Began our day walking up the Acropolis in Athens. Acropolis means upper city. The massive structures of the temples are much greater than I imagined. Photos do no justice. Beside the Acropolis is the Aeropagus or Mars Hill where Paul dialogued with the philosophers. We climbed the steps to the top and read Acts 17. I will share more about our reflection time in these places in another post sometime.
Around 2 pm, we headed down the hill and entered the area of the Ancient Agora. We followed a side path through pine trees, olive trees, green grass and many wildflowers. We stopped and reflected in this quiet place overlooking the city of Athens – away from the crowds. We then made our way back to the main path and walked to the bottom of the hill and discovered the gate was locked with no security guard in sight.
Do we scream for help? Seemed better to walk back up the long climb to the top gate. But to our dismay, that gate was also locked with no one around. We were locked in! Now what?
Two tourists happen to walk by. “Do you speak English,” I ask. To our relief, they did. The one told us to climb over the fence. Don’t think that is possible since the fence is a 6-foot high iron fence with sharp points on the top. The other told us to walk up a different path where we should be able to get out. We weren’t so sure, but what other option did we have? But that gate was also locked as we suspected.
Another person saw our plight. He was a local person and told us to cross over the ropes and follow the path around below the Aeropagus to the other side where we could exit. “Will the gate be open? Will someone be there to let us out,” I asked. He shook his head, but said “You’ll get out.”
I was not excited about crossing the ropes and walking down a path that was forbidden – especially after reading about the stiff penalties and fines Greek authorities give to lawbreakers. But what other choice did we have? So we crossed the ropes and started walking. Before long we saw a fence up ahead. Was there a gate? Was it locked? No one seemed to be around and there was no gate – but there was a small opening in the fence for us to walk through.
We quickly walked through and to our relief soon began to meet other people. After more climbing, we made it back to the top of the Aeropagus, where we sat down on the rock to rest. I set my small Camera on on the rock beside me – tucked it under my leg to make sure it would not be stolen. Judy sat down beside me and a little bit behind me. The nearest people around were at least 20 feet away also sitting on rocks. About ten minutes later, I noticed my camera was missing. Impossible! It was under my leg. No one else came near us. Certainly Judy or I would have seen them. Besides, I would have felt it being taken from under my leg.
But it was gone alone with all the photos I had taken with it. Still makes me sick! Fortunately, I also took photos on my phone and the camera was inexpensive. But it is humbling, sad, and frustrating. I will miss its zoom capabilities for the rest of the trip. Another memory for Mars Hill.
Since most of the other places we wanted to visit closed at 3 pm, we decided to take the Tram from Sygmata Square to the coast to watch the sunset and perhaps find a restaurant. After a 50 minute ride, we arrived and sat by the Mediterranean Sea picking through pebbles and watching the sun set. We checked out a couple restaurants, but they were way out of our price range - $25-50 per person. So we took the Tram back and found a great Greek food at a reasonable place in the PLAKA area of Athens.
After eating, we stopped by a church and joined other worshipers in a Byzantine church. Very different, but very meaningful. Will hopefully write more about that later. It is now after 11 pm in Athens. Good night!
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