RUSSIA...LAND OF THE TSARS

Since the beginning of time, Russia had been ruled by an emperor, or tsar. The longest ruling family were the Romanovs, who ruled Russia from 1613 until it was overthrown by the Bolsheviks in 1917, ending in the bloody assassinations of Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, their daughters Olga, Tatiana, Marie, Anastasia and their son, the hemophiliac prince Alexis. Many other family members and loyal servants were murdered as well...such as Nicholas's younger brother Michael, who was murdered in Perm several weeks earlier. One of Alexandra's sisters, who married a Romanov cousin, was also murdered, her body dumped down a dry well. The Bolsheviks were eventually overthrown by the Communists in 1940, who ruled Russia (then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or U.S.S.R.) until the downfall of Communism in 1989. The remains of the last royal family were removed from the well where they were dumped in Ekaterinburg and re-interred with ceremonial honors in 1996. Only two bodies remained unaccounted for: those of the Tsarevitch Alexis and the Grand Duchess Anastasia, who, for many years, was the subject of controversy. A woman, suffering from amnesia, was discovered on a bridge in Berlin in 1926 and touted as Anastasia, even to the point of meeting the Dowager Empress Marie in Paris. When she was nervous, the woman began coughing erratically...something which the Dowager Empress knew Anastasia to do. Another thing that tied in to the similarity with the Grand Duchess was the memory of spilling some peppermint-scented linament on a carpet in the nursery. The Dowager Empress was known to use linament to offset chronic arthritis in her hands...one that smelled of peppermint. Immediately, the Dowager Empress brought forth a drawing, supposedly of one of the older Grand Duchesses seated on a settee. The woman said that she remembered somebody saying it looked like a pig on a horse...exactly what Grand Duchess Olga said she looked like in the drawing. When the woman suddenly disappeared in 1928, the Dowager Empress refused to reveal her finding up until the day she died ten years later. The woman, known as Anna Anderson, married an American after being widowed in 1940, eventually dying in 1986 at the age of 84. It was never discovered whether she was, or was not, the Grand Duchess Anastasia.

The Peterhof Palace. Ever since the 16th century, this beautiful structure had been the summer palace of the royal family. Every child in the royal family was born within its walls. When Anna Anderson was interviewed before meeting the Dowager Empress Marie, she was asked where she was born. Her reply: the Peterhof Palace, something known only to the members of the royal family. It is as resplendent today as it was in 1613, with its tiled floors and patios and its many fountains. At the end of the man-made canal stood the pier where the royal yacht, Standart, was once anchored. Since the Revolution, the yacht had since been dismantled, its many parts used for housing communes. Its gold fixtures had been melted down and minted into coins with the impressions of Lenin. Only the gold statues at the Peterhof Palace remain untouched. Today, the palace serves as a museum of days gone by.

The most famous theatre in Russia...the Bolshoi, home of the world-renowned Bolshoi Ballet. During the last decades of the Tsars, the royal family used to attend the opening nights of ballets and operas at the Bolshoi, as well as the Maryinsky. Ballets and operas by Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Moussourgsky, Borodin and others. Being the sole critics of the time, the attending public knew whether the ballets and operas were either successes or failures when the royal family either rose and left...or remained seated. Many famous ballerinas starred here...Anna Pavlova, Tamara Toumanova, Natalia Riabouchinska, Alexandra Danilova, and many others. One of the most famous ballerinas of the Tsarist era was Mathilde Kchessinska, rumored to be the mistress of Nicholas II. She defected from Russia prior to the Revolution, joining the Ballets Russe de Monte Carlo in France. She married the former Grand Duke Paul in 1920, was widowed in 1956 and remained in Paris until she died in 1971 at the age of 99. After retiring from dancing, she taught ballet at the Ballet Russe school until as late as 1967.

Today, the theatre still hosts many of the modern ballets and operas from around the world.

The Hermitage is one of the most beautiful buildings from the Tsarist era still standing today. Having been restored to its original luster, The Hermitage serves today as a college. Notice the young lady leaning against the statue. She is one of the attending students of The Hermitage, as are many of the other people in the picture.

St. Basil's Cathedral...undeniably the most recognized symbol of the Russian Orthodox Church. Built in the mid-17th century, it is one of the most beautiful hand-built structures still existing in Russia.

