Fire in Athens: the historical treasures at risk – 24/07/2018

In 2017, Athens received about five million tourists, twice as many as in 2012 and a record, according to the New York Times of June 18, 2018. For all this year 32 million visitors are expected. That is, three times the total population of the country. The national airline, Aegean Airlines, served 18 destinations in 2001 and currently serves 145 cities on five continents and within Greece . These figures are strong indicators that, despite the economic crisis that began in 2009, Greece is recovering its tourism industry. As a result, fires arrive as an unexpected visitor in this panorama.

According to the latest news , the forest fires affected spas like Mati and other sites near Athens (like the coastal towns of Kineta and Nea Makria, about 50 km away) although flames did not occur. not reached the Greek capital.

However, the Sky of Athens was obscured by the smoke and the ashes of the fires. This is why it is worth taking into account some tourist attractions in the city that could be in danger if the fires did not manage to be controlled by the authorities.

For starters, the Acropolis of Athens, built on a hill of 156 meters high in the time of Pericles, in the V century before Christ. There are various historical monuments, such as the Parthenon, the Temple of Athena Nike, the Theater of Dionysus, where his works Sophocles and Aeschylus, among other authors, and the Erechtheum, supported by the statues of the Caryatids. Although between 1801 and 1812, the British diplomat Lord Elgin brought to the British Museum the friezes of the Parthenon, the visit of the Acropolis is not without attraction for tourists around the world

At the foot of the Acropolis, in the modern museum of the Acropolis – inaugurated in 2009- the archaeological finds found in the area are saved. Some are over four thousand years old.

Not far, the central avenue of Andreas Syngrou is the privileged axis where two very popular cultural centers are located. On the one hand, the Onassis Cultural Center, opened in 2010 on Faliro Bay, which includes concert halls, theaters and art galleries. On the other hand, the Cultural Center of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, a complex of buildings designed by the architect Renzo Piano, which opened its doors in 2016. There are the National Library of Greece and the l & # 39; Greece Opera, surrounded by a large park open to the public. With these buildings, Aristotle Onassis and his rival in the shipping industry, Stavros Niarchos, wanted to leave here a good memory to the Greek society

For sports fans, the stadium of the Panathinaikos football club is a must. Located in the Mets district and near the National Gardens of Greece, it is the work of the architect Anastasios Metaxas, who recycled the former Olympic Stadium marble in the classical era . It was here that the first Olympic Games of the modern era were celebrated in 1896. The Panathinaikos stadium is the last point of the Athens marathon, which takes place every summer.

From the hill of the Muses, a walk with The gardens where the Athenians are used to flying kites with their children on weekends, spectacular views to the Acropolis are appreciated. On this elevation stands the statue of the Roman consul Philopappos and an old Greek Orthodox church of the fifteenth century, Agios Dimitrios Loumbardiaris. The stone platform of Pnyx, where Demosthenes, Pericles and other famous speakers have also been visited, is also very visited.