Athens visit

On Saturday, having left the Benaki Museum on Pireos Avenue where we had seen the Documenta 14 exhibition, we decided to walk to our next destination which was the Kappatos Gallery on Athinas Avenue. It was a hot day, and the walk along Pireos Avenue is not a pleasant one: it's a run down area, there's a lot of traffic, and the pavements are very narrow.

We passed the iNO mural

and soon we could see the chimneys of the Gazi complex.

The old gas factory has been converted into an art space

there's some interesting street art on the side of the building

The chimneys dominate

The old gas containers have been converted into gallery and performance spaces.

It was a relief to leave Pireos Avenue behind us and start the walk along Kerameikos

We soon arrived at the Kerameikos Archaeological site and Museum

The site covers the old potters' quarter, which was located here because of the abundance of clay mud carried over by the Eridanos River. The public graveyard was also located here, situated just outside the city walls. This is where Pericles delivered his funeral oration in 431 BC. The cemetery was also where the Hiera Odos (the Sacred Way, i.e.  the road to Eleusis) began, along which the procession moved for the Eleusinian Mysteries.

we could see Lycabettus Hill in the distance

we walked past the Holocaust Memorial, which is sadly neglected.

We chose to walk along the end of Ermou Street, another rather unpleasant walk, as it's very congested and in need of regeneration

but we wanted to have a look at the odd bits and pieces on sale of what's left of the old flea market

Some of the old buildings here have been restored.

You  can see the contrast here, one restored, the other in dire need of some love and attention

this one is a hotel now.

We reached Monastiraki square, the Byzantine little church on the left, then the old Mosque which is a folk museum now, and the Acropolis hill in the distance

and then we turned left into Athinas Avenue, a working class area, full of traditional shops, and where the main Athens market is situated.