An Engineer and A Globetrotter: July 2015

The Ruins of Athens Agora

I started early for my second day in Athens to go to Pireus Port to buy my ferry ticket and to check on the location for my early morning trip the next day to the island of Santorini. I’ll tell more about this trip later but now, I talk about my second day in Athens. After that quick stop to the Pireus Port, I went back to the city center to continue my “ancient” adventure to the ruins of the Agora. Agora is one of the major archaeological sites in Athens. But apart from being a tourist site, it did play a very important and influential role on how things were done in Greece and part of how we do things today were actually the influence of the ancient Agora. Agora in Greek means “a place of gathering” and back in the ancient times it was the center of Greek commerce and trade and a place where the basic idea of democracy came into practice. Agora's influence in the Greek culture and history cannot be denied indeed.

Ruins of an Auditorium in Agora

The Library of Hadrian

Temple of Hephaestus

It took me the whole morning to explore the area passing through every sites. For open places like this, it is always a good idea to start early to escape the throngs of tourists and avoid the strong heat of the sun. The most visible monument inside Agora is the Temple of Hephaestus at the northwest end and holds the record of the first temple in Athens to be built in marble. A temple turned church which also used a burial site for Protestants in the early 19th century before it became a museum. The continued renovation has kept monument intact and return to its original Greek appearance. On the east side area, the Stoa of Attalos can be found, now used as a museum keeping all the

Stoa of Attalos

artifacts unearthed at the Agora. Stoa in ancient Greek architecture literally means a covered walkway or portico.The columns are of doric order which is very common of the ancient Greek architecture. The third and particularly significant structure is the Church of the Holy Apostle. Of the many medieval monuments that existed inside the Agora, it is the only one that was preserved and restored to its original form. Buying the unified ticket allowed me the access to all these landmarks.

Church of Holy Apostle

Athens Flea Market

Following the route on my map, it eventually led me to the Athens Flea Market where all sorts of things are being sold from antique furnitures, books, old paintings and artworks. Surely anyone can find something that is of his interests. Even a bottle opener with a strange handle can be a a good and funny gift to to a friend as a souvenir. Vendors of fresh fruits also abound around the Monastiraki Square. After all, it is a marketplace. Restaurants were also everywhere and it was just about time for me to take my lunch at Sava’s, where I tried a half portion of shish kebab, beef served on bed of grilled pita with grilled tomato and onions. I spent the rest of the morning around the Monastiraki Square observing tourists and locals alike, doing some photography and relaxed.

Shish Kebab

Changing of Guards Ceremony

From the Monastiraki Square, I walked towards the nearby metro station (Attiko Metro) off to Zyntagma Square just in front of the Hellenic Parliament to watch the official changing of guards ceremony. As expected, tourist were already lined up to watch the ceremony. The Greek guards came approaching the venue in their unique traditional uniform for hourly changing of guards ceremony. These soldiers from the Evzones (a name of several historial elite light infantry and mountain units of the Greek army - by Wiki) guard the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

The Panathenaic Studium

Moving on, walking along the sidewalks of the National Garden which is located just at the back of the Hellenic Parliament I finally I arrived at the historic venue and the stadium where the very first Olympics of the Modern times was held in 1896, the Panathenaic Stadium. It was quite a walk but worth it. The stadium was reconstructed from the ruins of the ancient Greek stadium and is considered the only stadium in the world which is completely built in marble and with a total seating capacity of 80,000. It may be small in today's standard for an Olympic stadium but surely stands out above the rest for its historical significance. There is an entrance on one side of the stadium leading to a small museum focused on the 100 years history of the Olympiad. One of the main attractions was displays of the different Olympic torches & logos used by each host city. Passing to each one of these torches and logos was like watching history unfolding before my eyes. Imagining the screams of celebration by all who were witnessing the event. I love watching Olympic opening ceremonies so having visited its birthplace was indeed memorable. One in my bucket lists it to watch an Olympic opening live at the venue. I hope I can do it in 2020 Tokyo Olympics or at least at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

My visit to the Panathenaic was my last activity planned for the day and actually concluded my tour of Athens. I was able to visit the places I wanted to see in Athens. Of coarse, there were still more places to see but I am extra excited to visit one of the islands of Greece and perhaps one of the most popular, the island of Santorini.

