Lens-Artists photo challenge – Interesting Architecture – The acropolis & parthenon

Thanks to Tina for a great challenge this week. Followers of MB can view Tina’s post HERE. MB suggests that you stop and take a look. Tina’s shots are always awesome and being a well-traveled lady, she takes followers on a virtual world tour on almost every post. Shukhran Tina!

Anyway………….

Two of the many good things about living in Qatar are Qatar Airways and Hamed International Airport (HIA) on the outskirts of the capital city Doha. Qatar Airways is regularly in the top three airlines in the world and HIA was recently voted the best airport in the world. HIA has so many great direct routes to interesting cities and one such city is Athens, a four-hour direct flight away.

So, availing of some leave time last week, MB jumped on board a Qatar Airways jet and four hours later found himself in Athens. Amongst the antiquities, museums, street-side cafes & bars, Greek & Roman ruins, munching tasty Greek dishes, sipping and gargling great Greek red wine and mingling with Greek populace, who were pleased no end that MB had finally come to bestow his Irish blessings.

And biggest thrill of all for MB was climbing to the top of the Acropolis, viewing the famous archeological ruins and seeing the great views out over the entire city. Chief amongst those ruins is the Parthenon. To quote Wikipedia – The Parthenon is regarded as an enduring symbol of Ancient Greece, democracy and Western civilization, and one of the world’s greatest cultural monuments.

Construction of the Parthenon started in approx 500BC and took nine years to complete, with finishing works continuing for a few years more. It has served as a treasury (leading to modern banking), a church, a mosque and was badly damaged by the attacking Venetians in 1687, when the Italian bombardment caused the Ottoman ammunition store within to explode, demolishing some of the columns, amongst other damage. The columns are designed to play tricks on the eye to create the illusion of perfect verticality. In truth, they lean inwards and are of different diameters on top and bottom. The early Greek architects were ahead of their time for sure. If followers want to learn more, as MB doesn’t have time for all this architectural and educational stuff, just click HERE.

One more thing worth mentioning is the fact that the Parthenon is undergoing UNESCO-approved repairs, hence the scaffolding and crane within, which are visible in some of MB’s pics. Followers can see some of the column repairs in the pics.

And so, without further ado, MB’s pics of the Acropolis and the Parthenon, which dominates the entire Athenian cityscape and are visible from almost every street in the city.