And, if you think it is a sight to behold during the day, you should see it totally lit up at night. It is a real spectacle...almost outshining Niagara Falls at night.

St. Basil's Cathedral is so huge in its appointments and so colorful that it can be seen by the naked eye as far as 60 miles away from Moscow on a clear day.

I've visited Russia several times since becoming a model at the age of 15. Being Russian-American myself, I had seen to it that my five children were given Russian names. My eldest daughter is named after two of the last Grand Duchesses...Anastasia and Marie. My eldest son's middle name is the name of the last crown prince...Alexis. My twins are named after the husband and wife who ruled Russia together and alone...Peter and Catherine. My youngest son's middle name is the name of the father of the last Romanov tsar...Alexander. My own name, Sasha, is a derivative, or a nickname, of Alexander.

CHINA...LAND OF TEN THOUSAND CENTURIES

China...a country just as mysterious as Japan and equally rich in history.

The Great Wall of China, built in the Qin Dynasty, was erected by the hands of over 75 million slaves and soldiers working together to create an impenetrable border against the Mongol hordes of the north. The walk at the top is thirty feet wide. Every several hundred feet stands a fort which had been home to the soldiers who fought for their land. One fact about this immense piece of human technology: it is the only man-made object which can be seen from outer space!

The Imperial Palace in the center of what was once called The Forbidden City. The walled city received its notorious name due to the fact that only the empress lived within, served by chattles (female servants) and eunuchs who waited on her hand and foot. The feet of the empress never touched the floor because it was considered ungodly for her to appear before the emperor with soiled feet. She was lifted by castrated male servants and placed within a sedan chair, which was then carried out from her palace, across the square, out of the wall which encircled the palace and brought to the palace of the emperor. This ceremony was performed solely at times of conception and anniversaries, both of which were elaborately celebrated with music, singing...and fireworks.

The Beijing Opera. Everybody in the outside world believes that the artists of China perform only Chinese works. But, this is not true. The Beijing Opera, as well as its ballet and circus, performs works by world famous composers as Tchaikovsky, Verdi and Bizet. But, the most famous, and favorite, opera performed constantly in Beijing is Puccini's Turandot (pictured), which tells the story of a Chinese princess who is the reincarnation of another princess murdered 5,000 years earlier. Every suitor is given three questions which he must answer. If he answers correctly, the princess will become his bride. If not...his head joins the countless others on stakes in the courtyard. An unknown prince, entranced by her beauty, demands to be put to the test against the wishes of his father, a deposed king, and his servant-girl, Liu. The emperor himself wishes the prince to quit his endeavor. But the prince is adamant and demands to be put to the test. The prince quickly answers the first two questions, which raises applause and cheers from the people who wish to put an end to the princess's bloodshed. When he becomes stumped by the third question, the princess begins to gloat over her apparent victory...a victory lost when the correct answer comes to the prince. The princess cries out that she will never marry the prince. But, the emperor reminds her that his oath is sacred and that his daughter must marry the man who had defeated her. The prince decides to take some pressure off of the princess's shoulder...he will die for her only if she learns his name by the next sunrise. She does everything within her power to force the people of the town to discover his name...even going as far as trying to pry the name from the lips of his father and Liu. The faithful servant-girl, however, takes a dagger from one of the soldiers and kills herself. As the soldiers carry the girl's body offstage, followed by the deposed king, the prince tells the princess that he will melt her cold heart and kisses her. Having felt the kiss of a man, the princess starts to feel warmth for the first time in her life. Just short of dawn, the prince tells the princess his name. When the court is assembled, she tells her father that she now knows the prince's name...and his name is Love. As she and the prince embrace, there are cheers from the people and the emperor, who is happy to die now in the knowledge that all the bloodshed is ended.

China is so huge that it has over thirty different dialects, of which I speak four...Mandarin, Cantonese (the most famous and widely used dialect...even in Chinese towns in the United States), Shanxi (which is used mainly in Shendong Province) and Min Nan (the language of Nationalist China, the island of Taiwan). Other languages are Tibetan, Lhasan (which my wife speaks as well as the four I do), Hockian, Khitan and many others.

