Saturday, June 22nd
From where the ship docked, we took a public bus into town and completed the Rick Steves’ 'Athens City Walk' which took us four hours. After dinner, we saw the production show ‘I Got The Music’ again - we didn't realize that we had already seen it in our first week. :-)
Steps for the day: 13, 667
Photos from the bus ride into the city of Athens
Stadio Eirinis kai Philias (Peace and Friendship Stadium) on the left in the background - a multi-purpose indoor arena - home to the EuroLeague team 'Olympiacos - opened in 1985 - contains a 942-seat amphitheatre, a weight training room, a full practice facility, three auxiliary courts that house the Olympiacos youth clubs and the Olympiacos team office - originally it was designed and operated for a dual use as an ice hockey rink and as a basketball stadium (the operation of the skating rink was stopped for the use of other sports) - the arena is also used occasionally for events like congresses, music concerts and indoor motocross races
Syntagma Square (where our 'Rick Steves' walk began - Syntagma (Constitution) Square is the central square of Athens - it is named after the Constitution that Otto, the first King of Greece, was obliged to grant after a popular and military uprising on 3 September 1843 - the Square is the most important square of modern Athens from both a historical and social point of view, at the heart of commercial activity and Greek politics
The Hellenic Parliament building - an austere Neoclassical building that now houses the Parliament of Greece - this building was constructed between 1836 - 1842 - originally, it served as the Royal Palace for the Greek kings - in 1909, a fire caused a lot of damage to the building and restoration works began - when the monarchy was abolished from Greece in 1924 after a referendum, the building was used as a museum and a hospital - in November 1929, the government decided to move the Parliament to this building
In front of the Parliament building overlooking Syntagma Square is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - a cenotaph dedicated to the Greek soldiers killed during war - sculpted from 1930 -1932
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - is guarded by members of the Evzone - they are an elite infantry unit of the Greek Army
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - above the simple marble-slab tomb (marked only with a cross) is a carved image of the Unknown Solider, a heavily armed dying Greek - it was inspired by the statue of a dying nude from the ancient Aphaia temple on the island of Aigina (near Athens) - etched into the stone on each side of the tomb are the names of great battles in Greek military history from 1821 forward (Cyprus, Korea, Timini, Crete, etc)
Evzones (the Presidential Guard) - a ceremonial infantry unit that guards the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Presidential Mansion in Athens - all Evzones are volunteers drawn from the Hellenic Army's Infantry Corps
The guard changes five minutes before the top of each hour, with a less elaborate crossing of the guard at :25 after - they march with a slow motion, high stepping march to their new positions, then stand ramrod straight, where you can pose alongside them - a full changing-of-the-guard ceremony, complete with marching band, takes place every Sunday at 11am - these colourful characters are clad in traditional pleated kilts, white britches, and pom-pom shoes
Hotel Grande Bretagne - an example of 19th century architecture in the Neoclassical style - this neoclassical look is symmetrical and geometrical, a pastel-coloured building highlighted in white trim - the windows are rectangular, flanked by white Greek half-columns, fronted by balconies, and topped with cornices
Mike standing beside a modern bronze statue on Ermou Street - a pedestrian mall (since 2000)
Police riding on a motorcycle on Ernou Street
Looking down Ernou Street - when they first pedestrianized this street in 2000, merchants were upset - now they love the ambiance created as countless locals stroll through was has become a people-friendly shopping zone - this has traditionally been the street of women's shops - however, these days Ermou Street is dominated by international chain stores, which appeal to young Athenians but turn off older natives, who lament the lack of local flavour - this people-crammed boulevard is a pleasant place for a wander for eight short blocks - many of the department stores are housed in impressive Neo-classical mansions
Mike eating a koulouri - pretzel-like sesame rings - got its name from the round mats used by salesman to carry towering trays of the pretzels on their heads from daybreak - hailed as a national snack or a street breakfast - they were very yummy
The Church of Panagia Kapnikarea (Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary) - a Greek Orthodox church - one of the oldest in Athens - is a classic 11th-century Byzantine church - it's square and topped with a central dome - it includes tall arches over the windows, stones surrounded by a frame of brick and mortar, and a domed cupola with a cross on top - over the door is a mosaic of glass and gold leaf, which, though modern, is made in the traditional Byzantine style
Looking up at the Parthenon, the Acropolis and the Sanctuary of Zeus
Having coffee outside in the street
