Searching the map for unexplored places is my favourite game even though it's getting harder and harder as these are running out but it never seizes to excite me. Fancy following me around some old and older ruins? Let's go!
After a route that included a few rather easy km on gravel I arrive at my first target. The following pictures give you an idea about the route:
The only challenge you face if you arrive there by car is that you might scratch its paint as there's a few points that the bushes have conquered the road but I don't care about mine so all good. I get the first view of my target and I'm already intrigued to see what is what as I only see a rock but no tower:
As I start hiking up I start seeing a bit of its stone wall, kinda funny as it gives a shape as if the rock is pointing an index finger to the sky:
As usual the pictures don't tell the truth about the size, it looks more impressive in real and I make my way up stepping on broken pieces of those boulders:
From up there my car already looks like a kid toy down there:
What is no kid toy by any stretch of imagination is the rock itself with the leftovers of the stone tower on top:
You can't find much information about this tower except only that it's named "Tzepa" (no idea how come or if/what it means) and it was built sometime around 11-14th A.C. when there used to be a settlement there during the years of the Byzantine Empire. Let's have a look at it from more angles:
That burnt cut tree standing there catches my eye:
Oddly enough I see several cuts from a chainsaw at its bottom but the guy(s) who did it for some reason didn't finish the job:
Fortunately the elements of nature didn't finish their job either so we can still see part of that tower:
I'm glad to see a rope there that a good Samaritan has left to help others climb up:
However, as I pull the rope it feels too elastic to my hands, it's too windy (check the video later) and this thing is totally vertical so I decide to chicken out. One mistake there and you crash on rocks unable to share your story.
The view is stunning though even from the base of this rock - here's a look around:
As I start making my way down I spot a herd of sheep on the other side:
In the following 4K video you can get an idea about how windy it was up there (consider that I blocked both microphones firmly with my fingers) and you can also hear the sheep concert at the end as they all wear bells:
Goodbye rock, see you next time:
I jump in the car to drive to my next destination. I can't miss this beauty by the road:
Or this one:
Wanna see what kind of "flowers" humans grow (better say throw) on the side of the road? Have a look:
Yep, a fucking cigarette. In the middle of a pine forest. How utterly fucking moron one can be...
Meanwhile nature around here is like this:
And the route up to here looks like that:
I'm already more than happy to be surrounded by a beauty like this but I also came here to visit a mineral workshop from the 4th century BC. One could easily pass it by without noticing if there was no sign since the way to it doesn't look promising:
As soon as I pass those trees I feel so nice being isolated from the road exposed to the ancient ruins:
What you see here is where Ancient Hellenes used to wash the minerals (rich in silver) before they would lead them to the furnaces. Interesting to see those grooves on this stone construction:
I think that this was made to accumulate the dirt of the water that was running over. I wasn't there back in the day to verify this though.
Here's the same part from the other side:
This place has two water tanks. Here's one of them:
And here's the other one, much deeper and wet:
The amazing thing with this deep one is that (surprise surprise) it attracts birds and it gives you the chance to hear their signing really amplified as the wall acts as a speaker. Amazing experience that I didn't manage to capture on video as the birds don't sing on demand.
I try to vanish my disappointment by picturing the rest of the ruins:
And of course the beauty around:
Imagine how yummy the honey from those bees will be with so many herbs and pines around:
You can watch a 4K video of the site:
Hope you enjoyed it,
See you all in the next one!
Nice photos, looks like a wild place!
True. Both are so unpopular but totally worth it. Thanks for stopping by!
Where is that location?
I have linked the location in the text and also in each one of the videos. The tower is here and the ancient site is here.