Athens: Part 1

By the time I finished the posts about Istanbul, summer was in full swing, and it was a busy one. Istanbul was just the first half of our trip, so I’m back now to finish up the travel posts over the next week or so.

From Istanbul, we flew to Athens and had a day and a half there before we left for Santorini. On our way home we spent another afternoon and evening there. We concentrated our time on the Acropolis and the Agora.

The first evening we just walked through the Plaka, browsing through the shops and grabbing a bite to eat in one of many restaurants. Although the guide books suggest avoiding these restaurants, we found the food to be reliably good and reasonably priced. Not once during our whole trip did I have a meal I didn’t like. I could eat Greek and Turkish cuisine every day!

Many of the shops are filled with inexpensive touristy wares, but we did find a few shops with high quality merchandise and were able to purchase some lovely gifts. In this shop the merchant is the artist herself. We purchased one of her hand-painted plates of ancient Olympic runners for Adam.

After a fabulous buffet breakfast at our hotel the next morning, we headed to the Acropolis. 

The main buildings on the Acropolis–the Parthenon, the Propylaia, the Erechtheion and the temple of Athena Nike–were all built during the mid-fifth century BC. That anything remains is truly a miracle. When I was here 40+ years ago, there wasn’t much going on in terms of reconstruction. Now the temples share space with cranes and construction workers who are working to maintain these historical treasures.

The Erechtheion

And the beautiful Caryatid Porch.

I took the next photo for Inspired, a class by Katrina Kennedy. May’s assignment was “forced perspective,” and we were able to line up a postcard with the Caryatid Porch. A fun assignment while on vacation.

The Parthenon

And one of the few photos of the two of us on the trip.

Odeion of Herodes Atticus–love the iPhone panorama

As we walked down from the Acropolis to the Agora, we passed an archaeological dig. It’s amazing to me that the antiquities continue to be uncovered.

The ancient Agora is often considered the birthplace of democracy. As you walk through the Agora today (basically deserted the day we were there), it’s fun to imagine how it must have looked so many years ago when it was the bustling political center of the city.

The Church of the Holy Apostles is one of only two structures still intact. It was built in the late 10th century during the Byzantine era.

A lovely fresco in the Church of the Holy Apostles

The Agora Museum is housed in the Stoa of Attalos, originally constructed around 150 B.C. It was discovered in the late 1800’s and reconstructed to house the excavations from the Agora in the 1950’s.

In fear of overload, I’ll leave you here for today, and will be back soon with the rest of our stay in Athens.