TWA Getaway Guide to Athens [antikvár]

Chapter I INTRODUCTION TO ATHENS ATHENS MUST BE one of the sunniest cities in the world. If you've ever been there at all, it's hard to think of it without remembering the marvelous, dry heat that penetrates your bones the brightness of the sky . . . and the merciful haven offered by the cafe umbrellas which cast their shadows across shiny stone sidewalks. The sun seems always to be there; from early in the morning when you wake to the noises of the street, to the early evening, when the golden gleam of its setting rays shines on the magnificent marble pillars of the Acropolis high above you. Mad dogs and Englishmen, and a few unwise tourists, it's true, go out in the midday sun, but at this time of the day, most Greeks get off the streets and return home for siesta. These days, as Greece falls more into line with the onrushing western world, more and more shops stay open through the lunch hour; but it's still not the busiest time of the day. The real business is done in the late afternoon when everybody has had a rest and is more in a mood to face the problems of the day. Then the streets are crowded with cars and buses nudging their way through a pedestrian traffic jam that grows by the hour. The cafes, too, are jammed, and raucous cries are beginning to ring out from the tavernas, where a thousand little dramas are starting to develop. Athens is many cities all rolled into one. Undeniably ancient, it shows traces of a civilization that existed fifteen centuries before Christianity. It's modern, too, with hotels, stores and even public buildings that reflect the best in contemporary architectural design. But most of all it's distinctive, being neither pure Euro-