China's main staple is rice, which is served with every other meal like beef and chicken. Maybe that's why many of the Chinese people are slender or muscular.

China is also the one country where there are more people using bicycles than automobiles.

Once one of the poorest countries, China is now an extremely wealthy nation due to its mining and selling of pure silver.

Traveling through this magnificent land, one would never know that this is one of the few countries which still follows Communism....if not for a small red book which everybody, young and old, carries. The book contains the published teachings of Chairman Mao Tse-tung, who not only wanted his people to spread the wealth but to also go forward in progress.

By the way...at the time which I am entering this piece into my blog, I am in Hong Kong, working on a film.

EGYPT...LAND OF THE PHARAOHS

I was 18 when I first visited Egypt. I had read about this ancient land and was always mystified as I read the tales of Caesar and Cleopatra, Marc Antony, Moses and the Hebrew slaves. And, King Tut! But, to really be there was the real kicker! I just couldn't wait to go there and see this land for myself!








I had a real ball when I visited the Sphinx! One of my fellow-models took a picture of me, stretched out on one of the stone paws, my head resting against its mighty shoulder...my hat pulled down over my eyes, pretending to be napping.

No one knows exactly when the Sphinx was created...though scientists believe it may be as old as 10,000 years, which would put it being erected long before any of the civilized dynasties. But, just one look at the head reveals that it may have been at the same time that the Great Pyramid (which stands behind it) was built. Many say that the face may be that of Khufu, or Cheops...one of the mightiest rulers of Egypt. As to the reason why there is no nose...that is easy to explain. Over the centuries, desert salt, acid and wind had slowly eroded the stone so that it appears as it does today.

At its base, between the paws, there is a door which leads inside the huge stone edifice. For a price, a guide will take you deep into the heart of the Sphinx. Let me tell you this...exploring this great stone statue is a real experience of a lifetime!








The Pyramids of Giza...collectively, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Strategically placed so as to align themselves with stars and constellations, the pyramids are a real thrill to visit and explore. And, let me tell you this...it takes days just to explore the interior of one!

The Great Pyramid (the tallest of them all) is one of the most intriguing "buildings" to explore. As you enter (after paying your admittance fee, of course), the guide takes you up and down through stone corridors, into huge chambers filled with sarcophagi, statues and treasure chests. But, be warned! Do not touch anything...though you might be tempted to. It is said that Khufu placed a curse on the pyramid. One may enter...but should he dare to touch anything and disturb the great ruler's eternal sleep, he will never make it out of there alive!!!

The three smaller pyramids, it is said, were erected to resemble the belt of the constellation Orion. And, to see the whole thing from the air, one can only see why. There are eight pyramids in all...all taking the shape of the constellation.




Cairo...a modern city standing amongst ancient wonders. This is not an ancient city. Cairo never existed in the time of Cleopatra. In her day, Alexandria was the center of Egyptian commerce. The city is only about 200 years old...300 at the oldest. Believe it or not, Verdi's great achievement, Aida, made its premiere here...not in Rome or Milan. And, why not? After all, the opera tells the story of an Ethiopian princess enslaved in Egypt and in love with her conqueror, the hero Radames...much to the chagrin of his intended, the Pharaoh's daughter.

One can purchase anything they want in the marketplaces throughout the city...tapestries, statues, perfumes...anything your heart desires! I visited Cairo again in 2000 with my wife. Even she was amazed at the expanse of the country. She still says that she wants to visit there again...next time with our kids.







This is a bust of Hatshepsut, one of Egypt's earliest self-reigning queens. That's right...queens. Hatshepsut felt that nobody would ever take her as a serious ruler...so she dressed herself like a man, wearing the headdress and beard of a Pharaoh, only to remove them in private, as well as the tight bodice to flatten her bosom.

Not too much is preserved today about Hatshepsut...except for one thing. It is rumored that Hatshepsut was responsible for creating the first zoo. On her many hunts, Hatshepsut ordered animals to be netted and caged rather than killed. She, herself, tended to the animals' care, hand-feeding them and training them to perform tricks to entertain her staff and other nobles.

