Sharjah

We noticed quickly that there are no skyscrapers in Athens in fact there are no really high buildings over 4 or 5 story’s. I found the reason was all about the Parthenon 🏛 you weren’t allowed to block the view of this iconic Athenian masterpiece. A trip to Athens is a trip back in history and of course it’s all about visiting the Parthenon and so Many other archeological sites. In fact the whole of Athens is one large archeological site and almost any new building work uncovers ancient artefacts that lie under the layers of mud that the ancient city is buried under. Scott had done his homework and we had pre-bought tickets and a historical commentary of each location. These two things make a difference as we missed ticked queues and had great information. We were up early and buying a Coffee walked to the entrance of the Parthenon. We were first there but 15 Minutes later while waiting for the gates to open, the first tour bus arrived dropping its cargo of people. There were many more busses were lining up and Within 30 min of us entering there were long queues and a crush of humanity. The commentary on our phones was invaluable and the stories and history of each feature were brought alive. The whole story of Athens and Greece, it’s gods, it’s wars, it’s grandeur and it’s tragedies is compelling and is like something out of the imaginations that created Starwars, Avalon and other fantastic mystic tales. The site of the birth of democracy the amazing statues and carvings of teachers, like Socrates, Plato Aristotle and Alexander the Great. There are stories of Architects of temples , stone masons artists and sculptors so much history. The old and new mixed together makes Athens so enthralling and it’s history of destruction and rebuilding shows in both excavations and in the present Architecture. The buildings of the city are all white and the windows framed in blue as if the eyes of the structure. Everything and everywhere seems to be marble all originating from mount Pentelicus which provided the marble for the Acropolis. Make no mistake it’s not easy to be sight seeing in an ancient city, it’s almost overwhelming and you definitely get your steps in for the day. We explored the Parthenon for over two hours until a very hot sun and the crush of the crowds packed like sardines in a smouldering cauldron drove us too head for other The Museum. Our early start seemed to keep
Is ahead of the bulk of the crowds. You really need a virtual or real guide to enjoy and appreciate the museum. The overwhelming message is there are gods for everything war peace air wind gods of gods Demi gods. The actions of the gods could be ruthless, terrible, cruel like cutting up children and feeding them to their fathers and then also loving,supportive, and godly avoiding war. The Museum was impressive and is a stunning design. Glass floors mean you can see the excavations from on top as well as walking next to them ( uncomfortable for ladies in skirts when people look up maybe a job for Solasafe) there are hundreds of revived artefacts but at the same time this is quite repetitive with half revived broken statues cracked and eroded petroglyphs the main items on display. It’s information overload Part one of a long day was done Lunch time approaches now for the food tourRead more