Acropolis

Malcolm and Raylene set off early to visit the nearby Acropolis. We could see them from our rooftop terrace!

These are Malcolm's photos:

We went down town to do some shopping and sightseeing and to pick up the last of the ferry tickets for our island hopping over the next fortnight.

In the afternoon we visited the Acropolis Museum. It was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on the surrounding slopes, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It lies over the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. The museum was opened in 2009 and has nearly 4,000 objects exhibited in its 14,000 square metres of space.

Situated over an ancient part of the city....

....and right next to the Acropolis, the museum has great views of Athens and this historic site. As well as the statues and other displays there are also fantastic models of the Acropolis and its buildings, including a sequence showing the site soon after the first wall was built and at its zenith, before its destruction by various invaders.

The most famous of the Acropolis buildings is the large Parthenon temple, the remains of which are still there.



Of course about half of the marble sculptures from the various Acropolis buildings were taken to Britain by the Earl of Elgin, including one of the six statues that made up the "Porch of the Maidens." The remaining five statues are housed in the museum and Linden stood in as number six for my photo.

The Greek government continues to urge for the return of the "marbles" to Athens through diplomatic, political and legal means.

Dinner tonight was another chance to try a wide range of Greek food: