Other institutions facing problems
The Byzantine and Christian Museum is ready but not the surrounding park between the Officers’ Club, Aristotle’s Lyceum on Rigillis Street, and Vassileos Constantinou Avenue. The design for the park was approved by the Central Archaeological Council (KAS) before the election, but no money was available and no one has given any assurances as to when the project will get under way. The Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki also presents problems as only one third of its collections will be open, though the northern port is the second Olympic city. Visitors will see only 600 of the total 1,900 square meters of exhibition space that will open in 2005. Nor will the new extension to the Archaeological Museum of Iraklion, Crete, be ready, but the problem there has to do with unexpected factors in the form of antiquities found in the courtyard that have forced a change of plan, since the section of the Aghios Frankiskos Monastery that has been excavated will form part of the museum. Then there is the Museum of Marathon, where a planned extension has been postponed until after the Olympics, as have so many others. Changes here have also been restricted to repairs and renovations.
