Acropolis and Athens Webcam from the Athens Gate Hotel

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Acropolis and Athens Webcam from the Athens Gate Hotel

It’s uncanny to think that even centuries before the Athens Gate Hotel was built, the view from the spot it occupies would have been almost exactly the same. To be more correct, let’s say more than several centuries as Greece’s most monumental monument has stood, albeit mostly in bits and bobs, in the same place for thousands of years. Opening your hotel curtains to watch dawn break over the city and illuminate those ancient stones is a magical experience. Not quite the same as viewing it on a webcam, but sometimes we all have to make do with second best.

The Acropolis is a collection of tumbled-down structures on top of a steep hill overlooking the city. While the city’s aspect has changed over time, the sprawling hodge-podge of an urbanization now covers almost forty square kilometres, the main ruins that form the Acropolis haven’t. Well, apart from falling into states of further decay. The most outstanding building in the Acropolis is, without a doubt, the Parthenon. The columned temple is thought to have been constructed sometime around the 5th century BC is iconic and one of the most easily recognised monuments worldwide.

No matter where you travel in Greece, be it on the mainland or around some of the six-thousand plus islands, you’ll see ruins and plenty of them. Some of them are almost as ancient and as grand as the Parthenon, others are not. As you tour round, you may even come to the conclusion that demolition isn’t something that’s on the Greek agenda. It’s much better to leave things be, enjoy a couple of glasses of ouzos and a game of backgammon because, in the end, time will have its effect and eventually disintegrate everything into nothing more than a pile of rubble anyway.