Our tickets to the Acropolis was inclusive of entrance to the Ancient Agora of Athens. The Agora during its ancient days was a space might have been used as a market, or for an election, a dramatic performance, a religious procession, military drill, or athletic competition. Here administrative, political, judicial, commercial, social, cultural, and religious activities all found a place together in the heart of Athenians.
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel. Show all posts
Thursday, April 7, 2016
April Already!
Hi folks.
So drop by. Let's see where we are heading to next ;)
It's already April. What happened to the 1st quarter of the year? It's like playing football, isn't it? You race up and down the field and before you know it time is up and game's over. Some analogy this is eh? ;)
Stories of my Greek soujorn has not much progressed. Keep promising myself that I'll get it done one of these days. Yes...fingers crossed on that "one of these days" promise. Surprisingly enough there are still folks out there who follow my stories. Once in a while I'd receive emails asking me to continue writing. Hi hi...kinda cool, isn't it? So for you out there who still follow me on Sembang, okay....I will somehow try and complete my Greek travel stories yah!
So drop by. Let's see where we are heading to next ;)
Quoting Homer in The Odyssey
“There is no greater fame for a man than that which he wins with his footwork or the skill of his hands.”
Wednesday, March 30, 2016
Thursday, March 10, 2016
Throwback Thursday
The trails maybe crooked, winding, lonesome and dangerous. But it can lead to the most amazing view.......
Lake Kawaguchiko, Mount Fuji
Japan
4 June, 2013
Friday, March 4, 2016
Greece Adventure Day 2 - Climb The Acropolis Part 3
As we were the few earliest visitors to the Acropolis complex, we took our time viewing this
fortified citadel and state sanctuary of the ancient city of Athens. While walking to our next destination we imagined how magnificent it must have been during its glorious days. The many people who have taken the same path we did; people like Alexander
the Great, Plato, and Socrates just to name a few.
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| Careful steps at this slippery pathway. Perhaps it’s the strain of supporting so many visitors over so many thousands of years. |
Moving forward we headed directly to the Parthenon. The temple of
Parthenon was dedicated to the goddess Athena, protector of the Ancient city of
Athens.
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| Parthenon is one of the most most famous buildings of the world. It was constructed at the initiative of Pericles, the leading Athenian politician of the 5th century BC. |
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| Pediment of the Parthenon. |
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| Detail of the metopes at the Parthenon |
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| Elaborate Doric column of the Partnenon |
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| Feeling just great to be at the Parthenon where it had everything from a temple, treasury, church, and mosque. |
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| Found a Parthenon furry friend |
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| And a very serious one this friend..... |
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| Sprawling Athens from the Parthenon from the lookout point near the Parthenon |
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| A Greek flag at the lookout point |
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| It has weathered time and man as such extra pampering does not hurt. Restoration works on the Parthenon making progress. |
The Parthenon we must say has its aesthetic appeal that emanates from the
refinement of many established norms of Greek architecture. There was just so much expectation here and nothing beats being present and seeing how real it is with your very eyes.
to be continued....
Wednesday, March 2, 2016
Greece Adventure Day 2 - Climb The Acropolis Part 2
Since we were rather early, getting tickets into the Acropolis was a breeze. Perhaps winter is also not peak time for visit. Tickets were 12Euro for each adult and Nissa got to go in for free. Yeahhh....she belonged to the category of young people, under the age of 18 with show of Identity Card or passport to confirm the age.
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| Olives vegetation on the foot of the Acropolis Hill |
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| Entrance to the Acropolis complex - all of marble. |
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| All excited to go in. There’s so much expectation there, especially when you’ve seen so many photos of the Acropolis and now you are going to see it for for self! |
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| Climb up the final set of stairs |
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| What you'll see on the Acropolis Hill |
The history of the Acropolis of Athens is long, with moments when democracy philosophy and art flourished, leading to its creation.
