Advertisement
Published: August 6th 2007
Edit Blog Post
The Acropolis by night
This photo was taken from the place where the apostle Paul preached to the Athenians. He probably saw more of the Parthenon than we did! We are sitting in an internet cafe in Corinth which has large glass windows overlooking the Gulf of Corinth. Today is a public holiday and almost everything in Greece is closed. We managed to get a bus here - the suburban train network was closed today but we are grateful for the excellent public transport system in Greece. The 90 minute trip from Athens cost only 7 Euros each and if the train had been operating it would have been much cheaper. The metro system in Athens puts NSW trains to shame. It is clean, efficient, reliable and very cheap - costing only 80cents to travel basically anywhere on the metro.
The train system, however, has been one of the few things I have been impressed with in Athens. It's messy and dirty and chaotic. Richard thinks I am being hard on the place, and maybe I am. It was certainly a big shock after southern Germany. Still, it does have its positive side; there is music everywhere and no shortage of places to eat. We stayed in the Arethusa Hotel which was very central - a few minutes to everything. The Acropolis, Plaka (a touristy shopping and eating precinct),
Is it Paul?
Looking back at the acropolis, we saw a mysterious figure on the hill Syntagma (the main town square in front of Parliment House) and just about everything in easy reach from the metro.
On the afternoon we arrived we walked around the acropolis of Athens. The tour guide we listened to on the second day warned us all to make sure we specify Athens when referring to the Acropolis because apparently acropolis just means hill. The walk around the hill only took half an hour of easy walking. From there, you can look down over most of Athens city which seems to fill a huge basin ringed by mountains. That is probably why the ancient greeks chose to build their temple to their patron saint Athena (the Parthenon) on that site.
The following day we did a city sightseeing tour which gave us a good overview of the main sites of interest. We saw the incredible temple of Zeus which seems to compete with the Parthenon in a kind of ancient gender war among the Gods. Athena seemed to win out for centuries (go girls) because the Greeks were unable to complete Zeus' temple until the Roman emporer Hadrian stepped in as the first Roman benefactor who wanted to give something
The temple of Olympian Zeus
Much more magnificent in real life back to the land instead of plundering it. This is the same Hadrian of British fame and the wall that the Greeks built around the temple is known as Hadrian's Wall, just like the British one.
The tour then took us up to the Acropolis to visit the Parthenon and the other ancient sites on the hill. We spent a few hours walking around amongst thousands of other pilgrims. There were so many people there that we were not allowed to stop walking on the way because it blocks the pedestrian traffic. The ground is incredibly slippery because the marble has been worn so smooth by thousands of years of human foot slogging. We had to be careful where we put our feet and we saw at least one other traveller land ungraciously on her bottom. Still, it was worth it. The achievement of the ancient architechts and builders is still overwhelming today - even amidst the scale of modern high rise architecture.
Over the next few days we wandered around Plaka a lot. We tried to go the National Museum but it was closed. The public holiday played havoc with our plans a little because the holiday
The Goddess Athena
Protectoress of the ancient city is on a Tuesday but apparently a lot of the Athenians took the opportunity for an extended four day weekend and left town. This was surprising considering the crowds we witnessed - far more people than you would expect to see in Sydney, although maybe that's because the streets are so narrow and everyone is jammed in. We got a bit tired and hassled on Lycabettus hill - the tallest hill in Athens with great views over the city and the Athens acropolis, so we took time out and headed out for a few hours on our own. I went to the gardens next to Parliament house, and Richard coincidently did the same. The gardens are really beautiful and a great respite from the busy, grimy city. I think I would live in them if I was an Athenian.
Anyway, that brings us to today. We are just waiting for Greece to come back alive after the holiday period. The guy at the hotel we are staying at speaks great English and so we have decided to base ourselves here for day excursions around the Pelopponese. We pick up a car tomorrow and plan to spend at least 3
nights here before we head to the islands.
Richard again. For those who are interested, on our first evening at the Acropolis, I saw a Merlin (Falco columbarius) hovering high up around the Parthenon and occasionally executing subtle and delicate manouvres. Also there were common swifts (Apus apus) in abundance, catching unseen insects as they swooped and dived. For me, these aerial inhabitants of the Acropolis helped to emphasise its timelessness - these species have probably been exploiting the unique environment created by these high buildings since before they were even completed! Also, the tour guide mentioned by Dee, said that Athena was meant to be wise and that she associated her wisdom with owls. I immediately thought of the European Little Owl - Athene noctua, and now I see where it got its generic name. Isn't language wonderful?
Advertisement
Tot: 0.154s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 20; qc: 57; dbt: 0.0617s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
Cheryl
non-member comment
Paradise to History
What a shame your visit here coincided with their Public Holiday. I can understand your dismay Dee, going from such a beautiful part of the world to one that appears to so old and tired. Maybe if they raised the prices on their public transport system they could afford to improve the look of the rest of the country. It looks so desolate compared to Germany. Still the history of the place would be worth seeing. I still can't get use to the Aussie with a beard. I'd love to see the female Aussie in some shots. I also love how Richard can turn a bird sighting into a language lesson. Yes, language is wonderful! Looking forward to the next lesson. Cheryl