April Program Information
April 2024 Program
Mike had two slide shows from his family's trip last October to Athens and some islands in Greece.Part One: "Greece Micromounts"
As an avid collector of micromounts, Mike said they don't take up as much room in his basement as other collections. Many of the photos were his own taken of some of his collection of specimens that he has purchased over the years from Greece. Due to an UNESCO agreement in 2023 collecting is no longer allowed there. Greece was the center of the beginning of the bronze age which allowed for development of improved tools and decorative objects. As the bronze was made, many of the tailings made their way into the sea, and through time and reaction with seawater, various minerals formed. Mines from that time are now closed, but specimens can be purchased online.
Due to the small size of the micromounts, some of the photos were a little blurry, but much better than ones most of us could take! Several of the specimens had a POV (point of view) of 1 - 4 mm across! Minerals from his collection included adamite, azurite, annabergite, cyanotrichite, spangolite, phosgenite, segnitite, serpierite, and spangolite. The photo of clear fluorite formed in the sea looked like a sculpted chain that was 4 mm long. {Look these up on mindat.org if you want to see them.}
(The photo of kataifi w/pistachios and orange cake looked delicious!)
Part Two: "Athens Mineralogy Museum"
Mike's family stayed in Attica, the area around Athens. There were copper mines to the southeast of the city once upon a time. They were fortunate to visit in the fall with great weather, and few tourists. They did get to climb the steep hill to the Parthenon. Mike had photos of the reconstructed temple. The temple was almost completely destroyed in 1500 AD by the Turks. Ammunition had been stored there by the Greeks, so destruction was easy. The top of the Parthenon was originally beautifully decorated with brilliantly colored scenes of Greek history and artfully dressed Greek figures. The paints were made from powdered minerals of the area. None of this original artwork or structure remains. The original columns and roofs have been restored using modern materials. Go to this website for more information and photos - be sure to click "English" unless you can read Greek! http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/2/eh251.jsp?obj_id=912
After traveling in a taxi & using a map, the Mineral Museum was finally discovered in the wilds away from downtown Athens! And fortunately, someone eventually showed up to open the doors for touring. Mike was underwhelmed after visiting our own JMU mineral museum. The specimens were from Greece and from around the world, but they saw no really spectacular specimens. The original displays had the old wooden cases with glass tops that made the fist-sized pieces hard to photograph. The modern part had the minerals displayed on glass shelves that made them more visible. Greek and English labels were presented.
They saw some quartz from Arkansas, tyrolite from Austria, Crocoite from the Urals, thulite and pyrargyrite from Greece. Mixite, azurite, gypsum, adamite, calcite, rhodochrosite, and stibnite with a coating were some samples that Mike had photographed. The micro section was labeled in German, but Mike could identify most of the examples. He thought the aragonite specimen that looked like a milky white coral sculpture was the most impressive.
Mike, Karen, and John thoroughly enjoyed the trip, especially the original Greek food which included fish fresh from the Mediterranean Sea! Thank you for sharing your adventure with us!