Greece 5000 Years Old
Another country to major on its past is Greece as typified by the slogan (the headline above) that they will be running on the advertising early next year. But as with any successful tourist destination Greece blends the old with the modern. With a history and the remains of buildings going back millennia, part of everyday life is that almost wherever you try and put up a new building or a pipeline you hit Greece’s cultural past. (That would make Channel 4’s Time Team envious!)
This proved a problem when the new construction began for the Olympics back in 2004. As a new underground system (Athens Metro) was built, at a number of the 26 stations there is a museum containing the finds that were excavated at each station or near to it. (the metro is still being expanded and a number of new stations will open in time for next year’s summer tourist season.)
With the opening of the Acropolis Museum this year (see CD-Traveller 20 June via the “Search” button), there is a national museum that houses a lot of the finds and which some experts say, complements the finds rather than overwhelming them.
Next year sees the anniversary of the original run by Pheidippides from Marathon to proclaim victory after the battle in 490BC. So there will be celebrations not only in the Acropolis Museum but throughout Greece. After all there aren’t many countries that can celebrate an anniversary 2,500 years old.
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