The National Archaeological Museum in Athens houses some of the most important artifacts from a variety of archaeological locations around Greece from prehistory to late antiquity. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world and contains the richest collection of Greek Antiquity artifacts worldwide. It is situated in the Exarcheia area in central Athens between Epirus Street, Bouboulinas Street and Tositsas Street while its entrance is on the Patission Street adjacent to the historical building of the Athens Polytechnic university.

 

History

The first national archaeological museum in Greece was established by the governor of Greece Ioannis Kapodistrias in Aigina in 1829. Subsequently, the archaeological collection was relocated to a number of exhibition places until 1858, when an international architectural competition was announced for the location and the architectural design of the new museum.

 

The current location was proposed and the construction of the museum's building began in 1866 and was completed in 1889 using funds from the Greek Government, the Greek Archaeological Society and the society of Mycenae. Major benefactors were Eleni Tositsa who donated the land for the building of the museum, and Demetrios and Nikolaos Vernardakis from Saint Petersburg who donated a large amount for the completion of the museum.

 

The initial name for the museum was The Central Museum. It was renamed to its current name in 1881 by Prime Minister of Greece Charilaos Trikoupis. In 1887 the important archaeologist Valerios Stais became the museum's curator.

 

During World War II the museum was closed and the antiquities were sealed in special protective boxes and buried, in order to avoid their destruction and looting. In 1945 exhibits were again displayed under the direction of Christos Karouzos and Semni Karouzou. The south wing of the museum houses the Epigraphic Museum with the richest collection of inscriptions in the world. The inscriptions museum expanded between 1953 and 1960 with the architectural designs of Patroklos Karantinos.

 

In 2023, the Greek government approved plans for a 20,000 square metre underground extension to the museum. The extension is expected to be completed by 2028 and will also feature a rooftop garden.

 

The building

The museum has an imposing neo-classical design which was very popular in Europe at the time and is in accordance with the classical style artifacts that it houses. The initial plan was conceived by the architect Ludwig Lange and it was later modified by Panagis Kalkos who was the main architect, Armodios Vlachos and Ernst Ziller. At the front of the museum there is a large neo-classic design garden which is decorated with sculptures.

 

Expansions and renovations

The building has undergone many expansions. Most important were the construction of a new east wing in the early 20th century based on the plans of Anastasios Metaxas and the construction of a two-storeyed building, designed by George Nomikos, during 1932–1939. These expansions were necessary to accommodate the rapidly growing collection of artifacts. The most recent refurbishment of the museum took more than 1.5 years to complete, during which the museum remained completely closed. It reopened in July 2004, in time for the Athens Olympics and it included an aesthetic and technical upgrade of the building, installation of a modern air-conditioning system, reorganisation of the museum's collection and repair of the damage caused by the 1999 earthquake. The Minoan frescoes rooms opened to the public in 2005. In May 2008 the Culture Minister Mihalis Liapis inaugurated the much anticipated collection of Egyptian antiquities and the collection of Eleni and Antonis Stathatos.

 

In 2020, there was renewed discussion regarding the need to further expand the museum to adjacent areas. A new plan was made for a subterranean expansion at the front of the museum.

 

In 2023, the Greek government approved plans for a 20,000 square metre underground extension to the museum. The extension is expected to be completed by 2028 and will also feature a rooftop garden.

 

Prehistoric collection

The prehistoric collection displays objects from the Neolithic era (6800–3000 BC), Early and Mid-Bronze Age (3000–2000 BC and 2000 to 1700 BC respectively), objects classified as Cycladic and Mycenaean art.

 

Mycenean art collection

Mycenean civilization is represented by stone, bronze and ceramic pots, figurines, ivory, glass and faience objects, golden seals and rings from the vaulted tombs in Mycenae and other locations in the Peloponnese (Tiryns and Dendra in Argolis, Pylos in Messinia and Vaphio in Lakonia). Of great interest are the two golden cups from Vafeio showing a scene of the capture of a bull.

 

Heinrich Schliemann finds

Mycenean collection includes also the magnificent 19th-century finds of Heinrich Schliemann in Mycenae from the Grave Circle A and the earlier Grave Circle B. Most notable are the golden funerary masks which covered the faces of deceased Mycenean nobles. Among them, the most famous is the one that was named erroneously as the mask of Agamemnon. There are also finds from the citadel of Mycenae including relief stelae, golden containers, glass, alabaster and amber tools and jewels. Other features include an ivory carving of two goddesses with a child, a painted limestone head of a goddess and the famous warrior's vase dating from the 12th century.

 

Egyptian art collection

The Egyptian collection dates back to the last twenty years of the 19th century. Notable is the donation of the Egyptian government which in 1893 offered nine mummies of the era of the Pharaohs from Bab el-Gasus. However, the Egyptian collection is mainly by two donors, Ioannis Dimitriou (in 1880) and of Alexandros Rostovic (in 1904). In total the collection includes more than 6000 artefacts, 1100 of which are available presently for the public. The collection is considered to be one of the best collections of Egyptian art in the world. The exhibition features rare statues, tools, jewels, mummies, a wooden body tag for a mummy, a stunning bronze statue of a princess, intact bird eggs and a 3000-year-old loaf of bread with a bite-sized chunk missing. The exhibition centrepiece is a bronze statue of the princess-priestess Takushit, dating to around 670 BC. Standing 70 cm high and wearing a gown covered in hieroglyphs, the statue was found south of Alexandria in 1880.

 

Stathatos collection

The Stathatos collection is named for the donors and major Greek benefactors Antonis and Eleni Stathatos. The collection features about 1000 objects, mainly jewels as well as metal objects, vases, and pottery from the Middle Bronze Age to post-Byzantine era. Features of special note are the Hellenistic period golden jewels from Karpenissi and Thessaly.

 

Artists and artifacts

Some of the ancient artists whose work is presented in the museum are Myron, Scopas, Euthymides, Lydos, Agoracritus, Agasias, Pan Painter, Wedding Painter, Meleager Painter, Cimon of Cleonae, Nessos Painter, Damophon, Aison (vase painter), Analatos Painter, Polygnotos (vase painter), Hermonax.

 

Collections include sculpture work, Loutrophoros, amphora, Hydria, Skyphos, Krater, Pelike, and lekythos vessels, Stele, frescoes, jewellery, weapons, tools, coins, toys and other ancient items.

 

Artifacts derive from archaeological excavations in Santorini, Mycenae, Tiryns, Dodona, Vaphio, Rhamnous, Lycosura, Aegean islands, Delos, the Temple of Aphaea in Aegina, the Sanctuary of Artemis Orthia in Sparta, Pylos, Thebes, Athens, Vari Cave, the Antikythera wreck and from various other places in Greece.

 

The museum houses the archaic terracota statuette daidala that inspired the designers of the 2004 Athens Olympics maskots Athena and Phevos.

 

New exhibits

Two of the newest exhibits of the museum include a 4th-century BC golden funerary wreath and a 6th-century BC marble statue of a woman, which were returned as stolen artifacts to Greece in 2007 by the Getty Museum in California, after a 10-year-long legal dispute between the Getty Center and the Greek Government. One year earlier, the Los Angeles foundation agreed to return a 4th-century BC tombstone from near Greek Thebes and a 6th-century BC votive relief from the island of Thassos.

