You want to understand not only ancient but also modern Athens in a guided tour?
This is the book for you!
(Look also for the other books in the series)
This book's purpose is to help you understand what travel guides don't explain.
You can find a lot of books on ancient Athens. If you get there, a guided tour will give you all the information you will need.
But what about Athens in the centuries that followed? What about the old houses, old churches, mosques, baths, and other obscure sights you stumble upon everywhere?
This book, written by a specialist in Athens, and including a large number of black and white photos and detailed maps, along with presenting all the major sights of Athens of all times, will also help you understand the city of today and not feel lost as a visitor.
This is done through three itineraries:
The first itinerary will lead you through Plaka, the multi-layered core of the historical centre of Athens, built above the ancient city and inextricably mixed with it, where you will find monuments from all periods of Athenian history, from Antiquity to modern times through the Byzantine and Ottoman periods.
The 'Monumental Axis' is the proposed second itinerary in case you want to discover the main monuments of neoclassical Athens, the modern city created from 1833 onwards as the capital of the newly founded Greek State.
The third itinerary corresponds to what is officially known as the 'Great Promenade'. It is a pedestrian zone linking most of the major archaeological sites of Athens. Although these sites are chronologically anterior to most of the sights presented previously, they are presented last.
The reason is that the 'Great Promenade' was created only at the beginning of the 21st century, linking sites that were previously 'lost' in the urban fabric of the modern city and often difficult to find and access. The image they present today is largely the result of these recent interventions, therefore this book recommends this order in their visit.
However, if you prefer, you can always follow the 'Great Promenade' and visit these archaeological sites before following the other two proposed itineraries.
The author of this book holds a Ph.D. in Architectural History from the National Technical University of Athens and a master's in heritage preservation from the Ecole de Chaillot of Paris. He is a professor at the University of the Peloponnese, where he teaches these subjects. He is also a fervent cultural hiker.
His travel books (mostly about Greece) are addressed to you, the reader with a special interest in cultural sites. In order to help you better understand and remember these sites, they are written as a guided tour. They include encounters with interesting people and other personal travel experiences that will help you organize your own trip beyond the tourist clichés.