This is a story of two cities: Athens and London . Two cities separated by over 3000 kilometers but united culturally because of their great contributions to our study and understanding of Greek culture. Wait what, London?! Yes, London. For when the Ottoman Turks had the whole of Greece under their rule, an enterprising Brit with the title of Lord of Elgin fell in love with the Parthenon upon seeing it and decided to use his official title, as British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire , to legally purchase almost ALL the sculptures in the Parthenon, of which can now be found in the British Museum of London . But first things first, let’s take a look at the Acropolis in Athens! 1. The Acropolis in Athens. * The Propylaea serves as the main entrance to the Acropolis. Meaning monumental gateway , the Propylaea’s design has been copied numerous times; from the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to the Propylaea in Munich .

Such is the beauty of this city, that a random turn on some street corner can expose you to a sight like this. Continuing on my life-goal to explore a big chunk of the world in this lifetime , I found this Athens trip significant for three reasons: a. This crossed out another city from my “ Civilization II / Age of Empires Ancient Capita l” list; having already done Jerusalem and Rome and just leaving  Cairo and Istanbul . b. This was the first foreign trip that Monicca (my sweeter, much more attractive, definitely less grumpy, half) and I have ever gone on together. c. By attending the wedding of Monicca’s good friend in Mykonos (the whole reason for the trip to Greece) , I could now check both "Attend a Greek wedding" and "Experience an Orthodox mass" from ye olde bucket list. So accompanied by our beloved chaperone , Khamil (Monicca’s aunt) , and having re-watched 300, Troy and Percy Jackson as a refresher course on Greek culture, we em