Athens: Plaka and other streets

Saturday, 9 November 2013 07:07 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

This week, Chinthaka Thenuwara and Poornima Jayasinghe, in the third part of their Grecian photographic adventure, take us on a tour of the quaint and colourful Athenian streets of Plaka and Kydathenion. Plaka, the oldest section of Athens is a section of the city closed to motor traffic and consist of cobblestone streets lined with curio shops, jewellery stores, artists, musicians and cafes that draw locals and tourists alike come evening time and is a great place to sample the local cuisine.

It used to have a much more vibrant nightlife, having been the city’s nightclub district before the authorities outlawed amplified music in the area back in the ’70s. Further on you would come across Adrianou, which begins in the Monastiraki flea market and disappears in the Roman Agora at the archaeological site of Hadrian’s Library, before reappearing behind the wall of the library and Plaka Square. Walk further up past Nikis street and you then come to the pedestrian street of Kydatheneon, which is right across the street from the Jewish Museum. As you continue past a small Byzantine church on your right and the Folk-Art Museum on your left, you will come to the Saita Taverna, one of the last of the basement restaurants that serves bakalairo (fried codfish) as well as grilled meats and a variety of cooked dishes and salads and excellent wine from the barrel. If you are on Kydathineon Street coming from Nikos, you will come to a small square surrounded by cafes and restaurants called Platia Filomenon Eterias, though nobody calls it that. They just call it the Platia. If you are here for Easter the Epitaphios of three neighbourhood churches collide in this small square, but most days and nights it is a nice quiet place to have a meal, a drink or people watch. Pix by Chinthaka Thenuwara and Poornima Jayasinghe