Another thing that modern woman has to thank Hatshepsut for...makeup. That was the only way ancient nobles knew that Hatshepsut was not a man...the fact that she wore eye makeup (which caught on with all the later Pharaohs) and lip color. She dabbled in creating all of the makeup herself and would allow no one to apply it to her face.

No one knows exactly where Hatshepsut's tomb is. All that is known about her was found in writings of later rulers. But, she is still considered one of the greatest Pharaohs of the ancient world.






All throughout the pyramids and other tombs, one cannot help but notice all of the ancient hieroglyphs which are carved into the walls, telling the tales of the Pharaohs whose bodies were interred within. Although I do speak and read Farsi, I'm afraid that only an experienced Egyptologist can translate what is carved here. The ability to translate hieroglyphs is an art which takes decades to achieve...and only the finest Egyptologists can do that! Boy, what a story this tablet could tell!






"Do not disturb our rest...lest you be consumed in iniquity!"

That seems to be what these mummies are saying. Preparing the dead for the afterlife is an art known only to a chosen few. It is said that the artist first sticks a thin poker up the nostrils of the deceased, twisting and turning it until it wraps the entire brain around it. Then, the poker is pulled out, taking the brain along with it. The brain is then placed into a coptic jar and sealed. The same is done with all of the other bodily organs. Salt is added to the jars to preserve the organs. Then, the body itself is covered with salt and left, undisturbed, for as long as six months. This is done to dry out the skin and muscles and to give the body that ancient, mummified look. After seeing how its done, I'm glad I chose cremation as a way for my bodily disposition!










Last, but not least, is the loveliest of all Egyptian queens...Cleopatra. This woman surpassed Helen of Troy when it came to beauty and seduction. Helen may have had the face that launched a thousand ships, getting 50,000 Greeks to fight the Trojans to return her to Greece...but Cleopatra had the face (and the brains) to seduce not only an emperor but his entire realm as well.

It is rumored that when she was first brought in to Julius Caesar, she was wrapped up in a carpet...which Caesar ordered turned around in order to force her to be tumbled out before the Roman general.
Besides having beauty on her side, Cleopatra was a brilliant strategist and linguist. She spoke ten languages fluently (I got her beat at that...I speak over thirty!) and planned battles to be fought on land as well as water...and she won almost all of them.

When she made her grand entrance in Rome in 46 B.C., with her son Caesarion (by Caesar) at her side, all Romans, young and old, cheered and applauded as her seven-ton Sphinx, pulled by 1,000 slaves, entered the city. They cheered again when she bowed to Caesar. She had won the hearts of all Rome.

She remained in Rome until March 16, 44 B.C., one day after Caesar's assassination, being secreted out of the city and onto her barge for her return to Egypt. Caesar, before his death, had failed to grant Caesarion the right of succession upon his death. The succession then fell to his nephew, Octavian, who then took the title Gaius Julius Augustus Caesar. He quickly became Cleopatra's enemy when Marc Antony chose to remain with her in Egypt. This proved to be the end for Antony and Cleopatra, for Octavian led the Romans into war, killing the one person who could challenge him for the Roman Empire. Rather than be taken alive and led through the streets of Rome as slaves, Antony and Cleopatra chose to end their own lives...he by his own sword, she by two bites of an asp.

Today, Cleopatra's mystique still exhumes in almost all women...including my wife.

NORWAY...LAND OF THE MIDNIGHT SUN

Norway...land of the midnight sun...land of Ibsen and Grieg...land of wild reindeer. But, mostly...land of great fjords.

I had visited Norway back in 1988, when I was on a round-the-world modeling junket for GQ Magazine. I had learned to speak fluent Norwegian, as well as Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Icelandic...all related but minutely different...when I was attending the Nassau County School for Boys. Many of the other teenage male models were shocked when I placed a dinner order at a restaurant in Norwegian...but not Petter Nordstrom, who came from Konigsberg, a suburb of Oslo.

In the middle of summer, one of the most shocking sights (if one is not used to it) is seeing the sun just skimming the sky as it "sets" in the west then skirts the horizon to "rise" in the east. This is because the sun never sets during the spring and summer. Also, it never rises during the fall and winter...henceforth, Norway goes through six months of daylight and six months of night.

One of the most beautiful sights is this fjord and lake...one of hundreds throughout Norway. The mountains are always topped with snow and mostly unclimbable. To attempt it without the proper equipment means certain death to even an experienced climber.

