My final day in Athens also began early as I had to depart for the airport around 3pm. I started the day at the (new) Acropolis Museum, which opened its doors in June 2009. The museum is located just south of the Acropolis itself and contains nearly 4,000 artifacts from the Acropolis archaeological site.
The museum is actually built on an archaeological site itself, which includes selected ruins from Roman and early Byzantine Athens. The building was constructed to effectively blend in with the archaeological site, as there are some open sections and clear panels on the floor so that the ancient structures below can be easily seen.
It was interesting to learn about the history of the Acropolis – I never knew that the Parthenon had been converted to both a church and a mosque over the years, depending who was in power – and see many of the original artifacts. It was also interesting to overhear to museum guides talk about the foreign museums (namely the British Museum) that house many artifacts that were “stolen” from the Acropolis. I don’t know enough about the related history to have an informed opinion, but it was nonetheless interesting to hear their stories and passionate views.
My favorite item in the museum was the “Nike Adjusting Her Sandal” marble relief. The picture below definitely doesn’t do it justice, but I wanted to give you a feel if you’re not familiar with it (I wasn’t).
When seen in person, the level of detail is incredible – particularly the folds of her dress, which literally looks like wet silk clinging naturally to her body. I also particularly enjoyed seeing five of the original six Caryatids (the remaining one is in the British Museum) as well as the various original pieces of the Parthenon’s frieze and pediments.
After leaving the museum I walked around Plaka to do some souvenir shopping for a few x-mas gifts before heading to the hotel for my departure. The main purchase that I wanted to make was olive oil, as some of my colleagues are Greek and had told me many times how great authentic Greek olive oil is. Unfortunately, however, every place that I found selling olive oil only had the tourist versions – for me, a bottle whose label is in English doesn’t quite scream authenticity.
Given my lack of success, I finally decided to ask one of the store owners where she would go to buy olive oil for her family. At first she was a bit confused given the language barrier, but finally she realized what I meant and took me to the back of the store. As she lifted the curtain in the storage area, I finally saw the goods that the locals used – I couldn’t read a thing, but it was definitely authentic.
By this point it was time to head back to the hotel and then to the airport in order to (hopefully) catch my flight. The Icelandic ash cloud had been causing some major air travel issues the past few days (more on this in a subsequent post), so a flight to my next destination (Kazakhstan via Istanbul) was far from certain despite its “on time” status.
As a parting thought, I have to say that I have mixed feelings about Athens. From a cultural and historical perspective, the city was incredible. And the people and food were great. But on the other had, it didn’t leave me with the “longing to return” feeling that I’ve had with many of the other European cities that I’ve visited. I kind of feel like I saw what I wanted to see and now I’m good – no need for a return visit anytime soon. Though a trip somewhere in the Greek islands instead would be nice.
It was interesting to learn about the history of the Acropolis – I never knew that the Parthenon had been converted to both a church and a mosque over the years, depending who was in power – and see many of the original artifacts. It was also interesting to overhear to museum guides talk about the foreign museums (namely the British Museum) that house many artifacts that were “stolen” from the Acropolis. I don’t know enough about the related history to have an informed opinion, but it was nonetheless interesting to hear their stories and passionate views.
My favorite item in the museum was the “Nike Adjusting Her Sandal” marble relief. The picture below definitely doesn’t do it justice, but I wanted to give you a feel if you’re not familiar with it (I wasn’t).
When seen in person, the level of detail is incredible – particularly the folds of her dress, which literally looks like wet silk clinging naturally to her body. I also particularly enjoyed seeing five of the original six Caryatids (the remaining one is in the British Museum) as well as the various original pieces of the Parthenon’s frieze and pediments. After leaving the museum I walked around Plaka to do some souvenir shopping for a few x-mas gifts before heading to the hotel for my departure. The main purchase that I wanted to make was olive oil, as some of my colleagues are Greek and had told me many times how great authentic Greek olive oil is. Unfortunately, however, every place that I found selling olive oil only had the tourist versions – for me, a bottle whose label is in English doesn’t quite scream authenticity.
Given my lack of success, I finally decided to ask one of the store owners where she would go to buy olive oil for her family. At first she was a bit confused given the language barrier, but finally she realized what I meant and took me to the back of the store. As she lifted the curtain in the storage area, I finally saw the goods that the locals used – I couldn’t read a thing, but it was definitely authentic.
By this point it was time to head back to the hotel and then to the airport in order to (hopefully) catch my flight. The Icelandic ash cloud had been causing some major air travel issues the past few days (more on this in a subsequent post), so a flight to my next destination (Kazakhstan via Istanbul) was far from certain despite its “on time” status.
As a parting thought, I have to say that I have mixed feelings about Athens. From a cultural and historical perspective, the city was incredible. And the people and food were great. But on the other had, it didn’t leave me with the “longing to return” feeling that I’ve had with many of the other European cities that I’ve visited. I kind of feel like I saw what I wanted to see and now I’m good – no need for a return visit anytime soon. Though a trip somewhere in the Greek islands instead would be nice.
No comments:
Post a Comment