A COUNTRY ON FIRE!

The Palaestra, Olympia

Pillar ruins of the Temple of Zeus, Olympia

What can I say? By some miracle, the Gods saved this holy place where the Olympics first began. I weep as I read of the devastation the fires have brought on this, my second home, beautiful Greece. Many of the areas that have burned and destroyed villages and lives, I am familiar with. There are even fires near my beloved Athens and in the mountains of Evvia not far from my village. What can we do but pray and hope that the rains come and that somehow this horrible disaster can be stopped from further destroying the country.

Nea Mystra, near Mt. Tagetos which is now on fire.

This is the Byzantine ghost city of Mystra.

I had a phone call from my Greek friend Sofie this morning. Her family lives in Sparta and Nea Mystra. The mountain is on fire and they are worried that it will spread to the valley. Not only are the forests being destroyed, but whole villages, all the olive groves and orchards. The people that live in those villages have lost everything, including many of them, their lives.

I have been in tears since I first saw the near destruction of Olympia last night on the television. And now, after talking to my Greek friend and reading more of the news stories about this terrible disaster, I am completely devastated. And to think that many of these fires were caused by the wicked intent of people!