We left our bags at the hotel the next morning and went to explore the rest of Athens. We headed towards the Roman Agora and the Monastiraki Flea Market first. The Roman Agora was actually a marketplace, and is currently right next to one of the biggest open air markets in Athens. The Roman Agora is also the location of Hadrian's Library.
The pretty streets of Plaka, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Athens
The Roman Agora
Hadrian's Library
Another tortoise!
This was randomly in a jewellery store in the market
Syntagma Square - this has been the site for huge angry protests in Athens, but when we visited it was quiet and there were no protests in sight = (
We wandered through the lovely National Gardens towards the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian's Arch. The Temple is just huge, it would have been amazing when it was still fully standing, it took over 700 years to build, and finally completed by Hadrian in 131 AD. Today there are only 17 columns still standing.
Temple of Olympian Zeus
Temple of Olympian Zeus with the Parthenon in the distance
Hadrian's Arch
Hadrian's Arch was built by the Emperor Hadrian in 132 AD in order to mark the limit between Ancient Athens and his new city. It is also a commemoration of the consecration of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.
Underneath the New Acropolis Museum
The New Acropolis Museum
We finished our last day in Greece by having a wander around the bottom of the Acropolis, and sitting for a while at the Theatre of Dionysus, the God of wine.
Monument of Niki! All that remains of the temple
Theater of Dionysus at the bottom of the Acropolis
So that's the end of our Greece trip! It seemed to take ages to sort through all the photos, we took over 800. I have just realised it's been almost a month since I started blogging about Greece! We would have finished sooner, but we have been having lots of internet problems at home recently, so we could only manage a couple of posts a week. Hope you didn't get too much of a Greece overload!
Our next trip will be to Venice in November, and then Rome at Christmas. Looking forward to delicious Italian food and coffee!
where did you stay in Athens?
ReplyDeleteWe stayed at the Airotel Parthenon. It was only 5 minutes away from the Acropolis. Pretty good for one night, but probably wouldn't stay longer than that.
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