Athens & Surrounding (Sep-2015)

Work has been busy and didn't have much time to write up on my travel blog for some of the my past travels. This has been an overdue writeup that i have parked aside for too long. So here I am restarting my writeup and this time, "Welcome to the land of Ancient Greek Mythology", Athens, Greece. Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world and the birthplace of western civilization. It is a city filled with ancient monuments of the classical era, like the UNESCO world heritage site of the Acropolis of Athens and temples of ancient Greek gods all in one place that attracted thousands of visitors to the city. 

Day 1, Athens City

Zurich International Airport

Flying from Zurich to Athens across the Italian & Croatian Alps

We took a Swiss Air transit flight out of Singapore en route to Zurich where we change for a regional flight to the city of Athens. It was the cheapest flight back then and saved us a few hundred dollars each just by losing 3hrs or extra flight and transit time. Nowadays, there are even budget airline that flies direct from Singapore to Athens. We took a night flight and landed in Zurich about 8am and further proceeded on to reach Athens International Airport (ATH) around 1pm.

After reading up on stories of pickpockets playing the public buses, airport buses and trains, we decided to engage a private taxi hire company to pick us up for the journey into Athens city.  There are certain area within Athens that is well not so safe at night and to avoid if possible. Hotels are everywhere in Athens and so picking the right one is important. During our trip back then, even the hotel website warns of petty crimes and areas to avoid at time. But i guess it is still perfectly safe to walk around in Athens which we felt after the trip. Just be on your guard and use common sense when in a foreign land and you will enjoy your trip.

And so using Hellenic Private Tours for our airport transfer, this was the same  company who we also engaged for day trips out of Athens to visit the surrounding areas like Marathon, and the southern part of Athens, Sounio, to visit the Temple of Poseidon; and to the Delphi area to visit the Temple of Apollo and Athena.  There was much competition in Athena that offer such taxi and tour service among operators and after much going through online reviews and feedback and of course prices. These taxi and tour operators usually started from a simple family taxi business and slowly expanding to tour operators offering airport transfer service, day trips to multiple day trips going further beyond the region around Athens.

We booked our airport hotel transfer with Hellenic Private Tours, including the 2 days trips, one to Marathon and Sounio; and another one day trip to Delphi. Both day trips started and ended at our hotel in Athens.

Athens i s a big city but to visit the museum and archaeological sites of Athens, all are very much within walking distance from the Athens city centre. We book our 4 nights of accommodation at Hermes Hotel, located in the touristy area of Plaka, which has easy access just by walking to places of interest like Syntagma square where the Parliament House is, and the Monastiraki Square which is a very touristy but must visit place in Athens. Shops and restaurants filled the streets and alleys around Monastiraki giving travellers much to look at and explore the little shops.  As in any European countries, Athens has been plagued by petty crimes like pickpockets and so travellers just need to an adopt care in bringing along their valuables when roaming the streets and transport of Athens. Simple common sense is all it takes to make your Athens visit a safe and memorable one.

Our 4 nights stay accommodation in Athens

One of the high end hotels at besides Syntagma Square

From Plaka, it is an easy walk alone souvenir shops and novelty shops to places like The Acropolis, The Ancient Agora, Roman Forum, Temple of Zeus and the Panathenaic Stadium. Hermes Hotel is a 3 star boutique hotel located in a quiet part of Plaka but just a short walk across a few blocks and you are smack in the middle of the Plaka Shopping belt and very close proximity to the marbled tile road leading to the Acropolis.

After checking into our rooms at Hermes Hotel, we began exploring the street of Plaka heading east to the Syntagma Square where the Parliament building is. This is also the place where the Tomb of the unknown Soldier lies. Weather was perfectly warm with zero clouds and we are like toasted under the hot sun. There were loads and loads buses alighting tourists near the square to view the Presidential Guards doing their march and change of guard ceremony. 

Hellenic Parliament House

An unique object at the Parliament House

After much sun tanning, we headed back to the Plaka heading west this round towards the Monastrika Square. The place was filled with activity of tourists pouring into the area as the restaurants were getting ready to attract the evening dinner crowds. Many offers freebies to entice tourist to patronize their restaurant. For one they even offer us free drink if we decided to have our dinner their.  Many promises authentic Greek local food but as it was still earlier, we just took their offered name card and continued our touring of the area. We stumbled on a Hard Rock cafe right in one of the restaurants street in the area. Bought a little tee shirt for our kid back home. It was our 1st day in Greece and would prefer local Greek food rather than America burgers and fries for our 1st dinner in Athens.

