Athens, Greece: The Acropolis, Ancient Agora, and The Graffiti

8:26 AM

I decided to do Athens on the last leg of my Greek Island Hopping trip and I'm glad I made that decision. I have to say that the city of Athens really surprised me when I first arrived that evening. I NEVER expect it to look so much like New York, with just a whole lot more graffiti & decaying structures thrown in. Most blog and travel site mainly focus on the Acropolis (Parthenon) and Ancient Agora end, and I think that is sad. On my final post on Greece, I decided to share my complete thoughts on the city as a whole.

Acropolis of Athens, Parthenon, Ancient Agora of Athens
This Acropolis is a must see during the day and at night. It is located on the top of the mountains overlooking the city of Athens and it is truly a site to behold. As you stand looking up at the Acropolis, you can only imagine what it must have look like back then.

The Acropolis contains the Parthenon, which is equally as impressive in person. Once you reach the ancient citadel, you get a wonderful view of the Ancient Agora of Athens and the Theatre of Dionysus Eleuthereus. At night, all of the ancient ruins get lit up casting the city of Athens with such an amazing warmth and glow that you can't help but admire this great city.

Acropolis Museum
The museum is located near the Acropolis of Athens at the bottom of the mountains, and is built on top of the old ancient city. As you walk through the first floor of the museum, you are greeted with a clear panel as you stare down the ancient city below.

I was only able to capture two pictures from the inside of the Museum, before I was promptly told that cameras weren't allowed there. If you ever do decide to visit Athens, I so highly recommend visiting this Museum vs. the others.

The City

The main city or hub is surrounded with shops and markets selling items ranging from clothes to fresh vegetable and meat. During the day, the bustling noise with the occasion of hollers from the Greek men was interesting enough, but at night is when thing gets interesting. Once it gets to the evening hours, all the markets and shops begins to shut down, and all you notice is the graffiti that overwhelm every single wall and corner.

We arrived in the evening due to the ferry being several hours late. As we headed to our hotel, the walk itself was a little spooky. Unlike New York, where most shops remain open late, in Athens, most of the shops close early. By the second night we got used to the area as we went about our touristy business ^_-.

Scam is very common in the city, so be careful with the ladies that try to offer free roses, and the gentlemen that try to offer free braided wrist brand. These may not necessary be scam per say, but in the end of the day, you will be out of $5 euros. They can get very aggressive, so stand firm, because as the saying goes...nothing in this world is for free.

Be prepared to also see a couple of homeless people in the main hub of the city. One experience that struck a cord with me was a pregnant woman on drug, just sitting on the floor, with her hand stretch out. I don't usually give money to people that are on drug, but I did feel bad for her that I end up giving her 2 euro anyway. That very night I prayed that she would buy food for herself and her unborn baby.

The Graffiti

Some people see graffiti as art, in most case I do too. In the case of Athens, a lot of the graffiti was not art and majority of them were located in place that would upset anyone that love history. To have graffiti all over your ancient’s walls and newly restore building is a crying shame, and I keep getting disappointed when I kept seeing them all over the city.

Graffiting the walls in Athens date back since 1967, and have continued to be an expression of political views for the local Greeks. Now for the most part, it is done by local youth who spray paint their signatures all over the walls. Below are a couple of graffiti that I thought was interesting enough to share, but majority of them are just tacky signatures.

Plaka, Athens
Plaka is the old historical section of Athens and it is truly beautiful to behold. That area nick name is the "Neighborhood of the Gods" and I think it is fitting because its being so close to the Acropolis, and its Archaeological site. I really like how classical European it looks, despite the walls being graffiti from left to right. From what I gather from a local Greek, it normally takes a couple of weeks of fresh paint in a newly restored neoclassical building, before they get graffiti all over again. I can only imagine how frustrating that must feel for both the owners, and the town’s people.

Once you have visited The Ancients Agora, The Acropolis, etc. you would have just saw visited the main attraction of Athens. Since most of those landmarks are close to each other, you can visit Athens in 2-3 days. This post concludes my travel journey to Greece (will release about the food later). If you have ANY questions or feel that I didn't cover anything, this is your chance to ask me. Until the next adventure...

Kreyola

As always, thanks for the lovely comments. I really do read and appeciate every single one of them. Xoxo Kreyola

18 comments

Princess AuduJuly 23, 2014 at 2:39 PM
You look like your having a great time, I love your yellow short.

http://princessaudu.blogspot.com/
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LenyaJuly 23, 2014 at 8:04 PM
Kreyola you just made me smile, there I was yesterday telling you that is was kinda unusually not to see you in shorts in Greece and here you are in shorts and with the gorgeous Greece backdrops too. It must be a wonderful place. Well one day I will go there. Thx hun.
hugs
Lenya
FashionDreams&Lifestyle
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DarcyJuly 23, 2014 at 10:41 PM
wow these are stunning! I have so enjoyed all of these posts!
www.amemoryofus.com
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CheriJuly 24, 2014 at 4:56 AM
May God Bless you x 1,000,000,000 and then some! That was Sweet of you to Pray and give her money! Yeah the sarcastic would have passed by. Maybe she bought drugs, but who knows Sheila, your act of Kindness may have helped her to turn around the life of the Precious child and hers too! Our Father Works Miracles Every Moment! =D Will Pray for them too!

Kreyola it took Courage to walk down those dark, narrow desolate streets! Every tourist destination has it's share of scammers, Rio Janeiro is likely the worst. :( It does Hurt to see the ugliness, but the Beauty/Goodness outweighs the bad Always! :)

Idk which was more Beautiful ... you or Athens? Dang girl no wonder the guys were gawking! LMBO I'm glad you were able to visit, and not just for yourself ... selfishly we/myself have been spoiled by these sites and history! :) Can see that I'm not the only one Captivated by seeing Greece through your eyes and learning More than I thought I knew ... of course my thinking may not be legal in most states! o_O

Again your eye for art, detail, fashion and knowledge in general and especially of history blows my mind! My Sis is Intelligent!

So where we going next week? ;) Are we there yet?

Thanks Sis! God Bless you and Have a Fantabulous Day! =D
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EffortlessladyJuly 24, 2014 at 10:41 AM
Athens is beautiful! You really did stock up on those mirror shades, it seems like you have one in every colour. Beautiful pictures and as always you look amazing! That was so kind of you to give that pregnant lady money.
effortlesslady.blogspot.ca
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UnknownJuly 25, 2014 at 10:41 AM
These pictures are so beautiful. You look like you had an amazing time and really saw the most amazing sites. I don't think I would ever want to leave!
Www.theurbanumbrella.com
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ThestylegalaxyJuly 26, 2014 at 7:09 PM
Amazing lovely pictures.
I have a giveaway on my blog.
http://sophialastyles.blogspot.co.uk/
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ImogenJuly 28, 2014 at 2:12 AM
Absolutely gorgeous pictures. I enjoyed seeing them- so beautiful with a lot of character.
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