γεια! ( Pronounciation - Ya Sas) i.e. 'Hello'.
Thanks to my friend for suggesting this place. I had enough time to plan my travel to Athens, booked flight and hotel around one and half months before. My flight from Zurich got terribly late and reached the ancient land at 2 a.m. Whatever I had saved for the trip, spent most of it in reaching the hotel :( Taxi is super expensive after 9 p.m. Never compromise on safety, so keep extra bucks for taxi. I never expected snowfall in Athens, the temperature suddenly dropped from 20 degrees to 4 degrees in two days. This dramatic change was beyond my comprehension.Can I attribute the same to Global warming? I came all the way from Brussels to land up in snow again. Next day I was all set for island cruise Hydras, Aegina and Poros. To my dismay, it got cancelled due to bad weather. I cursed the weather again like a sailor! Now, don't curse it anymore, as I got to visit other awesome places in and around Athens.
Initially I walked around the city aimlessly, visited the Egyptian and Moroccan square and later took a guided tour to the temple of Poseidon, Cape Sounion. It's around one hour drive from Athens. The journey is fascinating around the coast of Mediterranean sea, so never fall asleep. In the bus I was the only awake tourist and others were sleeping, it's hard to be tourist at times, yeah! tired muscles need rest. Our tour guide made us acquainted to some myths/beliefs of Greeks. I will try and not to reproduce Wikipedia ;)
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| Cape Sounion |
Cape Sounion is the southernmost tip of Attica peninsula, three sides are surrounded by the sea. The place has some unexplained energy. The wind was pushing me too hard, I could barely stand on my feet and pose for a photograph. My fingers were numb, somehow manage to capture some scenes.The ruins of Poseidon are properly safeguarded, tourists are not allowed to cross the fence or touch any column. Some time back it was accessible to all but people started writing their love stories on it. Romeo loves Juliet and stuff like that. In fact the famous romantic poet George Lord Byron had also carved his name in one of the columns. It was built in approx 440 B.C. , originally there were 42 columns, as on date only 18 stand.
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| The Temple of Poseidon |
It's wonderful to see sun diving here, but often clouds destroy the view and pictures :(
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| Sunset at Cape Sounion |
I loved the way Greeks prepare and serve coffee. Don't forget to have one in the restaurant next to Poseidon.
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| Greek Coffee |
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| Greek water jar- looks like tumbler of my chemistry lab |
I chose the hotel per tripadvisor.com rating and comments, loved the hotel - Room decor, food and hospitality everything was perfect but location was terrible, this stopped me from stepping out in dark. I spent good time in learning Greek and their history, Thanks to Efitihia (Hotel staff). I learnt their alphabets, pronunciation, origin of words/phrases ,still have notes from her and will preserve them forever! I am looking forward to see her in future. That's the sad part of travelling, you come across to awesome people and leave them the moment you pack your bags. I hope she reads this blog and remembers her crazy Indian student. Eftihia! Efharist Yineka :)
All the city tours were cancelled on Sunday, thanks to weather. I thought of covering the sites on my own and started early in the morning for Acropolis. Be careful of your belongings in Metros, the city has migrants from all over the world, Athens is densely populated,almost 60% of Greece population. A man stopped me at the station and begged for money. I ignored him , didn't have eye contact with him but he kept pleading and almost blocked my way. I got scared, gave him 2 euros and ran away. Yes single woman tourists are vulnerable to such attempts. I have learnt it my way of dealing with it.
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| Partheneon on Acropolis |
Acropolis means 'Highest City' in Greek. Partheneon (487-500 B.C.) is the temple dedicated to goddess Athina. Partheneon is symmetrical from every angel, it appears squarish from a distance, but all the columns are concave in shape. Yeah! Optical illusion :) No photo/imagination/ video can replace the first sight of it. When Persians invaded Greeks , they exploded Partheneon and statue of Athina vanished. In 1975 restoration project was initiated and till now we have not been able to make it symmetrical. Unbelievable isn't it?
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| Athina's chamber |
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| Ruins of Agora |
Below partheneon you find ruins of Agora. Don't miss it. Visit the new Acropolis museum after that. It has statues of Partheneon, Spartans, Trojans, Romans and what not. Camera is not allowed inside :(
Tired! Plaka is a nice place to have food and shop, five minutes walk from the museum.
That day I covered all the sites on foot, as metro employees went on strike from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. I couldn't spot any vacant taxi. I continued walking and bumped into temple of Olympian Zeus(200 A.D.), Hadrian's Arch, Ancient Olympic stadium and Constitution square
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| Temple of Olympian Zeus |
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| Hydran's Arc |
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| Ancient Olympics stadium-1896 |
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| Greek guard at Consitution square |
Don't miss parade at the constitution square. yes very similar to London, Vatican and Switzerland. The guard who never reacts, smiles and moves for one hour.
