I made Muhammara today. As I poured Santorini olive oil and sprinkled crushed walnuts I bought from Istanbul for the final touches for muhammara, it was enough to ignite fond memories of my trip to Athens, Santorini and Istanbul I took two months ago.
In our family of four, as two of us were going to start the trip from New York City and two of us from Singapore, the logistics of reaching there and leaving on the same day was daunting. So the trip route became Singapore/NYC -Athens –Santorini- Athens-Istanbul-Athens– Singapore/NYC. Travelling from Istanbul back to Athens to depart from Athens to Singapore added a few more hours to our return to Singapore. On some recommendations, we took a ferry from Athens–Santorini-Athens, but I must say that it was a bad decision. No fun but it just tired us out.
In Athens, we chose to stay in a city centre hotel just across the Acropolis museum. We had to wait for another two hours to join the family members coming from New York City. It was 2 pm by the time we got into our rooms. The first meal in Athens was in Plaka at Taverna by Zantino. Plaka is the oldest settlement in Athens. Its village-like atmosphere, neoclassical buildings, quaint cafes, souvenir shops combined with a taste of authentic Greek salad and a platter of mezze with a glass of wine was enough to know that our trip was going to be awesome. After lunch, we walked to the Panathenaic stadium. It is the only stadium in the world which is entirely built-in marble. Built in 330 BC, it hosted cultural, religious as well as athletic events. (All historic places in Athens date back to 500 BC .) It hosted the first-ever Olympics in 1876 and again in 2004. The stadium is also the endpoint of the famous Athens marathon. This is the place where the Olympic flame handover ceremony to the host nation takes place. The stadium has a museum where you can witness all the previous Olympic flames and Olympic history. My son-in-law was brave enough to run a full lap in this stadium in the scorching afternoon heat. I tried a do a standing split in the comfort of the shaded path to the museum.
We were jet-lagged and decided to have an early dinner (early because Greeks dinner time is 9 pm) at the hotel’s rooftop restaurant. With a glass of Assyrtiko wine, and with my all-time favourite ravioli, I was watching and getting mesmerised at the sight of the lighted Parthenon seen afar from my seat. It was inviting us to visit it. We eagerly looked forward to our next day guided walking tour to Acropolis and Roman agora.
At 8:30 in the morning, we met the guide- Katerina, an archaeologist by training– at the Syntagma metro station. This station also houses a museum. It was a great acclimatisation point understanding the beginning of the oldest Greek civilization. After that short brief, we watched the change of guards at the old parliament building and later walked through the Royal gardens built by the nature-loving Queen Amalia. Then it was meant only for the royals but now it is a public space. The garden embeds a historical moment that changed the course of Greek history. A bite of a pet monkey in this garden had resulted in the death of King Alexander in BC 323. We then passed Hadrian’s arch on the way to Temple of Zeus. Hadrian took away many classical artworks from Athens to Rome. The inscription on the arch indicates that the arch was a dividing point between the ancient city of Theseus and the Roman city. The temple of Zeus once housed the statue of Zeus, the God of gods, and was one of the seven wonders in the ancient world. The temple had 104 columns out of which only 16 remain out of which one is fallen. The guide then set our eyes on the acropolis hill, the main attraction of this walking tour which was visible from this temple. But before that, it was time to grab something to eat before we headed to the hill. we entered a cobble street lane for our quick breakfast. Yoghurt seemed to be a popular thing around in many flavours and interesting toppings. Till then, I had always wondered if they call Greek yoghurt Greek yoghurt or just yoghurt in Greece. The signs clearly indicated Greek yoghurt. Or was the sign meant for tourists? I still wonder.
