In June 2000 I visited Greece for 3 weeks
On May 31, 2000 I arrived in Athens with
about 25 other intrepid travelers from the University. We landed around
10:30 AM. Our hosts in Greece, Kirk and Tatiana, greeted us at the
Athens airport.
Athens is by far the largest city I've ever seen....I've been to NY, Chicago,
Atlanta and I'm from Miami...but they just don't compare to the sheer size of
Athens.
I found Athens to be dirty, just garbage everywhere, multitudes of stray cats
and dogs, people who should NOT be driving, dry-warm weather, with cool breezes.
Most of the buildings are white and not too tall, which is why I think the city
spreads out as far as the eye can see. Most Greeks live in Athens, about
70% of them. Many Greeks spoke English, and I personally never had a
problem with any of the natives. All the merchants and cab drivers I
encountered were very nice to me.
I enjoyed shopping in the Plaka...bartering is good there...plenty of cheap
silver and souvenirs and many little cafes.
One great thing I found about Athens, (well, Greece in general) was that
everyone gardens with beautiful flowers. Flowers everywhere, pink,
purple....red. Many flowers cascaded from the second story balcony onto
the ground below.
One day, I walked for what seemed like 5 miles, to a large hill with a shrine on
top. From there I took these great pictures of Athens.
I LOVE the name of this store!
This is my favorite picture of Athens, though the scan didn't turn out so great...those are all buildings under the rays of the sun...it was lovely in person.
The Acropolis and
Parthenon
6-1-2000
Probably one of the most well
known and most visited sites in all of Greece is the Parthenon. Ever
wonder what the difference is between the Parthenon and the Acropolis?
Well, every city has an Acropolis, even Miami. The Acropolis is simply the
highest point in a city. Atop the Acropolis in Athens is the Parthenon.
The Parthenon was completed in 431 b.c. after 16 years of construction.
When the Athenians were 'biding' for a patron God, Athena and Poseidon both
fought for the honor. Obviously, Athena won. The Olive Tree
she produced still stands to this day, (according to legend) and each time it
falls over, the next day it stands erect again.
A sculptor named Pheidius, who also sculpted a statue of Zeus which stood at
Olympia...(it was one of the Ancient Wonders) sculpted one of Athena which stood
inside the Parthenon.
Athena is the only Goddess ever portrayed wearing armor. She's the Goddess
of Wisdom and Strategic Warfare. The Parthenon was also unique in that it
was one of the only ones which had a marble roof. Her temple stood
in near perfect condition until 1687, when the Turks were occupying Athens.
The Venetians were blowing canon balls at the Parthenon, which was where the
Turks decided to keep all their explosives. Well, one canon made a lucky
shot and blew the roof off the ancient temple. Parts were pulverized, but
many pieces of marble still lie near the Parthenon. Archaeologists have
been working for nearly 20 years and will continue to work for another 50 years
to totally restore the Parthenon to it's ancient glory.
That was our Professor, Kirk Summers. To the right was our entire travel group.
Ancient Tastes Restaurant
(Archeon Gefsis)
6-1-2000
You just can't go to Greece,
and NOT eat what the Ancient Greek's used to eat. We sure did, at the
Ancient Taste's Restaurant. ALL of us crammed on top of the roof at this
restaurant located in the Piereas. There were no forks, since the
Ancient's didn't use them. Dining was a fun and long process to them, time
to debate, philosophize and laugh.
We had some wine served in cute ceramic goblets....I had some veal and pork
kabobs....all was very good!
Dr. Summer's has ONE BIG crawfish there!
To the left I sit with the "other" Dr. Summers, Tatiana...and to the right, I lounge while eating grapes.