For the first time, the road to full commercialization of cultural heritage opens with the establishment of private tours of the Acropolis.
All for profit. And for the pocket of the tour operators, of course, who have been asking for special treatment for their wealthy clients for a long time. At the expense of regular visitors to Acropolis which will continue to dry out in queues under the merciless Attic summer sun.
The culture ministry’s response to the embarrassing images that went around the world of visitors fainting last summer was to implement visitor zones last fall. And to plan private visits to the Holy Rock, outside normal hours, only for those who have to pay 5,000 euros for the tour.
And where until today only heads of state or prominent personalities climbed the Acropolis out of hours honorably and for security reasons, now anyone with a big wallet will be able to take selfies at dawn or after sunset with the monument in the background. Good news for money-grubbers everywhere.
The permanent justification of those in charge is reinvestment in culture. That the 40,000 euros expected, according to ODAP, to be left by private visitors per day will be used to preserve our cultural heritage. That is, the rich will assume the obligation of the state to protect its heritage. Free and equal access to the monument comes at a cost. For the first time the heritage that is supposed to be protected will not be equally accessible to everyone. It will be done Acropolis for rich and Acropolis for poor people. For the first time, the road to full commercialization of cultural heritage is being opened with the sole aim of profit.
It’s not the same as renting a room at the British Museum for a hefty fee to eat with your friends. A museum that is inextricably linked to the colonial logic of its shareholders and has passed into the world’s consciousness as a museum that has illegally collected treasures that belong to others, it makes sense to organize elite class evenings.
But to pay to have it “yours”. Acropolis, the world monument-symbol of democracy, excluding even for a few hours those who are not rich, is in complete contrast to what this monument symbolizes. With his place in the world, ancient and present.
Instead of extending the opening hours to all visitors from earlier in the morning to later in the evening, so that everyone can admire it on better terms, the Ministry of Tourism listens to the tour operators.
That’s a lot of money, Ari.
But we were ignored internationally. The beginning was made yesterday, March 15, by the British Guardian, with an extensive report on the class exclusion of visitors to the monument. And he certainly won’t be the only one.
#Citadel #rich #poor
