Ancient Agora of Athens

Our tickets to the Acropolis was inclusive of entrance to the Ancient Agora of Athens. The Agora during its ancient days was a space might have been used as a market, or for an election, a dramatic performance, a religious procession, military drill, or athletic competition. Here administrative, political, judicial, commercial, social, cultural, and religious activities all found a place together in the heart of Athenians.

Exploring Monastiraki

One good thing about doing your own travel itinerary is that there is no pressure to rush off to places and keeping to the tight schedule with the tour group. No doubt doing a DIY travel would require a lot of walking on foot. The feet do come to protest after a couple hours of walking. And when they do, we know that it's time for some light refreshments. 

So after the quick stroll at the library, we stopped at a street seller for some Greek sesame bread rings or koulouri. 

We walked a bit further and ended up at Monastiraki Square - an open market square with bustling shops, street vendors and open markets.

 Monastiraki area spreads out at the foot of the Acropolis to the North of the Hephaestus Temple in  the Ancient Agora  and south of Ermou street; it’s a  charming alloy of colors, smells, tastes and senses.

Nuts about coconuts on the Monastiraki Square

 

Shops at Monastiraki Square selling anything from kitsch and souvenirs to chandeliers and beautifully crafted armoiries.

In the old days the flea market was called Yousourum from the name of a rug and bones of the man who first made business in the Monastiraki area.

Collectors items porcelains

 

More collectors stuffs

 

Old cameras for the photography enthusiasts

Tzistarakis Mosque

At the south corner of the Monastiraki Square, bordering the Library of Hadrian stands a domed building with a triple-arched loggia. It was a mosque built in the eighteenth century during the Ottoman occupation by the local governor Tzistarakis. 

Quranic verses on the walls of what used to be a mosque

    

Entrance to the mosque

 Today, however the mosque is home to a ceramics museum, an annex of the Museum of Greek Folk Art. Unfortunately, the museum was closed at the time of our visit.

Monastiraki was the site of one of the largest monasteries in Athens.
The surviving church, also known as the Pantanassa Church.

But most of this 'Great Monastery' was demolished during archaeological excavations in the nineteenth century. Little was left of the complex. Only the church remains intact.

What's your pick? Keep Calam & Drink Ouzo or I Love Greece?

A Library Visit

Do libraries fascinate you? They do us -  just like museums and when we get the chance we'd pop into one at places we are visiting.

We walked down hill towards the Roman Agora in Athens after we said goodbye to the Acropolis. To the north of the Roman Agora is the Hadrian's Library. Yes...a bit in ruins but the achitecture that comes with it was overwhelming. 

The library was built on the site of Late Hellenistic and Early Roman housing.

The Library of Hadrian in Athens was constructed circa 132-134 CE as part of Roman Emperor Hadrian’s grand re-building plan for the city.

Hadrian (76-138 CE) was the fourteenth Emperor of Rome. Known for his building projects which was perhaps his most enduring legacy. Hadrian established cities throughout the Balkan Peninsula, Egypt, Asia Minor, and Greece.

Picture from Google

 

Library complex impressive entrance, located on the west side of the building, had a Corinthian columned porch also known as propylon

  

Columned façade with Corinthian columns in green Karystos marble

The main part of the building was opposite the entrance on the eastern side.

The library was the largest in Athens. It had columned façade and high surrounding walls, built to impress.  The building was used to store important literary works and legal and administrative documents as well as a place to hear lectures and host various philosophical schools.

A Corinthian capital from the north facade of the Library of Hardrian

  

Columns in the interior of Hadrian's Library

 

Mosaic pavements

Library of Hadrian East Wall - restoration work on going. 

  

During the Byzantine era a series of churches were built on the site.

Architectural elements still visible in the Library of Hadrian central courtyard area.

As we left the complex, we imagined what an important centre of learning and philosophy it would have been during its heyday with books, scrolls, documents and papyri housed in the Library.

April Already!

Hi folks.

It's already April. What happened to the 1st quarter of the year? It's like playing football, isn't it? You race up and down the field and before you know it time is up and game's over. Some analogy this is eh? ;)

Stories of my Greek soujorn has not much progressed. Keep promising myself that I'll get it done one of these days. Yes...fingers crossed on that "one of these days" promise. Surprisingly enough there are still folks out there who follow my stories. Once in a while I'd receive emails asking me to continue writing. Hi hi...kinda cool, isn't it? So for you out there who still follow me on Sembang, okay....I will somehow try and complete my Greek travel stories yah!

So drop by. Let's see where we are heading to next ;)

Quoting Homer in The Odyssey 

“There is no greater fame for a man than that which he wins with his footwork or the skill of his hands.”

Greece Adventure Day 2 - Climb The Acropolis Part 4

By the time we finished  doing the Parthenon, the winter sun was up. The warmth of sun made the walk pretty pleasant. In fact  it didn't feel like it was winter, felt more like spring. 

We decided to take a  break. Found an empty bench nearby and took out our packed sandwiches to fill up our already growling stomachs.  

