Inspired Gifts that help! for Holiday 2010

Want some ideas that are

unique...useful...inspiring

and whose proceeds help to erase world poverty?

BRACELETS: brought to you by Same Sky, a trade-not-aid initiative in Rwanda http://www.samesky.com/

These beautiful glass bead bracelets, made by HIV-positive women artisans in Rwanda, are sported by Halle Berry and Alicai Keys. Check them out:

They start at $145 apiece and SameSky is offering FREE SHIPPING through the end of December!

Here's the full range of Glass Bracelets:

http://samesky.myshopify.com/collections/glass-bead-bracelets

For a splurge, combine them, in "south pacific" or "c'est la vie"... here, check it out:

http://samesky.myshopify.com/collections/winning-combinations

They also offer Fabric Wraps, for only around $30-- perfect for those college gals we know!

Here's the full range of Fabric Wraps:

http://samesky.myshopify.com/collections/fabric-wraps

BUY A BRACELET TODAY... HELP A WOMAN SEE A BETTER TOMORROW!

"AMEN" PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE BEAUTIFUL GAME: brought to you by Jessica Hillout

You can purchase coffee-table books, posters, notecards, or prints! They make great gifts for any soccer lover on your list, and the shots- from Ghana to South Africa and the Ivory Coast- are stunning! Here, take a look:

Jessica's entire repertoire can be found at http://www.jessicahilltout.com/

Her mission is see joy and beauty where others may see only deprivation, and to capture the strength of the human spirit!

Products cost as little as $20 and much of her proceeds she funnels back into these rural communities. It's easy to order-- just click open this page:

http://www.jessicahilltout.com/order.html

DONATE TO A PARTICULAR PERSON IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD:

brought to you by Grameen Foundation.

http://grameenfoundation.org/who-we-are

You can pick an Mom, a Farmer, an Entrepreneur.... from whichever group is closer to your heart.

Or choose someone from a region of the globe you'd like to help, like Latin America!

Grameen was founded by Nobel-Prize-winner Mohammed Yunus, whose work in Bangladesh has spread all over the globe since the 1970s and changed millions of lives!

It's a gift that goes directly to a person in need, while it honors someone you love here at home, and you can do it for as little as $35. Once your gift is finalized, you will be able to personalize and send an e-card. You can also print a certificate for your loved one, letting them know a gift was made in their honor.

This is not a tangible item, but one which may bring the greatest warmth to your holiday 2010!

Just go to

http://grameenfoundation.org/holiday to get started!

Happy Holidays from Tough Love Travel!

GREEK LORE: the Colossus of Rhodes

The Colossus of Rhodes, one of the 7 Ancient Wonders of the World, is shrouded in mystery.

It’s usually envisioned as a large man, often straddling the harbor entrance of Rhodes Town, this northernmost city on the Greek Island of Rhodes (pronounced by local guides as Rho-does). But what’s the real story?

The island of Rhodes had been a key commercial trading partner in the Mediterranean since 5000 BC and a big player in the regional politics (in fact, Lindos, one of the original 3 ancient cities on the island, actually sent an army to fight in the legendary Battle of Troy). Around 1500 BC, the cities decided to capitalize on this strength, and build a common colony for trade. They located this capital at the northernmost end and called it Rhodes Town.

In 408BC, Rhodes decided to intervene in conflict between their good friend, Egypt, and Syria. The Syrians didn’t like this and came to attack Rhodes. They eventually lost and were sent home, but not before Rhodes confiscated all their armor and weaponry.

All this metal was given to a craftsman to create a victory statue: The Colossus of Rhodes.

Taking 12 years to build, the Colossus had a proud but brief life, standing for only 50-90 years over Rhodes Town before being tumbled by a massive earthquake.

The Colossus was allowed to rest in disarray, by order of the Oracle of Delphi

(who's this Oracle of Delphi? go to http://toughlovetravel.blogspot.com/2010/11/delphi-omphalos-of-greek-world.html)

until more than 2 centuries later when the Syrians, once again in control of the island for a short decade, repossessed their metal and sold it all for scrap.

That is why no remains of the Colossus exist today.

But what did it look like?