At this point in the tour, there was some confusion. Much more time than 10 minutes given to us had passed but we could not find our guide for another 15 minutes. It later appeared that our guide went somewhere searching for another group who was going to join us. This delay had clearly annoyed her as was apparent later. It was about 10 am when we began climbing the slopes of Acropolis hill. After a little while during our first stop on the hill, a family of four from the same group stayed behind. She again waited for them before she began introducing us to the history of the acropolis. Katerina did not like anyone standing behind her when she was talking. The same family once again irritated her by standing behind her back.
Since we climbed from the Southern side of Acropolis, we first passed the temple of medicine dedicated to Asclepios and two drama theatres on the hill. Asclepios means to cut open. He was born by a C section and hence his name. He was supposed to have learnt the medicine from centaur Chiron to such expertise that the story goes that he could bring the dead alive. The theatre of Dyonysos is very near to the temple of medicine. It was called a conservatory. It was the second theatre built in ancient Greece; the first was in 15 BC in ancient Agora. The drama was first born here in Dionysos. The theatre had a capacity of 5000 people. The ancients Greeks believed in holistic healthcare and patients were routinely brought to the theatre to watch the drama. This theatre was destroyed from the raids and was never rebuilt. The Roman theatre which was the third theatre built in ancient Greece in AD incorporated conservatory’s southern wall. It went through many restorations over the years. The Roman theatre is now is a place for artistic events during the Athens Festival.
Major attractions on the Acropolis hill are Parthenon and Erechtheum. Both are marvels of architecture. Parthenon architecture was celebrated over many decades because of its harmonic proportions, constructions and life-like sculptures. Parthenon just like most Greek temples served as a treasury when it was first built. In the 6th century, it was converted to Church and during the Ottoman period into a Mosque. Ottomans also used Parthenon to store ammunition, which got ignited during a bombing. In 1800, Earl of Elgin, a Scottish politician stole some of the surviving sculptures and sold them to British Museum. As we were watching remains of Parthenon which were now mostly pillars, our Guide Catherina made all of us stands in a file and asked us to look at the array of pillar. The point she was trying to make was although the columns are of the same height, the columns lean inwards and if carried, they would meet a mile above the centre of Parthenon. She also had a theory about why it was so — because the Greeks were trying to build the “tallest” structure in Europe at the time. Although the columns were slightly bent, technically the first column by measurement Parthenon became the tallest structure in the world. Parthenon has great significance in the evolution of human civilization. It is regarded as a monument to democracy. This was a direct democracy where every citizen had a voice in the common issues through the Assembly that met on the forty times per year to decide on all matters of policy, domestic or foreign. The world first time heard of a democratic style of governance from Greeks.
Whereas Parthenon temple is dedicated to Goddess Athena, the Erechtheum temple is dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon. The purpose of Erechtheum temple was religious: to house the wooden cult statue of Athena, but also served as a shrine for ancient religious cults. Athena and Poseidon were rivals. When they were asked to prove their mettle so as who should head the country, Poseidon hit a rock with a trident resulting saltwater well. Athena when struck the same rock with her spear, it sprouted in an olive tree. People voted for Athena. A fire gutted his structure 10 years after it was built. In the 6th century, it was converted into the Christian church and later in a palace. During the Turkish Empire, it suffered the indignity of being used as a Harem for a Turkish Governor.
Our guide Catherina was a very passionate person when it comes to anything that is greek. She had a degree in history as well as archaeology. Panathenaia was the ancient festival held every year on the hills to celebrate the birthday of Goddess Athena. She made us imagine the food, music and contests held during this festival of that Era by her vivid descriptions and showing us all those little places (where actually nothing exists) that lied in the path of processions during this festival. Greeks love to party. Perhaps it has been in their genes, as the ancient era also testifies it. In fact, in the month of August, every island has a party which lasts for 3 – 4 days and nights. It is sponsored by the local community. Food, drink and music are free and everyone including tourists can join the party.
