People come to this blog through direct links or through search engine queries. Sometimes the search engine results list a site (based on keywords used) without the site having the actual answer to the question posed. Here are some (un)fortunate, accidental search queries that have led people to Athens Walker in the past year or so. That is, questions to which the blog had no answer (till now), but somehow Google, Yahoo or Bing thought that it did!
Q: 'karaiskaki square sculptures'
Q: How long does it take to walk from Acropolis to Panathinaiko stadium
Q: directions to agios eletherios church from acropolis hill
Q: chocolate in greece / greek chocolate bars
Q: where in athens is oedipus buried
A: Nowhere. Oedipus was a mythical character. No historical data on his existence / burial. See wikipedia.
Q: 'karaiskaki square sculptures'
A: If the question was on the marble sculptures depicting some human-bird forms (“The Birds”) the name of the sculptor is Gabriella Simosi (1926-1999). The larger one, which many of us consider a monstrosity is the “Monument of Fallen Air-Pilots” by E. Moustakas and supposedly depicts Icarus falling in the sea. I have read that it was not finished the way the artist intended it to.
Q: the name of the cafeteria up on lycabettus
A: Orizontes Lykavittou (currently)
Q: walking distance to lykavittos hill
A: From where? From the peripheral roads at the base of the hill it is about 10-20 minutes walk, depending on who's doing the walking. Literal distances: From Syntagma Square: 1.6km (1mile); from the corner of National Archeological Museum: 1.9km; from the port of Piraeus: 11kms. Read more on Lykavittos Hill here.
Q: How long does it take to walk from Acropolis to Panathinaiko stadium
A: It depends on what you mean by "Acropolis". The top of the hill, the general area, or the Acropolis Metro Station? I would say approximately 30min from the top of the hill, 15min from the Acropolis Metro Station. Read more on Panathinaiko Stadium here.
Q: safe for female to walk alone at night in syntagma square
A: Yes, Syntagma Sq. is safe day and night for everybody, unless there's a big demonstration which may occasionally turn violent. However, a big rise in purse snatchings has been recorded recently in Athens so try to be careful with your stuff like we all do. And if walking alone at night, try to stay in the main streets where you can see and be seen (basic, unfortunate, precautions...).
Q: is ampelokipoi a good suburb in athens
A: Ampelokipoi (also spelt Ambelokipoi or Ambelokipi) is a densely populated, safe neighbourhood of Athens, at the northern part of the city. It is not a "suburb". It's only 3-4 Metro stations north of Syntagma Sq. (Ambelokipoi Metro Station & Panormou Metro Station). It was the outskirts of the city up until 50 years ago. A map of Athens neighborhoods will soon follow.
A: Ampelokipoi (also spelt Ambelokipoi or Ambelokipi) is a densely populated, safe neighbourhood of Athens, at the northern part of the city. It is not a "suburb". It's only 3-4 Metro stations north of Syntagma Sq. (Ambelokipoi Metro Station & Panormou Metro Station). It was the outskirts of the city up until 50 years ago. A map of Athens neighborhoods will soon follow.
Q: directions to agios eletherios church from acropolis hill
A: I couldn’t know the answer since there are several churches named Aghios Eleftherios in the Greater Athens area. The ones in the City of Athens and closest to the Acropolis are: the one at Gyzi neighborhood (at the corner of Varvaki & Momferatou St.), the one at 378 Acharnon St. (Kato Patissia neighborhood) and finally one right next to the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Athens ('Mitropolis') at Mitropoleos Sq., Mitropoleos St. in the Plaka neighborhood. This final one is the closest one to the Acropolis. A map of Athens neighborhoods will soon follow (here it is!).
Q: chocolate in greece / greek chocolate bars
A: I assume that the people searching for these terms were looking for a list of the top Greek chocolate brands or for the chocolate brands found in Greece in general. I will give a thorough answer in a separate post coming up in a few months but feel free to e-mail me with questions till then.
Hello. Your blog is very interesting! Congratulations! I gave a "Like" to it on Facebook!: )
ReplyDeleteIn May, I will go on a trip, by bus, in Greece. I haven't been to Greece before. The trip lasts 8 days. 2 days I will stay in Athens. I will stay at a hotel in Omonia square.
In the first day, I plan to vist Acropolis, Theater of Dionysos, Acropolis Museum, Odeion of Herodes Atticus, Pnyx Hill, Kanellopoulos museum, Greek and Roman Agora, Kerameikos, Monastiraki square, Mitropolis square, walk on the streets from Plaka, visit the byzantine churches from Plaka and Monastiraki, and then go to Syntagma and from there, vist the Byzantine Museum. : )
On the second day, I will visit the National Archeological museum (it is close to the hotel), then take a trolleybus to visit the Olympieion, Lysikrates monument, Benaki Museum, Schliemann's house, Cycladic Museum, National gardens, Zappeion, Syntagma square, Parliament, University, Panepistimiou square, and late in the evening I want to go on Lykabettos hill.: )
I plan to visit Athens in the 2 days from 8 am to 9 pm. I will have a very busy programme. I want to visit the byzantine churches from Athens (from central part - Little Cathedral, Kapnikarea, Saint Theodoroi, Nikolaos Rangavas, Sotira Lykodimou, Saint Apostles, Ioannis Stin Kolona, Ioannis Theologos, Agii Asomatii, Taxiarches, Agia Sotira, Tafon, Agios Georgios from Plaka and Lykabettos, Agia Irini, Agia Ekaterini).
