Athens: A Photo Essay
Christos Ditoras makes the most of his love for the city and of photography to capture Athens in all its spring glory. Cascading wisterias, bougainvillaeas in shocking clusters of eye-popping magenta, Plaka’s ice-cream hued homes and Athens’ landmarks in their naked splendour, all find their way into his Lockdown album.
The Kallimarmaro stadium may be shuttered but still draws the sporty at heart to admire this magnificent structure. Home to the first Modern Olympics in 1896, the stadium still serves as the finish point for Athens’ gruelling Authentic Marathon, tracing Pheidippides’ original route from Marathonas to the city-centre.
Building facades that double up as vertical urban gardens.
Long associated with throngs of tourists trying to distract stoic, stony-faced Evzones and as a rallying point for protestors airing their grievances, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in front of the majestic ochre Greek Parliament, is all the more dramatic in its starkness.
Colour-drenched houses in Plaka, winding stairways, alley cats, drinking institutions of yore and majestic mansions that now house museums and their treasured collections.
Queen Amalia’s labour of love and a treasure trove of exotic flora, The National Gardens is best recognised by its majestic, century-old palms that tower up to 12 metres!
A refuge from the city’s demands, an escape from the gnawing anxieties of the pandemic, the lush gazebos at The National Gardens offer leafy solace to battered urban souls.
