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From the
Acropolis we look across downtown Athens to Licabettus Hill, with the
2004 Olympic Stadium near the base. To get to the top of the very steep
Licabettus hill, we started walking, tried to catch a bus and ended up
with a taxi to the incline railroad. The steep rail trip is short, but
dramatic, with wonderful views at sunset time. We had a long, spirited
walk DOWN on our visit there. Far below, the new subway stations have
unusual artifacts on display where they were unearthed during the construction.
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This
is the center hub of Athens, Constitution Square Government House with
its Greek honor guards at the right. At the top center, just above the
tall trees, stands Licabettus Hill with it's pretty churches and great
views... Shops and many restaurants fill the other three sides of this
square, a favorite place for Americans. We stayed a few miles away at
the seaport city of Pyreas. From there we joined the day cruises to the
Greek Isles that departed just a short walk away. Auto traffic was a jumble
with parking allowed on the sidewalks, an added difficulty for walkers
like us.
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Our
most spectacular train ride was through the hills of southern Greece.
Most people skip this delightful narrow gage rail line from Athens to
Karamata, across the Corinth Canal, and around to Patras to meet the ship
to Brendisi, Italy.
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An overnight
at the southern tip of Greece resulted in a visit to the ruins of ancient
Messina, a village mentioned in the Bible.
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It has been
said that in order to study Greek history you must visit Asia Minor, where
the ruins are well preserved. Here we visited an ancient forum, and coliseum
and a fabulous surrounding wall, complete with guard towers similar to
the Great Wall in China.
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magnificent Roman Aqueduct is in a small town near Athens. Could those people
build or what? By starting our journey in Cairo, the Civil Engineer in me
saw the change in structural design methods, starting in Ancient Egypt,
up through Asia Minor, (Greek territory before it was taken by the Turks)
through Greece and into Rome itself. As a Structural Engineer, I saw more
than simply stones, It was a marvelous way to trace history. |
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