F E L I N E R S

Athens needs no introduction - the magnificent Acropolis is the reason Athens exists, and also the reason most visitors come to the Greek capital. The sight of the Acropolis standing defiant above Athens never fails to impress!

Athens has a 'developing world' feel to it - a little of grunginess here and there and I quite like that. Most of Europe, or Western Europe precisely, are so squeky clean that I find myself missing the 'ooomph' of travel in developing countries.

Monastiraki Sq near the Plaka district, the main tourist area

We of course had Acropolis on our must see list but I was equally excited to see Ancient Agora where Socrates spent a lot of his time expounding his philosophy.

Ancient Agora crowned by the Acropolis above. Socrates, Plato, and St. Paul walked these grounds!

Temple of Hephaestus on the western edge of the agora. There is no ambiguity when viewing the Temple of Hephaestus. It’s one of the few temples - if not the only temple - which has survived the centuries intact. Even the frieze has survived in its original position in a remarkably complete condition. As a result, it is a favorite spot for tourists and archeologists to view. As with virtually all of the ruins, visitors are not allowed inside the temple. However, one can see enough from the outside to get a good understanding of the form and function of a Greek temple.


Temple of Hephaestus close up

Visiting Ancient Agora isn't like visiting the Angkor Wat - most ruins are not intact ad we felt that the Agora’s administrators could assist the process by placing better descriptions at each of the ruins. Bring a good map, decent imagination and strong sense of history! Or else it'll look like a pile of stones to you.

Stoa of the Giants

Collection of various statues and artifacts in the Stoa of Attalos that has been rebuilt as a museum.

View of Athens on the way up to Acropolis

On the southern slope of the Acropolis stands the Theatre of Dionysos and the importance of theatre in the Athenian city-state can be gauged from the dimensions of this enormous theatre. It seats approximately 15 thousand people in simple stone benches.

Theatre of Dionysos

The path from the Theatre of Dionysos continues to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, another stone theatre structure. It was built in AD 161 by Herodes Atticus in loving memory of his wife Regilla. Today, the site is being used for performances of drama, music and dance. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see one.

Odeon of Herrodus Atticus

The road then leads on to the the Acropolis which is crowned by the Parthenon. It stands sentinel over Athens, visible from almost everywhere within the city.

The marble of the monuments gleam in the midday sun and gradually takes on a honey hue as the sun sinks. At night they hover above the city brilliantly illuminated. The Acropolis was first inhabited in Neolithic times and the first temples were built in homage of the goddess Athena.

The sudden glimpse of the Parthenon will not fail to lift your spirits! Parthenon means 'virgin's apartment' and is the largest Doric temple ever completed in Greece.


Although the Parthenon was impressive, I was more fascinated by the Erechtheion, built on the part of Acropolis held most sacred. They say that it was here that Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and that Athena produced the olive tree.

The Erechtheion

Athens is surrounded by mountains and Lykavittos Hill or 'hill of wolves' dominates downtown Athens.

Temple of Olympian Zeus, the largest temple in Greece as seen from the Acropolis. Notice the smoke in the photo - we were in town when the wildfires in Greece reached its peak and raged uncontrollably.

We watched as helicopters fly water to the affected region. The Prime Ministers declared state of emergency and called for help from the EU.

Stoa of Eumenes below the Acropolis, built as shelter and promenade for theatre audiences in olden days.

We stumbled upon a neighbourhood at the foot of the Acropolis that has nice, old houses that are in danger of being bulldozed so that the new Acropolis Museum would have an unobstructed view of the Acropolis.

We explored the cute streets of Plaka, the old historical neighbourhood of Athens, just under the Acropolis with labyrinth streets, many restaurants and plenty of souvenir stores.

Street in Plaka leading to the Temple of Olympian Zeus

Originally the temple had 104 huge and impressive Corinthian colums. Today, only 15 remains.

By the time we finished at the Temple of Olympian Zeus, smoke has engulfed the sky on certain parts of the city.

We also went wandering in Athens' First Cemetery, the resting place of many famous Greeks apparently. Most of the tombstones and mausoleums are lavish in the extreme!

Some are kitsch, some sentimental

Clock tower on Adrianou Street on the ancient promenade opposite Ancient Agora

Streets in and around Psiri, a regenerated neighbourhood for its fashionable restaurants, bars, live music tavernas, and small number of hotels.

This reminds me of who else but Garf