The Metropolis (the Metropolitan Cathedral of Athens) - the cathedral church of the Archbishopric of Athens and all Greece - it is the head church of the Greek Orthodox faith - construction began on Christmas Day, 1842 and was completed on May 21, 1862 - the cathedral is a major landmark in Athens and the site of important ceremonies with national political figures present, as well as weddings and funerals of notable personalities - when entering the church, you can observe a ritual: locals enter and buy candles at the self-service kiosks just inside the door - they light them in nearby bronze candelabras, and kiss their choice of icons - the pieces of paper (by the wooden icon frame on the right side of the main aisle) are written prayers, left by the faithful
A close-up of the entrance doors to the Cathedral
In Plateia Mitropoleos (Cathedral Square) - the area in front of the cathedral - stands this statue: Constantine XI Palaiologos - the last emperor of the Byzantine Empire - considered the "last Greek king" and an unofficial saint
In Cathedral square we also find this statue: Archbishop Damaskinos Papandreou - Archbishop of Athens and all Greece from 1941 - 1949 - this statue was erected by Athens' Jewish community as thanks to the Archbishop who stood up to the Nazis during the occupation of Greece - after the occupation, he served as regent and then prime minister of Greece until the king returned from exile
Church of Agios Eleftherios (Church of Saint Eleutherius) - aka Panagia Gorgoepikoos (Virgin Mary, quick to answer prayers) - aka Little Metropolis - a late 12th century Byzantine-style marble church - sometimes referred to as "the old cathedral" - built on top of the ruins of an ancient temple dedicated to the goddess Eileithyia - this church was used by the archbishops of Athens after the ottomans evicted them from the church within the Parthenon
Mike walking towards the church
Interior of the Church of Agios Eleftherios
A 'stoa' (arcade) at #17 Agia Filothesis Street - housing workshops of the artisans who make objects from the Greek Orthodox religion: painters creating or restoring icons in the traditional style, tailors making bishops' hats and robes, and carvers making little devotional statuettes
A mosaic on the floor of the 'stoa'
The Church of Agios Andreas (the Church of Saint Andrew) within the courtyard of the Athens Archdiocese - a Greek Orthodox church
Mike standing beside a tree on Agia Filothesis Street
A store selling religious clothing on Agia Filothesis Street
Iera Archiepiskopi Athinon (Holy Archdiocese of Athens) - #19 Agia Filothesis Street - the headquarters for the Greek Orthodox Church
Looking up Adrianou Street - is a main pedestrian street that cuts through the Plaka (a neighbourhood of Athens) - offers the full gauntlet of Greek souvenirs - it has plenty of cafes for tourists seeking a place to sit and rest their weary feet
Arch of Hadrian - a monumental gateway resembling a Roman triumphal arch - made of Pentelic marble - it has been proposed that the arch was built to celebrate the arrival of the Roman emperor, Hadrian, and to honour him for his many donations of gifts to the city, on the occasion of the dedication of the nearby temple complex in 131AD.
Hadrian's Arch from in the grounds of the 'Temple of Olympian Zeus' with the Choragic Monument of Thraysllos in the background (looking through the arch)
The Choragic Monument of Thrasyloss - this monument has adorned the Acropolis for over 23 centuries - it was constructed to be visible by the whole of ancient Athens - it was constructed around 320AD by Thrasyllus, judge of the contests of the Great Dionysia, and was in the form of a small temple, the standard choragic monument - three of its structural parts are standing, the rest lie on the ground - the monument collapsed when hit by a cannon in 1827, during the siege of the Acropolis by the Turks - visible on top of the monument are two halves of the Parthenon
On the grounds of the Temple of Olympian Zeus - a former colossal temple at the centre of Athens - dedicated to the "Olympian" Zeus, head of the Olympian gods - construction began in the 6th century BC - and was completed in the 2nd century AD (some 638 years after the project began) - during the Roman period, the temple, which included 104 colossal columns, was renowned as the largest temple in Greece and housed one of the largest cult statues in the ancient world - sixteen of the original gigantic columns remain and it continues to be a part of a very important archaeological site of Greece
Athenian architecture
Lysicrates Monument and Square - this elegant marble monument has Corinthian columns that support a dome that once held an ornamental vase on top - a frieze runs along the top, representing Dionysus turning pirates into dolphins - this is the sole survivor of many such monuments that once lined this ancient "Street of Tripods" - it was so called because the monuments came with bronze tripods that displayed cauldrons as trophies - these ancient "Oscars" were awarded to winners of choral and theatrical competitions staged at the Theatre of Dionysus on the southern side of the Acropolis - this monument was erected in 334 BC by "Lysicrates of Kykyna, son of Lysktheides" proud sponsor of the winning choral team that year
Looking up a street on the way to the next stop on the walking tour
View of Lykavittos Hill - this cone-shaped hill topped with a tiny white church is the highest in Athens - the hill can be reached by a funicular - the church at the top is called the Church of St. George
