Just a few more photographs of the Antiques street in downtown Athens that I didn’t add before. Such a great place for a photographer. That street is like an explosion of sights and sounds that will make your head spin and your camera snap non-stop!
A family walks by graffiti and merchandise.
The place to shop when WW3 happens..
Cover art of vintage records on the wall of a shop.
Religious icons, Santa Claus, & jewelery all in one shop window!
Where ever you go in any city you are bound to see a few things that are little off. I have seen some odd things during my walks in Athens. There are a few things that a tourist or even a local Greek would find ‘kitsch’ or odd and I love to capture these oddities with my camera..the stranger the better 😉
I love this shop window! Greek is chic didn’t you know?
The very crowded Ermou St.
A vendor selling the warm winter drink called ‘Salepi’ (σαλέπι). It is made from orchids and is mostly consumed in the middle east.
A street vendor selling corn on the cob.
The Byzantine church ‘Agia Kyriaki’ built in the 6th century.
A few street photos of downtown Athens where there so many things to photograph. Athinas street, Ermou and Monastiraki are some well-known and busy streets. On that day Ermou street was so crowded my friends and I gave up and turned around. We went down a quieter street for a stroll. It’s probably a lot more crowded now that Christmas is approaching. Crowdy streets are a happy site for shop owners and street vendors, but only if people are buying and not just taking strolls like we were haha!
Meat galore. Not for the vegan types!
Go green! Can’t tell if it’s real or fake foliage. Interesting nonetheless.
Crowds gather outside a deli shop.
This shop caught me by surprise with its unusual decor.
Croissants, all kinds of bread, and Greek ‘halvas’.
The many brands of Greek honey.
In Athens, most of the merchandise is on the street so you don’t have to step into a shop to see what the store has to offer. It’s something you don’t see in many countries. Some of the items on display are really odd, like the wooden canes or the display case with the honey and alcohol on the wall of a shop. The shop with the sausages took me by surprise, that was a lot of meat! The shop attracted many people who were just walking by. Many were taking photos with their cell phones of the shops unique exterior.
People gather to watch a live musical act.
There is always a lot of action at the busy downtown Athens square called Monastiraki. The many tourists and natives, street artists and vendors all congregate at this square. I took this photographs only three weeks ago and it is still as vibrant as it was in the summer time.
For my birthday last weekend, I decided to head up the highest point of Athens. The highest point is Lycavettos hill a very popular tourist destination, but every able-bodied Athenian should try to make the trek up there too. The name ‘Lycavettos’ means ‘the refuge of the wolves’-‘lycos’ means ‘wolf’ in Greek (fortunately there are no wolves there now). In order to reach the top of Lycavettos hill you have to walk up the many steep steps from Kolonaki street. After climbing up all the steps you arrive at the base of the hill and there is a funicular that will take you to the top. I didn’t want to ride it since I wanted to take photographs and take in the view. It took about a half hour to get to the top-without breaks. I went in the late afternoon when the sun was going down and it was not a hot day-thank goodness. Although, it’s a bit of a work out, the hill-top offers an incredible view of Athens. You can see the Parthenon and Piraeus port, and even some of the islands nearby. At the top of the hill is a restaurant, a theatre and the 19th century chapel of St. George where many weddings have taken place. When I got there a wedding had just taken place and the bride had just come out of the church. By that then, the sun had gone down, and I couldn’t take any proper night shots. Time for a new camera..
I still like this one though:
🙂
A woman walks by the graffiti.
A view of Monastiraki square below from Plaka.
Narrow cobble stone path in Plaka.
The neighbourhood of Plaka in Athens is nicknamed ‘ the neighbourhood of the Gods’ becaue of its close proximity to the Parthenon.
It is a very touristy neighbourhood, and it has so many hidden features. You can never take enough pictures while in Plaka. I read that settlers from the Cyclades built the neighbourhood which explains why the architecture is similar to the architecture of the Cycladic islands specifically from ‘Anfi’ from where the settlers came from.
Η γειτονιά της Πλάκας στην Αθήνα έχει το παρατσούκλι «η γειτονιά των Θεών», καθώς βρίσκεται πολύ κοντά στον Παρθενώνα.
Είναι μια πολύ τουριστική περιοχή, και έχει τόσα πολλά κρυμμένα χαρακτηριστικά. Δεν μπορείτε ποτέ να τραβηξετε αρκετές φωτογραφίες στην Πλάκα. Διάβασα ότι οι άποικοι από τις Κυκλάδες εχτίτησαν τη γειτονιά και γι ‘αυτό εξηγεί γιατί η αρχιτεκτονική της είναι παρόμοια με την αρχιτεκτονική των Κυκλάδων, συγκεκριμένα από το νησί της«Anfi» όπου οι έποικοι προέρχονταν.
A slide show of some of the most intriguing and inspiring art works. My apologies for not jotting down the names of the artists.
From the 15th-18th of May Athens hosted the annual ‘Art- Athina’. Art-Athina is a contemporary art exhibition featuring Greek and international artists. It was a large exhibition that was held at a stadium (TaeKwonDo). It was interesting seeing how Greek artists were expressing their opinions about the economic crisis in Greece through art. I left feeling very inspired and glad that there are so many people who are passionate about art in this monetary world.
The Bustling Monastiraki Square
If there was a photograph that can encompass everything that a city has to offer, than this one would be it. Everything that someone would see in Athens is in this photograph, from the churches, the ruins, the many yellow cabs, motor bikes and of course all kinds of people.
Αν υπήρχε μία φωτογραφία η οποία μπορεί να περιλαμβάνει τα πάντα που εχει μια πόλη, τοτε αυτη θα ήταν. Κάθε πράγμα που θα δει κάποιος στην Αθήνα είναι σε αυτή τη φωτογραφία, από τις εκκλησίες, τα ερείπια, τα πολλά κίτρινα ταξί, μοτοσικλέτες και φυσικά όλους τους τύπους ανθρώπων.
Creative Entrance at a Shop
Happy to Serve You!
Bakery with heart-shaped chocolate cakes. Not for the diabetic.
Sign says ‘Small goods. Soft drinks and cigarettes’ Healthy stuff.
Colourful Chairs at Restaurant at Psirri
A basement shop that sells Greek traditional clothing and footwear in Psirri
A Flea Market at Thiseio
Thousands of small business owners have had to close up their shops during the economic crisis in Greece. Athenians can’t believe how many ‘for rent’ signs they have seen on every shop window they happen to walk by. The hardest small businesses hit are the neighbourhood businesses just outside the city center. When a shop closes downtown a new one quickly opens because downtown Athens will always have its crowds of shoppers. It’s a tourist area and there is a lot more to see and do than in any other area of Athens. Many business owners have now realised that to survive they have to come up with an idea for a business that is s unique and creative and that people will really like and will want to come back to again. Hundreds of ‘souvlakia’ shops appeared like mushrooms and several months later those shops have had to close down. How many ‘souvlakia’ can a person eat anyways? It’s not very healthy either. Healthy eating is popular now and that is why frozen yogurt shops do well, but there are already enough of those now. The only positive thing about an economic crisis in that it can inspire people to be more creative. The competition is a lot more fierce now. A new shop cannot not be a carbon copy of a shop down the street. The business should be unique and the business owners have to supply the people with the things that they really want. Of course, it helps if people (the customers) had more money in their pockets too.
My Creative Wayz 