Prague Journal

Tuesday, September 28, 2004.

We headed toward the Plaka, the oldest district of modern Athens, its narrow streets bustling with small shops, street vendors and tourists. This marketplace area is allegedly the same as in the late 19th century, very similar to the marketplace on Aegina, with outdoor displays and shop owners beckoning potential customers to gaze at their wares.
We walked toward the Ancient Agora, originally an open meeting space which was gradually flanked by public buildings and commercial arcades, temples and altars dedicated to the gods, and statues of prominent citizens and foreign benefactors. In 150 BCE, Attalus II, king of Pergamon, built the Stoa of Attalos. In the 1950s the Stoa was reconstructed, largely financed with Rockefeller money, to house a museum displaying artifacts and statues from this ancient Agora.
We walked nearly five miles, tracking down various landmarks on our map, among them Anglican, Byzantine and Russian churches. We passed another street demonstration, apparently concerning education tuition, with lines of policemen at the ready in case the crowd became unruly. The demonstrators were orderly – and very vocal – and the policemen gave them wide berth. The bus accident tragedy yesterday put a pall on the closing ceremonies, to the extent that several planned performances were cancelled. Nonetheless, the stadium that allegedly seated 46,000 was reported to have had a crowd of 70,000 in attendance. The ceremony began with a moment of silence for the dead and injured teenagers and a dedication to those who have overcome hardships to participate in the Paralympics. A speech by the president was followed by the unveiling of a new Paralympic logo and flag and a speech by the president of the IOC. A stellar performance by Chinese dancers preceded the passing of the banner to China for the 2008 Olympics. The throngs of people were especially evident as we crowded like sardines in the metro toward town. The closing ceremony lasted only an hour, but it was another hour before we could board the metro toward our hotel. We arrived around 10:30 p.m., in time for a chat with Christos and Lukas about the school bus tragedy, the significance of the Paralympics, and world affairs.

posted by JWinn @ 8:41 PM