The Acropolis of Athens, the ancient and most visited iconic monument in Greece, will be closed on Friday during the hottest hours of the day and most likely on Saturday due to the wave of heatwave that is affecting the country as part of Europe , announced the Greek Minister of Culture. “For the protection of workers and (…) visitors, at least during peak temperature hours from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., the archaeological site must be suspended,” said Lina Mendoni on the public television channel ERT. “It is very likely that tomorrow (Saturday) we will have the same approach,” she added.
The minister explained that while temperatures of 40°C to 41°C are expected in Athens on Friday and Saturday, at the top of the Acropolis, “the true 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 on Friday of the site classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Around the Sacred Rock, the Ancient Agora or the Ancient Ceramics Cemetery will remain open. The Acropolis site, which has experienced a significant increase in the number of visitors in recent months, is normally open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Greece, like the other countries around the Mediterranean, has been hit since Wednesday by its first heat wave of the summer. Temperatures should exceed 40°C in the north and west of the country, depending on the weather. The authorities have taken many measures in recent days to deal with this heat wave, the first this year in this Mediterranean country customary to these phenomena.
The Red Cross deployed Thursday at the foot of the Acropolis to distribute bottles of water and help tourists who could be victims of sunstroke or fainting due to the heat. “We are going to distribute at least 30,000 50 cl bottles of water daily,” Greek Red Cross president Antonios Avgerinos told AFP.
Awnings have also been installed since the beginning of the week near the entrance gates to protect the thousands of visitors who came to admire the Parthenon at the top of the Acropolis, a masterpiece of the “classical” era of antiquity. (5th century BC).
In the middle of the day on Friday, the thermometer should show 39°C in Athens, from 40°C to 42°C in the north and west of the country and 43°C in Thessaly (center), according to the national meteorological services EMY, predicting the same temperatures for Saturday. Faced with this heat wave, the Greek authorities have warned of the high risk of fires, especially in regions where strong winds are expected to blow.
Greece had suffered violent fires during the summer of 2021 due to an exceptional heat wave. The Acropolis, visited by more than 3 million people last year, was then also closed during the hottest hours of the day.