Shopping street of Plaka

Shopping street of Plaka

Monastriraki Sqaure

Monastriraki Square Flea Market

Taverns, cafe line the walkway. To the right is the Ancient Agora grounds

Athens is a city filled with ancient Greek Architecture, even the little alleys and streets will see ancient Greek architecture. As we explore the area, we stumbled onto the 1st ticketing attractions for our stay at Athens. It is the Ancient Agora of Athens museum site which also house the Temple of Hephaestus. Travellers who have done some research on visiting Athens would know they do have bundle tickets that allow them to visit the multiple sites within Athens. And so we talked to the ticketing staff at the counter and purchased our bundle multi site ticket which allows us to visit the Ancient Agora, Hadrian Library,  

Stoa of Attalos, the reconstructed Agora Museum and gallery hall

Ancient Agora site map

Spacious exhibition hall of the Stoa of Attalos

Head of Victory, 2nd century AD

Aqueduct within the Anicent Agora grounds

Me just with the Temple of Hephaestus in background

Acropolis perched on the big rock of Athens

Temple of Hephaestus

Front view of Temple of Hephaestus

We spend around 2 hrs walking the museum grounds covering the ground, much of which were repeatedly destroyed and pillaged by the Persians, the Romans, the Herulians and others. Now the only buildings that look buildings is the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos which is now a gallery for ancient artifacts. What attracted me the most is the temple on a hill to the west if the Agora grounds, which is the Temple of Hephaestus, looking quite intact over the ages.

Closer view of the Acropolis (North West entrance)

Areopagus Hill

Me on Areopagus Hill

Just to the south of the Agora grounds is Areopagus Hill (Mars Hills). We followed the paths leaving the Agora grounds and up the walking path to the top of the rocky hill. There were quite a lot of people on the hill which offers spectacular view of the Anceint Agora grounds and the Athena City. DO note that if you exit the Agora grounds and intend to come back, let the staff knows. IN our case, we informed the staff but when we came in there was a change of staff. So took a little explanation for him to let us in without charging us for a ticket. The multi site tickets look all the same, and so for each site, the staff will tear one piece of the perforated ticket for the site that you are visiting. We o back tracked to the the entrance of the Agora site to get back to the street of restaurant that we intended to have dinner at.  In the end, we went back to the friendly restaurant that offered us free drink on the house. It was our first Greek meal and we didn't stingy on that. The staff offered us a nice cozy corner like a gazebo with open air view of the yellow evening sky. Food was great and authentic I would say as it was our first meal and wouldn't be in a position to judge. Anyway we enjoyed the food, the atmosphere, the price and of course the free drink on the house. Greek bread is free flow and you will be full even before your main course comes.

Day 2, Temple of Zeus, Acropolis, Panathenaic Stadium, Lycabettus Hill

After a good night sleep to recover from the long flight to Athens, we were ready for our day 2 of cultural experience after a hearty breakfast in the hotel. Food was adequate and great for a 3 star hotel, kind of homely with a variety of eggs, hams, bacon, cereal, everything you expected for a city like hotel breakfast. It was still early around 8am and the street was peaceful and quiet.  Using an offline map on our phone, we walked along the tourist street heading south towards the famous Dionysiou Aeropagitou Street that traverse across the southern park of the Acropolis rock.  The street that is lined by tourist shops and restaurants were paved with marble stones that runs all the way south until it meet the Aeropagitou Street. The feeling it gave was like we were in someone's big city mansion courtyard. the street was mainly meant for pedestrians but at times there will be a scooter or some pickup truck making their morning deliveries.

Marbled walkway among shops towards Acropolis

Greek Houses along the shopping street

Clean and white building facade that caught our attention

Shops were starting to prepare for business and some were even open to catch the morning tourist. This is the main tourist street that all will take to walk towards the Acropolis. We were at times distracted by the interesting Greek wares and souvenir that were on display. 

The Hadrian Arch

Once we reach the Dionysiou street, we headed east towards the Temple of Zeus. The temple is also the place where the Hadrian's  Arch is located, facing the traffic junction that separates the park from the entrance of the Dionysiou Aeropagitou Street.  Hadrian's Arch is located outside of the park and doesn't need a ticket. It is just there by the side of the road. There are tourist that didn't want to pay the entrance fee and took pictures through the fences. All in all, it took us about 1hr, plus the shopping to reach site of the Temple of Olympian Zeus. Using the multi site tickets we bought the day before at the Ancient Agora near Monastriraki, we just walked straight to the gates. Wasn't much of a crowd but maybe because the park grounds were huge. Lotsa of space to run events and i think they even have concerts at night once in a while.

