Back in 2009, before the Government impoverished us (!) and we could afford foreign holidays, we had a fortnight's holiday in Naxos - an island in the South Aegean. One of the highlights of the holiday was a trip to Delos, near Mykonos, which is one of the most important mythological, historical, and archaeological sites in Greece. We visited in a heatwave so shade had to be found quite often, but despite that I covered the site fairly comprehensively photographically-speaking. This is a shot of just part of the site at Delos. The yellow coloured buildings are the main archaelogical site base. There's also a large museum on the site in which some of the artefacts found during the excavations are displayed.
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A typically Greek-looking sailing caique is seen from the ruins of Delos on the 19th July 2009.
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A wider general view of Delos. The island had been inhabited since the 3rd millenium BC and was a holy sanctuary for a millennium before Greek mythology made it the birthplace of Apollo and Artemis. It was subsequently inhabited by both the Phoenicians and the Romans. It was abandoned about the 8th Century AD. Delos is now a UNESCO World Heritage site - with good reason, if you ask me. The only place that I've been that is anything like it is Knossos on Crete and I don't think that's as big.
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The Ancient Greek theatre on Delos. I should perhaps have photographed it from above, as that would have given a better idea of the size and shape. However, as it was so hot, I was keeping movement to a minumum! Built originally of marble and completed in 250 BC, the theatre was big enough to accommodate nearly 7,000 people.
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The Terrace of the Lions was dedicated to Apollo by the people of Naxos shortly before 600 BC. It originally had 9-12 squatting, snarling marble guardian lions along a Sacred Way. The lions are on a monumental avenue comparable to Egyptian avenues of sphinxes. Today, only seven of the original lions remain.
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