At the end of Ramadan muslims celebrate Eid Al Fitr, which gave us three days off school. Including the weekend, this gave me time venture to Athens with two other teachers, Libby and Larissa. It was amazing! We did so so so so much walking, my feet still have not forgiven me, but we got to see some spectacular things!
I think I took about 300 photos while I was there (mostly of ruins), so here is a small selection.
The first thing that struck me about Athens was the weather. It was incredible to be outside and not sweltering in 45 degree heat. We had mild weather the whole time, about 24 to 26 degrees. Libby and Larissa (who are from North Queensland and Perth) thought it was too cold at times, but this Melbourne girl loved it! It only rained on us once. We were out at Akropoli and it rained steadily for about 15 minutes (long enough for us all to buy umbrellas that we will now never use in Sharjah). Otherwise the weather was perfect!
Random building near our hotel that I liked
View of the Parthenon from the roof of our hotel
We arrived at our hotel at about 3pm and decided to head to The Acropolis straight away. Our hotel was right by a Metro station which was fantastic. When we weren't walking, we were on the Metro - I think I have the stations memorised by now.
The Acropolis - it's quite a trek to the top
The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock and due to it's position high above the rest of the city, it was prime real estate anciently for temples or monuments to the Greek Gods. Now there are numerous ruins all around the site, the most famous of which is the Parthenon at the top.
Theatre of Dionysus
View of Athens from halfway up the hill
Still a long way up to go!
Some of the ruins they are not so sure about - I love the question mark
Odeon of Herodes Atticus
They still have concerts and performances here
Almost at the top
The Erechtheum
-this is at the top of the Acropolis, by the Parthenon-
Sanctuary of Zeus Polieus
View from the top
- a church?-
(note the question mark; if it's good enough for the Greeks)
Not sure which one this is and I can't find it on wikipedia,
but I was trying to be arty with the sun behind it
Larissa, self-photographing at the Parthenon
Me, self-photographing at the Parthenon
(as much as I hate photos, I figured I needed some proof that I was there)
It looks better when I'm not in the photo
This is a view of the Temple of Olympian Zeus from the Acropolis
There are 15 of the 104 columns remaining. I know you shouldn't have favourite columns, but mine is the one that blew down in a storm over 100 years ago, I think it looks cool.
Hadrian's Arch in front of the Temple of Olympian Zeus
We had quite an adventure on trolley-buses trying to find this a couple of days later
Theatre of Dionysus again
This was my attempt at being arty again
Temple of Hephaestus (I really like saying Hephaestus)
Again, we struggled to find this a few days later
-it's not as easy to see when you are down on the road-
The road leading around to the Ancient Agora
A chocolate cafe that we should have gone into
-I am having Max Brenner withdrawals-
We thought everyone back at school would appreciate this T-shirt
(June, July and August is when we have our big summer break and everyone goes travelling)
I almost bought one of these bags for Bridie
I thought it was a good combination of your love for cats and ugly bags
We finally found our way into the Ancient Agora, which is another popular site for ruins
The greeks like their columns!
More ruins!
One night we found ourselves at Syntagma Square which is where Parliament House is.
Outside Parliament is the Tomb of the Unknown Solider...
Which is guarded by two strapping young men in pompom shoes, called Evzones (the guards, not the shoes)
Every hour there is the changing of the guard which consists of three new guards marching into the square and changing places with the old guards after a fancy little dance (the third guard is an escort I guess - he shouts the orders)
We loved their dance so much that we couldn't resist coming back and seeing it in the daylight!
Once a week there is an extra special changing of the guard which requires a military band and 120 guards. They block off the surrounding streets for the guards to march through.
Quite a few people turn out to see it
Quite a few pigeons too
(Stacey, I was thinking of you)
Here is the daytime outfit
I especially love the knee tassels
The police on their way to organise the growing crowd
Proof I was there
This is the National Archelogical Museum, just in case people haven't seen enough ruins
An impressive looking bronze sculpture of Zeus, about to throw an imaginary thunderbolt
The Panatheatic Stadium
Built entirely of white marble, the first modern olympics were held here in 1896
Not a great photo, but this is a view of the Acropolis from our hotel roof at night. It was an amazing view of the city from there.
All in all, an amazing trip!