Temple of Hephaestos and The Church of Saint Apostoles are the most well preserved ancient monuments. There will be 2 days of marathon in Athens, because I plan to visit as much as possible.: )
I would ask you:
1) Do you think I could visit so many objectives as I planned?
2) I will not stay more than 40 minutes at a restaurant, so you know any fish restaurants, not so expensive, from Monastiraki or Thessio?
3) Is the Zappeion building open and could I take photos there?
4) In may (2 nd and 3rd, when I visit Athens), are there chances to be rain?
5) What are the most well preserved monuments and objectives from Athens? Many of them are restored and lost from the initial glory and beauty.
Thanks for the "LIKE" !
ReplyDelete1) Indeed, this is a very busy schedule but conceivably possible if you're in a very good physical condition (and the spirit is strong:) ). You sound very enthusiastic so I think you'll make it. Make sure that museums are open the day you plan to visit them and plan for some WC stops along the way (perhaps in a museum) because there are almost no public WCs in Athens (seriously).
The second day seems a bit daunting, because you have the big gorilla that is the National Archaeological Museum (NAM) so you have to decide how many hours you want to spend in there. After the NAM I would simply walk back along Patission St. to Eleftheriou Venizelou (aka Panepistimiou) St. and get some fresh air (you'll need it after all those museum halls) and walk up along Panepistimiou St. towards Syntagma. No need to take the trolley and go back and forth.
The Olympieion (Temple of Olympian Zeus) can be seen for free from a bit afar (behind a fence) if is closed by the time you get there and you can also visit it on the first day since it is covered by the same ticket as the Acropolis (see here: http://odysseus.culture.gr/h/3/eh355.jsp?obj_id=2384). Also, there is no "Panepistimiou Sq."; just a pedestrianized area in front of the old University bldg. So, I would propose: NAM --> Old Library and University bldgs. --> Schlieman's house (i.e. Numismatic museum) --> Syntagma/Parliament --> National Garden / Zappeion --> (Olympieion) + Panathinaiko Stadium (since you're not too far away) --> Benaki Museum --> Cycladic Museum --> Lykavittos.
Unless you are very fond of Cycladic art you may skip the Cycladic museum as the NAM has a Cycladic collection itself in the ground floor (in a central/right corridor - Hall 6).
2) No, I can't think of a fish restaurant that would have such fast service, but...2.1. The (fish-)"tavern of Psaras" at Plaka (16 Erechtheos St.) is an old classic visited by many (I haven't been there for a few years though) and 2.2. the Acropolis museum restaurant offers some very interesting sea-food appetizers most days. At Monastiraki area, close to the square (69 Mitropoleos St.), I would suggest a meat dish (kebab) at "Thanassis".
3) Yes, the Zappeion bldg. is usually open (unless there's a conference taking place) and you can take pictures in the atrium ("Peristilion"). I see no events planned for the days of your visit but you could email them before your visit and ask for the specific dates (http://www.zappeion.gr/en/en_contact.asp). Either way the gardens are quite nice by themselves.
4) Very few chances of rain. Most likely fair weather at around 25 Celsius.
5) The Temple of Hephaestos is by far the most well preserved, but the Parthenon on the Acropolis does not cease to impress me, besides all the damage it has suffered in the past. Also, check out the Panathinaiko Stadium (nor really "ancient" in its current form, but still quite impressive).
Thank you very much for your recommandations! They are very useful for me! Yes, I am very enthusiastic and I want to visit as much as I can from Athens! I will visit Athens on 2nd and 3rd May, on Wednesday and Thursday. I hope on 2nd May the objectives are open and there are not strikes related to Labor Day.
ReplyDeleteI want to stay for about 3 hours at NAM. I would also like to watch the guards from the Parliament and their "dance".
If Olympieion is closed and I could watch it behind a fence, it is alright then. Olympieion had 108 meters long and was built from 104 corinthian columns. In 86 the roman general Sulla took columns from the temple and took them to the Temple of Jupiter, in Rome. It seems the Mosque from the Roman Agora was built from a column from Olympieion.The Mosque was built in 1456 by Ottomans to celebrate the conquest of Constantinopole(1453, present Istanbul) and Greece by Sultan Mehmed II. He was an admirer of the Greek Philosophers. Later the mosque was called "The Mosque from the Wheat Bazaar", it was a catholic church on the 5 month of venetian occupation of Athens, and then school for teachers and bakery for the army. Now is used as store for relics.
Panathinaiko Stadium is close from the Olympieion, so I will visit it! Thank you for your help and if I have questions or if I need suggestions, I will write to you! This is a very professional blog!