Temple of Hephaestus

Athens Flea Market

Monastiraki Square

For a couple of weeks now, Greece dominates the world news due to its present economic situation. A situation that is scary to all the Greeks and the unknown future of exiting the European union is a risky possibility. If only Zeus has the valid power to reverse all that is happening now with a single strike of his lightning bolt, he could have done it long time ago or predicted it at least to prevent the possible chaos. But our world has gotten more complicated and more complex that even the few people who has the better knowledge to deal the earthly issues are sometimes at lost for solutions. But am not here to write about economy and debt crisis. I am just reminded of a beautiful country for which I had once the opportunity to visit and experience its very rich culture and history.

The very first time I traveled to Europe for a tour was back in 2012 when I decided to visit France and Greece. Paris has always been in my bucket list of cities I wanted to see so, it was an easy choice. The ancient Greece on the other hand has always fascinated me from the time I gotten to learn more about it during my senior year in high school. Learning its rich culture and history and aside from the fact that it is one of the early cradles of civilization had me thinking that one day, I will visit Greece. That day had come when I finally decided to travel hundreds of miles from Texas where I was staying at that time for a work assignment.

Hotel deck view of the Acropolis by Night

Athens, Mykonos and Santorini were the top destinations on my list. But due to time constraints, I decided to drop Mykonos on my itinerary. Mykonos is popular for its numerous beaches. I am not a beach person to start with hence the decision. I started my tour in the city capital of Greece, the city named after the Greek goddess Athena. It was in the month of September so there weren’t much tourist anymore. Greece is a popular destination for Europeans during the summer season. Apart from being crowded, traveling can be more expensive during the peak season. So I was just on the right time. The temperature was way better, sunny during the day and cooler by night.

I arrived in Athens late in the afternoon from Paris. Taking the train from the airport to my hotel may take longer so I decided to take the taxi instead. But it wasn’t a good idea either. I didn’t realize that my hotel was up the hill so I had to labor pulling up my luggages. The only consolation, the famous Acropolis of Athens can be viewed from the hotel deck and the view was amazing.

THE ACROPOLIS

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

I only had 2days planned for Athens and so the aim was to see as much places as possible. Early morning the next day, I headed to the city center. For someone new to the place, the best and efficient way to explore the city is to take the hop-on hop off tour bus; covering all the main tourist places for one day and and not worrying about the transportation wasn’t a bad idea. First in my itinerary was the visit to the Acropolis. The Acropolis actually rises above the city of Athens located on a flat-topped rock that is 150m above sea level. Within the vicinity of the Acropolis are two of the famous archeological remains of the ancient Greece, The Parthenon and Old Temple of Athena. From the drop-off point of tour bus, I climbed up the hill and the first site I saw was Odeon of Herodes Atticus, a slopped stone theater which was built as venue for music concerts. At present times, though not as grand as it used to be, with the efforts of restoring for what is left, the Greeks has maintained its very purpose for which it was built. And the one notable performances was held in 1957 by Maria Callas, a renowned American born Greek soprano singer and famous for her bel canto technique of singing.

