Today’s port was Athens, Greece. Our tour bus took us around the city with several stops. We were able to take photos at the Panathinion Stadium wich was constructed in 1896 for the first modern Olympics.
Next was Hadrian’s Arch. It was built by the Roman ruler in the second century AD.
After Hadrian’s Arch, we drove to the base of the Acropolis. From there we started the walk up the side of the acropolis and took a couple of pics of the Odeon Theater, also built in second century AD.
From there we continued on to the acropolis. There we saw the Temple of Athena Nike. Nike means Victory. It was built during the Peloponnesian War in honor of Athena.
After passing through the Temple of Athena Nike, we stopped at the Erecthion which includes the Porch of Caryatids, with it’s columns in the shape of monumental female figures which unfortunately are reproductions. Part of the Erechthion is dedicated to Poseidon. The olive tree in the center was place by archeologists in what they believe was the exact spot one existed thousands of years ago to signify peace between Athena and Poseidon.
Then of course the Parthenon! It was intended as a sanctuary for Athena, Goddess of War and daughter of Zeus. It was an incredible sight to see.
Next we toured the Plaka and had lunch with new friends and dinner partners from the ship. We tried the local beer (Mithos) and gyros.
We made it out of there just before some scheduled student protests but managed to get a picture of the gathering riot police.
After returning to the ship, the captain informed us that the Limassol, Cyprus port was cancelled. There’s a storm in the Mediterannean that may prevent our ship from docking in Egypt so they made the decision to cancel Cyprus so we could hopefully keep Egypt on the itinerary. We’re planning on being there a day earlier to beat the storm.