The Choragic Monument of Thrasyllos
The lanes and homes of Anafiotika (literally "Little Anafi") - built by people from the tiny island of Anafi who came to Athens looking for work after Greece gained its independence from the Ottomans - many stoneworkers and builders hired to construct the modern city of Athens built these higgledy-piggledy residences after hours
Mike walking along one of the lanes in Anafiotika
View of Athens
The Church of the Transfiguration of the Saviour - a complex, four-columned, cross-in-square church dated to the first half of the 11th century
Ekklisia Panagia Grigorousa Agii Taxiarches ke Agios Fanourios - Greek Orthodox church - built in 1922 at the location of an older Byzantine church
Roman Forum - sometimes called The Roman Agora - the rows of columns framing this rectangular former piazza were built by the Romans, who conquered Greece around 150 BC - it was the commercial centre, or forum, of Roman Athens, with a colonnade providing shade for shoppers browsing the many stores that fronted it - centuries later, the Ottomans made this their grand bazaar - the mosque was built upon a church that was built upon a Roman temple - the mosque, one of the oldest and best preserved Ottoman structures, survives
The Roman Forum and the O Pirgos Ton Anemon (Tower of the Winds) on the right - an octagonal, domed tower - the carved reliefs depict winds as winged humans who fly in, bringing the weather - built in the first century BC, this building was an ingenious combination of clock, weather-vane and guide to the planets - the tower was once capped with a weather-vane in the form of a bronze Triton (half-man, half-fish) that spun to indicate which wind was blessing or cursing the city at the moment - bronze rods (no longer visible) protruded from the walls and acted as sundials to indicate the time - when the sun wasn't shining, people told time using the tower's sophisticated water clock, powered by water piped from the springs on the Acropolis
A different view of the Roman Forum
Close-up views of the Tower of the Winds
The Tower of the Winds (on the left) and the Fethiye Mosque and Museum - the mosque is a 17th century Ottoman mosque - it was built on the ruins of a Christian basilica from the middle Byzantine period (8th/9th centuries) - this Christian church was converted into a mosque in 1456/1458, soon after the Ottoman conquest of the Duchy of Athens, to coincide with the visit to the city by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror in 1458 - only a fragment of the mihrab (a semi-circular niche in the wall of a mosque that indicates the qibla, that is the direction of the kaaba in Mecca, the direction that Muslims should face when praying) survives from this mosque, which was demolished and replaced by the present structure between 1668 and 1670 - repurposed after Greek independence in 1834, it fell into desrepair, but after renovations it was reopened to the public in 2017 and is presently being used for cultural exhibitions
The Roman Forum
The Madrasah Gate - Ottoman era Islamic Madrasa (Theological School) - according to the inscription above the entrance door, it was built in 1721 by Mehmet Fahri - in its northeast corner there was a small mosque - in 1833, during the reign of Otto, in free Greece, it was turned into a prison - it was demolished in 1914 for archaeological excavations - only the gate of the building, on its south side, has been preserved, as well as a small vaulted space to its right
The Roman Forum
The Church of St. Mary Pantanassa on Monastiraki Square - a 10th century monastery - the church was known as the Great Monastery, and then later as monastiraki (The Little Monastery), which eventually became the name of the whole area - during the 18th and 19th centuries, it was one of the most important parish churches in Athens - towards the end of the 19th century, with archaeological excavations and the construction of the nearby metro station, the church lost most of its monastic buildings and was downgraded to a 'monasteraki' - the church underwent repairs in 1911 and its western facade was altered - the tall bell tower was also added at this time
The Acropolis
Tzistarakis Mosque - an Ottoman mosque, built in 1759, in Monastiraki Square - has been used for various purposes over the years: an assembly hall for the local town elders, site of a ball in honour of King Otto of Greece in March 1834, a barracks, a prison and a storehouse - in 1915, it was partly rebuilt and used to house the Museum of Greek Handwork from 1918 until 1973 - it is now functioning as an annex of the Museum of Greek Folk Art
Excavations for the Monastiraki Metro station revealed an ancient aqueduct, which confined Athens' Eridanos River to a canal - the river had been a main axis of the town since the 8th century BC - in the 2nd century AD, Hadrian and his engineers put a roof over it, turning it into a more efficient sewer - these photos show an exposed bit of ancient Athens - Roman brick and classic Roman engineering
Sue in front of a marble fountain at Syntagma Square
Municipal Theatre of Piraeus - a neoclassical building - construction began in 1883 and it opened on April 9, 1895 - the main entrance is a portico with four Corinthian columns - beautiful architecture in Athens
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