Outandabout March 2022 Issue195

18 | OUT AND ABOUT COSTA BLANCA
Magic Travel
Moments
Highlight those (many) travel moments in
my life when things have ‘sparkled’.
by John
David
Moorhouse
DAVID MOORHOUSE.
The Lion Gate (Mikini)
At first approach, it is only partly-visible at
the top of a narrow pathway that slopes up
from a stand of trees.
After snacking at a mobile food-van near the
trees we start to walk up the pathway.
A small site, hemmed in by a low cliff, wThe
pathway is flanked by a poppy-dotted, open
field on one side and the still-impressive Massive
Remains of the Walls of Bronze Age Mikini (spelled
‘Myceni’ in English) on the other side.
At the top of the pathway we are confronted by
The Lion Gate, the Entrance to the Citadel of Mikini.
More correctly described as an Entrance
Passageway, built into the Walls at an awkward
angle
(purposely so - partly for defensive strength
from the ever-present threat of attack by other City-
States),
we walk some 10 metres through the tunnel-like
Passageway before coming out into the open air
again.... and begin to absorb the fascinating Ruins
of this once -impregnable, Bronze Age Citadel,
to marvel at their spell-binding variety.... and we
haven’t even begun to climb up to the top of the
Mound upon which Mikini was built!
But let’s return to The Lion Gate (Entrance
Passageway), to share one particular ‘Magic Travel
Moment’.
The name ‘Lion Gate’ derives from two stonecarved
Lions Rampant, set into the Wall above
the Entrance, one Lion standing on each side of
a single, symbolic pillar, their outstretched front
paws touching the sides of the pillar in a gesture of
proud worship.... these are the unforgettable Lions
of Mikini; they radiate the Bronze Age Power of the
House of Atreus.
As we walk along the Passageway there is a
raised platform on our left upon which once stood
statues of the Guardian Gods of Mikini.... who kept
watch over the daily comings and goings of the
Citadel.
You can still feel their Watchfulness as they (and,
no doubt, armed sentinels) protected the House
of Atreus.... truly awesome.... the air inside the
Passageway is heavy and oppressive (as intended
by the Ancients?).