In my previous walk around the port I showed you several dodgy bits among others but now let's focus on more charming stuff. Like this palmy tree that wants to break free:
Will this young one break its base when it grows old? Quite possibly:
I come to this entrance of a thing that has no sign so I enter to answer the WTF:
So it looks like a newly founded park that has lots of room for improvement:
It's got a small amphitheater too:
And of course view to the ferries of the port:
No surprise as it's located here.
I try to figure what the hell they're gonna do with all this space and why they haven't so far:
I take a path that looks to me like leading to the ancient site that's next to it, which is actually my main target anyway:
Even though there's stairs leading to it, access is prevented so I have to walk all the way back again:
At least they have several recycle bins here:
Near the exit of this park I find some antiquities but no sign at all:
So here I am at the entrance of the ancient site and yes, these two guys you see had to walk all the way back in the park like me to come here:
While the park had no signs this site has plenty and they're really nice actually:
Obviously you can find as much info as you want around the net about this ancient site but long story shot, this is the Eetioneia Gate, part of the ancient fortifications of the port. Its name comes from Eetiona, the mythic hero who first conquered this area giving his name to the local little bay left of the port as the ships enter it.
The first eye catchers as one enters the site are those twin towers even though they're missing today a good part of their initial grace:
As you can see the site offers a really pleasant walk with view to one of the largest harbours of the Balkans:
Various unidentified pieces lay around:
This angle offers nice view to the two towers, the dry trench and the two pillars of a movable bridge that used to be here:
One more view to the trench:
At the end of this path is this nice and convenient bench under this tent:
From which you can observe the intense contrast between the Hellenic ancient heritage and the contemporary background:
The signs this site has are among the best I've seen in such places:
Time to move to the other side of the site walking this corridor over the tranch:
In proximity order, the pillars of the moving bridge, the trench and the port of Pireas:
The towers look even more lovely from close under the morning sun:
While the contrast with the city remains:
Look how the smoke from the ship's exhaust goes straight up in the background - such a calm day:
One more walkway, here I go:
Yes, that ship in the background is as long as it looks. Over 200m, does one of the longest lines in Greece, from here to Crete:
One more informative and good looking sign:
I see this container in the distance with the clothes hanging to dry and I think (gotta be a gypsy family):
As soon I think so a kid comes out waving hands and saying "hello!" only to confirm that. Such a movie scene 🙂
They used to have a quarry here back in the day and maybe this was part of that infrastructure:
Rather odd to have this building with the diver constantly in my view but more on that later:
View to the towers from the other side makes this contemporary building behind them (a school) look almost gross:
This contrasts is less pain in the eye despite the gypsy laundry 🙂:
Walking towards the diver:
This is 214m long to be precise - I've travelled in it many times:
Who loves rosemary?
They are all the way along this path:
At the end of which are these white beauties:
One more nice sign about the west side of the fortification:
You are welcome to enjoy the view from this end, diver included:
Here's the site from the same spot:
More rosemary on my way back to the exit:
One last view to the tower:
And one last contrast between (more than) old and new:
I'm walking back to the metro station of Pireas when I see this graffiti which belongs to a local cafe:
As I get off a few station later I see this one:
I had the idea to get off a station earlier in order to walk a bit more (yes I am one of those guys) and as I walk parallel to the metro line I notice this thing:
I think to myself "one more antiquity cramped in this contemporary mess" simply cause actually that's how it looks:
Turns out that this is also a part of the city's ancient fortification something one can confirm by reading the following sign which also says a lot about how random humans treat their past:
I take one last shot with a bit of shame that I haven't noticed this all these years:
A bunch of cats during lunch (better say brunch):
How many times have I said that Athens is the city of contradictions? Countless. In just a few meters you go from this,
to this,
and then to this:
Believe it or not, this rundown is actually for rent:
Sweethearts, this is were my walk ends, I hope you liked it and I wish I see you again on my next one.
Have a nice week!