 

Museum highlights

Antikythera Ephebe

Antikythera mechanism

Aphrodite of Syracuse

Apollo Omphalos

Armed Aphrodite

Artemision Bronze

Atalante Hermes

Bronze Statuette of Athletic Spartan Girl

Bust of Antinous

Capitoline Venus

Daidala

Diadumenos

Dipylon inscription

Funerary naiskos of Aristonautes

Funerary Stela of Demokleides

Great Eleusinian Relief

Group of Aphrodite, Pan and Eros

Heracles of Antikythera

Hermes Criophorus

Hermes of Aegium

Jockey of Artemision

Kouroi and Korai:

Kroisos Kouros

Merenda Kouros

Phrasikleia Kore

Sounion Kouros

Lemnos stela

Lenormant Athena

Lycosoura Artemis

Lycosoura Demeter

Mantineia Base

Marathon Boy

Mask of Agamemnon

Mycenean Warrior Vase

Nestor's Cup

Nike of Epidaurus

Nike of Megara

Ninnion Tablet

Pitsa panels

Poseidon of Melos

Rhyton in the shape of a bull head

Theseus Ring

Varvakeion Athena

Wall frescoes from Tiryns and Santorini

 

Library of archaeology

The museum houses a 118-year-old library of archeology with rare ancient art, science and philosophy books and publications. The library has some 20,000 volumes, including rare editions dating to the 17th century. The bibliography covers archaeology, history, arts, ancient religions and ancient Greek philosophy, as well as Ancient Greek and Latin literature. Of particular value are the diaries of various excavations including those of Heinrich Schliemann. The collection of archaeology books is the richest of its kind in Greece. The Library has been recently renovated with funds from the Alexander S. Onassis Foundation. Its renovation was completed on 26 May 2008 and is now named after Alexander Onassis.

 

Athens is a major coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, and it is both the capital and the largest city of Greece. With its urban area's population numbering over three million, it is also the eighth largest urban area in the European Union. Athens dominates and is the capital of the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, with its recorded history spanning over 3,400 years, and its earliest human presence beginning somewhere between the 11th and 7th millennia BC. The city was named after Athena, the ancient Greek goddess of wisdom.

 

Classical Athens was one of the most powerful city-states in ancient Greece. It was a centre for democracy, the arts, education and philosophy, and was highly influential throughout the European continent, particularly in Ancient Rome. For this reason, it is often regarded as the cradle of Western civilization and the birthplace of democracy in its own right independently from the rest of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a huge cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime, political and cultural life in Greece. In 2023, Athens metropolitan area and its surrounding municipalities (consisting the regional area of Attica) has a population of approximately 3.8 million.

 

Athens is a Beta-status global city according to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network, and is one of the biggest economic centers in Southeastern Europe. It also has a large financial sector, and its port Piraeus is both the 2nd busiest passenger port in Europe, and the 13th largest container port in the world. The Municipality of Athens (also City of Athens), which constitutes a small administrative unit of the entire urban area, had a population of 643,452 (2021) within its official limits, and a land area of 38.96 km2 (15.04 sq mi). The Athens metropolitan area or Greater Athens extends beyond its administrative municipal city limits as well as its urban agglomeration, with a population of 3,638,281 (2021) over an area of 2,928.717 km2 (1,131 sq mi). Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland.

 

The heritage of the Classical Era is still evident in the city, represented by ancient monuments, and works of art, the most famous of all being the Parthenon, considered a key landmark of early Western culture. The city also retains Roman, Byzantine and a smaller number of Ottoman monuments, while its historical urban core features elements of continuity through its millennia of history. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery. Landmarks of the modern era, dating back to the establishment of Athens as the capital of the independent Greek state in 1834, include the Hellenic Parliament and the Architectural Trilogy of Athens, consisting of the National Library of Greece, the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, and the Academy of Athens. Athens is also home to several museums and cultural institutions, such as the National Archeological Museum, featuring the world's largest collection of ancient Greek antiquities, the Acropolis Museum, the Museum of Cycladic Art, the Benaki Museum, and the Byzantine and Christian Museum. Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics, making it one of five cities to have hosted the Summer Olympics on multiple occasions. Athens joined the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities in 2016.

 

Etymology and names

In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι (Athênai, pronounced [atʰɛ̂ːnai̯] in Classical Attic), which is a plural word. In earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη (Athḗnē). It was possibly rendered in the plural later on, like those of Θῆβαι (Thêbai) and Μυκῆναι (Μukênai). The root of the word is probably not of Greek or Indo-European origin, and is possibly a remnant of the Pre-Greek substrate of Attica. In antiquity, it was debated whether Athens took its name from its patron goddess Athena (Attic Ἀθηνᾶ, Athēnâ, Ionic Ἀθήνη, Athḗnē, and Doric Ἀθάνα, Athā́nā) or Athena took her name from the city. Modern scholars now generally agree that the goddess takes her name from the city,[24] because the ending -ene is common in names of locations, but rare for personal names.

 

According to the ancient Athenian founding myth, Athena, the goddess of wisdom and war, competed against Poseidon, the God of the Seas, for patronage of the yet-unnamed city; they agreed that whoever gave the Athenians the better gift would become their patron and appointed Cecrops, the king of Athens, as the judge. According to the account given by Pseudo-Apollodorus, Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a salt water spring welled up. In an alternative version of the myth from Vergil's poem Georgics, Poseidon instead gave the Athenians the first horse. In both versions, Athena offered the Athenians the first domesticated olive tree. Cecrops accepted this gift and declared Athena the patron goddess of Athens. Eight different etymologies, now commonly rejected, have been proposed since the 17th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος (áthos) or ἄνθος (ánthos) meaning "flower", to denote Athens as the "flowering city". Ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- (tháō, thē-, "to suck") to denote Athens as having fertile soil. Athenians were called cicada-wearers (Ancient Greek: Τεττιγοφόροι) because they used to wear pins of golden cicadas. A symbol of being autochthonous (earth-born), because the legendary founder of Athens, Erechtheus was an autochthon or of being musicians, because the cicada is a "musician" insect. In classical literature, the city was sometimes referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindar's ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι (iostéphanoi Athânai), or as τὸ κλεινὸν ἄστυ (tò kleinòn ásty, "the glorious city").

 

During the medieval period, the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα. Variant names included Setines, Satine, and Astines, all derivations involving false splitting of prepositional phrases. King Alphonse X of Castile gives the pseudo-etymology 'the one without death/ignorance'. In Ottoman Turkish, it was called آتينا Ātīnā, and in modern Turkish, it is Atina.

 

History

Main article: History of Athens

For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Athens.

Historical affiliations

Kingdom of Athens 1556 BC–1068 BC

City-state of Athens 1068 BC–322 BC

Hellenic League 338 BC–322 BC

Kingdom of Macedonia 322 BC–148 BC

Roman Republic 146 BC–27 BC

Roman Empire 27 BC–395 AD

Eastern Roman Empire 395–1205

Duchy of Athens 1205–1458

Ottoman Empire 1458–1822, 1827–1832

Greece 1822–1827, 1832–present

 

Antiquity

The oldest known human presence in Athens is the Cave of Schist, which has been dated to between the 11th and 7th millennia BC. Athens has been continuously inhabited for at least 5,000 years (3000 BC). By 1400 BC, the settlement had become an important centre of the Mycenaean civilization, and the Acropolis was the site of a major Mycenaean fortress, whose remains can be recognised from sections of the characteristic Cyclopean walls. Unlike other Mycenaean centers, such as Mycenae and Pylos, it is not known whether Athens suffered destruction in about 1200 BC, an event often attributed to a Dorian invasion, and the Athenians always maintained that they were pure Ionians with no Dorian element. However, Athens, like many other Bronze Age settlements, went into economic decline for around 150 years afterwards. Iron Age burials, in the Kerameikos and other locations, are often richly provided for and demonstrate that from 900 BC onwards Athens was one of the leading centres of trade and prosperity in the region.

