All about the world's ancient capital city.
The Kapnikaraia A more staid edition of the Little Cathedral may be seen in the small church half-way down Hermes Street. In plan it is very much the same, and is simplicity itself, with three apses at the east end and a small central dome. The narthex at the west end somewhat masks the cruciform…
Greece has always looked toward the sea and lived by it. Of necessity she must continue to do so. Because of her geographical position and because of the limited resources of her land, the Greeks have been a maritime people since the earliest times. The mountains which break up the land seem to push the…
A pocket-size forest and panoramic snapshots of the city are two perfectly good reasons for making your way up Lycabettus Hill. Lycabettus Hill rises 277 meters above the city and offers a great opportunity to take in panoramic views on an invigorating walk that takes 45-90 minutes depending on the route you take. There are…
The Monastery Church of Daou is an interesting building in a lovable spot. An hour’s drive along the Marathon Road lies the little khan of Pikermi, and from this point a footpath leads through woods and up sloping hill-sides to a grove of noble plane-trees. Here is a ruined monastery of the fourteenth or fifteenth…
A small Byzantine church, less known than it deserves, lies in the wild scrub country to the north of Lycabettus. The pleasantest way to approach it is on foot. Leaving the Marathon Road almost a mile beyond Ambelokepi, it is easy to strike across the Turkovouni range through one of the steep defiles between the…
The Church of Saint Nicodemus, which is now used for the Russian service, stands almost next door to the modern English church, and is a good example of the brick and mortar work which the Byzantine architects knew so well how to manage. Instead of the heavy stone lintels and columns with arches of concrete…
One of the most charming features of Attica is the number of Byzantine churches appearing in odd unexpected places. At the end of a fashionable street, in the middle of a modern square, next door to a railway-station, under the shadow of the Acropolis Hill, in any place and at any time one may come…