Agistri

The island of Agistri was the third stop on our Greece trip. It is located just 35 km from the port of Piraeus in Athens, and a stone's throw from Aegina. Like Aegina, Agistri is in the Saronic Gulf, part of the Saronic Islands.
Agistri is a small island (14 sq km), with only four villages of any size. The rest of the island is covered in pine forest. Only two kilometres apart, Skala and Megalochori (also called Milos) are the two villages that cater most to tourists on the island. Megalochori, which means "big village", is the capital village of the island. It has traditional whitewashed stone-built houses - some of the oldest on the island, tiny, winding streets, a sandy beach and a small port where fishing boats moor. We stayed in Skala, the main port of Agistri. Skala is just a twenty-minute walk from Megalochori along the coastal road.

For those who love hiking, Agistri is ideal for walking. Many old footpaths crisscross the island and lead to tiny chapels, small settlements, beaches, and hilltops with breathtaking views to the sea. But hiking is best in autumn and spring when the weather is not so hot. In summer it would have been uncomfortable. There are a few interesting churches on the island, but it was the sandy beaches with blue-green waters that were the main draw for us. The beach closest to our hotel was the beach of Agioi Anargyroi, located at the beginning of Skala, next to the harbour and in front of the all-white Church of Agioi Anargyroi. The church, the newest in Agistri, was the first thing we spotted when we arrived on the island. It is an imposing all-white church, which stands out from afar with its blue dome.

We spent three days on Agistri. On our last day we took a boat trip around the island. We admired the bays, swam in secluded coves and discovered the small islands that are around Agistri. Our skipper told us about the island and pointed out locations of particular interest. We learnt that the population of the island is approximately 1,100 inhabitants, but in the summer months it approaches 5,000. Until 1960, transportation was done by boats coming from Aegina but in 1960 the island was connected directly with Piraeus. In 1973 another important service was made available on the island - electricity.

The boat ride was stunning and a wonderful way to end our Greek holiday. We had just one more night in Athens before our flight home. Hopefully we will be able to return to the area again one day, to discover more of the different islands that Greece has to offer.

* This post has been shared on Little Things Thursday, Thankful Thursday

Aegina

After four very busy days in Athens we were ready to take things a bit easier. We took the ferry from the mainland over to Aegina, one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, 27 km from Athens. Aegina was a major power in the classical Greek times and for a period Athens' main competitor. It was designated as the first capital of the newly formed Greek State, from January 1828 until December 1829, after the period of the Greek Revolution of 1821.

The island is essentially an extinct volcano. Two-thirds of it is rugged and mountainous, while the rest, in the north and west, consists of fertile plains. The island is renowned for its pistachios, and the Temple of Aphea, one of the most important in the country. The main town on the island of Aegina is also called Aegina. This is the capital and principal port and therefore pretty busy with tourists, hotels, restaurants and things to do. On the eastern side of the island is the village of Agia Marina, where we stayed. The village is named after the church of the same name that sits above it. 

We took a day off by the hotel pool before picking up our rental car, ready to explore the island. Our first stop was the Temple of Aphaia, located on a hilltop close to Agia Marina. Besides having a spectacular view, the temple is a very well preserved example of the Doric style and is the most important archaeological site in the Saronic islands and one of the most important in Greece. It was built in 480 BCE (on the site of an even older temple) when Aegina was at the height of its power.

There have been significant bronze, pottery and pediment sculptures found at the temple, including a marble sculpture of a fallen Hero and Heracles (Hercules) defending him with a bow and arrow. A large number of parts of the Temple of Aphaia were discovered in 1811 by English and German archaeologists, sold to Louis of Bavaria and finally ended up at Munich in 1828, where they have been exhibited ever since. In a special hall of the Glyptothek of Munich, named "Aiginetes", there are parts of the temple, a part of the relief sculptures, 17 statues, including a statue of Athena, and more.

Another place of interest on the island are the ruins of Paleochora, above, east of Aegina town. This was the capital of the island from the 9th till the 18th century, when villages were located inland to be safe from pirates. Aegina was one of the unlucky towns because it was destroyed once by the Ottoman pirate Barbarossa in 1537 and all the inhabitants were taken away as slaves. All that remains are a number of small churches in various states of decline, but it is a fascinating place to explore and one that I was very pleased to have visited. 

After our hike we stopped briefly at the nearby Monastery of Agiou Nektarou, apparently the most important religious monument of Aegina. The enormous new church holds the remains of Anastasios Kefalas, a hermit monk who died in 1920 and was the first orthodox saint of the 20th Century, canonized in 1961.