 

By the sixth century BC, widespread social unrest led to the reforms of Solon. These would pave the way for the eventual introduction of democracy by Cleisthenes in 508 BC. Athens had by this time become a significant naval power with a large fleet, and helped the rebellion of the Ionian cities against Persian rule. In the ensuing Greco-Persian Wars Athens, together with Sparta, led the coalition of Greek states that would eventually repel the Persians, defeating them decisively at Marathon in 490 BC, and crucially at Salamis in 480 BC. However, this did not prevent Athens from being captured and sacked twice by the Persians within one year, after a heroic but ultimately failed resistance at Thermopylae by Spartans and other Greeks led by King Leonidas, after both Boeotia and Attica fell to the Persians.

 

The decades that followed became known as the Golden Age of Athenian democracy, during which time Athens became the leading city of Ancient Greece, with its cultural achievements laying the foundations for Western civilization. The playwrights Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides flourished in Athens during this time, as did the historians Herodotus and Thucydides, the physician Hippocrates, and the philosopher Socrates. Guided by Pericles, who promoted the arts and fostered democracy, Athens embarked on an ambitious building program that saw the construction of the Acropolis of Athens (including the Parthenon), as well as empire-building via the Delian League. Originally intended as an association of Greek city-states to continue the fight against the Persians, the league soon turned into a vehicle for Athens's own imperial ambitions. The resulting tensions brought about the Peloponnesian War (431–404 BC), in which Athens was defeated by its rival Sparta.

 

By the mid-4th century BC, the northern Greek kingdom of Macedon was becoming dominant in Athenian affairs. In 338 BC the armies of Philip II defeated an alliance of some of the Greek city-states including Athens and Thebes at the Battle of Chaeronea. Later, under Rome, Athens was given the status of a free city because of its widely admired schools. In the second century AD, The Roman emperor Hadrian, himself an Athenian citizen, ordered the construction of a library, a gymnasium, an aqueduct which is still in use, several temples and sanctuaries, a bridge and financed the completion of the Temple of Olympian Zeus.

 

In the early 4th century AD, the Eastern Roman Empire began to be governed from Constantinople, and with the construction and expansion of the imperial city, many of Athens's works of art were taken by the emperors to adorn it. The Empire became Christianized, and the use of Latin declined in favour of exclusive use of Greek; in the Roman imperial period, both languages had been used. In the later Roman period, Athens was ruled by the emperors continuing until the 13th century, its citizens identifying themselves as citizens of the Roman Empire ("Rhomaioi"). The conversion of the empire from paganism to Christianity greatly affected Athens, resulting in reduced reverence for the city.[33] Ancient monuments such as the Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Hephaisteion (Theseion) were converted into churches. As the empire became increasingly anti-pagan, Athens became a provincial town and experienced fluctuating fortunes.

 

The city remained an important center of learning, especially of Neoplatonism—with notable pupils including Gregory of Nazianzus, Basil of Caesarea and emperor Julian (r. 355–363)—and consequently a center of paganism. Christian items do not appear in the archaeological record until the early 5th century. The sack of the city by the Herules in 267 and by the Visigoths under their king Alaric I (r. 395–410) in 396, however, dealt a heavy blow to the city's fabric and fortunes, and Athens was henceforth confined to a small fortified area that embraced a fraction of the ancient city. The emperor Justinian I (r. 527–565) banned the teaching of philosophy by pagans in 529, an event whose impact on the city is much debated, but is generally taken to mark the end of the ancient history of Athens. Athens was sacked by the Slavs in 582, but remained in imperial hands thereafter, as highlighted by the visit of the emperor Constans II (r. 641–668) in 662/3 and its inclusion in the Theme of Hellas.

 

Middle Ages

The city was threatened by Saracen raids in the 8th–9th centuries—in 896, Athens was raided and possibly occupied for a short period, an event which left some archaeological remains and elements of Arabic ornamentation in contemporary buildings—but there is also evidence of a mosque existing in the city at the time. In the great dispute over Byzantine Iconoclasm, Athens is commonly held to have supported the iconophile position, chiefly due to the role played by Empress Irene of Athens in the ending of the first period of Iconoclasm at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787. A few years later, another Athenian, Theophano, became empress as the wife of Staurakios (r. 811–812).

 

Invasion of the empire by the Turks after the Battle of Manzikert in 1071, and the ensuing civil wars, largely passed the region by and Athens continued its provincial existence unharmed. When the Byzantine Empire was rescued by the resolute leadership of the three Komnenos emperors Alexios, John and Manuel, Attica and the rest of Greece prospered. Archaeological evidence tells us that the medieval town experienced a period of rapid and sustained growth, starting in the 11th century and continuing until the end of the 12th century.

 

The Agora (marketplace) had been deserted since late antiquity, began to be built over, and soon the town became an important centre for the production of soaps and dyes. The growth of the town attracted the Venetians, and various other traders who frequented the ports of the Aegean, to Athens. This interest in trade appears to have further increased the economic prosperity of the town.

 

The 11th and 12th centuries were the Golden Age of Byzantine art in Athens. Almost all of the most important Middle Byzantine churches in and around Athens were built during these two centuries, and this reflects the growth of the town in general. However, this medieval prosperity was not to last. In 1204, the Fourth Crusade conquered Athens and the city was not recovered from the Latins before it was taken by the Ottoman Turks. It did not become Greek in government again until the 19th century.

 

From 1204 until 1458, Athens was ruled by Latins in three separate periods, following the Crusades. The "Latins", or "Franks", were western Europeans and followers of the Latin Church brought to the Eastern Mediterranean during the Crusades. Along with rest of Byzantine Greece, Athens was part of the series of feudal fiefs, similar to the Crusader states established in Syria and on Cyprus after the First Crusade. This period is known as the Frankokratia.

 

Ottoman Athens

The first Ottoman attack on Athens, which involved a short-lived occupation of the town, came in 1397, under the Ottoman generals Yaqub Pasha and Timurtash. Finally, in 1458, Athens was captured by the Ottomans under the personal leadership of Sultan Mehmed II. As the Ottoman Sultan rode into the city, he was greatly struck by the beauty of its ancient monuments and issued a firman (imperial edict) forbidding their looting or destruction, on pain of death. The Parthenon was converted into the main mosque of the city.

 

Under Ottoman rule, Athens was denuded of any importance and its population severely declined, leaving it as a "small country town" (Franz Babinger). From the early 17th century, Athens came under the jurisdiction of the Kizlar Agha, the chief black eunuch of the Sultan's harem. The city had originally been granted by Sultan Ahmed I (r. 1603–1617) to Basilica, one of his favourite concubines, who hailed from the city, in response of complaints of maladministration by the local governors. After her death, Athens came under the purview of the Kizlar Agha.

