There was a cave, a church and a park. Part of the church was in the cave although they had different entrances. Apparently we were going to see them all but only one was truly mind-blowing. I entered the cave with the deepest respect.
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It was not only the size of it, that awe struck me, neither its natural beauty. It was its huge history. This very cave was inhabited even from the stone age! Imagine that. Walking in the shelter of prehistoric humans, thousands of years ago!
A friend from Australia once told me:
You guys live among a ridiculous amount of history!
And she was right!
Ancient Greeks used it as a place of worship for the gods Dionysus and Pan. The most "naughty" gods of antiquity I might add! The orgiastic celebrations that took place here in honour of those gods, were filled with lots of music and unlimited quantities of wine! It was the ancient way of combining religion with party time :)
Then christianity came with less broad-minded morals and a church was made on the cold ashes of ancient parties :)
Nevertheless it's an interesting temple as it is half in the cave and the other half built out of it.
In front of the cave, there used to be running water and a recreational area with a bridge was made. The bridge is still there as well as the trees around it but the water is gone. The last few years the river bed is dry and the scenic scenery that was described to me, totally altered.
It is still a pleasant place to visit but the lack of water is deafening! At least there are a lot of flower pots around the church!
The leafless trees are normal for this time of the year and I have already made a mental note to come back in the summer and sit under their thick shade but I just couldn't get over the sight of the dry riverbed. I guess that's the price we have to pay and we will keep paying for the unusually mild winters and the endless days of sunshine all year long.
Anyway I could always look up and avoid the unpleasant effects of drought. At least as long as the trees manage to handle it and stay healthy and kicking!
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
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