The following day we drove to the main town of Aegina. The place was buzzing with people enjoying the day in the cafes and tavernas. We walked along the busy waterfront, with its traditional fishing boats and guys mending their nets. The port of Aegina is a busy one with ferries, Flying Dolphins (hydrofoil passenger ferries), cruise ships, catamarans and fishing boats sailing in and out, depositing people, cars and fish. The pistachios produced in Aegina are famous all over Greece and are sold in small shops and booths in the town. We bought a couple of bags at a stand located close to the harbour. They were delicious!

Aegina town is a lovely little town with beautiful neoclassical buildings, thin narrow, winding streets, nice squares and brightly coloured buildings. North of the port of the town, on the top of a low hill, stands the remaining column of an ancient temple dedicated to Apollo. This site is called Kolona (column) and excavations have revealed various ruins, as well as a 5,000 year old settlement and layers of city life. A little museum displays the various interesting findings. Other sites worth seeing in the town include the Tower of Markellos, a watchtower erected in the late 17th century by Venetians as part of the greater fortifications that guarded the port, the Eynardeio Central School, a neoclassical building that stands next to the Cathedral of Aegina, and the fish market, situated in a road parallel to the waterfront.

Numerous cafes with views of the sea and the harbour operate along the waterfront. After a few hours exploring the town, we sat down for delicious pistachio gelato. It was the perfect way to end our day there.

We saved the best for last for our final day on Aegina. We drove south on the coastal road to the village of Perdika, above, a pretty village surrounded by gleaming blue seas. Spilling down from a hill and surrounded by a small bay, in the summer season Perdika is busy with visitors enjoying meals on the terraces of traditional tavernas. Moni islet is an islet close to Perdika and there are regular boat connections from the village throughout the summer months. The small boats disembark at a sandy beach on the north coast of the islet. After meandering along Perdika's waterfront, we hopped onto a boat which took us to Moni islet. Within 10 minutes we had reached paradise!

Moni islet is not inhabited, as there is no drinkable water. The only inhabitants are some deer, peacocks, Cretan Ibex and squirrels. The deer and the peacocks have grown especially accustomed to human presence and they greeted us as we disembarked. They clearly hoped we had something for them to eat!

Moni is the property of the Holy Monastery of Panagia Chrysoleontissa of Aegina - hence its name, "Moni", which in Greek translates into "monastery".  The islet was under the jurisdiction of the Greek Travel Club for 30 years, from 1960 to 1990. In 1962 it was decided that it should be a shelter for wild animals and access was restricted to only a few months per year through the small boats from Aegina, without the possibility for an overnight stay.

On the top of the islet's triangular peak, a crumbling structure reachable only by a strenuous hike is said to be the remains of a German lookout post. It has been standing there since World War II, when the Germans used Moni islet to defend the port of Piraeus from the Allies. We didn't hike to the lookout post but rather spent our time on the islet walking along the coast and swimming in the beautiful turquoise waters close to where we had disembarked. Moni islet has several small beaches suitable for swimming, especially on the north coast. These beaches are surrounded by gorgeous pine forests.

And then it was time to move on again, this time to the island of Agistri, just 14 km away.

* This post has been shared on Sundays on Silverado, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Nature Notes, My Corner of the World and Wild Bird Wednesday.

Athens

As an Israeli it is not easy to travel anywhere in the world at the moment. Attacks targeting Israelis have been made over the past year in Western Europe, and the UK is not much fun these days either. Mister Handmade in Israel and I really needed to take a break from the current stresses and strains of living here and Greece seemed to be the best option and a popular place to go at the moment. We visited Rhodes many years ago, but had not been to Athens or any of the other islands. I first started planning a rather complicated trip which involved internal flights, but soon realised that with all the current flight cancellations in Israel, it was much simpler to fly back and forth from the same destination. So in September we travelled to Greece, starting our trip in the capital city, Athens. We had a wonderful few days exploring the city and all it has to offer.

We stayed in the Plaka neighbourhood, which was close to everything that we wanted to see. We started our visit with a walking tour of the historic centre of Athens. We strolled past the Acropolis and ancient theatres and stadiums, seeing the Arch of Hadrian, Zappeion Hall, the National Gardens, the Panathenaic Stadium, where the first Olympic games of the modern world took place, and the Presidential Mansion and current Greek Parliament building along the way.
The following morning we returned to the Presidential Mansion opposite Syntagma Square to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony, above. The Evzones, an elite light infantry unit, accompanied by a military band, march from their barracks just behind the Presidential Mansion, along the Vasilissis Sofias Avenue to the Tomb of the Unknown soldier, where a ceremonial changing of the guards takes place.