 

The Turks began a practice of storing gunpowder and explosives in the Parthenon and Propylaea. In 1640, a lightning bolt struck the Propylaea, causing its destruction. In 1687, during the Morean War, the Acropolis was besieged by the Venetians under Francesco Morosini, and the temple of Athena Nike was dismantled by the Ottomans to fortify the Parthenon. A shot fired during the bombardment of the Acropolis caused a powder magazine in the Parthenon to explode (26 September), and the building was severely damaged, giving it largely the appearance it has today. The Venetian occupation of Athens lasted for six months, and both the Venetians and the Ottomans participated in the looting of the Parthenon. One of its western pediments was removed, causing even more damage to the structure. During the Venetian occupation, the two mosques of the city were converted into Catholic and Protestant churches, but on 9 April 1688 the Venetians abandoned Athens again to the Ottomans.

 

Modern history

In 1822, a Greek insurgency captured the city, but it fell to the Ottomans again in 1826 (though Acropolis held till June 1827). Again the ancient monuments suffered badly. The Ottoman forces remained in possession until March 1833, when they withdrew. At that time, the city (as throughout the Ottoman period) had a small population of an estimated 400 houses, mostly located around the Acropolis in the Plaka.

 

Following the Greek War of Independence and the establishment of the Greek Kingdom, Athens was chosen to replace Nafplio as the second capital of the newly independent Greek state in 1834, largely because of historical and sentimental reasons. At the time, after the extensive destruction it had suffered during the war of independence, it was reduced to a town of about 4,000 people (less than half its earlier population) in a loose swarm of houses along the foot of the Acropolis. The first King of Greece, Otto of Bavaria, commissioned the architects Stamatios Kleanthis and Eduard Schaubert to design a modern city plan fit for the capital of a state.

 

The first modern city plan consisted of a triangle defined by the Acropolis, the ancient cemetery of Kerameikos and the new palace of the Bavarian king (now housing the Greek Parliament), so as to highlight the continuity between modern and ancient Athens. Neoclassicism, the international style of this epoch, was the architectural style through which Bavarian, French and Greek architects such as Hansen, Klenze, Boulanger or Kaftantzoglou designed the first important public buildings of the new capital. In 1896, Athens hosted the first modern Olympic Games. During the 1920s a number of Greek refugees, expelled from Asia Minor after the Greco-Turkish War and Greek genocide, swelled Athens's population; nevertheless it was most particularly following World War II, and from the 1950s and 1960s, that the population of the city exploded, and Athens experienced a gradual expansion.

 

In the 1980s, it became evident that smog from factories and an ever-increasing fleet of automobiles, as well as a lack of adequate free space due to congestion, had evolved into the city's most important challenge.[citation needed] A series of anti-pollution measures taken by the city's authorities in the 1990s, combined with a substantial improvement of the city's infrastructure (including the Attiki Odos motorway, the expansion of the Athens Metro, and the new Athens International Airport), considerably alleviated pollution and transformed Athens into a much more functional city. In 2004, Athens hosted the 2004 Summer Olympics.

 

Geography

Athens sprawls across the central plain of Attica that is often referred to as the Athens Basin or the Attica Basin (Greek: Λεκανοπέδιο Αθηνών/Αττικής). The basin is bounded by four large mountains: Mount Aigaleo to the west, Mount Parnitha to the north, Mount Pentelicus to the northeast and Mount Hymettus to the east. Beyond Mount Aegaleo lies the Thriasian plain, which forms an extension of the central plain to the west. The Saronic Gulf lies to the southwest. Mount Parnitha is the tallest of the four mountains (1,413 m (4,636 ft)), and has been declared a national park. The Athens urban area spreads over 50 kilometres (31 mi) from Agios Stefanos in the north to Varkiza in the south. The city is located in the north temperate zone, 38 degrees north of the equator.

 

Athens is built around a number of hills. Lycabettus is one of the tallest hills of the city proper and provides a view of the entire Attica Basin. The meteorology of Athens is deemed to be one of the most complex in the world because its mountains cause a temperature inversion phenomenon which, along with the Greek government's difficulties controlling industrial pollution, was responsible for the air pollution problems the city has faced. This issue is not unique to Athens; for instance, Los Angeles and Mexico City also suffer from similar atmospheric inversion problems.

 

The Cephissus river, the Ilisos and the Eridanos stream are the historical rivers of Athens.

 

Environment

By the late 1970s, the pollution of Athens had become so destructive that according to the then Greek Minister of Culture, Constantine Trypanis, "...the carved details on the five the caryatids of the Erechtheum had seriously degenerated, while the face of the horseman on the Parthenon's west side was all but obliterated." A series of measures taken by the authorities of the city throughout the 1990s resulted in the improvement of air quality; the appearance of smog (or nefos as the Athenians used to call it) has become less common.

 

Measures taken by the Greek authorities throughout the 1990s have improved the quality of air over the Attica Basin. Nevertheless, air pollution still remains an issue for Athens, particularly during the hottest summer days. In late June 2007, the Attica region experienced a number of brush fires, including a blaze that burned a significant portion of a large forested national park in Mount Parnitha, considered critical to maintaining a better air quality in Athens all year round. Damage to the park has led to worries over a stalling in the improvement of air quality in the city.

 

The major waste management efforts undertaken in the last decade (particularly the plant built on the small island of Psytalia) have greatly improved water quality in the Saronic Gulf, and the coastal waters of Athens are now accessible again to swimmers.

 

Parks and zoos

Parnitha National Park is punctuated by well-marked paths, gorges, springs, torrents and caves dotting the protected area. Hiking and mountain-biking in all four mountains are popular outdoor activities for residents of the city. The National Garden of Athens was completed in 1840 and is a green refuge of 15.5 hectares in the centre of the Greek capital. It is to be found between the Parliament and Zappeion buildings, the latter of which maintains its own garden of seven hectares. Parts of the City Centre have been redeveloped under a masterplan called the Unification of Archeological Sites of Athens, which has also gathered funding from the EU to help enhance the project. The landmark Dionysiou Areopagitou Street has been pedestrianised, forming a scenic route. The route starts from the Temple of Olympian Zeus at Vasilissis Olgas Avenue, continues under the southern slopes of the Acropolis near Plaka, and finishes just beyond the Temple of Hephaestus in Thiseio. The route in its entirety provides visitors with views of the Parthenon and the Agora (the meeting point of ancient Athenians), away from the busy City Centre.

 

The hills of Athens also provide green space. Lycabettus, Philopappos hill and the area around it, including Pnyx and Ardettos hill, are planted with pines and other trees, with the character of a small forest rather than typical metropolitan parkland. Also to be found is the Pedion tou Areos (Field of Mars) of 27.7 hectares, near the National Archaeological Museum. Athens' largest zoo is the Attica Zoological Park, a 20-hectare (49-acre) private zoo located in the suburb of Spata. The zoo is home to around 2000 animals representing 400 species, and is open 365 days a year. Smaller zoos exist within public gardens or parks, such as the zoo within the National Garden of Athens.

 

Climate

Athens has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). According to the meteorological station near the city center which is operated by the National Observatory of Athens, the downtown area has an annual average temperature of 19.2 °C (66.6 °F) while parts of the urban agglomeration may reach up to 19.8 °C (67.6 °F), being affected by the urban heat island effect. Athens receives about 433.1 millimetres (17.05 in) of precipitation per year, largely concentrated during the colder half of the year with the remaining rainfall falling sparsely, mainly during thunderstorms. Fog is rare in the city center, but somewhat more frequent in areas to the east, close to mount Hymettus.

