ATTICA, The County of Sunshine

   Kalimera! Means beautiful day… good morning in Greek. And welcome to Attica. Attica is well known for the sunshine and its beautiful weather and pleasant climate that give to the visitors the opportunity to enjoy it during all seasons. Legend has it that god Dionyssos first entrusted the residents of Attica with the secrets for the cultivation of grapes and the art of wine making. One always has the opportunity to get away to the country side full of grapes, olive trees and pines, to the adventurous mountains or the blue sea. The distances are not so far and the changes in the weather, even in winter, hold pleasant surprises in store… a heavy rain is often followed by a brilliant sunshine!

   Athens is the capital of Attica and capital of Greece. It is located 25 minutes away from Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Center. It is a city full of monuments. The Acropolis hill, so called the "Sacred Rock" of Athens, is the most important site of the city. During Perikles' Golden Age, ancient Greek civilization was represented in an ideal way on the hill and some of the architectural masterpieces of the period were erected on its ground.

   The monuments on the Acropolis reflect the successive phases of the city's history. Some of them were converted into Christian churches, houses of the Franks and later on, of the Turks. The most important monuments on the Acropolis are the Parthenon, the Erechtheion, the Temple of Athena Nike and the Propylaea.

   It is also very important for a visitor to see one of the most significant temple in Attica, the sanctuary of Sounion (a town next to Markopoulo). It is the site where ancient Greeks, worshipped the god of the sea Poseidon. Next to the Temple of Poseidon there is a smaller one, the Temple of Goddess Athena Sounias.