Athens and the Acropolis

We took a boat from Brindisi, Italy to Greece. We did sight seeing in Athens where I  learned about the  Elgin Marbles or as the Greeks would say the Acropolis Marbles. Greece was ruled by the Ottoman Empire for four hundred years until 1825. .In 1801,  Lord Elgin, the British ambassodor to the Ottoman Empire marveled at the beauty of the  Parthenon and thought the marble sculptures should be displayed in England. So he asked the ruling Sultan who gave him permission to take them away.  I was very intrigued with this story and the violation of the ruins that belonged to the Greek people.  Today there is still controversy regarding where the Elgin Marbles should be displayed. My thoughts about the Europeans carting away Greek treasure became the basis of my story Echoes in the Mist.