The Museum and Excavation Site

Good morning, all! The bed here is super comfy and I don’t think I moved all night. They have roll down window ‘shutters’ here (I’ve seen these elsewhere in Europe) and they act like total blackout blinds and noise barriers. You can have them all the up or down or a partial way. (Wish I had these at home on night shift!) I have my breakfast of yogurt, fresh fruit, muesli, and honey. The place I’ve rented is fairly close to the main attractions so I can walk. Today I’m going to the Acropolis Museum.

It is a very warm walk (up hill) to the museum. It is only 15 minutes (according to Google Maps) but it seems longer. Along the way I notice that the trees have oranges on them. They have planted orange trees up and down the street. It looks like they are ready to pick as well. A quick Google search, tells me that these are bitter oranges and are not good for eating. Still, it looks pretty!

The museum is a very modern building covering some very ancient ruins. The building was started in 2004 and opened in 2009. The exhibits inside are wonderful, however the exhibits underneath is surprising. As you walk up to the entrance the walk way is actually glass. I normally hate these but this one show that the museum was built over an old ancient settlement that dates from the 7th-9th century AD that has been excavated! How cool is that? I have to talk a little about how the building was constructed. The old settlement had been found in 1989 when they were excavating for the current building. Excavation was stopped while the settlement could be studied. It was then decided to use a floating design for the building so that the settlement would not be ruined. Now you can see the exhibits inside the museum and under the museum.

Several of the artifacts in the museum are very well displayed and the stone column statues of the women were actually moved here from the Acropolis and restored for preservation. After viewing all the exhibits, you can then wander underneath the building on walk-ways to check out the city below the museum. You can actually see the clay pipes used for plumbing. You can also see where they would have had outside patio space. Amazing! Check out the pictures.

After this I head for some late lunch/early dinner at a place in a little square on my way home. It has been a pleasant day.
I could see the Acropolis staring down at me from the museum, goading me to walk up and check it out. That will be tomorrow’s adventure!Read more