I went up on top of our flat roof and watched three storms in three different directions with the awesome dis'plays of violent lightning strikes I've ever seen...
we hears the next day the in the Main Street of Souda that was sloped down to the bay....Flash floods fron the mountains washed every vechicles into the sea 
Souda bay they say is the biggest natural harbour in the world...
Their is also a huge  American army base on the left side of the Bay and an American memorial cemetrey for the war dead on the right hand port side....

Its a two way tiny winding road about 3-4 miles from top to the bottom....two lorries can just about pass each other if they are careful....you cannot believe how the Cretans drive....there are so many horricfic crashes and vechiles going over the edge....nigh on every county road there are little church type boxes that the families buy and place where their family members have died... 

How long has it been since you visited Crete D? It seems to be so much a part of you and you a part of it. Are you more attached to Crete than to other places you've traveled? Is there an ambiance to the place that is found only there and nowhere else? I read the words describing your knowledge of and experience with being there. It's better than a travelogue! Methinks you might have missed your calling. There is a TV show with a man named Rick Steves who takes you everywhere in the world and is so good at making you feel you are traveling with him. Arm chair traveler. That's me. And people like him are a portal to parts unknown. Do you love to travel as much as you love to be at home? Thank you for your reply D! :)

Life is strange Rosie and full of little weird unexplainable quirks I find...this morning after typing my last response to this message ...on my phone in Google was a would news thing pop up below another daft thing Trump is proposing to do in America...I didn't read what trump was doing ,but underneath was a big thing a out Crete and Germany attacking during the war....it touched on the village I spoke of called Omalos ...and how the Germans executed every one in that and many other villages....
5000 Cretan Parisians kept  80.000 German troops occupied and the never got to beat them....
2014 was the last time we were there...we want to go again ,but it wont be this year and maybe not next year if this virus thing is still not sorted...
We were fond of many beaches and there was always some one on them near selling food and drinks...
There is a place callled  the Blue Beach and a youngish French lady called Malika built a home and kind of restaurant out of drift wood and old pallet's....  My dads friend ,a BBC camera man first met her before she built her home there....he was just sitting on the beach one day and she came out of the sea naked and gave him a beer from her cool box on the beach and sat there just chatting to him..that was about 600 yards from Zorbas beach and it was where all the stone was quarried to build Chaina .
Id love to be with Sir David Attenborough when he was younger and use to flit about the world...he's seen more of life on this planet than any other person and to this day shows no signs of being aggressive in any way...He and others like him should be world leaders and not like the half wits that think they own us now..
We use to go to other Greek islands ...we actually drove there once to....

I wonder D if I can possibly communicate to you what you are doing for me with these chats about Crete? Sometimes Jim and I unplug and "run away" to a TV station, TCM (Turner Classic Movies) where there are no commercials. We watch movies we've never seen before or favorites we enjoyed before and we are in a different world. It's a respite from reality. Well so are our latest conversation threads about Crete. Seriously I can't think of a better way to escape the madness crackpot wackadoodlenoodle jacka** Pumpkina** than being elsewhere in other times talking about a reality far removed from the one we live. Thank you again. It brings me closer to my father because I know or like/want to believe that some of the places you speak so fondly of he must have been. At least I'd like to think so. It's like being very thirsty and being given a large class of delicious pure water. Refreshing is an understatement. I know of your admiration for Sir David. I remember when you first brought him to my attention years ago I thought you were talking about Richard. But then I think I must have seen one of Sir David's productions and knew of whom you spoke. I agree wholeheartedly with thee. Why can't we have politicians who are honorable honest caring insightful? Would it break some unwritten law? Anyway my friend take care and stay safe and keep the memories coming. I'm loving it! Happy Wednesday to thee D! :) ((hugs)) Oh. Gotta ask a question based on your question! Kudos. It's a very good one! This post was edited by RosieG at April 29, 2020 4:26 AM MDT