We visited the National Archaeological Museum and saw some of the most important artifacts of Greece, dating back to 5000 BCE. It is considered one of the world's best museums for ancient Greek art and we were amazed by the treasures they have on display. We spent several hours there but it's really the kind of museum where you could spend a week and still not see everything!

Afterwards we walked to Mount Lycabettus and took the funicular up to the top of the hill. Mount Lycabettus is the highest point in Central Athens and the views of the city were incredible!
The myth about the hill is that it was created by the Greek goddess of wisdom, Athena. The legend is that she was carrying limestone to use for the construction of the Acropolis, but dropped it when she was startled by bad news given by a raven. As for the hill's name, Lycabettus, the story goes that it is in recognition of the wolves that used to live there, because the word for "wolf" in Greek translates to "lycos". 

Next on the agenda was of course the Acropolis of Athens, above. The ancient citadel is located on a rocky outcrop above the city and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike. The Acropolis is dedicated to Athens patron goddess, Athena. Its existing buildings were primarily constructed in the second half of the 5th century BCE. The word Acropolis is from the Greek words akron, which means "highest point, extremity", and polis, "city". The term acropolis is generic and there are many other acropolises in Greece.

We downloaded the free Rick Steves' Acropolis audio guide and used it to explore the hill. Having that insider knowledge made a huge difference in understanding how the Acropolis was laid out. I highly recommend it.

The Acropolis Museum is located in a new, large building opposite the site. It houses the archeological remains from the ancient site. Among the museum's collections are sculptures from the Hecatompedon, from the Temple of Athena Nike, portions of the Parthenon frieze, and five of the Erechtheum's original six caryatids (the sixth is in the British Museum, London). The new museum was also designed to house the rest of the Parthenon sculptures (often called the Elgin Marbles), which were removed from the Parthenon by Lord Elgin in the 19th century and are currently housed in the British Museum. The Greek government has repeatedly requested repatriation of the marbles, and a top-floor gallery of the Acropolis Museum has been set aside in anticipation of their return.

It had been a long day but I still wanted to see Anafiotika, a tiny neighborhood under the Acropolis Hill. Anafiotika was built in the mid-19th century when craftsmen from the island of Anafi settled in the area. They had come to Athens to help transform the new capital of independent Greece into a modern metropolis and refurbish King Otto's Palace (today's Greek Parliament building).

Anafiotika, below, is also referred to as "the hidden village" and is indeed a wonderful oasis away from the busy streets of Athens. As we strolled through the neighbourhood, with its white walls and bougainvillea flowers, it felt like we were on a Greek island!

Our final day in Athens was spent at the Jewish Museum of Greece. The small museum traces the history of the Jewish community in Greece, starting with the deeply rooted Romaniote community established in the 3rd century BCE, through to the arrival of Sephardic Jews and beyond the Holocaust. Photographs, documents and religious artefacts cover all aspects of Jewish life and tradition in Greece. Among the many fascinating pieces of history to discover at the museum is the story of Bishop Chrysostomos and Lucas Carrer, the mayor of Zakynthos, who conspired to save the 275 Jews who lived on the island of Zakynthos, from Nazi German round-ups.

The Jewish Museum of Greece is located very close to both the historical and the commercial centre of Athens. From there we walked through Plaka to the Monastiraki neighbourhood, known for iconic landmarks including the ruins of Hadrian's Library, the Tower of the Winds in the Roman Agora of Athens and the rebuilt Stoa of Attalos. Continuing on we saw the the Temple of Hephaestus, part of the ancient Agora of Athens, perched above the modern city of Athens near the Acropolis.

Our last stop was to see the Holocaust Memorial of Athens, which is shaped like a broken Star of David. It was unveiled in 2010, close to the synagogue where Jews were captured, and commemorates the extermination of the 2,500 years old Greek Jewish community. Athens was the last European Union capital to commemorate those who perished at the hands of Nazi forces.

Greece lost more of its Jewish population in the Final Solution, proportionately, than almost any other country in Europe during the second world war. Around 65,000 men, women and children were dispatched to their deaths in Auschwitz between 1941 and 1944. The names of the places in Greece from where the Jews were deported to concentration camps are inscribed on the memorial's triangular pieces. Situated close to the modern synagogue, which was unfortunately closed when we tried to visit, the memorial stands as a solemn reminder of those dark pages in European history. 

The Holocaust memorial is only a few feet away from the main gates of Athens, so our visit there also enabled us to glance at Kerameikos, one of the largest archaeological sites of Athens. The archaeological site is filled with tombstones and statues, the earliest tombs dating from the Early Bronze Age (2700-2000 BCE). But we had seen enough. It was time to return to our hotel and pack up our belongings before our next stop, the island of Aegina.

* This post has been shared on  Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) and My Corner of the World.