For the first time in two decades, tourists are able to get an unobstructed view of a famous Greek landmark, according to the Associated Press.
Parthenon Visible for First Time in Decades
The Parthenon, the mountainside temple located in Athens, has for 20 years been shrouded by scaffolding, but no more. Not only have the exterior structures been temporarily removed, it’s the first time in 200 years that the Parthenon has been completely without scaffolding. “It is like [visitors] are seeing…a completely different monument,” raved Greece’s culture minister, Lina Mendoni, on local radio station Skai.
But It Won’t Be Visible for Long
Unfortunately, the reprieve will be short-lived. The scaffolding is scheduled to be reassembled on the Parthenonon’s west side at some point next month. But until then, tourists and locals alike can enjoy an extremely rare, unobstructed view of the legendary structure. When the scaffolding is reinstated in November, Mendoni explained that great effort will be taken to make it look “lighter and aesthetically much closer to the logic of the monument.”
The project on the Parthenon’s west side will be ongoing until at least next summer, at which point the scaffolding will once again be fully removed to reveal an undiluted glimpse of the landmark. “Given that the Acropolis and the Parthenon are among the most visited monuments in the world…it becomes even more relevant to offer [people] a more complete image of the site,” Juan de Lara, an archaeologist at the University of Oxford, said in May. “If visitors can carry a richer, more accurate vision in their minds, the encounter with the monument becomes far more meaningful.”
