Donning my Greek Sandals (Adidas Sambas) it was time to tread the well worn steps up to the Acropolis of Athens, the ancient citadel above the city. Now if Gus (Toula's dad from My Big Fat Greek Wedding) was here, he'd tell us that the word "Acropolis" is from the Greek meaning Acro "highest point" and polis, meaning "city", and there are many Acropoleis (yep that's the plural, Gus told me) in Greece. But of course the one in Athen's is the one everyone thinks of and is the one I had in mind when I added it to the list.
A quick read the day before, and I learnt that the site has been inhabited since 4000 BC, but it wasn't until Pericles came along in the fifth century BC that building began. I wander if we'll look back in 2500 years and be admiring the ruins of a well constructed Westfield Shopping Centre? Actually, that's not fair, there are plenty of beautiful more "modern" buildings around the world that I'm sure future generations will be oohing and aahing over. I wander is some form of selfie will exist?
There are several ancient buildings up there, the most famous of course being the Parthenon. Built initially as a temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, it has also been a Christian church and a mosque when the Turks invaded. During the war in the 1600s, the Parthenon was being used as a warehouse for storing explosives and boom! Needless to say, it was badly damaged.
Anyway, it is an amazing place with great views over the city and definitely well worth visiting. Oh and all the carvings and pieces taken from here that are spread around the world's museums, Greece wants them back.
With only one day in Athens, we made the most of it with a multipass ticket and managed to fit in the Ancient Agora (meeting/market place, basically, the place where everything went down) and Hadrian’s Library. This Hadrian dude (Roman emperor from 117 to 138AD), certainly got around. There's stuff with his name on it all over the place.
After we'd had our culture fix, we walked through the Plaka area, filled with shops, cafes and cute buildings to Syntagma Square. Our destination was the 19th-century Old Royal Palace, which now houses the Greek Parliament. No, we hadn't suddenly become interested in Greek Politics, we were here of course to see the Evzones Changing of the Guard Ceremony (those of the intricate moves and pom-pom shoes) who act as Guards for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. To be selected, you must be serving in the military and you've got to be tall - over 1.88m, but under 2.05m.
We finished our day on Athens with what else, but some Greek food. A chicken gyro for me and tzatziki and pita for Jennifer and all too quickly it was time to heard back to the good ship Island Princess. Loved Athens, would like to one day return and spend a few days here. Opa!
Ever wondered what opa means? Although it has no direct English translation; it’s closest to an amalgamation of ‘oops,’ ‘hooray,’ and ‘wow.’
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