My dads camera mans friend that's now dead I'm afraind ,said the Greeks and French were the best film makes ever....
It you can find it try and see the French old B/w 4 hour long film 1932 Les Misérables version of it....I've seen it just once and on BBC tv here when I was maybe ten or twelve years old...I was the most memorable wonderful film I've ever seen and it's effected me in a good way all my life....I can almost still remember ever single second of the film from the most horiffic parts to the parts overwhelming kindness ....the ending made the whole film so meaning full to me and it would spoil it if I told you ...have been trying  to get a copy of my own for years now with no success ...all the remakes come no where near it...I thing that reading the subtitles was like reading a book and  it just imprints in your head more instantly and forever in my case....
There is a film called Captains Couragous with Spencer Tracy and Freddie Batholomow....there are parts in it which make me so happy and two parts I just can't watch any more....I sob uncontrollably the second those part begin to show...
So often ,I just have to run from the room......
There a part in the film Casablanca where they stand and sing the French national anthem and the Germans are trying to out sing them ....another such memorable moment in a film and I think the French anthem must be the most patriotic emotional stirring song or music ever.....
So often it's the tiniest things in life that are so more meaning full....
Did you ever see the John Wayne film....Sheperd of the Hills....it's old and one of his first films I believe...
Totally enthralling to watch though...
America use to make good films.   Last of the Mohicans and Dances with Wolves can only come to mind 
I find is quite upsetting with how it's now all about such extreme graturitious stupid violence and every word uttered involves swearing ....it paints a poor picture to the world of what America is like....
Have you seen the film " Fly away home " or another Scotish on called "A Shine of Rainbows" ...I'm sure you will love both...xx

The movies we make reflect the people we are. We used to be much kinder nicer more loving. Now hate is the centerpiece of every extreme right-wing conservative FASCIST racist group worldwide. The "leaders" are all (almost all) extreme right-wing FASCIST RACIST haters. How could you expect anything good or positive or kind to be born out of that? So we don't go to movies any more because they don't make any that are worth seeing methinks. Ugly hateful racist. You won't find a "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" or "Singin' in the Rain" or "Tale of Two Cities" or "To Kill a Mockingbird" or "Miracle on 34th Street". Joyful has become extinct. Anything with heart or soul or truth is ignored. A "good" person is not worth knowing so why write about them? Ever hear of or see the movie "The Boy with the Green Hair". It was about celebrating being different. Movies, even the most lighthearted ones, usually had some kind of underlying point. Today it's sex drugs rock and roll and hate is great..the more the better. Different strokes. Any millions of people who can adore support protect a man like Pumpkina** are themselves part of the problem. Why the change and when snuck up on me. I'm going to ask a question about it. Some of the films you mention are unknown to me. I fell in love with Humphrey Bogart when I was 3 and I never been unfaithful to him. I liked "this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship". I adore anything he is in and always will. In the movie Schindler's list the most heartbreak scene for me was the one where a very long table is loaded with the belongings of the people who owned them and were annihilated. That said it all. There has always been ugly in some humans but today it astonishes how deep and wide and intense the ugly is. Will it get better before I die? I don't think so. Will it ever get better? I don't know but I hope so. Thank you for your thoughtful reply and the info about those movies. The funniest movie I've ever seen was many decades ago..it was in French and so it was dubbed or had subtitles. "RABBI JACOB". Hilarious. Nothing unfunny or mean in the entire movie which would never fly today. Ugly is what sells laced by hate. SIGH. :(

As I mentioned above to another mugger I get giddy when I think of all the human beings who walked those same roads and lived during earlier times. There is a presence there one cannot possibly experience in the new bright and shiny of today. There was a local museum I visited when I was a kid with our class. SOUTHWEST MUSEUM. I entered it along with the other kids and I was overwhelmed by the clothing and artifacts on display. I had to leave and go outside. It was that unsettling. I guess the mind plays tricks or maybe some of us are more in tune with what we cannot see or hear. We just feel it. Thank you for your reply kj and Happy Monday! STAY SAFE! :)

Happy Monday to you to Rosie, I hope all is well under these unprecedented circumstances.

You know  kj we are doing remarkably well. For starters we're retired. Our "kids" are grown. We don't have all the worries and hardships so many are facing. We are in the high-risk group agewise so we try to be very careful and follow the strict guidelines ordered by our very smart Governor. So far so good though every day the cases and deaths mount. It is a tragedy that has an end I suppose though when that will occur I have no idea. I hope you and yours are "safe" as safe can be. Fingers crossed it will be over one day. SIGH. Thank you for your reply and Happy Tuesday m'dear! :)

Glad to hear you and hubby safe. :)