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Temple of Olympian Zeus

Temple of Olympian Zeus

After spending an hour there at the site, we headed back westward towards the Acropolis via the Dionysiou Aeropagitou Street, which is also the longest pedestrian walkway in the whole of Athens. We stopped short to have a delicious lunch before heading out in the cloudless outdoor to the Acropolis. The Acropolis is like a  big rock smack in the centre of Athens city, once built as a fortified city at the top.  We made sure we were well fed and hydrated before venturing out under the hot sun to climb the touristy rock.

After a satisfying meal, we followed the path making our way into the lower section of the Acropolis grounds. Again there is a ticket booth and the staff just tear the ticket stubs from our multi-site tickets. the first attraction that greeted us was the Theater of Dionysos.

Herodes Atticus, one of the senate that runs the construction of the place

Theatre of Dionvsos

Theatre of Dionvsos

Spectator seats of the theatre.

Looking down from the highest point of the theatre.

Just follow the sign up the BIG ROCK

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Climbing to the top of the theater steps was a signage pointing us to the Acropolis which also brought us to the next important attraction, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus. This is a theater stage like kinda of ancient concert hall and till today is still a place hosting many performances, one of which is the Hellenic Festival which hosts top artists and unique performances. At this point, we were able to see the vast Athens City below us and the open sea to the south. The Odeon is closed up like an open air concert hall waiting for its next event and so for tourist like us, we could only marvel it from the slopes looking down.

Gate or entrance to Acropolis, The Propylaea

Looking at the city of Athens from the Propylaea

The Propylaea

Overhead columns, originals and repaired columns.

Temple of Wingless Victory, Nike 

Temple of Wingless Victory, Nike

Continue on, we reach the entrance to the plateau of the Acropolis rock. This is where Propylaea is located. The structure guards the entrance into the Acropolis city. The Propylaea is likely to be considered as one of the highest quality in noble architecture of Athens, and at times even surpassing the Parthenon. On the right side of the Propylaea stands the Temple of Wingless Victory, built in honour of the goddess Nike.

The Erechtheum

Nymph Of Maiden Pandrosus

After passing through the Propylaea, we entered into the open space of the Acropolis city. The area was huge with the Parthenon being the biggest ancient structure around; and to the side is the well photographed temple, The Erechtheum; which consists of 3 portions. The first being the Temple of Athena Polias, the second is the actual temple of Erechtheus, and the third is the temple of the Nymph of Maiden Pandrosus. All of them fused together to form an all in one structure. 

The Parthenon ( western side under repairs)

The Parthenon

The Parthenon (Eastern side)

The Parthenon (the sides)

View of Athens city from the Acropolis

View from Acropolis

Highest viewpoint for the Athens City on Acropolis

The main attraction on the plateau is the famous Parthenon, one of the most prefect and magnificent ruin in the world, which is a temple dedicated to the Virgin Athena, the goddess of wisdom.

At a short distance away is the Acropolis Viewpoint where the national flag of Greece flies high at this viewpoint which can be seen as the highest point of the Acropolis. Looking down, we could see the far reaches of the Mediterranean sea, as well as the entire city of Athens with the temple of Zeus just below us.  Athens has its highest point on Lycabettus Hill, which clearly stood out among the entire city. There is a rule that all buildings in Athens cannot be built higher than the Acropolis. This giving the city a clear view of the Acropolis from every corners of the city. Couldn't remember where i read or hear about this rule but is does make sense looking at all the new structure like hotels and business centre are having low floors only.

After spending a substantial amount of time at the Acropolis, we made our way down to the Acropolis Museum below. It is a modern contemporary museum build on top an ancient excavation site.  This is the museum where all the recovered artifacts and antiquities were kept. Not too keen to pay for an extra ticket to see the exhibits, we just headed to the air conditioned cafe to enjoy a nice cool drink with some cakes. While seeping tea and ice blend, we were wondering where to go to next and remember up at the Acropolis lookout point we saw a white marble stadium in the near distant. A quick check on the showed the place to be the Panathenaic Stadium, which is also one of the main historic attractions of ancient Athens. It is the only stadium in the world that is built entirely on marble. This was the place that hosted the first modern Olympics in 1896 and also back in 2004 of modern days. Doing some research on the Internet also mentioned that this is the finishing point for the annual Athens Classic Marathon. 

