Gadling

Famous Tourist Site Frauds: Where "Original" and "Authentic" are Blatant Lies {Gadling}

Jun 30th 2007 12:35AM WOW! You obviously feel very passionately about the subject! And in no way do I mean to undermine YOUR personal experience; I can honestly say that it has not been mine, not in Germany, which was leveled during World War II, not in Mexico, the ruins I walked were quite ruined, and not in Greece, a point in your reference.

I majored in both architecture and art history and, as a result, was compelled to visit the sites I have. Each site was uniquely different, due to obvious reasons such as location, geography, culture etc. Mexico, for instance, had very authentic sites, in various stages of digress, such as Chitzen Itza and Coba; Citzen Itza was holding up quite well, whereas, Coba was not. In Germany, I found that nearly ever point of interset I visited had been destroyed during the war and later rebuilt. I walked some on my own and noticed the reconstruction and found awe at the few places left unmarred, but was most impacted by the apologies I heared from the tour guides in Germany as they explained that what I was seeing was not original, that it had been destroyed in the war. I also felt a pang of guilt, knowing our country was responsible, I wondered how they could be so accomodating. My fears were unfounded. The Germans feel deeply indebted to the United States for freeing them of Hitler. I am humbled by that realization, and very gratelful that they had the inclination to put so much energy into reconstruction, and if that inspired tourism, and their economy flourished as a result, well, I think that is awesome.

Greece has seen it's fair share of war, in fact more than Germany has ever seen durin recoreded history. The destruction happened centuries earlier, and time has worn the ruins even more. I too was disappointed by the deterioration of some of the sites I visited. Thera was so deteriorated, it was very hard to regonize what I was looking at. Delos was somewhat more preserved, wonderful houses and shop remains existed, but it was impossible to visualize what the entire island must have looked like during it's prime. An architectural map of the excavations was very helpful and informative. Being a history geek,I bought the book to learn more after my visit, and I have.

Still. I wondered this to myself, even before I read your message, "As these ruins continue to ruin, what will be left for others to see?" My children and their spawn came to mind, but it is a global issue, isn't it? The world want's to see what Athens began, where the birthpalce of the Western World began.

With such importance, how could we fault them for preservation? These relics would be worthy of preservation with or without tourism. It is their very importance that inspires preservation, and tourism makes it possible.

Yes, I find it frustrating each time I see a world reknowned structure encased in scaffolding, and a photo op. is lost, but in the grand scheme of things, I am hopeful our history as a people will not be lost as a result.

And lastly, I'd like to say , on behalf of the Greeks, that no one is trying to "pull the wool over the eyes of tourists", every tour I went on, the guide made it perfectly clear that the remains had been reconstructed, and that the reconstruction had been designed to make evident the difference between old contruction and the new. For instance, the Parthenon, is being reasembeld with concrete, a sharp contrast to the original marble because the intent was not to decieve, but to show without fakery, what the original structure would have looked like.

I did not get lovely shots of the Parthenon, but appreciate the experience nontheless. I hope the Athenians are able to preserve their heritage so that millions more might learn from theirs.