GREEK ADVENTURES

For the last week Flat Hawkster has enjoyed an incredible experience in Greece.  He has been able to visit some of the most famous ancient ruins in the world that have been in existence for thousands of years.  He began by visiting the Acropolis which sits on a rocky hill that rises steeply to over 150m in height and overlooks the city of Athens.   Its high perch made it an area that could be kept better protected from any invading forces.   There are a number of buildings/ruins left on this site which have been transformed many times over the centuries.  Flat Hawkster was fascinated to see a number of large cranes up on the Acropolis helping with some of the restoration work and wondered how these huge buildings were built 4000 years ago without this type of machinery?

This is the Parthenon,  the most famous building at the Acropolis.  Since being
built milleniums ago,  it has been used as a temple for various religions.

This is the view from the Acropolis that seemed to go on forever.  You can
see how it would difficult for an army to attack without being noticed.

Flat Hawkster points out a large ancient amphitheatre that had seats for
5000 people.  In ancient times,  guests would have enjoyed plays, dances
and song.  This theatre has been updated and is used regularly for performances.

This is a view of a smaller amphitheatre that sits at the base of the Acropolis.
In the picture below,  Flat Hawkster has found a seat but appears to be early for
the show.   Notice the large, steep walls that surrounded the Acropolis
and provide a great defence against enemies.

After a few days in Athens,  Flat Hawkster took a ferry ride to Mykonos, one of the many Greek Islands that are popular with tourists.  The ferry ride was interesting because there was not a lot of room for passengers and some people were forced to stand for most of the trip (5 hrs!).   Flat Hawkster was happy he had a seat and enjoyed the fresh air on the open deck.  The video clip below shows the ferry heading into the terminal for island of Siros.

Flat Hawkster became a little camera shy in Mykonos and couldn't pull
himself away from the pool.   The above picture shows some buildings that appear to
be on the water.  This area of Mykonos is call Little Venice.

These are the Mykonos windmills that were built in the the 16th century to
mill wheat and help in the production of bread products.   

Look at these pelicans, they were huge!  Notice the large "throat pouches"
 used to catch prey and drain water from scooped up contents before swallowing.