Acropolis means high hill. Only the Acropolis in Athens is capitalized, though there are "acropoli" in many Greek cities. We had excellent tours of the Acropolis and the Acropolis museum with our local guide "mama Fay" this morning. This afternoon, we took ourselves on a Rick Steves audio tour of the Ancient Agora.

Mama Fay has been a tour guide for 40+ years after studying ancient history and etymology at the University of Minnesota. She has taught numerous local guides in Greece, including our tour guide Ioanna. There is a three year course required to take the licensing exam to become a guide. Many of the local guides we passed today were clearly satisfied past students of "mama Fay" based on their effusive, heartfelt greetings when they crossed paths. Not only was she an excellent, informative guide, she was also quite the philosopher, a very appropriate characteristic here in Greece.

Fay also told us a touching story about all the stray dogs we've been seeing. Apparently, before the 2004 Olympics, the city wanted to capture and destroy these dogs. Civic organizations and animal rights groups protested and the plan was cancelled. These groups now care for these dogs, most of whom wear collars and are very docile. There are specific groups at various sites who each have a "pack name". Those at the Acropolis are "the ancients', those at the Parliament "the politicians" those at the Agora "the philosophers" etc. (see photo of me with one of these sweethearts)

We got a good look at all the structures on the Acropolis today including the Parthenon, the Propylaea (entry gate). the Erechteon with it's Caryatid porch, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, theater of Dionysus and Temple of Athena Nike. The sun was bright, temperatures were blessedly cool and there was a fairly stiff breeze at the summit. The view of the mountains surrounding Athens was excellent as well.

The Acropolis museum, opened in 2008, is beautiful with an excellent exhibit of antiquities, particularly the remaining marbles from the interior frieze of the Parthenon, those not "stolen" by Lord Elgin who was given permission to take the pieces by the Ottoman Turks and then sold them to the British Museum. The east and west pediment remains are also displayed, all of this in a realistic life size representation of the actual site which can be clearly seen out the floor to ceiling windows of the museum. Though the Greeks have created a place for these stones in the Acropolis museum to encourage their return, they know the chances of this happening are slim as the British Museum would then be expected to return antiquities that they have taken from Egypt, China, etc.

Our afternoon tour of The Ancient Agora was interesting as it explained the "scattered rocks" that predominate in this site in addition to the very much intact Temple of Hephaistos and the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos.

Dinner tonight was at To Katti Allo, a small taverna located just behind the Acropolis Museum. This is a Rick Steves recommendation that is "right on". The food was traditional and inexpensive. The owner, Kostas Bakelos, told us that the Rick Steves recommendation has actually made his restaurant too busy at times.

Walked - 8 miles !!