Welcome
Travelogues
Begin trip
|
Capital: Athens
|
I will get around to writing my comments about Greece and the 157 photos I chose to show you. For the time being, here are the photos. |
|
| Atlapedia CIA Country Reports Lonely Planet Traveldocs Wikipedia | ||
It was cold and windy when I arrived in Athens in February 2003. The first tourist attraction I saw was the Greek parliament on Syntagma square where the airport bus dropped me off in the centre of Athens.
It was only 5 degrees Celsius, there were no tourists around and the Evzones guarding the parliament buildings were warmly dressed in their winter uniforms.
I stayed a few days in spite of the bad weather to visit the National Museum, to get a visa for Syria and to check out the principal landmarks. This is the Academy, part of the Athens University, on Panepistimiou avenue.
The National Library is just up the street.
Tourism is becoming more and more important in Greece. This is the Athens Hilton Hotel.
Directly in front of the Parliament on Syntagma Square the pedestrian Ermou street leads west to the Monastiraki flea market area.
Here is another shot of Ermou street.
The locals did not pay much attention to this old man turning the handle of his mechanical organ on Ermou street. In the background, a glimpse of the church of Kapnikare half way between Syntagma Square and Monastiraki.
Ermou street is lined with fancy boutiques but the unpretentious shops in Monastiraki's narrow lanes are just as interesting if not more!
There were only men in this friendly Monastiraki coffee house. That seems to be the norm. Those Greeks are Christian but they keep a tight rein on their womenfolk. Maybe they picked up that custom from the Muslims during the long Turkish occupation of their land.
Flea markets are always interesting to visit for the curious and Monastiraki's is no exception.
Moving south down Lisiou street in Plaka we come across side streets with stairs climbing up the flanks of the Acropolis like these on Mnissikleous street. I was tempted to go up because I would have had the place to myself but it was too windy and cold to be pleasant so I kept the Acropolis for later on my way back to Montreal.
Athens was just a small town centred on Plaka when Greece won its independence from Turkish occupation in 1833. The Parliament, the University, the Academy the Library and many other neo-classical buildings were erected in the 19th century after Athens became the capital.
Plaka kept its village atmosphere which is now a major tourist attraction. On the left in this photo is the Students and Traveller's Hostel where I slept in a dorm for 20 $US in February and for 26 $US in June.
The modern Athens metro brought me to this station in Piraeus on my way to see the bronze statue of Apollo dated 520 BC which is the star attraction of the port's Museum.
Just down the hill from the museum is the small Zea marina where having a berth is a privilege reserved for the rich and powerful.
Only the rich and powerful could afford one of these luxury boats anyway!
Next to the metro station is the busy ferry port that serves all of the Greek islands.
The heavy traffic through the port is most evident from the air where the multitude of boats of all sizes can be seen converging on Piraeus or leaving it.
The huge 3000 passenger cruise behemoths also stop here. They are not yet as numerous as in Miami or San Juan but their presence in the Greek islands is now irreversible.