Can't think of any better spot for a pit stop than this one looking right at the Parthenon

After refueling, Nissa did her signature jumps

 

And Abe started paparazzing....

After everyone was happy (read: kenyang...) we walked to another main highlight inside the Acropolis - the Erechtheion. This is a sanctuary  made prominent by the Porch of the Caryatids with the six maidens supporting the southern portico.

The Erechtheion - an ancient Greek temple constructed on the Acropolis between 421 and 406 BCE in the Golden Age of the city  to house the ancient wooden cult statue of Athena.

Porch of the Caryatids where the real stars of the Erechtheion are the Caryatids or korai as they were known to the ancient Greeks.

 

The caryatids are female figures that serve as the architectural support for the entablature of a building.

Gigantic columns on the eastern side of the Erechtheion.

The Erechtheion was definitely an intricate temple. Beautiful and captivating; photography can't do justice to its beauty.

We couldn't stay long as the sun was already piercing sharp. Time to go. Time to say adieu to the Acropolis. 

One last shadow play with her furry friend on the Acropolis

Bye bye...Athens from up above the Acropolis

Nike saying byes to (Temple of) Nike

His way of saying good bye

Our way in was also the way out.

The Acropolis was by far one of the grandest of sites that impressed us more than we expected. There is a spirituality to standing atop the Acropolis that neither time nor cynicism can destroy.

Definitely worth the climb...a must do if you are in Athens!  

Greece Adventure Day 2 - Climb The Acropolis Part 3

As we were the few earliest visitors to the Acropolis complex, we took our time viewing this fortified citadel and state sanctuary of the ancient city of Athens. While walking to our next destination we imagined how magnificent it must have been during its glorious days. The many people who have taken the same path we did;  people like Alexander the Great, Plato, and Socrates just to name a few.

Careful steps at this slippery pathway. Perhaps it’s the strain of supporting so many visitors over so many thousands of years.

Moving forward we headed directly to the Parthenon. The temple of Parthenon was dedicated to the goddess Athena, protector of the Ancient city of Athens.

Parthenon is one of the most most famous buildings of the world. It was constructed at the initiative of Pericles, the leading Athenian politician of the 5th century BC.

  

Pediment of the Parthenon.

 

Detail of the metopes at the Parthenon

 

Elaborate Doric column of the Partnenon

 

Feeling just great to be at the Parthenon where it had everything from a temple, treasury, church, and mosque.

  

Found a Parthenon furry friend

 

And a very serious one this friend.....

 

Sprawling Athens from the Parthenon from the lookout point near the Parthenon

 

  A Greek flag at the lookout point

It has weathered time and man as such extra pampering does not hurt.  Restoration works on the Parthenon making progress.

The Parthenon we must say has its aesthetic appeal that emanates from the refinement of many established norms of Greek architecture. There was just so much expectation here and nothing beats being present and seeing how real it is with your very eyes.

 to be continued....

Greece Adventure Day 2 - Climb The Acropolis Part 1

The Acropolis in Athens is a MUST see when you visit this city; even if it requires you to get up super early in order to beat the crowd and the striking sun. And that was what we did on our second day in Athens.

We actually slept very early the night before. Still jet lagged and the whole day walk about was enough to wear us down. But the body was still on Malaysian time and by 4am we were already wide awake (and hungry too..heh heh).

We settled for a very early breakfast and left the apartment by 7am. Took the Metro to the Airopoli Station and then walked up to the entrance on the Acropolis Hill.

The Akropoli Station - pretty deserted at 7am

The station is like a museum too. Findings of the ancient Athenians were discovered during the building of the metro station. They are displayed at the station. The Greeks have so much respects for these archaeological finds.

 

Frescoes on the Metro wall. The duo saying from W with Love. The "W" hand sign is the synonym to UW - Madison

The very wide walkway heading up to the Acropolis Hill.

Surprisingly winter in Athens was pretty mild. Temperatures range between 10C in the morning and by midday it got to around 20C. So it was really nice weather for walking.

Abe became a hit with the dogs that morning. Bill told us the day before that dogs in Athens are extra friendly with men who carried bag packs. Perhaps they thought that there was food in there. Many of these dogs were released by their owners. Times are bad and they can't afford to keep these dogs in their homes any longer. So they became strays - but very friendly strays.

He was huge! And he keep trailing Abe for quite some distance.

He was rather fierce. Kept barking at us.

Walking up towards the Acropolis Hill. We passed the garden with many olive trees.

 

These olive trees must have been there for a while

The uphill walkway leading up to the Acropolis Hill. Heavily guarded by the Greek Armed Forces

 

As we walked up we came to the Odeon of Herodes Atticus or the Herodeon. It was built in 161 AD by the Athenian magnate Herodes Atticus in memory of his wife.

This stone theatre structure is located on the southwest slope of the Acropolis of Athens.

It was originally a steep-sloped theater with a three-story stone front wall and a wooden roof made of expensive, cedar of Lebanon timber. It was used as a venue for music concerts with a capacity of 5,000.

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus - down looking up to the Acropolis Hill

To be continued...