Another Walk Around Plaka

We like strolling around Plaka, so last Saturday we took the bus which dropped us off in front of  the University

 and then we started walking.

A mural on the side of a building, reflected on the building next to it.

On the ground, in front of this building,

the result of excavations that brought to light building remains, dates ranging from the Late Classical to the Late Roman period: the remains of an ancient road, four water ducts, five rooms, interior parts of mosaic floors and among the rooms, seven wells.

The church of Agion Theodoron

The Society of People's Friend and The People's University - I did not know these existed

On Euripidou Street corner, we were near the main market which we will visit on another occasion

This time we turned into Agiou Markou street

where there's lots of shops and stalls

including a lot that sold religious/church merchandise

so many icons

We moved on

we could see the Acropolis in the distance

and we arrived at Monastiraki square

where a celebration, part of the Carnival, was going on with music and dancing

This little princess was awestruck by it all

The Patras Carnival bus was there too, and they were distributing sweets to everyone - Patras is the place where the biggest celebrations take place, a bit reminiscent of what happens in Rio: thousands of people take to the streets

presiding over it all was the Acropolis

The old mosque, now a museum, is the building in the background

After a while, we moved on

It was a Saturday so all the bars and cafeterias were packed

Kapnikarea, a Byzantine church

gorgeous building

with two interesting sculptures at the entrance

the ancient Roman Agora

Aerides, the Tower of the Winds, one of my favourite ancient monuments, probably because it still stands virtually intact. It's an octagonal tower inside the Roman Agora, made of Pentelic marble, and named after the eight large reliefs of wind gods around its top. Its date is uncertain, but was completed by about 50 BC. 

You can see the Acropolis behind Aerides.

One of the reasons why it still stands virtually intact is because it has been continuously occupied for a series of different functions. Formerly topped by a wind vane, it is the only surviving horologium or clock tower from classical antiquity. It also housed a large waterclock and incorporated sundials placed prominently on its exterior faces - a perfect marriage of architecture, sculpture and the new science.

According to A.W. Lawrencem, 'the originality of this building is exceptional and of a character out of keeping with Hellenistic architecture as we know it... the design is obviously Greek, both in the severity of the decorative treatment and in the antiquated method of roofing'.

We moved on as it was time for lunch, 

and soon we arrived at the Old Fisherman's Tavern where we had a delicious lunch.

I wish I had one of those for my balcony

We arrived at the Lantern of Diogenes, the popular name for the Choragic Monument of Lysicrates which was erected by Lysicrates, a wealthy patron of musical performances in the Theatre of Dionysus, to commemorate the prize in the dithyramb (an ancient Greek hymn sung and danced in honour of Dionysus) contest in the city of Dionysia in 335/334 BC.

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The monument is known as the first use of the Corinthian order on the exterior of a building. It has been reproduced widely in modern monuments and building elements. Replicas of the monument are to be found in the UK, Scotland, Australia, the USA.

In the background is a cafeteria where we frequently used to come and sit.

At the end of this narrow street

sits the Arch of Hadrian, Pyli tou Adrianou, as it's known in Greek. A monumental gateway, resembling in some respects a Roman triumphal arch, it spanned an ancient road from the center of Athens, to the complex structures on the eastern side of the city that included the Temple of Olympian Zeus, a colossal temple in the centre of Athens, renowned as the largest temple in Greece, now in ruins.