Walking Around Athens on a Sunday.
Melissinos Art – The Poet Sandal Maker
We started off the day with a visit to the Poet Sandal Maker of Athens. Sharon was researching Athens before we went and found this shop. Apparently he’s world renowned for his natural leather sandals and custom fitting them to your feet while you wait. He only works out of his shop and does not take internet orders.
Not having much information about the place we entered hoping for some great sandals. I thought they would trace an outline of your foot and make a sandal then send it to you in a few weeks. That’s not the case here. They have hundreds of pre-made foot-beds that they install the natural leather straps to and custom fit them to your feet right there Johnny-on-the-Spot!
The owners son works on getting you the style that you want and the size that will fit your foot, installing leather straps and loops to hold them on your feet. Then Stavros glues and nails the straps to the foot-beds of the sandals, installs the buckles and punches holes in the adjustment strap.
When you get your finished sandals you need to let the glue dry for a day or so before you wear them. Then you will need to be sure to treat them with olive oil every month or 2 so that the leather doesn’t dry rot and they stay soft and comfortable on your feet.
Syntagma Square below The Acropolis
After getting custom made sandals we headed back to the square to look at the fruits and vegetables that were for sale from the street vendors. The produce on the carts in the square under the shadow of the Acropolis is unquestionably some of the freshest fruits and vegetables you’ve ever seen.
Then there’s the coffee cart with the giant pot for brewing fresh coffee for customers. Not far away there are vendors selling all kinds of nuts that no doubt were on the trees only a day or so before. As an accompaniment to the bins of nuts at the same vendor they also have fresh snails, and yes we do mean fresh.
The Acropolis
After spending some time in the square we made our way over to the hill that is the Acropolis. It is truly amazing that something this awe inspiring has stood since the 5th century BC can still be seen today. There was a very large preservation project that was in progress during our visit there so there were many places that we were not allowed in to. But it was still simply amazing, the accomplishment of the construction that was possible so long ago without modern machinery.
Acropolis south edge construction. [Google Photo-sphere, you may need Google Chrome to view properly]
The weather in Athens was cloudy and on the cold side that day but you could still just feel the ancient history that surrounds the Acropolis. You can see the scaffolding along the south wall of the hill that the structures sit that make up the Acropolis. As well as noticing the immaculate detail in the statues and busts that were created in the time period. The way the cloth of the garments is depicted in the carvings is truly spectacular and realistic.
The Acropolis is the entire area at the top of the hill that it occupies. An Acropolis is a settlement or a citadel that is easily defended and is situated atop of a hill, the Greek word Acropolis literally translates to “upper city”. For this reason the Acropolis typically became the center of a larger city or settlement as in Athens, Rome and Jerusalem.
As we made our way to the hill top we passed by the Theatre of Dionysus, a performance space constructed around the 6th century BC and originally designed to seat about 15,000 people. The theatre sits at the foot of the hill that the Acropolis was built atop of on the south side.
A little further to the west and situated on the southwest corner, also at the foot of the hill is the Oden of Herodes Atticus. Which is another stone theatre structure constructed in 161 AD and was a venue for music concerts with a seating capacity of about 5000.
As we approached the Propylaea you really could begin to understand the immensity of the structures and the monumental undertaking that it was to build structures of this magnitude during this time period. The Propylaea was begun in 437 BC but was never finished.
Of the several buildings in the Acropolis the most famous is the Parthenon. After you pass through the Propylaea you enter the Acropolis from the west side and the Parthenon is on your right. Situated on the southern side of the hill top it is most easily visible from the south but the best and most unobstructed views seem to be from the northeast from Syntagma Square. At night the Parthenon will be illuminated further enhancing it’s magnificence.
Opposite the Parthenon is the Erechtheion. Built between 421 and 406 BC it was believed to have been built as a replacement for the Peisistratid temple of Athena Polias that was destroyed by Persians in 480 BC. Thus when there people were saying that it was the temple of Athena.
From the vantage point on the Acropolis you have spectacular views of the surrounding city and country side. One of the amazingly intact buildings is Temple of Hephaestus or Hephaisteion that is visible in the distance. The view of Temple of Hephaestus or Hephaisteion to the northwest is quite obvious as you begin to exit the Acropolis.
Looking back at the immensity of the structures on The Acropolis truly leaves on in awe of the amount of work and effort it took to build these amazing monuments several hundred years before Christ. You have to stop and think for a minute, those huge pieces of stone and marble didn’t get up there by them selves.
