In the old days…

‘Cualquier tiempo pasado fue mejor’ (in English: the past was always better). This old Spanish saying describes the impression I had when I entered the Athens Acropolis.

Greece, once glorious, grandiose, important, and economically prosperous; now small, insignificant, unheard of, except for all the wrong reasons and financially wrecked. It had its time, now that is all memories.

Some may say that Rome could be similar in a way. Both cities seem to be proud of their old culture, ancient buildings, well-renowned history.

However, I think that the difference between the two cities lies in that Rome (or rather Italy as a country) has maintained its place in the world. It has been in the original list of ‘G’ countries. Its economy, although not financially healthy, is large and open and it continues to contribute in this more homogeneous and  globalised world. Greece, on the other hand, seems to have given up. It can’t be bothered to keep up the pace. It is continuously diminished by the EU (well, Germany).

Anyway, these were a few wandering thoughts of my first impressions of Greece. It is now to time to start this post.

So we leave Nafplio, unimpressed. But we are glad we came, it gave us a nice introduction to Greece before immersing ourselves into our next cultural visit in Athens.

The road goes along the coast. The views are stunning. I like my picnics on the beach these days. As soon as the sun is out, I am out too. Today, it is not that sunny, but I still want to eat out so I persuade Gary.

After our lunch we continue to drive towards Peiraias.  Peiraias is a town just before Athens and has one of the biggest ports in Greece. It is on the coast and close to Athens. Over the centuries, it has become a big trading town. As most port towns, it looks industrial, functional, impersonal.

Oops, a dead ship. Her signs of deterioration suggests she has been there for years.

We arrive at Athens at 16.00. Last night we did some research to find out where we were allowed to spend the night around here. There were places along the coast where they tolerate motorhomes overnight. That sounds good: away from the city, by the sea…it will be quiet and nice. We also found out that a there is a tram that runs along the coast from and to the city centre. It must have been built for the Olympics.

So we head off to the coast to find a quiet and nice place to sleep and which is also relatively close to a tram station.

This place looks good. There is also a hotel nearby and we can pick up the free Wi-Fi. Everything seems to be going smoothly in Athens.

We think that two days will be enough. Tomorrow we will visit the Acropolis, the Ancient Agora and the Roman Agora, all included in our €12 ticket.

 

The next day, we get up at the same time but we are not rushing. The tram station is only five minutes away. Suddenly from Dora’s windows, I make out dots in the sea. Are they fishes? No, they are actually old people! Seventy years old having a bath in the sea, in April, at 9.00am

We are ready and about to leave. An old guy approaches us:

“You can’t park your motorhome here”.

“I am sorry but we haven’t seen any signs banning motorhomes around” I reply.

“Yes, there are no signs but we know the rules. You can’t park here”.

With such statements, there is no room for arguments. It just sounds he doesn’t like Dora on his beach, so we just park her on the main street closer to the tram station, which is even more convenient for us.

The tram goes to the city centre every 15 minutes and it takes 45 minutes. We will get off in Fix station, the closest to the Acropolis.

Gary is happy. He is going to go on a tram!

We are getting close to the Acropolis. On the way to the tickets office, we can get a glimpse of The Odeion of Herodes Atticus, one of the two theatres built just outside the Acropolis.

Today, we have come prepared with our earphones to attach to our audio guide. Most of the audio guides don’t come with them, and you have to hold the handset close to your ear. But after a few hours, your arm gets tired and your ear super hot!

Sadly, there is no audio guide available in any sites in Athens. There are audio tours though. “Very good value” the woman at the ticket office says.

No thanks, we prefer audio guides for many reasons: you can DIY your tour, you can rewind if you wish to listen again, fast forward if you are not interested, and more importantly, you don’t have to join a group. The only disadvantage, you can’t ask questions but who cares these days. You can always find out your answers online later on.

So we decide to buy a book of The Acropolis instead. The plan: one of us would read, the other would take photos.

The first site we come across, the buildings we saw earlier from below: The Odeion of Herodes Atticus.

From here, it looks well-preserved, we are not allowed to get any closer.

The highlight of this site is the view. On the horizon, there is one of the eight hills of Athens. We will climb the highest one tomorrow.

We pass the Odeion quickly and continue towards the Acropolis, which is further up, enclosed by a wall.

The entrance looks a bit chaotic, the buildings around it and the walls are covered in scaffolding. Lots of people are scattered on the stairs, who you have to negotiate by going around them, “sorry do you mind?”

