(ANSA) — ATHENS, JULY 15 — The Acropolis of Athens also remains closed for the third straight day during the hottest hours of tomorrow. The Greek authorities announced this today due to the high temperatures that could reach up to 41 °C.
Both yesterday and today, the Unesco World Heritage Site is inundated with tourists, but according to the Greek authorities’ decision, no more visitors will be welcome between 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. local time.
Since Thursday, when temperatures began to rise significantly, according to thermometers, the Red Cross at the foot of the Acropolis has been on duty to help tourists who may have suffered sunstroke or fainting and have distributed more than 50,000 bottles of water. NGO teams have intervened “dozens of times” to help visitors suffering from illness in recent days.
Awnings were also placed near the entrance desks to shelter the thousands of visitors who flocked to admire the Parthenon on the Acropolis, a masterpiece of the “classical” period of antiquity (5th century BC).
The largest archaeological site on the island of Crete, the Palace of Knossos, which is associated with the myth of the Minotaur, also closed its doors between 12 noon and 5 p.m. today, according to Heraklion authorities. Instead, the beaches of the Attic coast near Athens are crowded, according to images from public television Ert. In the summer of 2021, severe fires broke out in Greece due to the high temperatures, especially on the island of Euboea, a hundred kilometers from Athens. (HAND).
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