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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Helena Smith in Litochoro

‘No time to waste’: Greece bids for Mount Olympus to be included on Unesco list of world heritage sites

Hikers walk up a rocky trail at sunrise toward Mount Olympus with snow patches
Hikers walk in the direction of Stefani peak, also known as the throne of Zeus, at sunrise on Mount Olympus. The mountain’s popularity has soared over the past decade, with about 500,000 visitors recorded last year. Photograph: Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP/Getty Images

More than four decades have elapsed since Evangelos Geroliolios made his first ascent to the home of the ancient gods. At the top of Mount Olympus, on the rocky peak of Greece’s highest mountain, he felt unalloyed awe.

“I’ve never forgotten that unique moment, that unique feeling up there on the throne of Zeus,” recalled Geroliolios, who as mayor of Dion-Olympus now spends a great deal of his time administering the area around the site.

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