 

The southern section of the Athens metropolitan area (i.e., Elliniko, Athens Riviera) lies in the transitional zone between Mediterranean (Csa) and hot semi-arid climate (BSh), with its port-city of Piraeus being the most extreme example, receiving just 331.9 millimetres (13.07 in) per year. The areas to the south generally see less extreme temperature variations as their climate is moderated by the Saronic gulf. The northern part of the city (i.e., Kifissia), owing to its higher elevation, features moderately lower temperatures and slightly increased precipitation year-round. The generally dry climate of the Athens basin compared to the precipitation amounts seen in a typical Mediterranean climate is due to the rain shadow effect caused by the Pindus mountain range and the Dirfys and Parnitha mountains, substantially drying the westerly and northerly winds respectively.

 

Snowfall is not very common, though it occurs almost annually, but it usually does not cause heavy disruption to daily life, in contrast to the northern parts of the city, where blizzards occur on a somewhat more regular basis. The most recent examples include the snowstorms of 16 February 2021 and 24 January 2022, when the entire urban area was blanketed in snow.

 

Athens may get particularly hot in the summer, owing partly to the strong urban heat island effect characterizing the city. In fact, Athens is considered to be the hottest city in mainland Europe, and is the first city in Europe to appoint a chief heat officer to deal with severe heat waves. Temperatures of 47.5°C have been reported in several locations of the metropolitan area, including within the urban agglomeration. Metropolitan Athens was until 2021 the holder of the World Meteorological Organization record for the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe with 48.0 °C (118.4 °F) which was recorded in the areas of Elefsina and Tatoi on 10 July 1977.

 

Administration

Athens became the capital of Greece in 1834, following Nafplion, which was the provisional capital from 1829. The municipality (City) of Athens is also the capital of the Attica region. The term Athens can refer either to the Municipality of Athens, to Greater Athens or urban area, or to the entire Athens Metropolitan Area.

 

The large City Centre (Greek: Κέντρο της Αθήνας) of the Greek capital falls directly within the Municipality of Athens or Athens Municipality (Greek: Δήμος Αθηναίων)—also City of Athens. Athens Municipality is the largest in population size in Greece. Piraeus also forms a significant city centre on its own within the Athens Urban Area and it is the second largest in population size within it.

 

Athens Urban Area

The Athens Urban Area (Greek: Πολεοδομικό Συγκρότημα Αθηνών), also known as Urban Area of the Capital (Greek: Πολεοδομικό Συγκρότημα Πρωτεύουσας) or Greater Athens (Greek: Ευρύτερη Αθήνα), today consists of 40 municipalities, 35 of which make up what was referred to as the former Athens Prefecture municipalities, located within 4 regional units (North Athens, West Athens, Central Athens, South Athens); and a further 5 municipalities, which make up the former Piraeus Prefecture municipalities, located within the regional unit of Piraeus as mentioned above.

 

The Athens Municipality forms the core and center of Greater Athens, which in its turn consists of the Athens Municipality and 40 more municipalities, divided in four regional units (Central, North, South and West Athens), accounting for 2,611,713 people (in 2021) within an area of 361 km2 (139 sq mi). Until 2010, which made up the abolished Athens Prefecture and the municipality of Piraeus, the historic Athenian port, with 4 other municipalities make up the regional unit of Piraeus. The regional units of Central Athens, North Athens, South Athens, West Athens and Piraeus with part of East and West Attica regional units combined make up the continuous Athens Urban Area, also called the "Urban Area of the Capital" or simply "Athens" (the most common use of the term), spanning over 412 km2 (159 sq mi), with a population of 3,059,764 people as of 2021. The Athens Urban Area is considered to form the city of Athens as a whole, despite its administrative divisions, which is the largest in Greece and the 9th most populated urban area in Europe.

 

Demographics

The Municipality of Athens has an official population of 643,452 people (in 2021). According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census, The four regional units that make up what is referred to as Greater Athens have a combined population of 2,611,713 . They together with the regional unit of Piraeus (Greater Piraeus) make up the dense Athens Urban Area which reaches a total population of 3,059,764 inhabitants (in 2021).

 

The municipality (Center) of Athens is the most populous in Greece, with a population of 643,452 people (in 2021) and an area of 38.96 km2 (15.04 sq mi), forming the core of the Athens Urban Area within the Attica Basin. The incumbent Mayor of Athens is Kostas Bakoyannis of New Democracy. The municipality is divided into seven municipal districts which are mainly used for administrative purposes.

 

For the Athenians the most popular way of dividing the downtown is through its neighbourhoods such as Pagkrati, Ampelokipoi, Goudi, Exarcheia, Patisia, Ilisia, Petralona, Plaka, Anafiotika, Koukaki, Kolonaki and Kypseli, each with its own distinct history and characteristics.

 

Safety

Athens ranks in the lowest percentage for the risk on frequency and severity of terrorist attacks according to the EU Global Terrorism Database (EIU 2007–2016 calculations). The city also ranked 35th in Digital Security, 21st on Health Security, 29th on Infrastructure Security and 41st on Personal Security globally in a 2017 The Economist Intelligence Unit report. It also ranks as a very safe city (39th globally out of 162 cities overall) on the ranking of the safest and most dangerous countries. As May 2022 the crime index from Numbeo places Athens at 56.33 (moderate), while its safety index is at 43.68.Crime in Athens According to a Mercer 2019 Quality of Living Survey, Athens ranks 89th on the Mercer Quality of Living Survey ranking.

 

Economy

Athens is the financial capital of Greece. According to data from 2014, Athens as a metropolitan economic area produced US$130 billion as GDP in PPP, which consists of nearly half of the production for the whole country. Athens was ranked 102nd in that year's list of global economic metropolises, while GDP per capita for the same year was 32,000 US-dollars.

 

Athens is one of the major economic centres in south-eastern Europe and is considered a regional economic power. The port of Piraeus, where big investments by COSCO have already been delivered during the recent decade, the completion of the new Cargo Centre in Thriasion, the expansion of the Athens Metro and the Athens Tram, as well as the Hellenikon metropolitan park redevelopment in Elliniko and other urban projects, are the economic landmarks of the upcoming years.

 

Prominent Greek companies such as Hellas Sat, Hellenic Aerospace Industry, Mytilineos Holdings, Titan Cement, Hellenic Petroleum, Papadopoulos E.J., Folli Follie, Jumbo S.A., OPAP, and Cosmote have their headquarters in the metropolitan area of Athens. Multinational companies such as Ericsson, Sony, Siemens, Motorola, Samsung, Microsoft, Teleperformance, Novartis, Mondelez and Coca-Cola also have their regional research and development headquarters in the city.

 

The banking sector is represented by National Bank of Greece, Alpha Bank, Eurobank, and Piraeus Bank, while the Bank of Greece is also situated in the City Centre. The Athens Stock Exchange was severely hit by the Greek government-debt crisis and the decision of the government to proceed into capital controls during summer 2015. As a whole the economy of Athens and Greece was strongly affected, while data showed a change from long recession to growth of 1.4% from 2017 onwards.

 

Tourism is also a leading contributor to the economy of the city, as one of Europe's top destinations for city-break tourism, and also the gateway for excursions to both the islands and other parts of the mainland. Greece attracted 26.5 million visitors in 2015, 30.1 million visitors in 2017, and over 33 million in 2018, making Greece one of the most visited countries in Europe and the world, and contributing 18% to the country's GDP. Athens welcomed more than 5 million tourists in 2018, and 1.4 million were "city-breakers"; this was an increase by over a million city-breakers since 2013.

