"Kalimera" (Good morning) from Athens,
Today's my third full day in this miserable, dirty, old, and not-very-well-kept
city full of graffiti, traffic, and poor air quality that rivals Bombay. No
wonder Athens was passed up for the 1996 Olympics!
That said, I've been having a great time! The first morning (24th) started out
pretty bad actually - I had to check in my bag at London airport and it did not
arrive at Athens airport with me. I went to the hotel with only my bagpack
consisting of my laptop, camera, 1 shirt, a map and guidebook of Athens, and my
passport. But the day was gorgeous and sunny! I went to the Acropolis, the
ancient Greek Agora, Roman Agora, and some other "miscellaneous" ruins in the
area -- Temple of Zeus, Hadrian's Arch (where one side is inscribed with "This
is Athens, the ancient city of Theseus", and the other side is inscribed with
"This is the city of Hadrian, and not of Theseus"). Walked through the Plaka
area, and went to McDonalds for lunch (had a "Greek Chicken sandwich combo" -
actually quite good). My bag apparantly had been left on the tarmac at London
airport, and it arrived on another flight that night at 9:30 PM -- delivered to
the hotel. By the way my hotel is very nice - got a view of the Parthenon from
the open-air roof, and it's within walking distance of all the major
attractions of ancient Greece mentioned above.
Acropolis:
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Theater of Herodes Atticus: Built 161 AD by a wealthy Roman citizen, restored in 1950-1961 AD, and still in use today.
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Parthenon: Built between 447 BC and 438 BC
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Erechtheion: Built 421-406 BC; used to be temple to both Athena and Poseidon
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City of Athens as seen from the top of the Acropolis:
(The first two pictures have the Theater of Dionysius (originally 6th century BC, current ruins are from 2nd century BC) in the lower right, next picture shows Temple of Zeus (begun in 6th century BC, completed by Roman emperor Hadrian in 131 AD) and Hadrian's arch (132 AD) just under it, next to the road. The next picture is the Themis Temple, and finally a close-up of Temple of Zeus again)
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Ancient Agora of Athens (first developed in 6th century BC), with the Stoa of Atallos (Originally 159-138 BC; reconstruction in 1953-1956 AD) and the museum inside. The second picture shows The Temple of Hyphaestus (449 BC). The area was a marketplace and a place for Athenians to just "hang out", and also where Socrates used to teach.
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Roman Agora : Built 1st century BC (tower on the right) - 1st century AD (gate on the left); served same purpose as Greek Agora
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Syntagma Square : Center of modern Athens: The Greek Parliament building is across the street, and the main metro transfer station under all this... the Christmas Eve celebrations there
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