Here I am in Athens in front of the Parthenon after that horrendous flight from New York, please see the geographical statistics for Greece. 

Click here to see some nice photos of the Acropolis before going on to Egypt!

History of Greek Temples: In reading about the structures of Greek temples I found the original ones made of wood were also surrounded by forests which have mystical spirits associated with them. As time went by the wooden temples were made of stone and the columns were patterned after tree trunks that were cut as the original supports. This is along the same lines as the Egyptians using lotus plants and bundled branches as a pattern to form columns. The one major difference in Greek temples are the porticos that surround the temples. The Egyptian temples have walls with the columns inside like Karnak. The Greek temples are the opposite, columns on the outside.

Worst Plane Ride Ever: The following paragraph is  taken from the Egyptian Preview section and reading the full text about the Olympic Airline faux-pas is a must for any travelers.  We finally landed in Athens about 8 a.m. The flight to Cairo wasn't available since we were a day late. Two women that were in our group decided to take control.  I had gone to the airline desk and went to ask if we were going to get something for our troubles as we did in New York. The two Greek men told us in no uncertain terms that was our problem that we were a day late and could just sit there until they decided to do something! Before I could say anything, these two women, one, a 250 pound lawyer from L.A. and the other an ex CIA espionage agent, pushed the rest of us aside and demanded some action. The Greek men, about 20 years old, gave us all sneering looks, especially the women. Well, the lawyer leaned over the counter, took the one twit by his shirt collar and pulled him out of the chair, shook him, told him she was an L.A. lawyer and he had better shape up or she would have his ass!

The ex CIA agent agreed and said if they wanted a diplomatic faux-pas to happen, she was the one to talk to! The men in our group cracked up and stepped back, let these two take charge because we knew they would get something done. They demanded a hotel for us to stay in until the late afternoon flight, a bus to take us there and meals at the hotel. Within half an hour there was the bus! These two women were in charge and the rest of us were perfectly happy about it. We all decided they would do the talking for the rest of the trip which they did. We were all happy!

Off to the hotel, breakfast and a shower. The woman who screamed out "F---" on the jet in New York and her husband and a woman doctor from L.A. and I decided since it was only 11 a.m. that we would get a guide and spend the day sight seeing. It was about 75 degrees and perfectly clear, blue skies and NO smog. There was a taxi in front of the hotel and he agreed to take us around Athens for about $80.00 for the day. Couldn't beat $20.00 a person so we drove all around Athens and in the afternoon went to the Acropolis and spent hours walking around and climbing the hills around it. Perfect weather and some great pictures of the Parthenon. You usually have to pay to get into the Acropolis but it is free on Sunday so the Greeks can take their families there and enjoy their history. Many families, all seemed very interested in their history which was nice.

Back to the hotel, freshened up and a late lunch, back to the airport and onto a new 757 for our flight to Cairo.

There were only about 50 people on the flight, I think they wanted to get the group out of Greece after all that trouble. Egypt, here we come!

Charles Walter Buntjer San Francisco California

Created on: 1992       Updated on: 2015.03.25