 

Tourism

Athens has been a destination for travellers since antiquity. Over the past decade, the city's infrastructure and social amenities have improved, in part because of its successful bid to stage the 2004 Olympic Games. The Greek Government, aided by the EU, has funded major infrastructure projects such as the state-of-the-art Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport, the expansion of the Athens Metro system, and the new Attiki Odos Motorway

 

Education

Located on Panepistimiou Street, the old campus of the University of Athens, the National Library, and the Athens Academy form the "Athens Trilogy" built in the mid-19th century. The largest and oldest university in Athens is the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Most of the functions of NKUA have been transferred to a campus in the eastern suburb of Zografou. The National Technical University of Athens is located on Patision Street.

 

The University of West Attica is the second largest university in Athens. The seat of the university is located in the western area of Athens, where the philosophers of Ancient Athens delivered lectures. All the activities of UNIWA are carried out in the modern infrastructure of the three University Campuses within the metropolitan region of Athens (Egaleo Park, Ancient Olive Groove and Athens), which offer modern teaching and research spaces, entertainment and support facilities for all students. Other universities that lie within Athens are the Athens University of Economics and Business, the Panteion University, the Agricultural University of Athens and the University of Piraeus.

 

There are overall ten state-supported Institutions of Higher (or Tertiary) education located in the Athens Urban Area, these are by chronological order: Athens School of Fine Arts (1837), National Technical University of Athens (1837), National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (1837), Agricultural University of Athens (1920), Athens University of Economics and Business (1920), Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences (1927), University of Piraeus (1938), Harokopio University of Athens (1990), School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (2002), University of West Attica (2018). There are also several other private colleges, as they called formally in Greece, as the establishment of private universities is prohibited by the constitution. Many of them are accredited by a foreign state or university such as the American College of Greece and the Athens Campus of the University of Indianapolis.

 

Culture

The city is a world centre of archaeological research. Alongside national academic institutions, such as the Athens University and the Archaeological Society, it is home to multiple archaeological museums, taking in the National Archaeological Museum, the Cycladic Museum, the Epigraphic Museum, the Byzantine & Christian Museum, as well as museums at the ancient Agora, Acropolis, Kerameikos, and the Kerameikos Archaeological Museum. The city is also the setting for the Demokritos laboratory for Archaeometry, alongside regional and national archaeological authorities forming part of the Greek Department of Culture.

 

Athens hosts 17 Foreign Archaeological Institutes which promote and facilitate research by scholars from their home countries. As a result, Athens has more than a dozen archaeological libraries and three specialized archaeological laboratories, and is the venue of several hundred specialized lectures, conferences and seminars, as well as dozens of archaeological exhibitions each year. At any given time, hundreds of international scholars and researchers in all disciplines of archaeology are to be found in the city.

 

Athens' most important museums include:

 

the National Archaeological Museum, the largest archaeological museum in the country, and one of the most important internationally, as it contains a vast collection of antiquities. Its artefacts cover a period of more than 5,000 years, from late Neolithic Age to Roman Greece;

the Benaki Museum with its several branches for each of its collections including ancient, Byzantine, Ottoman-era, Chinese art and beyond;

the Byzantine and Christian Museum, one of the most important museums of Byzantine art;

the National Art Gallery, the nation's eponymous leading gallery, which reopened in 2021 after renovation;

the National Museum of Contemporary Art, which opened in 2000 in a former brewery building;

the Numismatic Museum, housing a major collection of ancient and modern coins;

the Museum of Cycladic Art, home to an extensive collection of Cycladic art, including its famous figurines of white marble;

the New Acropolis Museum, opened in 2009, and replacing the old museum on the Acropolis. The new museum has proved considerably popular; almost one million people visited during the summer period June–October 2009 alone. A number of smaller and privately owned museums focused on Greek culture and arts are also to be found.

the Kerameikos Archaeological Museum, a museum which displays artifacts from the burial site of Kerameikos. Much of the pottery and other artifacts relate to Athenian attitudes towards death and the afterlife, throughout many ages.

the Jewish Museum of Greece, a museum which describes the history and culture of the Greek Jewish community.

 

Architecture

Athens incorporates architectural styles ranging from Greco-Roman and Neoclassical to Modern. They are often to be found in the same areas, as Athens is not marked by a uniformity of architectural style. A visitor will quickly notice the absence of tall buildings: Athens has very strict height restriction laws in order to ensure the Acropolis Hill is visible throughout the city. Despite the variety in styles, there is evidence of continuity in elements of the architectural environment throughout the city's history.

 

For the greatest part of the 19th century Neoclassicism dominated Athens, as well as some deviations from it such as Eclecticism, especially in the early 20th century. Thus, the Old Royal Palace was the first important public building to be built, between 1836 and 1843. Later in the mid and late 19th century, Theophil Freiherr von Hansen and Ernst Ziller took part in the construction of many neoclassical buildings such as the Athens Academy and the Zappeion Hall. Ziller also designed many private mansions in the centre of Athens which gradually became public, usually through donations, such as Schliemann's Iliou Melathron.

 

Beginning in the 1920s, modern architecture including Bauhaus and Art Deco began to exert an influence on almost all Greek architects, and buildings both public and private were constructed in accordance with these styles. Localities with a great number of such buildings include Kolonaki, and some areas of the centre of the city; neighbourhoods developed in this period include Kypseli.

 

In the 1950s and 1960s during the extension and development of Athens, other modern movements such as the International style played an important role. The centre of Athens was largely rebuilt, leading to the demolition of a number of neoclassical buildings. The architects of this era employed materials such as glass, marble and aluminium, and many blended modern and classical elements. After World War II, internationally known architects to have designed and built in the city included Walter Gropius, with his design for the US Embassy, and, among others, Eero Saarinen, in his postwar design for the east terminal of the Ellinikon Airport.

 

Urban sculpture

Across the city numerous statues or busts are to be found. Apart from the neoclassicals by Leonidas Drosis at the Academy of Athens (Plato, Socrates, Apollo and Athena), others in notable categories include the statue of Theseus by Georgios Fytalis at Thiseion; depictions of philhellenes such as Lord Byron, George Canning, and William Gladstone; the equestrian statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis by Lazaros Sochos in front of the Old Parliament; statues of Ioannis Kapodistrias, Rigas Feraios and Adamantios Korais at the University; of Evangelos Zappas and Konstantinos Zappas at the Zappeion; Ioannis Varvakis at the National Garden; the" Woodbreaker" by Dimitrios Filippotis; the equestrian statue of Alexandros Papagos in the Papagou district; and various busts of fighters of Greek independence at the Pedion tou Areos. A significant landmark is also the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Syntagma.

 

Entertainment and performing arts

Athens is home to 148 theatrical stages, more than any other city in the world, including the ancient Odeon of Herodes Atticus, home to the Athens Festival, which runs from May to October each year. In addition to a large number of multiplexes, Athens plays host to open air garden cinemas. The city also supports music venues, including the Athens Concert Hall (Megaro Moussikis), which attracts world class artists. The Athens Planetarium, located in Andrea Syngrou Avenue, in Palaio Faliro is one of the largest and best equipped digital planetaria in the world. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, inaugurated in 2016, will house the National Library of Greece and the Greek National Opera. In 2018 Athens was designated as the World Book Capital by UNESCO.