Sketches show that it was shaped like a giant, and functioned as a lighthouse.

It seems to be modeled somewhat after the giant lighthouse of Alexandria Egypt, and plans collaborate this lighthouse theory since Colossus had oil lines to pump fuel up to the top, to burn a flame.

Where was it located?

Unlike popular myth which shows the Colossus straddling the harbor, historic fact shows that this was impossible -- today’s harbor, designed in recent years by the Italians, did not even exist in 400BC. This is the entrance to today's harbor:

Being a lighthouse, itwould have been showcased somewhere close to the sea, to intimidate attackers and aid navigation. But it was not likely AT the seas’s edge, since if the earthquake tumbled it into the sea, the saltwater would have corroded the metal and made its recovery too difficult with BC technology.

How can we best imagine it?

Sketches made around the 14^th century show an amazing resemblance to our own Statue of Liberty. In fact, the Colossus is held up as the most important prototype for Bartholdi's "Lady".

I made a short roadtrip to check this out, and sure enough, there is a dedication to the “Little Colossus” displayed in the first story of our Lady. (when you go, book tickets in advance at http://www.statuecruises.com/ and take advantage of the audio tour!)

Here is what it says: " THE NEW COLOSSUS Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, with conquering limbs astride from land to land, here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand a might woman with a torch..."

What else can you do on Rhodes?

We ate fresh figs sold by a local housewife off her stoop, listened to stories of Knights reminiscent of the Divinci Code, and wandered the labyrinth of streets (Fun Fact: did you know that medieval cities were always built in a maze to protect them from enemies, and the only open squares you will find are examples of modern redesign and rebuilding following the frequent earthquakes which devastated the island).

We drove down to ancient Lindos and walked up the 2300 steps to the Acropolis. Fun Fact: Acro is greek word meaning “on the edge”, and Polis is greek for “city”, and this Acropolis is certainly a city on the edge of a cliff!

Peering out over the sapphire Mediterranean, I imagined John the Baptist fleeing the Romans in his sailboat (Fun Fact: John escaped certain death by tucking into a tiny harbor hidden beneath the Acropolis here on this island, that is still called the Port of St John)

We paid 4euro per person to sit on a gorgeous but terribly crowded stretch of beach, where we lunched on grilled fish at Mertemi, or “Big Wind”.

And we visited a potter, one of only 8 commercial artists left for this historic but dying craft on this storied island.

Raki vs Ouzo... get your spirits straight!

Raki vs Ouzo! Can you tell them apart?

Both are anise, or licorice, flavored liqueurs. Both are delicacies of the eastern Mediterranean. And both are most often served with white cheeses and other cold dishes, called "mezes", like tomatoes, fava beans, roasted chick peas, salted almonds, mackerel and other seafoods.

Past flavor and custom, though, they are not the same.

Raki is a Turkish staple rooted in centuries past, but popular for some 300 years! Originally called arak, it is known to treat every ailment from toothache to depression to appendicitis and anxiety. It is flavored with anise but it much stronger (they say it can reach up to 90 % alcohol!). So, the mere concentration of spirit seems to strip the aromatic appeal you'd expect from anise, and instead, Raki goes down more like gasoline.

I tried it on the island of Crete (a Greek island, yes, but on the far eastern side, close to the Turkish territory) but you can find it throughout the Balkan and larger eastern Mediterranean region, all hours of the day and night. We tried it at 9 in the morning!

It is made from the "tailings" of wine production. The residual skin and pulp is boiled up to produce a steam, that, when condensed, becomes this revered apertif.

Ouzo, on the other hand, is Greek! It is the descendent of Raki, and is related to other European anise drinks, like sambucca for the Italians or pastis for the French. Ouzo, though, is acknowledged to be exclusively of Greek origin with deep roots going back to Hippocrates' medical work. In modern times, ouzo is a certified as an exclusive Greek product for marketing purposes, and has become the quintessential Greek tradition!

In the Greek isles, ouzo is typically taken an hour before sunset, served in a skinny tall glass, alongside a glass of water. When you mix the two, the anise seed in the drink turns it a milky white. Its licorice scent, lighter alcohol (35-45%), and cheap price, make it a legendary Greek favorite.

