Carol

I'm in 6th grade. I'm supposed to write a report (written like a journal) on Athens and the surrounding area. Can anyone tell me how clean the city is? I'd like to know about some of the interesting or unusual customs they have. What are Cape Sounion and the Temple of Poseidon like? I'd really appreciate any help. My report's due on Monday (Oct. 6)!

Tricia

Hi, funny my son had to do the same thing when he was in 6th grade. It was like pulling teeth to get him to do it. Go into the EXCITE search engine. Type in "Travel to Greece", or "Travel to Athens" and see what comes up. This is a great site, with weather etc. Then try typing in the specific things you asked about and see what comes up. Another fun web you would enjoy is www.eurotrip.com. This is full of 20 something people that backpack around the country. They write a journal and post it for everyone to read, so you could kinds of "copy" it,if you know what I mean. That would be a great way to write your journal, as if you were backpacking like a college student, and using the eurorail to get around as most students do. Good luck

Paula

Athens is one of the most pulluted cities in the world! The fact that they use coal and heavy oil for heating makes the city smoggy all the time. The auto population makes Athens always hazy. Everything that you touch in the city is covered with an oily film! In order to cut down on the pollution they have banned cars from the center of the city. They also use an odd/even system for cars to travel - the last digit is odd then you can come into the city on odd numbered days.

Sounion is a ruin outside the city about 20 miles. It is one of the sights that is quite romantic when viewed as the sun sets over it and the bay.

A rather interesting custom is the fact that you select your food to eat. The meals are arranged in a display case so you can see what it will look like. Then you can select the cut of meat that you want like in a butcher shop.

The tavernas have live music where strolling musicians serenade the dinners.

There are American fast food restaurants like Wendy's, McDonald's, etc.

Taxi drivers don't stop to pick up riders - if you are going to a spot that the driver thinks is out of his way he won't pick you up!

The drachma is worth approx. 4 times our dollar -
1 drachma is $4.

Leslie

Actually, the drachma is currently at about 150 to the dollar. To find current rates, search for currency exchange, and pick site that advertises it has many currencies. Yahoo! is not the place to go. Cape Sounion is fantastic. It's this extremely well preserved (it looks like it hasn't been restored like so many have) temple in a great situation. There are also the remains of some treasuries and fortification walls. In the National Archaeological Museum in Athens they have the cult statue that they found off the coast. It's really cool - Poseidon about to throw a trident. It takes about an hour to get from Athens to Sounion, but the drive down the coast is quite nice. The Acropolis is impressive, but it's necessary to visit it in the morning, as the smog obscures the view and chokes you. I thought the most impressive building on the Acropolis was the Erecthion, which I'd never heard of until I saw it. It was the temple that commemorated the battle Athena and Poseidon had over who would be the deity of Athens. There was a statue to Athena inside, one to Posiedon on a porch, and one to a mythical king of Athens (Erecthius) on another porch. Erecthius' father was Hephaestus, the god of the forge, and there is a very complete (reconstructed) temple to him in the Agora. The Agora is below the Acropolis, and was a gathering place for pre-historic men. They have found graves from many different eras, as well as a training toilet from the classical era. There are many other monuments, including a temple to Zeus and Hadrian's arch. Athens is a great place to visit, but loud (Greek drivers believe in honking before changing lanes) and dirty. The public transportation is limited to buses, but from the center it's not difficult to walk to the Acropolis or the museum. I hope you find the information you need. Let me know if theres anything else I can help you with.

Ronald

I was told by a taxi driver that the reason it is so hard to hail a cab in Athens is that they are largely controlled by radio and are going to someplace for a pickup so they can't stop and pick you up. Occasionally, after much patience, you might be able to hail a cab in the street but it takes time. Since foreigners don't understand this system they become frustrated with it. I didn't notice any oily film on objects and I have been in Athens a number of times and drove throughout the whole country for three weeks. Maybe I wasn't looking closely. Athens is noisy and polluted because of the heavy auto traffic and deficient emissions control but there are areas outside of the city center which are much more livable and quiet and this is where the majority of Greeks live. Unfortunately, tourists see the center usually and get an unbalanced impression of the entire city. On the positive side there is little crime in Athens to my knowledge and the people are very oriented to pleasing tourists with some isolated exceptions. Some unusual customs: Greeks like to fondle "worry beads" - it's an old custom which relieves nervous tension. They like olive oil in practically everything they eat. Desserts are extremely sweet but tasty if eaten in small quantities and they have very nice sweet cookies of different types. Drivers are generally polite to each other. They will go out of their way to help you if you ask for assistance (I travelled with a friend who spoke Greek and this made a lot of difference). They like the United States and Americans in general - many Greeks have relatives in the U.S.