Overnight in Athens

Due to the political situation (northern Cyprus has been occupied by Turkey for almost 40 years), you cannot fly from Turkey to the Greek part of Cyprus, so we had to go via Athens.

Wiwat & Frieze: plaster-casts on left are whiter

We arrived about midday on a Saturday, so by the time we had checked into the hotel and got ready to go out again it was 3pm, and the Acropolis was closing, naturally!  So we went round the new (since the Olympic Games) Acropolis Museum. Turns out going to the museum first and the ruins afterwards is probably the best idea anyway.

The main attraction here is the carved, stone frieze that used to run all the way around the top of the Parthenon.

It's quite something, such as it is.  About half of it is clearly a plaster cast of the original.  I assumed that they had been lost over time, until I released that each one had the initials BM next to it.  Lost they are, to the British Museum courtesy of a chap called Elgin!  I have to say I'd never realised quite how much he'd run off with and I can understand why the Greeks are so upset about it.

A Meal and a Room with a View

A friend (thanks Terrie-Anne) had recommended we stay at the Athens Gate Hotel which is a stone's throw from the Acropolis and has a roof-terrace restaurant with a stonking (and I mean as good as it can get) view of the Parthenon.  I decided to go with the Room and Dinner package so that we could watch sunset over the Parthenon whilst we ate our evening meal.

I have to admit that I was fully prepared for indifferent food, fed to a captive audience of gawking tourists and was very pleasantly surprised by a truly excellent spread.  I cannot recommend this place highly enough, and no, they aren't paying me!

The Parthenon

The view from our balcony was pretty impressive too - the remains of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

The following morning we got up early to see the Parthenon before we had to leave for the airport.  The Acropolis opens at 8 and much as I hate early mornings, it's a good time to be climbing up, before the day starts to get too hot.  We spent a good 3 hours wandering round and it really is a magnificent sight.

The frieze was at the top, just above the columns

At 11am we were back at the hotel collecting our bags and then on the metro to the airport - 50 minutes, couldn't be easier.

Next stop Cyprus [here].