The water in Norway is untouched by the outside world, clear and blue. No wonder when Edvard Grieg and Henrik Ibsen left Norway for even so little as one week, they could not wait to return. I'm hoping that, someday, I can return here.

For those who know Norwegian, attending church on Sunday morning is no different than attending it anywhere else in the world. This stave church...so named because it is built with staves of pine from below the ground to the steeple...is one of thousands throughout the countryside. Synagogues can also be seen in Norway, though the Jewish religion is not as common here as it is in other countries in Europe.

Only the most daring person in the world would ever attempt what this young woman is doing. The rock she is standing on is caught between two cliffs almost two miles above the river which empties into the lake seen below it.

I may be daring enough to perform actual martial arts in films or on TV...but I'm no fool!

JAPAN...COUNTRY OF MYSTERY

Japan...land of anime, geisha and Godzilla!

It is also one of the most populated countries in the world, with apartments so small that a four-bedroom apartment is as big as a living room in a four-bedroom American home. And yet, it's still very comfortable.

Tokyo, the capital, is one of the most beautiful and colorful cities in the Far East. As a matter of fact, the colorful lights brighten the streets so brilliantly that it's a wonder that anybody can get to sleep. But, one look at the inside of your hotel room and you can see how easy it is to sleep amidst all the chaos outside. Windows are heavily tinted to dull the bright lights and insulated with the walls to offer unrequited silence so the weary traveler can easily fall asleep.

There are many sights worth visiting in Japan that the common traveler cannot take it all in in one or two weeks. It would take months! For instance, west of Tokyo (and yet visible from the rooftops of hotels) stands Mt. Fuji, its summit crowned with snow all year round. South of this majestic mountain are the cities of Kyoto and Yokohama, both equally as bustling and beautiful as Tokyo.

On the northern island of Hokkaido is the city of Sapporo, one of the most beautiful cities outside of the bustling cities on the island of Kyushu.

Far to the west on the island of Kyushu is the new city of Hiroshima, sight of the most powerful explosion to rock the 20th century. Yes, the city has been completely rebuilt except for the area directly around Ground Zero. There, one building stands as an eternal monument to atomic power. At its base are the names of the 80,000 victims of the first atomic bomb ever to be detonated.

Seventy miles west-southwest is a similar monument, listing the names of the 75,000 victims of the second atomic bomb in the city of Nagasaki. It is said that the blast was so powerful that it was able to be seen in mainland China. British author J. G. Ballard, author of the autobiographical novel "Empire of the Sun", told that he thought the flash was an angel who came to retrieve the soul of a woman who he sat with as she died. Even though the bomb exploded over three hundred miles away, Ballard said he had to shield his eyes from the sun-like brightness.

Today, the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki harbor no ill feelings to the Americans. Many believe the bombings were deserved for politicians eagerness to start a war with "a sleeping giant".









Arthur Golden wrote in his most famous novel, Memoirs of a Geisha..."A story like mine has never been told...for my world is as forbidden as it is fragile. Without its secrets, it cannot survive".

The world of the beautiful geisha is one solely of women. It is comprised of women and one woman...the okasan, or mother...runs the entire okiya (geisha house). Her sole job is to raise young girls to become the most desirable women in the hanamachi (district). The girl starts out her life in the okiya as a worker...a servant. She cleans the clothing of her okei-san (big sister) as well as her room. She also cleans the okiya and, if the okasan believes her to be ready, sends her to a school whose sole purpose is to teach her to dance,










play the shamisen (a Japanese stringed instrument, not unlike the guitar, which is played with a stiff brush instead of the fingers),





and to entertain in a teahouse and be a hostess to a certain man who may someday become her danna, or patron. If she is lucky...and is chosen by a very wealthy man...she can be set for the rest of her life. If he is single, she may eventually become his wife. However, if he is already married, he remains married...yet she remains his mistress and may one day be chosen to become the next okasan of the okiya, a position no less beautiful and no less honorable. Fact: the geisha is not a prostitute. She is an paid escort and, as her title's translation speaks for itself, an artist. All the money she earns goes into the funds of the okiya, to be inherited by whichever geisha is adopted by the okasan as her daughter.