 

Restaurants, tavernas and bars can be found in the entertainment hubs in Plaka and the Trigono areas of the historic centre, the inner suburbs of Gazi and Psyrri are especially busy with nightclubs and bars, while Kolonaki, Exarchia, Metaxourgeio, Koukaki and Pangrati offer more of a cafe and restaurant scene. The coastal suburbs of Microlimano, Alimos and Glyfada include many tavernas, beach bars and busy summer clubs.

 

The most successful songs during the period 1870–1930 were the Athenian serenades (Αθηναϊκές καντάδες), based on the Heptanesean kantádhes (καντάδες 'serenades'; sing.: καντάδα) and the songs performed on stage (επιθεωρησιακά τραγούδια 'theatrical revue songs') in revues, musical comedies, operettas and nocturnes that were dominating Athens' theatre scene.

 

In 1922, following the war, genocide and later population exchange suffered by the Greek population of Asia Minor, many ethnic Greeks fled to Athens. They settled in poor neighbourhoods and brought with them Rebetiko music, making it also popular in Greece, and which later became the base for the Laïko music. Other forms of song popular today in Greece are elafrolaika, entechno, dimotika, and skyladika. Greece's most notable, and internationally famous, composers of Greek song, mainly of the entechno form, are Manos Hadjidakis and Mikis Theodorakis. Both composers have achieved fame abroad for their composition of film scores.

 

The renowned American-born Greek soprano Maria Callas spent her teenage years in Athens, where she settled in 1937. Her professional opera career started in 1940 in Athens, with the Greek National Opera. In 2018, the city's municipal Olympia Theatre was renamed to "Olympia City Music Theatre 'Maria Callas'" and in 2023, the Municipality inaugurated the Maria Callas Museum, housing it in a neoclassical building on 44 Mitropoleos street.

 

Sports

The Panathenaic Stadium of Athens (Kallimarmaron) dates back to the fourth century BC and has hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896.

 

Agia Sophia Stadium

Athens has a long tradition in sports and sporting events, serving as home to the most important clubs in Greek sport and housing a large number of sports facilities. The city has also been host to sports events of international importance.

 

Athens has hosted the Summer Olympic Games twice, in 1896 and 2004. The 2004 Summer Olympics required the development of the Athens Olympic Stadium, which has since gained a reputation as one of the most beautiful stadiums in the world, and one of its most interesting modern monuments. The biggest stadium in the country, it hosted two finals of the UEFA Champions League, in 1994 and 2007. Athens' other major stadiums are the Karaiskakis Stadium located in Piraeus, a sports and entertainment complex, host of the 1971 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, and Agia Sophia Stadium located in Nea Filadelfeia.

 

Athens has hosted the EuroLeague final three times, the first in 1985 and second in 1993, both at the Peace and Friendship Stadium, most known as SEF, a large indoor arena, and the third time in 2007 at the Olympic Indoor Hall. Events in other sports such as athletics, volleyball, water polo etc., have been hosted in the capital's venues.

 

Athens is home to three European multi-sport clubs: Panathinaikos, originated in Athens city centre, Olympiacos, originated in the suburb of Piraeus and AEK Athens, originated in the suburb of Nea Filadelfeia. In football, Panathinaikos made it to the 1971 European Cup Final, Olympiacos have dominated domestic competitions, while AEK Athens is the other member of the big three. These clubs also have basketball teams; Panathinaikos and Olympiacos are among the top powers in European basketball, having won the Euroleague six times and three respectively, whilst AEK Athens was the first Greek team to win a European trophy in any team sport.

 

Other notable clubs within Athens are Athinaikos, Panionios, Atromitos, Apollon, Panellinios, Egaleo F.C., Ethnikos Piraeus, Maroussi BC and Peristeri B.C. Athenian clubs have also had domestic and international success in other sports.

 

The Athens area encompasses a variety of terrain, notably hills and mountains rising around the city, and the capital is the only major city in Europe to be bisected by a mountain range. Four mountain ranges extend into city boundaries and thousands of kilometres of trails criss-cross the city and neighbouring areas, providing exercise and wilderness access on foot and bike.

 

Beyond Athens and across the prefecture of Attica, outdoor activities include skiing, rock climbing, hang gliding and windsurfing. Numerous outdoor clubs serve these sports, including the Athens Chapter of the Sierra Club, which leads over 4,000 outings annually in the area.

 

Athens was awarded the 2004 Summer Olympics on 5 September 1997 in Lausanne, Switzerland, after having lost a previous bid to host the 1996 Summer Olympics, to Atlanta, United States. It was to be the second time Athens would host the games, following the inaugural event of 1896. After an unsuccessful bid in 1990, the 1997 bid was radically improved, including an appeal to Greece's Olympic history. In the last round of voting, Athens defeated Rome with 66 votes to 41. Prior to this round, the cities of Buenos Aires, Stockholm and Cape Town had been eliminated from competition, having received fewer votes. Although the heavy cost was criticized, estimated at $1.5 billion, Athens was transformed into a more functional city that enjoys modern technology both in transportation and in modern urban development. The games welcomed over 10,000 athletes from all 202 countries.

Opened in part of the former Tops

 

Geneva, NY. June 2020.

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If you would like to use THIS picture in any sort of media elsewhere (such as newspaper or article), please send me a Flickrmail or send me an email at natehenderson6@gmail.com

Work crews for SRP, the local electric power company relocate electric utility poles I assume for a future road widening. Within a reasonably short period of time, the new poles were placed further away from the side of the road, the power lines relocated and the old poles were removed.

 

My apologies for the marginal quality of this photo, taken through the windshield of a car in which I was riding.

 

Happy Telegraph Tuesday!

WEEK 49 – Southaven Burlington Relocation: New Store, Set I

 

You can see from the two previous exterior shots that I managed to make it here on grand opening day itself... but the store was so busy (with both customers and employees) that I wasn't able to get any pictures. So instead, all of the interior photos you'll be seeing in this series come from a later visit on October 27th, 2017.

 

And without any further ado... here's our first look inside! This is the store's right-side actionway, which the entrance funnels straight into. What's your first impression? (cont.)

 

(c) 2017 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

A very odd looking movement much similar to NSWGR and SRA days of taking locos off to be scrapped, but not it this case.

Running under Sydney Rail Services (SRS) as D994 from Bomaderry Via Meeks Rd, 4501 and 4464 in push pull formation haul 7319, 7333 and 7322 through Bargo on the Main South, en route to Goulburn for a new lease of life as a future project.

7319 had spent most of its life at Cootamundra during the 70s, 7322 based in Orange and 7333 was based in Broadmeadow.

All three units were owned by Manildra before being purchased recently.

In 1997, I was privileged to witness this cheetah mother target her meal, explode into chase, and run the Impala down with no help from her 3 cubs. In this frame, she works to pull the kill into the shade and protection of a large bush. You can see how one of the cubs is already working to start the feast.

 

Cheetahs are indeed the fastest land animal, and we saw that. Mombo, Botswana, June 1997.

The beverage station once figured prominently in the layout of the front right corner of this Kroger, in plain view of the hot food counter at the deli. Thanks to Starbucks, it was moved: tucked away in the corner of the café. Oh well, at least this Korger still has a café, unlike the Olive Branch store. Theirs was removed entirely, to make space for ClickList unfortunately.

