CRUISE (4) - The Acropolis, Athens, Greece

This was without a doubt, the most impressive of our visits.  We had read in the guide book that we should get there as early as possible to avoid the big queues of people. So we were the first in line to leave the ship and take the first bus to the site.

There was a hill to climb on rather slippery slabs of marble and steps too. There was a very small queue,  but a great deal of people already wanting to visit, just like us.

Main photo: The Parthenon which stands on the highest and most conspicuous point of the sacred rock of the Acropolis. The construction of the Parthenon started in 447 BC and ended just nine years later. It is constructed entirely of Pentelic marble.

The word acropolis comes from the Greek words ἄκρον (akron, "highest point, extremity") and πόλις(polis, "city").


The extra photos are all part of the whole complex. As you can see, on the second extra, there is scaffolding to reinforce the existing structures with repairs to the columns which are always in white so that we can still recognize the original.


There is an excellent view over Athens from this high point.  I'll do a second posting of this area tomorrow with a few more interesting and beautiful structures.