Today, Japan remains just as mysterious as it had been for the past 10,000 years...and its mysteries are there for one and all to solve.

FRANCE...THE LAND OF FINE WINE AND ROMANCE

St. Tropez...the holiday and vacation Mecca of the rich and famous and the jet set! This is one beautiful city, just a proverbial hop, skip and a jump down the beach from the principality of Monaco...and the casinos of Monte Carlo. Jennifer and I went here to celebrate our "paper" anniversary. And, boy, did we ever spend a lot of paper! After all, France may be a beautiful country...but it sure isn't cheap! Just one day alone can cost the average American over a thousand dollars. And, that ain't hay!

France, like Greece, is a land brimming with history. Just driving through the countryside, you can almost see the ghosts of Joan of Arc, the fighters of the Hundred Years' War, King Charles VI and his court at Chinon, Robert de Baudricourt and his garrison at Vaucouleurs...and so on.

One of our long travels began in the city of Nancy, not far from the village of Domremy-la-Pucelle. The house of Joan of Arc was a small place (by today's standards). It consists of two floors...the ground floor being the dining and milking area and the upper floor being where Joan, her three brothers, two sisters and their parents slept. Outside, behind the house, is the bathroom. The family used the nearby stream to bathe...which was often done without much privacy, because the countryside was brimming with English soldiers who just couldn't wait to find a young, naked girl to rape and a boy to hang and laugh at as he choked to death.

From Domremy, we followed Joan's trail which led us to the village of Vaucouleurs, where Joan met her first "helper" in her crusade...Robert de Baudricourt. It was here she performed her first "miracle"...keeping the hens and cows from laying eggs and giving milk until de Baudricourt seceded to her demands of armor, a horse and several soldiers who would accompany her to the court of the Dauphin. As soon as de Baudricourt gave in, the hens started laying eggs like mad...ten dozen eggs in one minute! It was then that de Baudricourt realized that he was actually helping a living saint.

Next on our trip came the city of Chinon...and the castle in which the royal court was exiled while the English held Paris. Within these walls, one could almost see Joan talking to Charles in private and telling him of her plans to take Orleans, thereby freeing the way to Rheims...and making Charles the true king.

Our final stop on the "Joan of Arc" route was the city of Rouen, where, on May 30, 1431, Joan was burned at the stake in the marketplace. The centerpiece of the marketplace today has a beautiful statue of Joan in full armor, her sword touching the ground and her gauntleted hands on the hilt, her eyes facing the church.

The final stop of our trip to France was the 495-foot tall Eiffel Tower, one of the most beautiful structures of nineteen-century technology. Greta Garbo once climbed to the top (while Melvyn Douglas took the elevator) and Superman foiled a terrorist plot to blow it up, saving Lois Lane in a plunging elevator at the same time.

Built by the same man responsible for the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower boasts a daily log of 15,000 visitors as well as hundreds of diners at its midpoint restaurant. The food there is exquisite. Just don't order French fries with your filet mignon. Be sure to order pomme de terre julienne (French for fries). One piece of advice for the first-time visitor...learn the language before you go. The French waiters cannot tolerate customers who can't speak the language. Sort of reminds you of the U.S....doesn't it?

GREECE...LAND OF MYTHS AND LEGENDS

I had always felt Greece to be a beautiful country...mostly, because I had always loved the tales that I used to read when I was growing up. The Trojan War, in which the young prince Paris had taken the Queen of Sparta as his bride...his gift from the goddess of love for choosing her as the most beautiful of all the goddesses of Mount Olympus, thus earning the wrath of Hera, the queen of the gods and the protector of wedded couples.

Hera sided with the Greek forces, led by King Agamemnon of Mycenae and elder brother of Menelaus, King of Sparta. Among the gods and goddesses of Olympus, Zeus alone chose to stay out of the battle...since it was his job originally to choose the most beautiful of the goddesses. Hera was his wife...Aphrodite, his daughter. He chose his other daughter, Athena, goddess of war, to pick which mortal would be given the honor of deciding which goddess was the most beautiful.

