Since this is about Athens and the Acropolis, I must say that the British Museum should return the "Parthenon" Marbles to Athens which were stolen by a British aristicrate about 200 years ago. These carvings were hacked off of the Parthenon and need to be returned.

We have just returned from a two week holiday to the island of Aegina, which we finished off with a day touring Athens. There is certainly enough to see to fill several days of visiting, we only managed the highlights. There is a lot of construction work taking place all over the city in preparation for next years Olympics, involving new roads, transport networks etc. I cannot comment on pollution as this was our first visit, but we were told by our reps that "things are a lot better". Standing on the Acropolis, the view over the city was clear for miles, with no evidence of smog, just a heat haze.
With regard to the Elgin Marbles, I believe that they were sold to us Brits by the Turks during their period of occupation. Their "temporary" lodging in Britain may indeed have saved them from the ravages of erosion and pollution which have unfortunately affected the rest of the city. If and when they are returned, they may actually be in better condition than if they had been left is situ!!

I think that Britain should definitely KEEP the Elgin Marbles but as a gesture of reconciliation with Greece the entire Windsor family should be sent to Athens and placed in a museum!
In re the original post...not everyone dislikes Athens...only the people who cannot understand the meaning of the architecture!

The turks definitely did not sell the marbles to Britain, the greedy Lord Elgin was given permission by the turks in power at the time to run amok all over the Acropolis and and then stole them. At first they were only taking a few samples but Elgin got carried away and took boat loads.
The greeks have already made provision to house the marbles if and when they are returned to their rightful place.
Now on the subject of stolen Maori artefacts from New Zealand in the British Museum...........