Want to taste the favorite Ouzo? Visit the Aegean island of Lesvos!

DELPHI: the Omphalos of the Greek world

Delphi is perched high on the hillsides of Parnassus, surrounded by deep crevasses and olive groves, some 180 km north of Athens.

It is now a complex of ruins, but was conceived about 2600 years ago as a glorious temple for the Oracles, to make decisions, hold councils, and talk philosophy, here overlooking Gulf of Corinth on the Ionian Sea

-- right in the middle of Greece, where north and south peninsulas meet. It was literally the belly button, or "omphalos", of the ancient Greek world.

The archeology park starts at the marketplace.

The small stone-walled shops and plain doric, rather than fluted, columns indicate that this section was an add-on-- built around 200 AD in a roman rather than greek design, where the omnipresent sign of the cross signified that Christianity was here to stay!

The road, or Sacred Way, winds uphill through 100 or more treasury houses. The treasury houses were the product of Delphi's growing international significance, as the Oracles advice played large roles in colonizing Italy and Asia Minor. It was a period of prosperity, and many countries -- including the Thebans, the Corinthians, and the Syracusans -- built treasury homes here. The most famous is the Treasury of Athens, although all were chock full of precious gifts and jewels in the 7th and 8th century.

Nearing the road's crest is the original site of a huge bronze serpentine column, called the Tripod of Plataea, made to commemorate the Greek's victory over the Persians. Removed by Constantinople in Roman times, it currently presides over modern day Istanbul's hippodrome. It originally was covered in metal, and adorned with a golden bowl supported by 3 serpents heads. Virtually all of this decoration was destroyed during the Crusades and the Ottoman conquest (one of the bowls is at Istanbul's Archeology Museum), or removed to make coins, but the basic serpentine column can still be seen today, though not at Delphi.

The main attraction at Delphi is the Temple of Apollo, who, in greek lore, came to the port below as a blue dolphin.

This was THE destination -- where Kings, Generals, and ordinary citizens would journey, to cleanse themselves in the waters of nearby Kastalia Spring, pay a tax and often sacrifice an animal on Apollo's altar, before seeking wisdom from the Oracles.

Higher still is the 5000-seat amphitheater, and at the top, through a lane of tall pines, is the stadium. Supposedly, there was originally a hippodrome here at the very top, but no ruins have been found.

Of course, many of the most remarkable pieces are protected today in the Delphi Museum, including the site's most famous piece, the Charioteer. It is a larger-than-life bronze statue that is whole, although only parts of the actual chariot ensemble remain. It is so well preserved the hair still is detailed, curling against the statue neck! It is the only remaining bronze from this site, because it was lucky enough to have fallen and been buried, and thus rescued from pilfering. Even the eyes, pure onyx discs, are original!

Decorating the site were countless statues and friezes.

Males, aspiring to be athletic specimens, were shown nude (in fact, the word gymnasium means "nude" because it is where the nude Olympians would come to train and compete.)

A famous pair of nude Twins, kouroi statues sent as a gift from King Hera of Egypt, illustrate a remarkable difference in style: Egyptian bodies were blockier, positioned with the left foot in front, and with long hair or headdresses,

whereas the Greek bodies were more life-like, with softer faces, prettier stances, and curly locks of hair.

If you see a male statue from this period draped in robes, he is likely a philosopher.

And females of this period-- often the sibyls, or enlightened advisors to the Oracles -- were shown never nude, but instead robed and with sweet faces.

There are caryatids (careful inspection shows holes in the hair where crowns and necklaces once adorned these stone beauties)

and sphinx from Naxos that's over 2.3 meters high.

Collected inside the museum are lavish gifts from the ruler of Phoenicia, current day Lebanon. These treasures include gold crowns and chains which often decorated the girl statues (as above), and a huge and wildly precious bull statue, laced in silver with golden horns and yoke.

And, of course, there is a marble Omphalos.

As you drive away from Delphi, you can't help but feel enthusiastic, for, as etymology suggests, En means "in", and Thu means "God", so enthusiasm means to have God in you -- a just sensation from this once holiest site in all of Greece.