We couldn't leave the Greek mainland without visiting Delphi, a site of the famous Oracle. The Oracle at Delphi, also called Pythia or sometimes Sybil, was the most important oracle in Greece, giving advice and prophecies to kings and influencing greatly the events of the ancient world. The Oracle was at the Temple of Apollo, the ruins of which are the most prominent feature of present-day Delphi's archeological site.
The broad path that goes around the Temple of Apollo, through the ruins of Delphi, to the very top of the hill, is called the Sacred Way. It used to be a busy place, full of various buildings and markets. There were special Treasuries, built by various Greek city-states to celebrate victories in battles and to thank the oracle for her prophecies. The most significant is the restored Treasury of Athens that commemorates the victory of the famous Battle of Marathon.
Nearby, the Sybil's rock can be found where it is said that the oracle was giving her prophecies.
Pythia may have had her visions while sitting on a special cauldron, found in the Delphi museum.
The Delphi museum hosts many other fascinating finds including many perfectly preserved sculptures that used to decorate the Sacred Way in the ancient times.
The archeological site and the museum of Delphi were fascinating to explore!
***
Our last meal in Athens was at Daphne's. This popular restaurant in Plaka features excellent authentic Greek cuisine and boasts to have hosted various political leaders including Bill and Hilary Clinton. Daphne's is located in a charming 19th century townhouse, beautifully restored and decorated with fresco paintings. The outside sitting area is lovely, enclosed in a garden with grape vines overhead.
We started our meal with freshly baked rolls, still hot, just from the oven, accompanied by a delicious Kalamata olive tapenade.
We shared two mezes around the table. First, we tried Shrimp Saganaki, a classic Greek dish of baked shrimp with tomato-based sauce and feta cheese topping prepared in a special "saganaki" skillet. The shrimp were perfectly succulent in this preparation.
My daughter chose our second meze, Boureki, deep-fried phyllo pastries stuffed with eggplant and blue cheese. The combination of the crispy fried phyllo, smoky eggplant, and sharp blue cheese was amazing!
Next, we tried Fricassee of Lamb with greens, a specialty of the restaurant. The melt-off-the-bone braised lamb was excellent.
We also had Rabbit in Mavrodaphne sauce which was amazingly tender and delicious.
For our dessert, we shared a sampler of traditional Greek pastries, including Baklava, Kaitafi, and custard-filled sweet Boureki. The scrumptious pastries were accompanied by Masticha-flavored ice-cream. Masticha is a sweet liqueur produced from the root of the mastic tree which is native to the island of Chios. It has a very distinct unique taste, perhaps a little similar to licorice. The ice-cream with masticha was excellent, and we also had a chance to try the Masticha liqueur itself at the end of our meal.
Our dinner at Daphne's was lovely and provided a very pleasant last evening in Athens.
***
In the next few Summer Trip 2010 stories, I will post about our Greek island experience in Crete!
