Jumping Ship

Athens, Greece

We began our visit by walking to the nearby National Archaeological Museum, devoted to ancient Greek civilisation from prehistory to the Roman era.  Breathtaking artefacts, forever photographed in art history books, are located in this museum – it seems so surreal.  There are five permanent collections in a vast space, so again, we had to choose.  Most impressive for us, as we stumbled from room to room, was being able to understand the chronological amalgamation of all the sites we’d visited so far across Greece and Turkey. (Don't worry, there will be no history test at the end of this visit!)

Next on the list was to walk the Acropolis, as one must.  Even Mark Twain jumped ship (passengers had been quarantined – unfairly he thought!) to be sure he would not miss out on visiting this most famous site of antiquity.  The Acropolis houses the sanctuary of Athena with the main monument of early Greek civilisation, the Parthenon, an attestation to liberal society and democracy. 

The Tower of the Winds was out, having been covered head to toe in shade cloth for restoration.  It’s worth mentioning only because this octagonal structure, designed by an astronomer (1AD), was quite the “landmark” for sailors.  It functioned as a sundial, compass, weather vane and water clock.  The reliefs carved into its eight sides personify local winds and we were rather keen to meet Mr Meltemi to have a few words!

From Wiki (see link above)