10-22 Acropolis

Got up about 7:15 this morning and headed over to the Acropolis so I could be there when it opened at 8.  That was the way to go.  Even though it's October, by the time I left around 9:30 the place was crawling with tourists.  Yuk! :)

I've been drinking the tap water here with no problems.  Going to Santorini tomorrow and read that I should not drink the water there.

We were allowed in, then had to wait for the guards to leave.

Between the tourists and the scaffolding on the Parthenon, it was difficult to get good shots.

Story time:  Athena and Poseidon had a contest to see who could be the protector of Athens.  Poseidon gave them a fountain, but it had salty water.  Athena planted an olive tree and it immediately produced olives, so she won.  It is said that an olive tree has been growing on the Acropolis ever since.

Another story:  the Parthenon looks like it does because the Ottomans, who ruled Athens at the time, stored gun powder in it during a war.  The Venetian army lobbed a shell and blew it up.