The Panathenaic Stadium

Modern tracks in the ancient stadium

The Panathenaic Stadium parapet

Now the stadium has been retrofitted with modern running track and within the left side of the stadium has a vaulted tunnel passage that leads to a museum building besides the stadium. History has mentioned the place has been build, abandoned, use for arms feasts and Hellenistics festivals with bloody events for entertainment which was subsequently banned in the late 4th century. Guess enough on its history.

And so after a good rest at the Acropolis Museum, we followed the offline map on our hand phone and made our way on foot the Panathenaic Stadium. The entrance tickets are not covered by the multi-site tickets. There weren't much visitor at the time of the day and we almost had the entire stadium to ourselves. The steps to the side doesn't look that much to climb but it did give me a good workout getting to the highest point of the stadium.

Vaulted tunnel to the Museum

Tunnel under the stadium

The only 2 face figure on the stadium grounds

Me at the top gallery looking down the stadium track

Looks like a water fountain for the spectators to use centuries ago.

The last stop for the day was the highest lookout point in the whole of Athens. The most prominent feature that you can see from everywhere of Athens besides the Acropolis, Mt Lycabettus. From the stadium, we looked to the maps on our smart phone and walked all the way to the funicular tram station at Kolonaki. The walk began along the busy road of Athens passing many residential building.  there were more locals that we came across than tourists as we walked slowly away from the heart of the Acropolis area. The initial section of the walk was along the busy main roads with buses and cars, but once we started to walk up an inclined road, the road narrowed and little shops of cafe and restaurants decorated the narrow street of Ploutarchou that slowly lead up to the terminal. the area was truly a residential area of descent cleanliness. Quiet, homey and safe as we walked along this part of the city.

Chapel of St George at peak of Mt Lycabettus 

View from peak of Mt Lycabettus

To our surprise, a queue was formed inside the tram terminal. We bought the tickets and joined the queue waiting for the next tram schedule. It was about 15mins of waiting time for the tram to pick us up. This was the time of the day that many will go up to the top of Mt  Lycabettus to see the sunset and the Athens city night view. My Lycabettus is a limestone hill at 300m high with the lower part of the hill covered in pine trees and the upper part exposed rocks with its 2 rocky peaks. At the top there is a 19th century old Chapel of St George, a restaurant where we had our dinner in view of the city night view. The ride to the top took about 10 mins i believed and it was windy up there. There was a wedding solemnization even there and so it was slightly crowded. For tourists like us, many were trying to get their best seat overlooking the entire Athens city below to see the sunset. We found a nice windy and cooling spot to wait for the sunset.

Bell tower at the peak of Mt Lycabettus

Capturing the sunset 

Last glimpse of the sun setting in the distant mountain

Night view of the Athens City

Acropolis at night, view from Mt Lycabettus

Acropolis at night, view from Mt Lycabettus

There was a soldier guard on duty and waiting for the time to lower the national flag. The feeling up there was calmed and relaxed for us, admiring the busy city life below but above that the golden sun slowly sets into the hills to the western part of Athens. When the night set in, the restaurant at the peak there looked more and more inviting, with soft music, sheltered seating; all too inviting to give it a miss. And so we had our dinner up there admiring the beautiful Athens city as it got lighted up. We stayed there until about 830pm before catching the tram down the hill to street level. We decided to enjoy a low walk back to Syntagma Square which is around 20-30mins of walking, and another 5 mins into the Plaka area where our hotel is located. It was a long walking day for us but we enjoyed every moment of it but of course at times when the weather was really warm and sweaty, we did feel the tiredness in our legs. Good pair of comfortable walking shoes is a must to enjoy all the walking around Athens.  We managed to survive Athens without taking the metro which are very much located near these attractions. Some are just one station away which made us decide to choose the healthier option.

Day Trip to Marathon, Cape Sounion & Temple of Poseidon

Today was a day I was excited to wake up to. We have booked a day tour with Hellenic Private Tours to go out of Athens city into the northern  of Marathon, and then south towards Cape Sounion where the famous Temple of Poseidon sits over a rocky cliff over the Mediterranean Sea.

The driver came earlier to our hotel and waited in the lobby area chit chatting with the hotel reception while we were finishing up our breakfast just a floor above the lobby area. A quick welcome intro and off we went in this comfy Mercedes 8 seater van for our day trip (well there are 6 of us in the group and so we need the bigger transport). The drive out of the city was pleasant as traffic was light for a weekend morning. As we were getting out of the city on the main motorway heading north, the driver was sharing with us about the history about the place we were heading to and at times pause to share with us the more prominent buildings and architecture of the city as we drove pass them. The drive to  Marathon was a short one of about 1hr plus on Google Map.