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| After we climbed the steps emerged a scattering of ruins that lies around. |
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| After climbing the steps you are at the entrance, or the Propylaea, which was completed in 432 just before the outbreak of the Peloponnesian wars. |
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| The main architect of Propylaea was Mnesicles. He used Pentelic marble and the design was avant-garde. |
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| Superb architecture |
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| Architectural splendor and engineering marvels |
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| The roof of the Propylaea |
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| If the column could talk..... |
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| Everything that had been visible from a distance was now in front of me - just as seen photographed in the postcards. |
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| Simple breath taking....these unique masterpieces of ancient architecture combine different orders and styles of Classical art in a most innovative manner and have influenced art and culture for many centuries |
Greece Adventure Day 2 - Climb The Acropolis Part 1
The Acropolis in Athens is a MUST see when you visit this city; even if it requires you to get up super early in order to beat the crowd and the striking sun. And that was what we did on our second day in Athens.
We actually slept very early the night before. Still jet lagged and the whole day walk about was enough to wear us down. But the body was still on Malaysian time and by 4am we were already wide awake (and hungry too..heh heh).
We settled for a very early breakfast and left the apartment by 7am.
Took the Metro to the Airopoli Station and then walked up to the
entrance on the Acropolis Hill.
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| The Akropoli Station - pretty deserted at 7am |
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| The station is like a museum too. Findings of the ancient Athenians were discovered during the building of the metro station. They are displayed at the station. The Greeks have so much respects for these archaeological finds. |
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| Frescoes on the Metro wall. The duo saying from W with Love. The "W" hand sign is the synonym to UW - Madison |
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| The very wide walkway heading up to the Acropolis Hill. |
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| Abe became a hit with the dogs that morning. Bill told us the day before that dogs in Athens are extra friendly with men who carried bag packs. Perhaps they thought that there was food in there. Many of these dogs were released by their owners. Times are bad and they can't afford to keep these dogs in their homes any longer. So they became strays - but very friendly strays. |
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| He was huge! And he keep trailing Abe for quite some distance. |
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| He was rather fierce. Kept barking at us. |
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| Walking up towards the Acropolis Hill. We passed the garden with many olive trees. |
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| These olive trees must have been there for a while |
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| The uphill walkway leading up to the Acropolis Hill. Heavily guarded by the Greek Armed Forces |
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| As we walked up we came to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus or the Herodeon. It was built in 161 AD by the Athenian magnate Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife. |
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| This stone theatre structure is located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens. |
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| It was originally a steep-sloped theater with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof made of expensive, cedar of Lebanon timber. It was used as a venue for music concerts with a capacity of 5,000. |
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| The Odeon of Herodes Atticus - down looking up to the Acropolis Hill |
To be continued...
Wednesday One Liner
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Wonder is the beginning of wisdom ~ Greek Proverb |
Cape Sounion, Greece
17.12.2016
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Last Stop for the Day - Port Visit
Our walk down from Acropolis Hill brought us back to the place we started in the morning - the Acropolis Metro Station. We were slowly getting our bearings with the Acropolis as our landmark guide. Our apartment was pretty close. We could just walk home but we decided to walk in the area to be better familiarized with the city.
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| The Acropolis - a building next to the Acropolis Metro Station. It is an archaeological museum focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis. |
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| Grand entrance to an apartment complex near the Acropolis |
In my itinerary the plan was to go to Monastiraki Square; bit of a walk from where we were. However, since we got ourselves the all day Metro ticket, we might as well head to the furthest that we could go on the Metro.
So we decided to go to Piraeus Port and save Monastiraki for the next day.
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| We took the Metro from Akropoli to Omonia and then change to Metro Green Line to Port Piraeus |
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| Tickets are available from the ticket dispense machines or the window counters |
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| Port Piraeus is quite far from Athens - about 15kms away. The Metro cuts through the busy suburbs of Athens. Arrival at Port Piraeus stop the last stop on Green Line. |
Piraeus
today it is the main port of Athens, the biggest port in Greece, one of
the leading ports in the Mediterranean in fact. It is an important centre of the
merchant marine, industry and transportation.
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| Ferries to the islands |
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| As it waits for more passengers to embark... |
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| Cruises to the Mediterranean |
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| Where to Mom? |
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| No taking ferries today. So we dropped by this shop for some fruits |
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| And coffee and some snacks from the next door shop...happiness :) :) :) |
As it was almost dark, we decided to head back to the apartment. Tired from the whole day adventure, we must have dozed off the moment we got on the Metro. Luckily we didn't miss our stop!
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