Athena, who always thought the Trojans to be the most valiant of warriors, chose Paris because he was fond of beautiful women and, therefore, had no problem choosing which was the most beautiful. The competing goddesses, however, knew that in order for the mortal to choose properly, he must be "bribed" properly. Hera offered Paris riches beyond compare; Aphrodite offered the most beautiful of mortal women. It didn't matter to Aphrodite whether the woman was married or not. So, Paris chose the goddess of love and beauty...and, in return, was offered the love of Helen (who happened to be Zeus's daughter, for whom he named the country which was to go to war with Troy).

Before going to war with the Trojans, Agamemnon sacrificed his eldest daughter, Iphigenia, upon the altar of Athena. Athena, however, did not like this blood-sacrifice. It didn't matter to her that Agamemnon built one of the most beautiful temples in her honor...the Pallas Athena, or Parthenon (pictured above), one of the most enduring structures of the ancient world still recognizable today.

After the fall of Troy, King Odysseus of Ithaca cursed Athena for the time he lost with his wife and infant son. In her anger, she pleaded with her sister Thetis (whose mortal son, Achilles, had died in the war) to persuade their brother Poseidon to raise the sea and winds and delay the mortal's return home for an equal amount of years that he had been away from his queen, Penelope, and son Telemachus. Only when they decided that Odysseus was punished enough did Poseidon calm the winds and waters and allowed the hero to reach home.

Santorini...the remnants of a long-dead volcano, the caldera of which is seen here beyond the church. In the year 1250 B.C., this volcano became the cause of the well-known plagues of the Old Testament. It was this volcano, when it exploded, which churned up red mud for hundreds of miles in all directions. It, too, was the cause of the parting of the Red Sea, drawing the waters into its empty caldera and creating the dry land which the newly-freed Hebrew slaves used to escape from Egypt. At times, minor quakes can churn up the mud and the center of the lake turns blood red. The church in the picture was also the headquarters of the Resistance during World War II. Unlike many other religious buildings, it has never been conquered.

The beautiful inlet of Parga, created by a ring of mountainous islands...itself the remains of an ancient volcano. It was here that I did my first piece of modeling during a two-country photo shoot for Italian designer Donatella Versace, whose brother Gianni was murdered only a few months earlier...and who had given me my first modeling job when I was 15. On this trip in 1997, I took my girlfriend and, dressed as Paris of Troy, got down on one knee and asked her to marry me. When Jennifer accepted, Donatella Versace was so happy that she went right to work designing a wedding gown for her.

The boat-filled harbor of Mykonos, one of the most well-visited islands of the Cyclades. The building just off-right near the top was the hotel which Jennifer and I stayed at when there. It was this harbor which was the backdrop for the Sophia Loren film "Boy on a Dolphin". The pier (left of the hotel) is where the film's finale took place, where Alan Ladd chased Loren down and kissed her. While we were there, Jennifer and I re-created the scene...with the same results!

While Jennifer and I were staying on Mykonos, we usually had our meals at this beautiful seaside cafe. I loved the sea breeze as it brought the salty smell of the water. Of course, someone could have told me that the salt also deposited itself on our skin and clothing...and, unfortunately, sometimes in our food! But, the scenery was so beautiful that we mostly overlooked it. After breakfast, we would walk, hand in hand, along the beach. After lunch, we would go for a swim in the beautiful clear blue water and swim into the caves and grottos. At night came another walk, readying us for sleep.

One of the most beautiful places at which to relax and just soak up the sun is the beach on the Aegean island of Samos. In Greek mythology, it is said that Samos was the true home of the sea goddess Thetis. It is here where she actually met a mortal named Peleus, an Argonaut who became king shortly after returning from Colchis, where Jason found the Golden Fleece. Peleus went down to this beach and was entranced when he saw the beautiful goddess. It was said that after they married, he went away to war and never returned home. However, Thetis was pregnant with his child and chose to bear their son, Achilles, near the river Styx. It was within this river that she dipped her child and endowed him with invulnerability. Sad to say, during the Trojan War a well-aimed arrow shot by the Trojan prince Paris destroyed that invulnerability when it was shot through the heel that his mother held him by...the only part of his body that did not receive the benefit from the river. After Achilles was killed at Troy, the goddess waited until after his body was cremated to gather the ashes and sprinkle them along the stretch of beach at Samos.