Before arriving in Greece and heading out to Marathon, I have doubts about the true history from the bloody and violence movie show, 300. The Spartans and the Persians. But when the driver share with us about the non-fictional aspect of the war between Athenian army and the Persians and the truth on some of the aspect, I began to appreciate even more the places we were going to. Marathon is a small town where the famous battle from the movie 300 has been fought 490 BC. The Athenian army defeated the Persians in the Battle of Marathon, with a mere 9000 soldiers against the 500,000 Persians. And the legend began from the Athenian solider by the name of Pheidippides, who ran the athletic long distance to bring the news of victory to Athens. But sadly he died of exhaustion after reaching Athens, and so the distance of standard marathon of 42.1 km is the distance from Marathon to Athens.

Lake Marathon

Single lane road built on top of the dam

The dry side of the Marathon Dam

Our 1st stop was Lake Marathon, a man-made lake dammed up in 1926 to provide constant water supply to the city of Athens and surrounding region. The dam also served as a single land road to drive into the town of Marathon. A short photo stop we had at the dam before proceeding further into town to visit the Marathon Archaeological Museum. It was early and we were the only group visiting the museum at that time. The staff has to specially walked with us to the nearby excavation site to open the door into the building that was built over the site for tourist to visit. Lotsa artifacts, pottery of ancient civilization including items of Egyptian origin. Looks like Greece over the centuries have been invaded by many civilizations.

That way to the Museum of Marathon

Exhibits in the Marathon Museum

Egyptian statues found in Marathon region

Another statue inside Marathon Museum

Excavation site inside a sheltered building at the Marathon Museum.

Leaving the museum feeling more cultured, we continued on to the famous burial tomb of the fallen athenian soldiers in the Battle of Marathon. The tomb, like a miniature hill rising from the ground, is the burial ground of the 192 Athenian solders who died. The tomb is located in a park filled with tall pine trees and olives trees.  You need  at a ticket to visit the tomb but for us, it was included in the same ticket that we bought when visiting the museum half an hour ago. It sunny yet windy and it was very relaxing in under the sunny skies listening to the rustle of the pine trees around us.

Directional signage to the burial mound

Well maintained walkway around the managed park

Lotsa olive trees

Burial tomb of the soldiers who died in the Battle of Marathon

Closer view of the burial tomb

There are sign reminding tourist to respect the burial mound and not to climb to the top even when there is a very clear path that leads to the top. I believe there was some altar at the top or some memorial plate of something.  We did a walk around the burial mound and took a slow walk back to the carpark when our driver was waiting for us.

Artifacts in the Temple Artemis

Artifacts found around the region of Vravrona.

From there, we drove southwards along the B3 highway towards the village of Vravrona to visit the Temple of the Hunter Goddess, Artemis. Again there is a museum dedicated to the temple, and once again the air conditioned exhibition hall was very pleasant for such a sunny day. The temple ruins is just a short walk from the museum, is like a smaller scale version of the Parthenon on the Acropolis. Over here it is called the Parthenon of the bare Maidens. The temple ground is quite small but located in a hidden area away from the forest. Small but doesn't mean it is of lesser interest. With the lesser crowd and and able to walk among the pillars and stone bridges make this place worth a visit if you are passing by this area.

Temple of Huntress, Artemis

Temple ruins ground site of Huntress Artemis

Remaining columns of the Temple of Artemis

Columns of the Temple of Artemis

View from another angle

Some history to read up on

Open space for the Temple of Artemis

From here it was almost lunch time and we asked the driver to bring us to some place where good Greek cuisine can be found. As we were somewhere in the middle between Marathon and Cape Sounion, he suggested to have our lunch by the sea somewhere near Cape Sounion. And so we hopped onto the van and continued southwards.   About an hour drive, we reached our lunch place. It is a fish tavern located just a few meters from the beach and looking above the rocky cliffs in the distance we could see the Temple of Poseidon. And so we have already arrived at Cape Sounion.  The tavern (restaurant) is called Ilias Restaurant, serving local Greek cuisines and seafood. The restaurant is literally on the beach and nearby we could see a resort hotel. Doing some info gathering, this location is called the Aegeon Beach and the hotel nearby is called Aegeon Beach Hotel. This will be a good place to stay for those wanting to see the sunset from the Temple of Poseidon without having the need to get back to Athens which may take 2hrs.

