Think you know Athens well? Don’t be so sure you know everything about the nation’s capital.
Looking at old black and white photos of Athens you will realize how different the districts were, the big and busy streets and even some emblematic places of the capital.
Even if you have lived in the city for many years or were born in it, you may find it difficult to recognize streets and characteristic buildings of the city if you see how they looked 50 or 100 years ago.
One such photo is the one below. Today it is one of the most central streets of the city. If you live in Athens, you must have visited it.
Can you identify which busy street is shown in the photo?
– Othonos
– Athena
– Metropolis
Take a good look at the photo. Reminds you of something;
The solution to the quiz about ancient Athens
The photo shows Othonos Street and Syntagma Square. The photo was taken in 1979 by photographer Boris Carmi.
Syntagma Square or simply Syntagma is the central square of Athens. It got its name from the Constitution which was forced to concede in 1843 by King Othon due to the revolution of September 3, during which the people and the military guard of Athens demanded, gathered outside the then royal palaces, (the building that today houses the Parliament of the Hellenes) the issuance of a constitution, the fundamental law of the state.
Syntagma Square together with Omonia Square are the two reference points of the city. Syntagma Square is surrounded by important buildings of the capital, such as the Parliament building, the historic Great Britain Hotel and the Ministries of Finance and Foreign Affairs.
It is the second largest square in Greece, after Spianada in Corfu, and is included in the list of the 100 largest squares in the world.
