Athens

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I have done quite a lot of travelling, and quite a lot of backpacking (especially around Europe) but never have I been able to say I have gone backpacking around Europe with my daughter ... until now!

Jacqueline had been working near Valencia, Spain since October as an English language TA. Her contract ended on May 31 and she met me here in Athens a few days ago for the start of an awesome trip.

Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world, having been continuously inhabited for over 3000 years (likely longer than 5000 years). Athens cultural achievements during the 5th century BC laid the foundations of Western civilization.

According to Greek mythology, Athens was named after the goddess Athena who won a contest with Poseidon god of the sea. The prize would be won by whomever presented the city with the best gift. Poseidon smashed his trident upon the land to create a salt spring. Athena offered a more productive gift, she planted an olive tree atop the Acropolis. The citizens chose Athena, and you can still find an olive tree in the same spot today.

During the early Middle Ages, the city experienced a decline, then recovered under the later Byzantine Empire and was relatively prosperous during the 12th and 13th centuries, benefiting from Italian trade. Following a period of sharp decline under the rule of the Ottoman Empire, Athens re-emerged in the 19th century as the capital of the independent Greek state.

The current city is very different from other historic European cities. Although there are awesome ancient sites, the modern city is filled with apartment blocks and not so gorgeous architecture. Many of the classic buildings were torn town in favour of more densely built dwellings to make room for a population explosion after the 1923 Lausanne Treaty whereby Greeks living in Turkey were forcibly exchanged with Turks living in Greece. This was based on religious orientation and caused an influx of 1.2 million people into Greece (the majority of which settled in Athens).

Despite this, Athens is a vibrant city with wonderful outdoor markets, cafes and restaurants. The food is amazing, heavily influenced by other Mediterranean countries especially the Turks (for almost 400 years Athens was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, obviously there was a significant influence. From their coffee, to gyros, souvlaki and baklava, it was a delicious influence at least.

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