At the Aegean Beach for lunch

Ilias Restaurant at Aegean Beach

Restaurant is literally on the beach

Lunch is served

Temple of Poseidon is over there.

We ordered some fish and chips, something always safe for me, plus some salad and other side dishes to share around. Price wise is on a higher side but i guess we were paying for its location and surrounding scenery. Because the restaurant is on the beach, while waiting for our orders to arrive, I just couldn't help leaving my table to walk around the pebbled beach taking pictures here and there.

After a late but hearty meal, we were back in the van for a short 5mins drive up the road to the temple of Poseidon.  The bus load of tourists were there but the site has more then enough space for all to walk around. The view was stunning with the Aegean sea around us. The location and placement of the temple here is really worth the travelling time from Athens. The temple still retain standing many of its columns (15 out of 34) even though it is battered by the strong winds and weather over centuries. Similar to the hexastyle temples like the one Temple of Hephaistos in the Agora of Athens.

Looking out to the sea on the walkway towards the Temple of Poseidon

The well maintained walkway to the temple

With enough of sunblock, we didn't feel the heat from the sun as it was very windy at the temple grounds.  Over the entire day trip, we didn't feel any pressure from our driver rushing us. We were just left to enjoy out own time and pace at the attractions. It does pay to spend some time to do your homework to pick the right private tour operator when visiting Athens.

The Temple of Poseidon

Closer view of the amazing columns of the Poseidon Temple

One of the column pieces on the ruins grounds.

Temple of Poseidon ( from another angle)

Cliff hanging out over the turquoise sea below

Poseidon Temple, view from the near cliff side

The many columns that still stay intact

Another view of the Temple of Poseidon

The turquoise sea below the rocky climb of the temple

Me and the Poseidon Temple

View of our lunch stop, Ilias Restaurant on Aegean Beach

After taking massive quantity of photographs for an attraction, the driver took the scenic coastal drive all the way up back to Athens. It was a longer route but the drive offers constant view of the coastline. However with all the heat and walking around and exposure to the sun, it is impossible to endure the drive back without dozing off, which all of us did. Traffic was slow along the beach roads as it was weekend and the roads were very busy all the way into the city centre. Our driver dropped us safely back to our hotel which marked the end of our wonderful day trip. We bid the driver farewell and thank him for the eventful day.

Dinner crowd at Plaka area near the Acropolis

A little bit of culture that was still opened at night

We had booked with them another day trip to Delphi the next day but it would be done by another experience driver and "guide". We took a quick rest at the hotel and walked out to the nearby restaurants for dinner. It was a bustling night with many tourists out in full force on the street and packing the restaurants and gift shops. We got ourselves a table at a restaurant, done in alfresco standard. Has been quite a while since we experienced having dinner out in the streets, oblivious of the tourist and local walking around us. The service staff in Athens I would say are quite friendly , maybe due to tough competition for customers in the area. It was day well planned and spent leaving the city centre to see the suburbs of Athens, visiting temples, coastlines, beaches and ending it all withe a gathering of friends travelling and dining together. 

Day 4, Day Trip to Delphi

Today was another day trip out to Athens and this time was to Delphi, one of the UNESCO World Heritage site, where the Temple of Apollo, the Delphi Oracle, the Treasury of ancient Athens, the ancient stadium and theater ruins are located. The driver came earlier at our hotel to pick us up for the day trip. It was another driver and guide from Hellenic Private tour whom we engaged their service.  Today was a white Mercs van unlike the one we have yesterday. Couldn't recall our driver's name. It was a longer drive up north in a north westerly direction towards Levadia, and into the mountain picturesque town of Arachova  located in the southern slopes of Mt Parnassus. And from there a short distance drive to the Delphi archaeological site.

World War 1 memorial monument

Sun power harvesting farm in the distance

It was about a 2.5hrs drive from Athens to get to our destination. Traffic was light and within a short while we were on the national highway E75 towards Levadia. Along the way as we drove into the hilly regions, we could see solar panel farms in the mountain area. Our driver shared with us about these private farms lands being dry and not easy to be farmed and so the locals convert some of the farms to solar panel farms, harvesting solar power and feeding back into the power grid for income.

Our first rest stop was a monument dedicate to the soldiers who fought the World War I. It is a white wall silhouetted with the shape of 4 soldiers figure in a white colored wall-like monument. The driver shared with us the history which by now 2 years after the trip, I totally forgot about it.

