Acropolis

                                                                                    Athens, Greece
                                                                                June, 2015
                                                                                              
The historical center of Athens was a pleasant 15 minute walk from the Airbnb apartment we had rented. The apartment was on the 4th floor - it would be, "5th floor" in USA :) - was new, very modern and nicely decorated. The best feature of the apartment was the glorious view from the balcony. If we were in the apartment, I spent my time watching the Acropolis from the balcony. Derived from the Greek words, Akro (high) and Polis (city), the Acropolis was built on a high hill, almost 500 feet above the city of Athens. The Acropolis is a massive 7 acre citadel containing the Propylaia, the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, and the Temple of Athena Nike. It was very fascinating to read that after the fall of the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire, the Parthenon was turned in to a mosque for a period of time, until the Greeks claimed it back in 1821. 

Acropolis. I would call this, "the morning tea view of the Acropolis". The Sun rising from the right lit up one side of the Acropolis.

Propylaia, the monumental entrance to the Acropolis.

View of the Odeon of the Herod Aticus from the Acropolis. Athens city in the background with the Agean sea in the left corner.

Odeon of the Herod Aticus is the open air theater on one side of the Acropolis. Built in 161 AD and restored in the 1950s, the Odeon is used for modern concerts too.
Many bands including Jethro Tull, Elton John and Liza Minnelli have performed at the Odeon.

Parthenon on the left and the Erechtheion on the right.

The Parthenon is the temple built and dedicated to Athena, the Greek Goddess of Wisdom and the patron of the city of Athens.
There are 8 Doric columns on either end 17 columns on the sides.

The Parthenon.

The circular blocks that make up a Doric column!

The Erechtheion, a temple dedicated to both Athena and Poseidon, the Greek God of the Sea.

The Erechtheion.

The Porch of the Caryatids on one side of the Erechtheion.

The Airbnb apartment.

Night view of the Acropolis.

Perseid Meteor Shower !!!

Every year, during the middle of August, our earth crosses the orbital path of the Comet Swift-Tuttle. The Comet Swift-Tuttle orbits the Sun with a period of about 133 years. Its last appearance was in 1992. As the left over debris of Comet Swift-Tuttle smash in to earth's upper atmosphere with a speed of 210,000 Kilometers per hour, the immense friction causes the meteoroids to burn up causing a flash of light (Meteor). It is called the Perseid Meteor Shower since the meteors appear to originate from the constellation Perseus. This year, the peak was between August 12th midnight to before dawn. I had set up my camera on a tripod and used an intervalometer to take 30 second exposure shots continuously. I started the camera at 12:30 AM and went to bed at 3 AM after watching some very brightest meteors ever. The camera continued to take shots until 5:20 AM, when the battery died. Out of the 549 photos, 5 had the light streak of the meteor. 

*** Click on the photos and view them on Full Screen Mode for better resolution ***

There are 2 meteors in this shot, very close to each other.

This is definitely the brightest meteor I have ever seen. It left behind a nice smoke trail too!

One near the center and the other towards the top right corner.

Short but bright.

Star trails using the 549 photos. The bright meteor from the 3rd photo is clearly visible.

ΣΥΝΤΑΓΜΑ Square !!!

                                                                                    Athens, Greece
                                                                                June, 2015
                                                                                              
September 3,1843:
Not happy with the rule of the first king of modern Greece, Otto, the people of Greece assembled before the king's palace, revolted and demanded a constitution. The crowd refused to leave until the constitution was granted. King Otto, yielded to the pressure on September 3, 1843. ΣΥΝΤΑΓΜΑ translates to "constitution" in modern Greek. The Syntagma square is named after the constitution granted by the king. The King's palace now houses the Greek Parliament.

Present:
The Syntagma square is the epicenter of Athens today. The Syntagma Metro station is right at the square.  Most of the major historic attractions of Athens are walking distance from the Syntagma square. It is also a major place for social activities and protests. All the protests related to Greece's bailout since 2010 to the most recent ones around July first week, happened at the Syntagma square.

Syntagma Square with the Greek Parliament House in the background.

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier outside the Parliament House.

While this is not like the colorful and ceremonious "Change of Guards" at the Buckingham Palace,
it was very interesting to watch the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Syntagma square Metro station.