Takin' a Tour, Part II

Welcome to Piraeus!

An amazing ship we saw in the marina - whoa!! Easily over 100ft!

Then, back to familiar territory...

everyone loves to go up on Mars Hill

having a wonderful dinner at Thissio View

Takin' a Tour - Part I

one of our last days of spring break - at the TGI Fridays
looking for some American-style food

then we decided to jump on one of the Athens Tourist busses

where the heck are we??

we know this place! Monastiraki Square

and, certainly you recognize the Acropolis over top of the old mosque

here we are back at the Acropolis

But, our real goal was Piraeus - the water!

(pics of the water in the next post...)

Mythical and Majestic Mount Olympus

Mount Olympus (/əˈlɪmpəs, oʊˈlɪm-/; Greek: Όλυμπος; also transliterated as Olympos, and on Greek maps, Oros Olympos) is the highest mountain in Greece and the second highest mountain in the Balkans. It is located in the Olympus Range on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, between the regional units of Pieria and Larissa, about 80 km (50 mi) southwest from Thessaloniki. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks, deep gorges, and exceptional biodiversity. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,919 metres (9,570 ft). It is one of the highest peaks in Europe in terms of topographic prominence.

Olympus was notable in Ancient Greek Mythology as the home of the Twelve Olympians, on the Mytikas peak. Mount Olympus is also noted for its very rich flora with several species. It has been the first National Park of Greece, since 1938, and a World's Biosphere Reserve.

Every year thousands of people visit Olympus to admire its nature, to tour its slopes, and reach its peaks. Organized mountain refuges and various mountaineering and climbing routes are available to visitors, who want to explore its nature. The usual starting point for it is the town of Litochoro, on the eastern foothills of the mountain, 100 km from Thessaloniki, where, in the beginning of every summer, the Mountain Olympus Marathon terminates.

The Archaeological Site of Amphipolis

This was a special trip to a current find that has a lot of people theorizing about who, what, and why.
Read more about it HERE

Archaeology has uncovered remains at the site dating to approximately 3000 BC. Due to the strategic location of the site it was fortified from very early. In the 8th and 7th century BC the site of Amphipolis was raided by Illyrian tribes as the Bryges, the Balkan Phrygians, migrated after being there since the Late Bronze Age. Xerxes I of Persia passed during his invasion of Greece of 480 BC and buried alive nine young men and nine maidens as a sacrifice to the river god. Near the later site of Amphipolis Alexander I of Macedon defeated the remains of Xerxes' army in 479 BC. ~wiki

you may like this LINK which has more information about what they are finding in this tomb

the actual site is now closed to visitors or tourists

we then were able to visit an archaeological site of ancient olive oil processing

pressing olives for oil

ancient plaster - a great example!

we are on Yannis' bus today!

the Macedonian Lion

The Lion of Amphipolis is a 4th-century BC tomb sculpture in Amphipolis, northern Greece...Although in sited position, the lion is larger and bulkier than the one erected at Chaeronea, has a height of more than 4 meters in its main body and taking into account the base it is taller than 8 meters. The head has a width of 2 meters. Its craftsmanship shows a work of the 5th or first half of 4th century B.C.. As to when it was erected there is no agreement between experts as no mentioning of it in ancient sources. ~wiki