The Temple of Athena Nike is on our left, we will visit it when we go out. Let’s go directly to the Parthenon, the important bit.

And there it is, splendorous. It is like I have always imagined it.

It is also covered in scaffolding. It has been since 2009. I wonder if the refurb team aims to reconstruct it exactly how it was originally, including the colours.

Well, there is one bit that, for sure, they won’t be able to include: the sculptures that comprised the top front door. Those were removed by the Scotch ambassador of England, Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin. He removed the sculptures and transported to England. Today, they live in the British Museum in London. Why should not the sculptures go back to where they belong?

Ok, you cannot be blamed for what your ancestors have done wrong in the past. But you can be blamed for not putting those things right. The sculptures will not be returned to the Greeks, according to the Brits, because they wouldn’t know how to look after them. Is that arrogance from the side of the Brits or what?

They have come up with many other arguments; if all things had to be returned to their rightful owners museums would be empty! I like this one, you may say that a thief’s home would be empty to. They do not belong in the British museum, the Greeks would understandable like them back, and they are well equipped to look after their own artefacts. They should be returned.

There is no doubt that Elgin was an unscrupulous thief, and the damage that was done, damage that can never be repaired, is a cultural crime. The British museum also admits that it made mistakes as they tried, unsuccessfully to clean and restore the pieces.

Even if they were to be returned they would not end up on the Parthenon, another argument the British Museum uses, they would end up in the museum just down the road, but exact copies might be made, and these would sit back in place.

I really like the way the archaeologists here are renovating the monuments. The new marble is blindingly obvious, not pretending to be old, but bringing it back to a form that is recognisable. Will we see a day when the Parthenon is back to the same form as was intended? When you can walk to the inner temple? I hope so, and I hope you can appreciated the complete freeze as well.

In the meantime I am ashamed that the British museum, that the British government, does not return these stolen goods. GDR

We continue to go around. The Parthenon is the third temple built on this hill. The previous ones were built in a Doric archaic style. This one is a bit more modern (it was built in mid 5th B.C., but they still consider it modern )  was built in an Ionic style. You can tell by the spiral shapes given to the top of the columns.

Over centuries, this building has undertaken numerous restoration works. It is only when new techniques have come along  when they discover that past restoration works have actually done more damage to the building than good. Who knows if the current works, which have already been undertaking for 30 years, will have to be undone in 100 years time? Is this not a waste of time? Death is inevitable. So, you wonder if it is better to let the building die like everything else in this world.

But then again we have travelled many miles to come here, and one of the attractions, the acropolis. Would we still have come were it not here? If none of the Greek monuments survived? But if they rebuild it, will it become Disney? How do they decide to rebuild that bit, and not the next? Archaeology seems to be there for different purposes; first to let the experts understand the civilisation that they are studying and then to reveal that to the less well informed, to educate us, to show us its value. But it is a perplexing science, a confusing one that only partially reveals what was going on, but nonetheless fascinating. GDR

We walk around and continue to admire the city of Athens from here.

It is one of a considerable size.

And on the coast. Open sea brings freshness to a big city.

Here is the new museum that hold the countless treasures of the Acropolis, and where the marbles would reside if returned. GDR

The Greek flag. We like it. It is simple. The blue and the white colours contrast nicely. They are also very representative of the country. This is the blue and white colour country.

The temple of Zeus. It is meant to be bigger than the Parthenon. We will visit it this afternoon.

The Erechtheion. That says nothing to you, don’t worry, neither to me. Gary reads the story. It is just another temple. Apparently, this is one of the most photographed temples.

People seem to really like the young ladies holding up the roof, however it is another building vandalised by that thug Elgin and yet again one of those beautiful sculptures no longer holds up a roof in Athens, it resides once again in London.

And here we are. Do they deserve to be the most photographed girls in the world?

To build the columns they used the same techniques as those of the Parthenon. We still like the robustness and simplicity: big round, stripy stones on top of big round stripy stones. Even though the stone was all local, you wonder how did they manage to bring it all up here? Yes, with lots of labour. Surely, they didn’t have any issues of unemployment at that time.

 

We have done the Acropolis. One last look at the Parthenon. See you when you are finished!

Oops, the refurb team, working on site.

Going back to the Temple of Athena Nike now that there are less people (as it is lunchtime). Nice and cute temple. One of the better preserved. The most decorative bits have been taken to the Archaeological Museum which may end up visiting later on (or we may not, depending how we feel).

Let’s go for a Gyros – traditional Greek pork or chicken wrapped in pitta bread – but before we will stop in the Ancient Agora.

SM.