It was scorching hot when we were at the top of the hill at about 12 noon. The tour was going to continue for another two hours for Ancient Agora. We had almost decided not to go further. A young boy of about 10 years became our silent motivator. He has been with us on this walking tour with his Turkish parents but he never complained and he was going to go further. Katerina also uplifted our spirit saying that we are now going downhill and the path is lined with trees. We were happy we did not give up. Ancient Agora was built in 1000-1500 BC as a gathering place for military Later in Athenian Athens sometime in 500 BC, it became a market place for merchants to buy and sell. In the shadow of Parthenon, the agora appears muted but holds a significant place in Greek history. Although it mostly has ruins. Katerina was a great help to make us imagine the life in Ancient Agora from bit and pieces of stones and walls lying around. She showed us a central plateau where intellectuals like Aristotle and Socrates gathered and shared their concept of politics and governance. On one of those grounds, Socrates was accused of spoiling youth and not recognising the gods and rulers. We also imagined the court proceedings in the ruins that resulted in Socrates choosing to drink poison instead of tendering an apology.
She made us envision how people came together, shared their problems with official and participated in solutions. The story goes that during meetings, stones on the way up to Acropolis from Ancient agora used to be wet with paints. The paint would stain the clothes while climbing the hill. The clean clothes would indicate if that person had missed the meeting. The most visible monument in Ancient Agora is of the temple of Thesion who was the god of metal smiting and still is in remarkable shape. The temple is adorned with the traditional Doric metopes. The inside set of columns is decorated with sculptures depicting the fight of the Centaurs and Lapiths. You can see it from the front door as an approach to the interior is forbidden.
The Agora Museum is another new structure consisting of things that were found during excavation. You get the feeling of what it might have been to be in ancient Greece when you walked down the marble floors amongst the columns. The statues and items inside the museum are amazing to see. The museum highlights include art dating all the way back to the Stone-age, every-day life objects, and artefacts directly related to the Athenian democratic functions. Outside there is the Panathenaic way which is the ancient road that leads to the Acropolis, where once upon a time procession used to take place on the birthday of goddess Athena.
This was time to bid goodbye to Katerina. Many times it was difficult for us to understand what she was saying; the simple words she used were in fact concepts of that Era 2500 years behind us. Many words came directly from that era and it was not correct to translate those using words from this modern era. Before the trip, I tried to read the lonely planet book on Greece/Athens. however it only confused me. Katerina did a wonderful job with people who spoke nothing but English. She definitely deserved our gratuity. The visit to Acropolis and Parthenon raised many questions mainly because, until the birth of Christianity; culture, politics and religion were indistinguishable from each other. The Athens history is traceable from stone ages and you see get to see structures from 500 BC. Catherina helped in setting the right direction to understand the ancient Greeks and Greece. Many time the Acropolis sounded as if we were in some fantasy world until we heard about Socrates and his trial in Ancient Agora. Also, the museum at Ancient agora filled us in with real artefacts that we could see and not just imagine about. Many sculptures from Parthenon now are at the Acropolis museum. Acropolis Museum is a must-visit if you want to weave and connect the pieces of this great ancient civilization together. We had almost missed the museum. But luckily we got a chance on the way back from Santorini before we boarded the Istanbul flight from Athens after 3 days.
So my advice is you must visit both: the Acropolis hill as well as the Acropolis museum.
We began this tour on foot at 8:30 am and finished it at 2 pm. We were completely exhausted not by walking but due to scorching heat. Catherina left us at Plaka. We had lunch there and did some shopping on the way back to the hotel. Our last dinner In Athens was at a family-run restaurant called To Kati Allo They have a limited menu, changes every day but the food was fresh and reasonably priced. That day it was a feast of spinach filled crape, lamb and fish cooked in Mediterranean style.
After this trip, we asked each other what is exactly Acropolis? Actually, acropolis served many purposes and has gone through many transformations over the centuries. But we all agreed that it was a religious place consisting of live God and Goddesses symbolizing varied facets of humanity.
(an outsider) inside brunei 
You had one hell of a trip! Pls view my posts! You might like them!
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