Athens. March 2026.

Athens, Greece.

3/26/2026. We meet at last.  In March I took my first trip to Greece, followed by a few days in Istanbul.  Greece has occupied a special place in my concept of the world since I was young.  While not a large place, to me it has always been a prominent place, a place with allure and mystique, a place of significance.

While this trip had been planned six months in advance, the war in Iran had broken out in the intervening time, just two weeks prior to departure.  While I knew it was far enough away, I felt apprehensive and ashamed for pursuing a dream while my country pursued war to the east.  Ultimately I stuck with the plan, but thoughts of the situation in the Middle East weighed heavily on my mind.

The weather for most of this trip was equally weighty - wind, clouds and often rain.  On my first full day in Athens, it was time to catch my first glimpse of the Acropolis, a place that has captivated me for decades.   After countless art history classes on the topic, it was a pilgrimage.  Walking out of Monastiraki and encountering Hadrian’s Library was almost surreal.  Here we are, the real thing.

Some places demand your attention and must be seen in person.   Some places also demand that you spend time with them.  And that is what I did.  Night after night I made the trip from Piraeus into central Athens and up to the hills overlooking the Acropolis.  Wind, gray clouds and all, we spent time together.  It was as majestic as I had imagined it to be and the fact that weather conditions often made photography difficult only strengthened its grip on me.  It was how it needed to be.

Eventually I encountered more favorable weather, but not before I had gone up there several times.  And still I returned again.  It was how it needed to be, and it is not the end.