Another day and another Wonder of the World to tick off the list - the Acropolis, Athens and the last for this cruise on which I have visited a number of Ancient Wonders of the World, Wonders of the World and New Wonders of the World. Not bad for 80 days!!
Piraeus is located 12 km to the south west of Athens along the east coast of Saronic Gulf and can be clearly seen from the top of the Acropolis hill. Piraeus is the largest port in Europe and the third largest port in the world in terms of passenger numbers serving 19,000,000 annually - it must be all those Greek islands! It is still, however, a maiden visit for me!!
Piraeus means ‘the place over a passage’ and has been inhabited since the 26th century BC. In these prehistoric times Piraeus was a rocky island connected to the mainland by a stretch of low lying land that flooded with seawater for much of the year. The area was used as a salt field but as it gradually silted up the flooding decreased and by early classical times a safe passage to Greece had been established. In ancient Greece Piraeus became increasingly important because of its three deep water harbours – the main one Cantherus and the two smaller ports of Zea and Munichia – the former of these two smaller ports is today a marina for some very expensive craft.
As for Ephesus I will describe the various sights of the Acropolis in chronological order of the visit.
The photo is of the Acropolis taken after the visit from the Panathenaic Stadium in the centre of Athens.
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