Monday, November 24, 2014

A Strange Land Of Giants!!

Black & White Version

A Broken Pillar

Pillars From The Temple Of Zeus

Arch Of Hadrian

The location of of the arch is very unique and important. Is located north from the Temple Of Zeus. In the picture you can see a little bit of the temple in the background. It is south of the Acropolis complex. But most importantly, it located on  an ancient road that crossed most of Athens. When the Roman Empire Hadrian came into the city he ordered a gate to be made in his honor welcoming people. This is one of the many version that  are giving as the  reason the Arch was built.

National library of Greece

The national library of Greece which is located in Athens near the center of the city, was built in 1832 in a neo-classical style by  architect Freiherr Von Hansen.  This has to be one of the nicest buildings in Athens. I expected all the buildings in Athens to be based on neo-classicalism. But that was just not the case. Most of the architecture in Athens is very simple and basic.

The National Library of Greece with filter.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Greek street art

Greece is an amazing place to see street art. The streets are filled with it. Mostly it is protest art. There is a large anarchist community  in Athens that is very involved  in political activism, and they use street art as a platform to get there political views to large number of people.

Evzones

The Evzones are the presidential guard they also the guards in front of the parliament. Those guards where making there way to there post in front of parliament.

Church

The church of Ago is Eleftherios, is very small church located next to the Metropolitan Cathedral Of Athens. The church is from the Byzantine period and it dates back to the 13th century. The church is located near a shopping and restaurant district. The area is amazing because  it is covered with trees that provide great shade during long and hot Mediterranean day. There is just really relax vibe going on in this area.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

The Runner

The runner is sculpture located in near the parliament  and Evaggelismos general hospital. The sculpture was created by Costas Varotsos in 1988. What makes this such a unique piece of art is that is made out of green glass. The glass gives a really unique sense of movement. It has become world renowned for being one of the weirdest works of public art in the world. Throughout my trip I found this to be one of my favorite works of art. The only other place that has such unique statues has to be Bratislava.

The Runner

Greek Jets from the 70's and 80's

Roman Shield

The museum also had a good amount of artifacts from other countries. More then I had expected.

Uniform

This uniform dates back the Greek war of Independence. Its based on the uniforms that Greek Klephts wore. It was also used by  special
Forces up until the Greco-Turkish war (1919-1922)

Athens War Museum

As you might have guessed, the museum is dedicated to all the wars the modern day  and ancient state  Greece has fought throughout its history. The museum has a vary large collation of ancient weapons, As well as a large  amount of artifacts from the second world war, and a room  dedicated to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus It was a little shocking to me that such a cool museum was empty. It felt like a ghost town.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

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Sunday, November 16, 2014

No idea who this is.

Guard

Greek parliament

The Greek parliament is home to two very interesting things. One is the changing of the guard. Which happens ever hour on the hour, rain or shine, 24/7. The ceremony of the changing of the guard is very unique and elaborate. Also the tomb of the unknown soldier is located in front of the parliament. In the picture behind me there is a carving of an Hellenic soldier laying down. That is the tomb of the unknown soldier.

Kapnikarea

The Church of Panagia Kapnikarea, is a byzantine church dating back to 1050.  The church is located on Ermou street, which is right in the center of Athens. Which makes this a really unique place. Because the area is so rounded by shops and restaurant's and right in the middle of all that, is this small old church. Its very surreal.  Inside the church during periods when it is open to the public, there are always two Nuns, who make sure the church is clean and people are not damaging it. For such a small space it is filled with  amazing pieces of art that go back more then 900 years. Its a great place to find quite in the middle of the hectic city.

Selfie

Friday, November 14, 2014

Syntagma square

Syntagma square is located in front of the Greek parliament. It is small square with not a lot of things but a fountain and so street vendors. But because its location it might be the most important square in Athens. When there are large national events mostly relating to politics people gather in this square.

Riot police

This was taken on Ermou Street

Ermou Street

Ermou Street is one of the mean shopping streets in Athens. Most of the shops located on the street are western shops, and some local Greek clothing stores. The street is also very important because it one of the streets that leads up to the Greek parliament. Due to this fact the street is swarming with riot police. The police according to  locals, are just there to make tourist feel safe. But they are also there to keep an eye on protest, or riots that may break out. In the last couple of years Athens has being rocked by protest due to weak economy.

Monday, November 10, 2014

My first Gyro

When  i ordered my first gyro I made the mistake of asking for Beef. Apparently in Athens you are suppose to ask for it on a pita, which includes everything even beef. So instead I just got a plate of meat with bread. It was also expensive, I guess those things happen to tourist.

Beef and Lamb!

Those are Beef and Lamb racks of meat that are used to make Gyro's. A traditional Greek dish made out of meat,  chop tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and Tzatziki sauce, wrap on pita bread. In Athens in every street corner Gyro's  a sold for only a few Euro's. It has to be the cheapest meal I had in Europe.

Me in front of the Acropolis

This was taken on a side street from a good distance of the Acropolis. The Acropolis is a major mile stone that can be seeing from a lot parts of the city, due to the fact that is on a hill close to the center of the city.