Athens II

The ancient sites of Athens. What can one say but OMG!!! I hadn't planned on visiting any sites yesterday but as I passed the entrance to the ancient agora I thought: why not? 37 years ago, after a month or so spent on the tranquil islands, I came to Athens. I stayed in a flea bag hotel, being poor, and was so horrified by the noise and traffic of the capital that I left as soon as I could and headed for Thessaloniki and an island in the north, the heavenly Thassos. But not before a short visit to the Acropolis. I got there at opening time and left when the first tourist buses arrived. It made a profound impression on me then, and it did again today. Wisely, I arrived at 8:30, as the gates opened. It was not too crowded, but within an hour, when the first tour buses pulled up, it became intolerablely crowded. The phrase from my guide book kept going through my head: this is the most important ancient site in the Western World. And so it is. And the Parthenon is without doubt the most perfect building ever erected. It may be just a shell of its former glory but it is still an awesome experience to be in front of it. This is truly holy ground, this is the monument that incorporates the best of human aspiration, the striving for what is good and excellent. When I thought of all the great beings who had trod these stones, a host of Athenian minds who literally shaped the course of human intellectual development, I was in tears. This is a monument to us, to our humanity. It is no wonder that huge sums are being spent to preserve and reconstruct the complex of buildings that stand atop the Acropolis. After that I went to the newly opened Acropolis Museum. It is superbly done and gives you an overview of the history and magnificence of the ancient city. Since I had all day, I walked to the National Archaeological Museum. Two museums in one day is a bit much, but how could I leave Athens without having seen it? It houses the finest collections of Greek historical objects. And what was the first thing I saw when I walked in? Nothing other than the famed Funeral Mask of Agammemnon. Whilst Sir Arthur Evans was scratching away in the dirt at Knossos, Heinrich Schliemann (who had already excavated Troy) unearthed a series of graves in Mycenae. What he discovered was a world sensation. He thought he had found the funeral mask of the great king mentioned in the Iliad, but it turns out he was wrong. Nevertheless, what he found changed our notions of pre-Hellenic Greece forever. And there was the mask that I had seen in photographs, one of the supreme treasures of the ancient world, staring me right in the face. There were many other renowned statues and objects and I was awed by each one, as tired as I was. Playing tourist is hard work. I had walked miles in the hot sun and hadn't eaten hardly a thing all day. As I walked back to my hotel along Leoforas Alexandros I came upon a wonderful restaurant, the answer to my culinary prayers. A half liter of Greek red later I was feeling no pain.

Athens I

We were requested to disembark by 8 AM so that the crew could get things ready for the next cruise. I felt like I was being thrown back out into the cold, cruel world. Well, cold it certainly wasn't and the prospect of a few days in Athens is hardly a cruel fate. Still, the moment I stepped out of the cruise terminal I was left to my own devices. Since I couldn't check into my Athens hotel before noon, I had a lot of time to kill. Pardon me for reporting the mundane, but travel is not all razzle dazzle. It is in how one copes with the minor, sometimes unpleasant moments in a trip that determines a good or a wretched experience on the road. I was not going to pamper myself and take a taxi and was determined to get to my hotel using public transportation. First I had to find the bus that went to the Piraeus metro station. I am grateful for the kindness of strangers for pointing me in the right direction. The metro was constructed for the 2004 Olympic Games. It's a bit clunky, but it does the trick. I chose a mid-scale hotel in the nice neighborhood called Ambelokipi, just north of Lykavittos Hill. There are plenty of cheaper hotels in town, but they seem to be clustered in the Omonia area which is rife with drug dealers and pimps at night. No thanks. 
And now some thoughts on the Greek's aesthetic sense concerning colors. They tend to like dull, neutral colors and avoid patterns of any kind. This sets then apart from their flamboyant neighbors to the west, the Italians, and even more so from the Turks who love to swathe themselves (the women, anyway) in clothing with bizarre color combinations and patterns. My hotel, the Proteus, is actually quite nice. It's clean and friendly. The lobby was done up in kitschy but subdued décor. You can't imagine my shock when I opened the door of my room to find a bright red carpet and furniture painted pepto bismol pink. To complete the 'ensemble' there are posters of the Eiffel Tower and the Arche de Triomphe on the walls, adding a certain je ne sais quoi to the whole effect. Oh, and I forgot to mention the floor to ceiling mirror on one wall. It looks like a room in a  brothel. When I went downstairs later the concierge asked me if the room was okay. I said it was fine but would have liked to add: But wouldn't you rather be renting it out by the hour?
Some thoughts on the Greek alphabet. A surprising number of signs are written in Roman script. I think the Greeks must consider it cool and cosmopolitan. Among the changes from the ancient to the modern language there seems to have been a general trend to simplification. As far as I can tell there is only one 'o' vowel in the language, pronounced as an open 'aw'. But what is the point of having two different symbols for the sound, omicron and omega? The same thing seems to be true with the 'e' sound. There is no open and closed differenciation; both are open. But the aplhabet still has eta and episilon, yet both are the same. Diphthongs have lost their qualities and most seem to be simply 'i'. The letter beta is not 'b' at all, but is pronounced 'v' -- alpha, veta, gamma, etc. To write the 'b' sound you need m plus p, or MP. It actually makes sense when you think about it.
I intended to take the walking tour suggested by my guide book this afternoon. It took me 20 minutes to walk to the downtown. One of the more interesting sights was the honor guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier which is in front of the Parliament building. The two soldiers wear the most outlandish uniforms: pompoms on their shoes, tight leggings, a short skirt, a red hat with a tassle that comes down to their waists. It is quite a sight. They perform a choreographed strut, like a goose step in slow motion, followed by rhythmic stomping. Who thought this up? It is entertaining but rather strange. Down the street was the site of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. It was the largest ever built, took 700 years to complete. Of its original 104 columns only 15 remain standing. Still, it gives a good ides of the size of the place. I thought I would just walk around the circumference of the Acropolis. By mid-afternoon it was time to eat. Virtually in the shadow of the Acropolis I dined in a Greek taverna. I would normally eschew anything that smelled of tourist trap, but this place was authentic. I sat on the shaded deck, admiring the view. There was also a pomegranate tree hung with fruit. Are they kidding me? This is too perfect! And the food was delicious. I had egglpant baked with feta cheese (I have to try this at home), a salad of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers (the much nicer European variety) sweet onions, green pepper and olives. It was lightly seasoned and dressed with Greek olive oil. Molto delicioso! For desert I had Greek yogurt, so creamy and rich, topped with Thassos honey and chopped nuts. That was heaven. And the whole meal was very reasonable. I thanked the gods for leading me there. After that I ambled over to the site of the Athenian Agora, where Sokrates wandered. I love being here.