Greece 2022 trip - Athens
June 9 - June 13
All roads lead to Athens! At last we arrived in the Greek capital. Our first walk was to Philopappos Hill from our apartment in the Koukaki district.
(Click on each image to see the high-resolution version)
Philopappos Hill
Of course we had to visit the Acropolis.
Roman Theater
Acropolis
Acropolis
Parthenon
Parthenon
Erechtheion
Erechtheion
Erechtheion
The Acropolis Museum in Athens did a good job of blending the inside with the outside. Near the acropolis, the museum itself sits on top of an archeological excavation site (a Roman and Byzantine urban area). Instead of leaving the site alone, they built the museum on top of it, creating a sensation a living history. However, it was not without controversy during its construction (for the disturbances and destruction of archeological artifacts).
Acropolis Museum
Acropolis Museum
Acropolis Museum
Acropolis Museum
Acropolis Museum Exhibit
Other sites in Athens.
Hephaestus
Ancient Agora
A column at the The Temple of Olympian Zeus
Now for something different -- right out of Aesop's Fables?
When we were in Athens (June 10, 2022), just outside the Ancient Agora, we saw this tortoise grazing on the grass field.
After some searching, I determined that this is a Greek Tortoise or Spur-thighed Tortoise (Testudo graeca, you can see the sharp scales, or "spurs" on its thighs). It is quite likely the same species that Aesop talked about in "the tortoise and the hare". It moves unexpectedly fast (you can see the blurring of its hind foot in the picture due to motion).
The hare, of course, was nowhere to be found.
Tortoise
More views of the Acropolis.
Acropolis
Acropolis
On Saturday (June 11), we watched the changing of guards outside the parliament building.
The Parliament
Guard
Guards
Changing of guards
Changing of guards
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