The Beckoning of Mount Lycabettus: Sacred Sentinel of Athens

Sonja Holverson的文章和照片
5/24/2016

The Acropolis, with its many well-preserved temples sitting on a hill above Athens, is a powerful iconic image and attraction, but there is so much more to the city in these times.

在雅典卫城脚下，有大量的废弃狗欢迎我。尽管这些宏伟的建筑废墟也许是西方最受认可的建筑遗址，但我从未如此接近。随着游客和阳光的较少，这是一种奇特的考古经验，可以感觉到随着时间的流逝积累的能量。多种哲学和政治动荡的混合物。

However, I was also being tantalized by another hill across the dense city. Pyramidal, variegated green, topped with a shimmering tiny white chapel I learned that this was Mount Lycabettus, the highest of seven hills in Athens. It was sprouting out of modern Athens which from above, resembled an eggshell-colored carpet of tightly-woven buildings. Lycabettus followed me invitingly no matter where I went but it remained only in my imagination before we actually met.

Mount Lycabettus seen from Hadrian Gate.

Temple of the Olympian Zeus with Mount Lycabettus in the background.

While attending a conference on a later Athenian trip, my accommodations were in the embassy-filled Kolonaki neighborhood at the southern foot of Lycabettus with chic restaurants andhaut de gammeboutiques. This trendy neighborhood's carefree mood seemed strikingly inappropriate considering the impact of the economic crisis on most residents encountered on the other side of the Boulevard Leoforos Vasilissis Sofias which separates Kolonaki from the rest of Athens. Nevertheless, I did not have sufficient time to intermingle here nor to go to the top of Lycabettus even though we had slept together every night.

Two years later I volunteered to assist with a humanitarian photography exhibition at the Athens Benaki Museum concerning migrant children passing through Greece escaping war-torn countries to the east. On a volunteer’s budget I found an inexpensive apartment nearby. Unbeknownst to me, it was located at the western foot of my still undiscovered Lycabettus. This slope’s base is the graffiti-rich and charmingly unkempt but hospitable Neapoli neighborhood; a startlingly contrast to up-scale Kolonaki. While staying deep within the intimate Athenian everyday world I met my old friend, Apostolos, who talked of his current life in debt-ridden, isolated Greece where they were hosting over 60,000 trapped migrants trying to leave for Northern Europe.

Mount Lycabettus seen from the Kolonaki Benaki Museum.

Asklipiou shopping street in Neapoli. Only a few shops remain open.

Graffiti in the Neapoli and other areas of Athens is a common sight.

A taxi owner, Apostolos had lost some of hisjoie de vivre随着参观政治上断的雅典的缺乏。他的妻子没有再次获得每月薪水。他7岁的儿子从衣服上呈指数成倍增长。在这次令人醒目的谈话中，我们爬上了我痴迷的台阶和松散的小径，Lycabettus山。我们穿过开花龙舌兰，野生灌木和sto弱的树木，在闪闪发光的白色19世纪圣乔治教堂旁边到达。

St. George Chapel on Mount Lycabettus.

There was a curious almost otherworldly silence over the metropolis separating us from the turbulent streets of Athens where Apostolos drove daily. We too were silent. It was dusk. The Mediterranean light performed over the ancient birthplace of democracy. Caressing softly, then flaming fiercely, the sun disappeared behind mountains near Piraeus Port still busy debarking terrified migrants via Turkey.

Egaleo Mountains northwest, with Athens below Mount Lycabettus.

Egaleo Mountains northwest at sunset as seen from the top of Mount Lycabettus.

The afterglow on the pink cotton candy clouds seemed to cuddle the troubled souls in the city below.

余辉在雅典山（Mount Lycabettus）看到的雅典。

Sonja Holversonis currently freelancing in many diverse tourism-related projects around the world. She lives in Lausanne where she arrived a couple decades ago from San Francisco after a career in the travel industry. Following her MBA which she obtained from the University of Lausanne (in French!) she taught tourism marketing and published hospitality research atL’École hôtelière de Lausanne，一所应用科学瑞士大学，已被命名为“世界上最好的酒店管理学校”。

Sonja loves Switzerland and you can follow her on@SonjaSwissLifeor learn more aboutSonja Holverson's site, onLinkedIn, or find her on her co-founded travel content community platform,Outbounding.