Mountain village of Arachova

Scenic photo spot to take photo of the entire village of Arachova

Our ride for the day

From here, we continued further into the mountain areas and arriving at the picturesque mountain town of Arachova. Before we entered the town, we had a chance of photo taking at a very scenic viewpoint of the entire town situated on the slope of the mountain road. The town is uniquely covered with brown tiled roof and the moment we drove into the quiet town, the feeling of beauty and familiarity to a mountain European town sets in. Reminded me of the little small Swiss town when we visited Switzerland many years ago.  The town is about 970 m in altitude on the slopes of Mt Parnassus, just above the valley of Pleistos. In winter the place can be filled with tourists coming here to enjoy the ski resort in the area.  We were  very glad that we were given walk around time in this little town to explore the little alleys and shops. And taking the adventure or exploring small lanes and marvelling at the traditional houses that filled the little town. There was a sense of unexplained beauty about this place, maybe it was the off season and the slowness, the people , just the entire setting that made his place worst a visit and even stay a day or two to understand and enjoy the town.

On the quiet off peak season on the shopping street.

Traditional houses decorated the entire village

Restaurants, gift shops and shops catering to basic needs for the locals

The bell tower next to the monastry

Monastery at the Arachova village 

Beautiful brown painted roofs

Shot taken from a random alley on the monastery

Simple, but nice with the sun and colour toning.

Traditional house that is mixed with modern necessities.

One of the most distinct architecture in the town was the clock tower.  It was a stone clock tower that stood out  very prominently when driving into the town. Doing some research, the stone tower clock is called the "Ora" for the locals and service as the trademark for the town. Build in 18th century as a bell tower next to the Church of the Virgin Mary.  Hunting around for the path to get to it seemed like going through some maze. The interesting thing about place was that it is not as structured as big cities and so every turns will bring surprises and many time at the town, we were like WOW by the sudden display of scenery before us.

We spend about an hour plus at Arachova town and met up with our driver who parked the van at the end of the main road near the end of the small town. There is no parking along the narrow street where the tourists would usually walk around and near the shops area.  The driver himself bought some loaves of bread to share with us, saying the the town is famous for these fresh bread baked daily for customers and tourists that visited the area.  From here, it was a sort drive about 40mins before we reach the UNESCO archaeological sites of Delphi.

Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia

UNESCO World Heritage site information

Making our way to the ruins site

Last remaining columns of the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia

Front view of the 3 remaining standing columns

View of the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia

First stop, we visited the Sanctuary of Athena Pronaia. The circular structure of the building was unique and different from the rest which are usually rectangular or square. Stone blocks  that were part of the building were arranged neatly to maybe resemble back the ancient days when the dome was there. It was a short walk down from the parking area into the small site grounds. Don't recall the need for tickets but the places does have opening hours and gated.

From here, we continued to the main attraction of the day, the Delphi UNESCO site where many ancient architecture of temples, stadium, theater can be all found in the same place. It seemed to modern terms a town centre i would call it. The presence of the Treasury of Athenians building represents that of a modern bank; and the stadium and theater are like part of a little small town's leisure and entertainment facilities.

Treasury building or what left of it

A pedestal

Treasury of Athenians

Stoa of The Athenians

Stoa of the Athenians

The archaeological site requires the purchase of tickets to enter. the grounds are located on the slopes of the mountain and for us, we made it all the way to the top of the site where the ancient stadium is located.  After entering the site, following the suggested route, we came to the 1st structure that is almost fully intact or reconstructed which is the Treasury building, white marbled walls with an exposed roof. It doesn't look big, but more like a little ancient garage where you can imagined all the riches are kept there.Doing some research says that this was the place where objects and war trophies of Athens were kept. Build between the late 6th century to 5th century BC by the Athenian democracy.  There are other treasuries found at this site belonging to other cities. Couldn't tell where the actual building is, but blocks of description stones mentioned the existence of them. Seems like this Delphi site is like an ancient treasury site where the riches of different cities were kept.

Altar of he Temple of Apollo

Temple of Apollo

Temple of Apollo entire building grounds

Next is the temple of Apollo, most famed and famous monument at the Delphi archaeological site. At the front of the temple still stands the columns of stacked circular blocks, similar to that of large cheese blocks all stack up to form columns. And to behind these stacked columns stands the ruins of the temple grounds. The area can be seen as huge for a temple. The ruins left today is said to be dated back to 330 BC.