The Ruins of Parthenon

Climbing up further, I reached the summit of the hill and right in front of my eyes is the magnificent ruins of the Parthenon. A view that I can only appreciate by looking at pictures from different history books back then is now a reality. I was standing on the same flat rock where the Pantheon stands. Though only the ruins were left, it is still massive and grand as it stands. I can’t help but wonder how this massive structure with the limited tools during its construction can be built with great precision and artistry. Boulders of rocks stalked on top of the other and sculptured to form a structure that could have lasted and maintained its grandeur and beauty up to this day if not for the devastating conflict and war which damaged the temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena. Nobody is allowed to get inside the structure due to its fragile condition but walking around the perimeter of the temple was in itself an experience to remember. Many of the columns of the Parthenon are still intact but the roof part was totally gone. The remaining parts are constantly being strengthened to prevent from further collapsing. Only part of the east pediment remained. The pediments are the triangular shaped upper part of the structure with the two sloping sides of the triangle forming the roof of the temple. These pediments located on the east and west side of the temple originally had sculptures depicting two episodes in the Greek mythology. The east pediment illustrates the birth of Athena from head of her father, Zeus while the west pediment depicts the contest between Poseidon and Athena in taking the honor of becoming the city patron. A contest that was won by Athena after offering an olive tree as a sign of peace. Tons of stones are collected in one area properly tagged and catalogued.

The doric columns of the Parthenon

The East Pediment depicting the birth of Athena

The West Pediment depicting the contest between Athena
& Poseidon

Equally breathtaking to the Parthenon is the picturesque view of the city of the Athens. Scanning further the city and the buildings below, the one visible area that caught my attention was an open space with several temple columns still remained standing. And further looking at my map, it got me excited since it was the site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, The Temple of Zeus. I stayed for awhile at the Acropolis to enjoy the view and examine further the ruins before I decided to head back to the bus stop and went on to my next destination, The Temple of Zeus.

THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS

The Temple of Zeus

As I enter the temple grounds, I was trying to make a mental picture of how the temple would have looked like back in the ancient times most specially the statue of Zeus. After all, the statue itself is considered one the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, on the same league as that of the Egyptian Pyramids. The entirety of the temple was long gone except for the few remaining columns standing tall and strong despite the possible threat by nature. Surprising to note though was that no remains or ruins were to be found on the ground. Wandering where it went, I had this suspicion that it could have been sold to many museums around the world. I am saying this since in my past visits to some of world known museums, there is always an area dedicated to the Greek arts and its sculptures. Out of the 104 columns supporting the temple of Zeus only 16 remained. But I was fortunate enough to have visited this ancient wonder before the only surviving columns get lost forever.

Benaki Museum

After staying outside for several hours, I decided to visit the Benaki & Cycladic Museum, a walking distance from the temple and just across the Greek Parliament. The museum is rather small in comparison to the huge museums I’d been to like the Louvre in Paris. However, though small, the museum houses some of Greek’s prehistoric and some collection of modern arts. I didn't stay long inside the museum. After finishing the tour, I stopped by the shop right before the exit to buy some souvenirs. It was almost lunch time so I decided to try some authentic Greek Cuisine. For my lunch, I did try the lamb souvlaki which is one of Greek's popular fast foods with small pieces of meat served sometimes with vegetables grilled on a skewer. Part of the whole menu usually includes pita sandwich with garnishes or often with fried potatoes. The restaurant location was also a good place to rest and enjoy watching passersby. The restaurant is at Ermou which is just around the Ruins of Agora.

Lamb Souvlaki for Lunch

Without wasting time, I went straight to my next stop, the Acropolis Museum. A museum that is dedicated to display and store what was left in the ruins of Acropolis. At the main lobby of the museum are huge video screens explaining how the ancient Greeks built the Acropolis and playing some virtual images and videos to better understand the processes and some mythological stories associated to each sculptures and images. For someone really familiar to the Greek mythology (which I am not), this is a haven and a place of great interest. Just nearby the museum is the Theater of Dionysius. This theater as compared to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus is much bigger in size but less preserved. The theater is located at the south slope of the Acropolis which dates back as early as 4th century BC. Tourist can actually sit on the beaches to experience the feeling of having seated the stone benches which were artistically crafted. It was in the mid afternoon so the sun was abit excruciating. I stayed for awhile before I decided to retire and go back to my hotel to have some rest. Much were planned for the next day so I needed rest. Overall, my first day in Athens was amazing and memorable.