The Acropolis of Athens closed its doors on Friday during the hottest hours of the day and will also close this Saturday between 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. local time (between 10:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. French time) due to the heat wave that hits the country as part of Europe, announced the Greek Minister of Culture.
“For the protection of workers and (…) visitors, at least during the hours of ‘maximum’ temperature from 12 to 17 hours (local time, that is, between 11 and 16 hours, French time), the archaeological site must be suspended”, indicated Lina Mendoni on the public television channel ERT.
In a press release, he added that the “closure of the site from 11:30 to 17:30” (between 10:30 and 16:30 French time) would also occur this Saturday.
Expect between 40°C and 41°C
The minister explained that although temperatures of 40°C to 41°C are expected in Athens this Saturday, at the top of the Acropolis, “the actual temperature felt (…) by the body is considerably higher.”
Previously, the Archaeological Ephoria of the city of Athens had announced in a press release the closure during the hottest hours of Friday of the ancient site classified as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and which is the most visited in Greece.
Around the Sacred Rock, the Ancient Agora or the Ancient Ceramic Cemetery will remain open.
“It’s really hot”
In the middle of the day, in front of the closed ticket offices, some tourists, hats and caps pulled low, were annoyed by the lack of information available on the Acropolis website.
“I’m not very happy, but what can we do? The idea is to go somewhere else and come back at 5:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. French time)” when the doors reopen, Sonya Ivkovic, a Serbian tourist, director, told AFP. From Human Resources. “It would be a shame not to see it!”
“We didn’t expect this, we came and thought it would be open. We just brought water and we were prepared,” said Emelie Den, an Australian doctor. “But it makes sense, it’s very, very hot today.”
At least 30,000 bottles of water distributed
The country’s authorities, accustomed to these phenomena, have taken many measures in recent days to deal with this heat wave. The Red Cross was deployed this Thursday at the foot of the Acropolis to distribute bottles of water and help tourists who could be victims of heat stroke or fainting.
“We are going to distribute at least 30,000 50cl bottles of water a day,” Greek Red Cross president Antonios Avgerinos told AFP.
Awnings have also been installed since the beginning of the week near the entrance doors to protect the thousands of visitors who came to admire the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis, a masterpiece of the “classical” era of antiquity (5th century BC). .C.). .
Increase in visitors in recent months
The Acropolis site, which has seen a significant increase in visitor numbers in recent months, is normally open from 8am local time (i.e. 7am in France) to 8pm local time (i.e. , 7 pm in France).
Greece, like the rest of the Mediterranean countries, has suffered the first heat wave of the summer since Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to exceed 40°C in the north and west of the country, depending on the weather.
In the half day on Friday, the thermometer marked 39°C in Athens, from 40°C to 42°C in the north and west of the country and 43°C in Thessaly (center) which could reach 44°C. according to the EMY national meteorological services, which forecast the same temperatures for Saturday.
Source: BFM TV
