the garlic gods

 

“One rule in life,” he murmured to himself.

“If you can smell garlic, everything is all right.”

 

~ J.G. Ballard ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from a photo taken in Crete in October 1992.

---

© 2022 nightpoet – all rights reserved

---

BITS AND SNIPPETS

 

“A man’s interest in the world is only

an overflow from his interest in himself.”

 

~ George Bernard Shaw ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from a photo taken in the Palace of Knossos, Heraklion, Crete, in October 1992.

---

© 2021 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

ONCE AGAIN

 

“Ever has it been that love knows not its own depth

until the hour of separation.”

 

~ Kahlil Gibran ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken in Rethimno, Crete in October 1992.

---

© 2017 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

THE EDGE OF FOREVER

 

“Dream as if you’ll live forever. Live as if you’ll die today.”

 

~ James Dean ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken in Santorini in 1992.

---

© 2017 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

SECRETS

 

“The world was full of locked doors,

and he had to get his hand on every key.”

 

~ Orson Scott Card ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken in Rethimno, Crete in October 1992.

---

© 2016 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

FADE AWAY

 

“Imperialism or globalization –

I don’t have to care what it’s called to hate it.”

 

~ Bill Ayers ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken in Crete in October 1992.

---

© 2016 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

SAFELY SACRED

 

“…it begins with isolation –

demons always inhabit desolate places…”

 

~ John Geddes ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken at Matala, Crete in October 1992.

---

© 2016 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

BOUSTROPHEDON

 

~ Greek: βουστροφηδόν; from βοῦς, bous, “ox”

and στροφή, strophē, “turn,”,

connoting the way an ox ploughs a field.~

 

 

 

Photo of the Gortyn Code Of Law (ca. 500 BCE) written in the boustrophedon form on the Wall Of Inscriptions in Knossos taken in Crete in October 1992.

---

© 2016 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

THE DISEASE

 

“The contemplation of celestial things will make a man

both speak and think more sublimely and magnificently

when he descends to human affairs.”

 

~ Marcus Tullius Cicero ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken in Crete in October 1992.

---

© 2016 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

THE PATH

 

“May the bridges I burn light the way.”

 

~ Anonymous ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken in Crete in October 1992.

---

© 2016 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

THE CURIOUS KITTEN

 

“Curiosity is lying in wait for every secret.”

 

Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken in Crete in October 1992.

---

© 2016 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

THE GARLIC GODS

 

“One rule in life,” he murmured to himself.

“If you can smell garlic, everything is all right.”

 

~ J.G. Ballard ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken in Crete in October 1992.

---

© 2016 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

MATALA

 

“I remain convinced that there is no reward,

no continuance on the ‘other side,’

no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,

there is no ‘other side,’ only a cold, colourless

nothing…”

 

~ nightpoet ~

 

Digitally enhanced image created from an original photo taken from inside one of the caves on the beach at Matala, Crete in October 1992.

---

© 2016 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

BEWARE ULYSSES, BEWARE

 

Is it the singer or the song…?

 

Photo taken in the Mediterranean between Crete and Santorini in October 1992.

---

********************************

© 2014 nightpoet all rights reserved

---

THE CATS OF CRETE

 

When I was in my early forties I was in a relationship with a lovely lady who was a doctor of internal medicine and who worked long hard shifts out in a hospital up in the mountains.  Because her work was stressful and demanding she really had high standards for the times when she could get away from her daily routine. To leave the long hours and the stress behind she liked her vacations to be well organized, interesting and enhanced with good local cuisine. Since my job was also stress-filled and these were exactly the same criteria that I deemed important for enjoying time off, we made a good traveling team. In our time together our vacations were always great excursions into history, nature, culture and above all good food and drink.

In October of 1992 we flew to Crete for a two week stay in Chania, a small town on Crete’s northern coast. We had a rental car for part of the time that we were there and undertook several excursions, driving along the coast to Heraklion, up into the White Mountains and across the island to the southern coast, and we also made a trip by ferry across the Sea of Crete to the island of Santorini. One of the things both of us were really looking forward to was a visit to the “Palace of Knossos,” which is located near Heraklion. This Bronze Age complex was the cultural and religious center of the Minoan Civilzation and was excavated and unfortunately atrociously restored by Sir Arthur Evans at the beginning of the 20th century. The site, with its dubious restorations, is a basically a tourist trap, a Minoan Disneyland and, although a must visit on most people’s bucket lists, was a big letdown. The Archaeological Museum in Heraklion was a much better investment of our time, even considering that I don’t usually enjoy museums. If one has the time to explore there are many other more interesting archaeological sites on the island to visit. In an earlier post here on the blog (https://nitepoetry.wordpress.com/2014/03/11/an-archaeological-moment-the-mystery-of-thera/) I talked about Santorini (Thera) and its history. Taking the ferry out to the island was an incredible experience and exploring its history and culture was something I had longed to do for many years. I can highly recommend a visit there to everyone.

Chania, where we had booked an apartment, was touristy but not unbearably so. It had a nice beach and if you knew where to look, fairly good restaurants. Crete is a desolately beautiful island that, like the Greek mainland and the Aegean islands, transports you back through the eons. The only things that disappointed me were Knossos and the tzaziki, which was not as garlicky or strong tasting as I would have preferred. And as we wandered around Chania, Heraklion and Rethimnon I couldn’t help but enjoy the island’s cats, who seemed to have license to roam free wherever they pleased. And that is really the purpose of this post, to share three photos of the carefree cats of Crete. Like cats everywhere, they didn’t let anything get in the way of taking care of their cat’s business…

Hidden away in a small side alley in a beautiful shady garden, this noble cat surveys its realm. Photo taken with an analog Minolta camera in October 1992 in Crete.

---

Here, in a store, a cat catnaps, oblivious to the shoppers wandering by. Photo taken with an analog Minolta camera in October 1992 in Crete.

---

Keeping a watchful eye out for tidbits and proffered snacks, this cat was a fixture in one of the open air restaurants. Photo taken with an analog Minolta camera in October 1992 in Crete.

---

Yours truly on the island of Santorini (Thera) in October 1992, when I was still relatively young, strong, tan and pursuing my dreams. Photo taken with an analog Minolta camera.

---

********************************

© 2014 nightpoet all rights reserved

---