Wednesday 11 September 2013

Aigina




We took the boat to Aigina on Friday and spent a long weekend there.





The town is by the sea and has an extremely busy port. It's a forty minute journey on the boat from Athens, so lots of Athenians come here for a short break





A prosperous place in the past, Aigina town has a faded, tired gentility. The building on the right, the first thing one sees on arrival is a good example: a grand, neo-classical building with Corinthean columns and lots of intricate stone work, it now sits derelict and unloved




 
or this gate, which for me, somehow, exemplified the state of the town 
 
 
 
 
 


Lots of churches, as this is Greece, after all.





Away from the waterfront, lots of narrow streets full of local shops, and not one tourist shop in sight





The whole town is full of neo-classical buildings, some restored, some not




 
some built with the local, mellow, sandy-coloured stone.
 
 
 
 
 
The harbour is beautiful, particularly when the sun sets
 
 

 
 

when everything takes on a rosy golden hue.




 
One of the two large churches, this on the edge of the centre
 

 
 
 

the backstreets full of tavernas with tables on the side and sometimes right in the middle of the street.





Mourtzis, a fantastic shop that sold everything one could possibly make with pistachios - Aigina is well known for producing the best pistachios





the inside of the shop made your mouth water.
 

 
 
 
 
Pistachios are sold everywhere in the town, and you could find loads of peripteron like this one where the exclusive merchandise is the local product.
 
 

 
 
 
Luscious fruit sold on the waterfront
 
 
 

 

and the neo-classical buildings are everywhere





The waterfront, where most of the restaurants and cafeterias are to be found. At night this road is pedestrianized and is full of people milling about, kids on their bikes or rollerblades





I particularly liked this tree avenue





which is near the port





and where you can catch a ride in these carriages





the horses seemed to be feeding every time we went by





This little girl was so happy to be riding in the carriage, she gave me a huge smile when she saw me taking her picture.






One more photograph of the harbour





Finally, Kolona, the sole standing column of the ancient temple of Apollo. This site is the acropolis of ancient Aigina, a city state that was a major rival of Athens until the 5th century BC.




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