Although it has been 9 years since my last visit to this
city, it did not take long to reacquaint myself with the various streets and
landmarks. While it has hardly changed since 2002, a trip to Athens would not be complete without a visit
to the Parthenon. The route from the hotel followed one of the major streets
and passed a number of significant landmarks including the National Gallery,
the Parliament Buildings and an ancient Roman arch
known as Hadrian’s Gate. Joining a mass of several hundred tourists
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| The National something or other!! |
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| Parthenon Museum |
(mostly cruise ship visitors) we ascended the cobbled
streets leading to the western entrance to the Acropolis. Arriving at the upper
part of the plateau by way of a building known as the Propylaea, one cannot
fail to be impressed by the sight of the Parthenon. A massive temple, dedicated
to the goddess Athena, it stands with much of its exterior shrouded in
scaffolding. Built over a period lasting from 447 to 432 BC, it must have been
a magnificent building, its upper areas carved and painted with a variety of
mythological scenes. While little remains of the original artwork, historical
records provide a fairly detailed account of the missing graphics.
Following the visit
to the Acropolis we spent a rewarding two hours exploring the newly opened Acropolis Museum. Displaying several hundred
carvings and statues in a 4 floored building covering three thousand square
metres, it was a significant improvement over the much smaller museum, now
closed, that was a part of the original Acropolis tour.
Leaving the museum
shortly after 3pm we concluded the day with a walk through the Plaka, an area
of old Athens
which consists of a maze of narrow pedestrian streets featuring dozens of
restaurants, bars, gift shops etc.
Returning to the
hotel for a couple of hours of rest we emerged to streets filled with police
and protesters. Having seen footage on CNN of the previous night’s
demonstrations- cops wailing away on protesters with batons and people
generally running amuck,)- we decided to eat dinner at a small Taverna close to
the hotel.
Thursday 10pm
The early part of
the morning was spent exploring the market area. A number of shops and stalls
were selling dried herbs in bulk including lavender, oregano, sage, tarragon
and others with unrecognizable Greek names. The prices were unbelievably cheap,
especially compared to the prices charged in the tourist areas of town. After
purchasing a couple of bags of lavender as well as a small bag of cinnamon
sticks, we spent the balance of the morning visiting a few ancient sites- the
Agora ( market place) the remains of Hadrian’s Library as well as a large area
to the west called the Keramikos. Here many ancient graves had been discovered
as well as some of the original fortified walls and gates of the old city.
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| Typical Greek Taverna ( we ate here in 2002!) |
The balance of the
day was spent shopping and having supper in the Plaka area. There was still a
noticeable police presence on the streets as we walked to the hotel, but
fortunately, no demonstrations or protests. The public transit strike seems to
have ended and all trains and public buses were back in service.
With our airport
shuttle set for 11:30 tomorrow morning, there will be little time for anything
besides packing. While it has been an interesting trip, it will be good to get
back home. Greek restaurants clearly know how to make a great salad, but other
than French fries, they seem clueless about preparing cooked vegetables, with
the exception of eggplant.
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