Reconstructed stone steps but retained the ancient Greek setting

Theater of Delphi

Theatre of Dephi

Theater of Deplhi seen from the top view

And just next to the Apollo temple in a short distance away stands the ancient Theater of Delphi. It was said that there is no accurate record as to when the theater was built. But over centuries later, addons and reconstruction were made to the theater and sometimes  during the Romans era further constructions were added in.

The ancient stadium

Info on the stadium

Last stop within the site was the ancient stadium located right up in the highest accessible point of the park. The crowd is far much lesser as not everyone that visits the site will want to make the longer climb up. I think it took us 40mins and a few rest stop to reach it. Weather was warm that day and i recalled we rested under the limited shade provided by the trees there. The stadium is like a mini one compared to modern times, with 178m long and 26m wide, capable of handling 5000 spectators. Chariots and athletics would climb the same uphill dirt track to get to the stadium here.

After a hard day of walking in the warm weather, a visit to the museum below is a good way to cool and and take a break. The museum housed all the statues that were found or excavated from the sites. After completing our visit to the site, we went back to the carpark area to look for our driver. Before we drove off, the driver stop by the road side to show us the place where first fountain  from the Kastalia Spring can be found.  There were people carrying empty bottles to fill them up or to bring home or back to their camper van.  This spring water is considered to be a sacred spring, linked to the Oracle and was the water used by priests and clerics of the Temple of Apollo. The same water is also use to clean the temple itself.

Our lunch stop. Nice decor and with mountain view

Vegetables only, Al fungi

Small decor on the restaurant walls.

While at the delphi archaeological site, it seemed that we were out in nowhere away from much civilization, but just few minutes drive around the corner, we reached the little mountain village of Delphi where we happily settled down to have our lunch at a restaurant recommended by our driver guide.  The village itself seemed to be the base for tourist visiting the area and staying here is just a short walk to the Delphi Archaelogical site. The restaurant or tavern is called "To Patriko Mas". Seeing it from the outside looks expensive, but it is actually quite reasonable and the service and food was great. I think for its standard, it should one of the best ones in the small village. We got ourselves a nice table looking over to the valley or plains below. Dining with such scenery already made half the meal delicious. Portion was good and comes with tea and coffee ( i think). The entire experience was great, wasn't much of a crowd maybe because it was considered late lunch. After lunch we bid farewell to Delphi and moved on to our next destination before heading back to Athens.

Monastery of Hosios Loukas

Next stop was the Monastery of Hosios Loukas, which is also an UNESCO World heritage site. Built in 10th century, situated on the western foothill of Mount Hellikon, one of the finest Byzantine monuments in Greece. The place being a monastery has strict dress codes and ladies wearing shorts will need to wear kinda dress to cover up the legs area. The staff from the souvenir shop was kind enough to "intercept" visitors and direct them to a room area to pick up the additional garments.  The place was big for a compound which many buildings are of centuries old.  Everything you see the movies about mysterious monasteries, hidden crypts and vaults can be found here.  There is very rich and old history here, too much to understand and googling about the place show more my interest facts about the place that we didn't even know. Wouldn't share too much as we are not historians and these facts are documented clearly online.

One of the many buildings that make up the UNESCO monastery

Remains of the centuries buildings

The biggest dome of he monastery

Many of these buildings turned into stores.

Within the compound of the monastery

More buildings with some of them refurbished

We stayed around the place about 2 hours until about 4pm before heading back to the car park to look for our van driver for the 90mins drive back to Athens.  In case anyone is wondering why our driver guide does tag along with us. Firstly the private hire drivers does not have a license to provide tour guide services, but in our case, the driver service we engage is well versed in the local history and greek mythology that can provide very much the information provided by license tour guides. The private hire tour company can in a licensed tour guide but at an additional fee who will walk and explain to you the places that you go to. For us,  it was good  enough to have our friendly driver that shared with us all the needed information to enjoy the visit before we reached the place of interest.

The drive back to Athens doesn't really seems that long but by the time we reach our hotel, the sun had already set.  The entire day trip took longer than expected but our driver has no complaints and ensure us it was alright as the more important outcome is that he hoped that we have enjoyed our tour. Doing their best to accommodate our needs and being flexibility to go the extra mile. It was a pleasant experience I would say engaging the private tour hire for our airport transfer needs and the local day trips.

And with that, it marked the end of our short 4 days stay in Athens. But it was not the end of our Greece holiday. The next morning, we were back at the airport to catch a domestic flight out into the Aegean sea to the white and blue resort island of Santorini. You can read up on my write up on Santorini real soon, I hope.  Thank you for spending your time reading on my casual blog write up. Hope the information share here can be of help for future travellers for the planning.