Prague Journal

Monday, September 27, 2004.

We set out for Hadrian’s arch and the Temple of Olympian Zeus – both of which were visible from our tour of the Athens Acropolis on Saturday – around 8:30 a.m. We walked through the National Gardens past the President’s residence, which was guarded by soldiers in traditional dress, and found our way to the Panathinaiko Stadium, cite of the first modern Olympics in 1896. The 2004 Paralympic marathon had finished there the day before, running the identical course that the able-bodied competitors had completed on August 29.
Proceeding around the circumference of the gardens, we happened upon the Benaki museum (named for its benefactor), three expansive floors of art and sculpture including treasures from the monastery of St. Catherine. We spent over two hours viewing the extensive and interesting collections, which left us only 20 minutes to see the exhibits in the Jewish Museum before it closed at 2:30 p.m.
The Jewish Museum in Athens, founded in 1977, is a haunting and enlightening tour of 2,300 years of Jewish life in Greece. The small seven-story museum, houses the restored interior of the old Romaniote Synagogue of the Jewish Community of Patras, with embroidered textiles and religious and domestic items, historical documents and educational literature, military attire and Romaniote and Sephardic wedding dresses and everyday clothing, and descriptions of Jewish traditions, holidays and life cycle events. One floor showcases the Holocaust and the Greek-Jewish contribution to the Zionist movement and resettlement of Jews in Eretz-Israel, with a wall of letters and biographies of holocaust survivors.
After our usual afternoon tea, this time at Monasteraki Square, the hub of the Plaka, the old marketplace, we went to the Roman Agora.
Then on we went to the games, this time to see freestyle and medley (relay) swimming events. Because this is the final day of the final medal events, we had to wait 45 minutes to get into the aquatic center which was full before the events started. It was worth the wait, however, to see the amazing performances of one-armed, one-legged, legless and even armless swimmers, who became impressively adept as soon as they entered the water.
We learned, sadly, that there had been a bus accident in the morning, which killed 7 teenagers and injured several others on their way to the Paralympics. The bus from the school had been hit by a speeding truck driver carrying a load of glass. Once again, we had a very late dinner, returning to our hotel at 10:30 p.m.

posted by JWinn @ 7:40 PM