Athens - Old & Older

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During Eid of 2016 I spent a few days in Greece, going to Vouliagmeni on the coast and Athens

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Panorama from the Areopagus Hill

One of the best views of the city, especially in the later afternoon.

Panathenaic Panorama

Shot with iPhone.

Arion Resort & Spa, Astir Palace

Our hotel for the first two days. Beautiful setting with its own little sea inlet.

Sunset Views

The sister hotel of the Arian, the Westin, just next to it on the same peninsula.

No Album without them.

... and another shot is still to come!

Questionable beauty

I never thought butterflies are particularly pretty.

Island Mountains

Looking westwards from Vouliagmeni.

Striking a Pose

Sunset happiness!

Sunset Views Part 2

More sunset views looking over the Astir Palace pool.

On the Move

Sometimes you need a little abstractness in your life.

Moonrise

The first moon after Ramadan rising over the Saronic gulf. Eid Mubarak!

Turtling Along

Found this guy roaming on the island, enjoying the views.

Water Fun

Bumpy ride.

Water Fun 2

Never tried this myself.

Rooftop Views

Athens from the rooftop of our hotel, The Stanley.

Books Galore

Mostly in Greek though.

Stoa of Attalos

Originally built some 100 years BC, the current version was rebuilt in the 1950s.

Trains & Ruins

Archaeological digging sites next to the train tracks, that's Athens for you.

Model & Reality

The small and big version of the Temple of Hephaestus in the Agora.

Tourist Turtle

This turtle was roaming around near the Temple of Hephaestus. Maybe fleeing from the dog behind it.

Overview of the Agora

With the Stoa of Attalos and the Lycabettus Hill in the background - we climbed that one later...

Contrasts

One of the fascinating things about Athens is the huge messy urban sprawl surrounding the city mixed with some of the ancient preserved areas. The Stoa of Attalos and Church of the Holy Apostles in the foreground here.

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Still used for events today.

The Real Acropolis

Tourists, ropes and a garbage can.

Acropolis Sunrays

Not many angles without cranes or other signs of ongoing renovation works.

Theatre of Dionysus

The ruins of this theatre, originally built in the 6th century BC.

Major Renovations

The Partheon is undergoing major renovation at the moment to prevent it from deteriorating further. Not the best time for photos.

Lycabettus Hill

.. which we climbed on the next day!

Urbanity

Athens' churches weren't really particularly impressive, here is one of the nicer examples.

The Erechtheion

One of the few buildings on the Acropolis not currently under renovation.

Good Morning

Promised you another one!

The Roman Agora

With the Tower of Winds on the right.

Street Life

Walking around the Plaka.

Posing

The most human-like thing you could find in many buildings of central Athens.

Old & New

But mostly old.

Rooftopping

View from the A for Athens rooftop. Amazing spot.

Skyline

Again taken from the A for Athens rooftop.

Graffiti 2.0

While most of the graffiti was visible unpleasant to say the least, this was far more intriguing.

Sunset Watchers

I was one of them a few hours earlier.

State of the Top

Many of Athen's rooftops are housing bars and hotels, but there is also a lot of empty and abandoned ones.

Moonwatching

The new moon rising.

The Classical Shot

The most photographed sight in Athens.

Travel Companion

Luckily she was able to handle my strict planning.

Tanning Pose

A turtle pond in Athen's National Gardens. Don't know what this guy is up to.

Guard Moves

The guards in front of the Presidential Palace.

Panathenaic Stadium

Where the first Olympics of the modern era took place in 1896.

Olympic Vibes

The stadium also hosted the final of the 2004 Olympics marathon.

Stadium Selfie

Up the stairs!

Pleasant Lines

...for my OCD mind.

The Olympic Torch

A collection of the torches used for all Olympic games is exhibited alongside the official poster in the stadium's little museum.

In the Spirit

Some people actually ran the track of the stadium. No thanks.

Up the Stairs

The stadium is still used for special events occasionally.

The Zappeion

Originally built for the first modern Olympics.

Nature adjusts

Square peg in a round hole.

Biblical Shops

Many shops selling religious artefacts of all kinds.

Statements

No further comments.

Scale

The Temple of Olympian Zeus was one of the more impressive sites for sure.

Temple of Zeus

From the Athens Gate rooftop.

Details

A close up of the Stoa of Attalos' roof.

Church Equipment

In case you plan to build your own church.

Translate Please?

Loved this modern building constructed over an ancient site. Don't know what it is, who can tell me?

Public Library

One of my favourite buildings in the city.

View over the Panathenaic

The Panathenaic Stadium from the Lycabettus Hill.

Eastwards

The edges of the city towards the eastern hills surrounding Athens.

Temple of Zeus

...during sunset

Strefi Hill

As seen from the top of the Lycabettus Hill.

Church Agios Nikolaos

Also from the Lycabettus Hill.

Downfall?

Soldiers taking the flag down - I assume this was because of the wind though.

In the Sunset

Sun setting over central Athens and the Acropolis.

Westwards

The sun setting behind the mountain range on the North Western side of Athens.

Temple of Zeus

.. and a few hours later

The City

The view towards the sea. Athens looks unusually large and dense from above.

Acropolis at Night

Thanks to the lighting it still looks impressive.