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Kroger, 2004-built, Goodman Rd. at Getwell Rd., Southaven, MS

The Minidoka Relocation Center, 15 miles north of Twin Falls and 150 miles southeast of Boise, was also referred to as the Hunt Camp. Minidoka was considered a model environment because of its relatively peaceful atmosphere and population that got along well with the administration. Because it was not within the Western Defense Command restricted area, security was somewhat lighter than at most other camps. But when the internees first arrived, they were shocked to see the bleak landscape that was to be there home over the next three years.

Located on the Snake River Plain at an elevation of 4000 feet, the land is dotted with sagebrush and thin basaltic lava flows and cinder cones. The internees found the environment to be extremely harsh, with temperatures ranging from 30 degrees below zero to as high as 115 degrees. They also had to contend with blinding dust storms and ankle-deep mud after the rains.

Minidoka was in operation from August 10, 1942 to October 28, 1945. The reserve covered more than 33,000 acres of land in Jerome County. The camp’s peak population reached 9,397 by March 1, 1943, and it became Idaho's third largest city. Five miles of barbed wire fencing and eight watchtowers surrounded the administrative and residential areas, which were located in the west-central portion of the reserve.

Most of the people interned at Minidoka were from the Pacific Northwest: approximately 7,050 from Seattle and Bainbridge Island, Washington, 2,500 from Oregon and 150 from Alaska, including children or grandchildren of Eskimo women and Japanese men. They were temporarily housed at the Puyallup Fairgrounds in Washington, then sent by train to Idaho. In early 1943, all of the Bainbridge Island, Washington, residents interned at the Manzanar Relocation Center were transferred to Minidoka at their own request because of constant conflict with the internees from Terminal Island in Los Angeles.

The central camp consisted of 600 buildings on 950 acres. When the first internees arrived at Minidoka in August 1942, they moved into the crude barracks even though much of the camp was unfinished and there was no running water or sewage system. The Army insisted on having all Japanese removed from the West Coast at once, and they did not halt the evacuation until the camp could hold no more. The last group of 500 evacuees to arrive at the camp had to sleep in mess halls, laundry rooms, or any available bed space. Waiting in line for many daily functions, especially meals, was common.

The camp’s residential area encompassed 36 blocks and was one mile wide and three miles long. Each block included 12 tarpaper barracks, one dining hall, one laundry building with communal showers and toilets and a recreation hall. Immediately after arrival, the internees were instructed to see the camp physician, and then they received an apartment assignment. Apartments were of three sizes, and where possible, family groups or relatives were placed near each other. Efforts were later made to move people near their place of employment.

Work crews for SRP, the local electric power company relocate electric utility poles I assume for a future road widening. Within a reasonably short period of time, the new poles were placed further away from the road, power lines relocated and the old poles were removed.

 

Happy Telegraph Tuesday!

Father Michael Smythe, a missionary priest, who was stationed at Fort Smith, traveled through Eureka Springs around the year 1880. He started construction on a frame church which would not be completed until 1882. That year the Diocese of Little Rock recognized the new foundation of faith as a “station with a church.” Between 1882 and 1901 priests visited the station on their regular monthly trips through the Northwest Arkansas missions.

  

During 1901, the frame church was moved and relocated closer to the growing town. Upon completion of the building, the Diocese recognized the Church and its membership as the Sacred Heart Parish. Since the founding of this parish, there have been 37 priests administering the Sacraments to the Catholic people of Eureka Springs and tending to their spiritual and temporal needs. The first Baptism was recorded in 1880 – the first Marriage in 1881. Confirmation ceremonies were held in 1885 and administered by Bishop Fitzgerald to seven people, three of whom were adults. Sacred Heart Parish was given its name in 1901 and Father Carroll recorded the first Baptism and the first wedding in 1904.

 

Earlier in 1901, the Hotel Dieu Hospital, a large two story building opened by the Sisters of Mercy from St. Louis, had been established as a convalescent home, hospital, school, and convent. There were 34 pupils attending the opening day ceremonies at the Saint Elizabeth’s School. The Hotel Dieu Hospital closed its doors in 1913 after eleven years in operation but was placed later under the guidance of the Olivetan Benedictines.

 

In 1904 a three story frame rectory was constructed beside the Sacred Heart Church and was used as a rectory, school, and meeting hall for the Catholic community. This building is still in use today as the Mount Victoria Bed and Breakfast. Two blocks away, on Crescent Drive, Mr. Richard Kerens, was also constructing an edifice. The Kerens Memorial Chapel was being built in memory of his deceased mother, Elizabeth.

   

In 1908, after lengthy discussions with Bishop Fitzgerald, Kerens added a church proper to the existing Chapel, and the dedication ceremonies of the Saint Elizabeth Catholic Church were held on May 11, 1909. The existing chapel became the vestibule of the church, with all the exterior construction material of dolomite limestone supplied by local quarries. Kerens imported marble altars and mosaic flooring from Italy. Paintings depicting the Stations of the Cross were donated by the parishioners. Four pieces of statuary taken from the Sacred Heart Church and Hotel Dieu – statues of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and two kneeling angels – were moved to the new Church. These fine pieces of turn-of-the-century statuary still have their home in the interior of the church today.

 

The coming years lay heavy on the church, and disrepair set in almost immediately, not because of inferior construction, but from lack of adequate heating. For a few years the church became a mission out of Harrison because of the small congregation. Second collections were started to defray the cost of repairs, but not until Father Joseph Lauro’s pastorate in the early 1950’s did the remodeling really begin.

 

Father Lauro did extensive restoration to the interior of the church, and constructed a stone rectory at the rear of the church. He then enlisted the talents of an Italian artists’ society which, under the direction of sculptor Checchi Mario, executed marble statues which grace the gardens of the church, including the statues of Our Lady of Fatima, the children, and the sheep, which were erected in 1953, along with the statues of The Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. Joseph, St. Francis, and St. Elizabeth. In his second term at Saint Elizabeth, Father Lauro originated the plan for the Stations of the Cross, in white Carrara marble, also sculpted in Italy, which are arranged on the wall beside the ramp leading from the Bell Tower to the door. The designer said the statuary consumed 40 days of work by five sculptors for any single piece. The names of various families were etched into the base of each statue, thus commemorating their donation. The stations were installed in 1958.

 

Saint Elizabeth’s Church has become a landmark in Eureka Springs and is listed on the National Historic Register. The Church’s unique unattached Bell Tower has welcomed thousands of visitors each year from all over the world. They come to admire the simplicity of the stone church which was constructed years ago and which still holds its charm and peacefulness in the fast paced world of today.

Independence, CA

My (well, not mine technically) little red shed was not demolished, but moved to another spot about 1000 feet away on the property. Nonetheless, no more photo posed with bikes by the road with the red accent in the background. Anyway, I’m glad it was not smashed to tiny bits!

WEEK 16 – BAM Southaven Relocation: New Store, Set 1

 

Taking a stroll down the main aisle now, the first major department we come upon is Pop World. Again, very similar to the old store, except here Pop World has moved over to the right side of the store as compared to the left. That actually makes a lot of sense, considering that that row of support columns you see on the left of the shot required the actionway to be a little off-center. As a result, the aisles on this side of the store are shorter than those on the left, and subsequently the non-book departments were largely placed over here.

 

(c) 2017 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

 

WEEK 49 – Southaven Burlington Relocation: New Store, Set I

 

Turning around and looking down the right-side wall of the store for this view. That's the back right corner you see off in the distance. You can see here that beyond those accessories and jewelry sections I just mentioned is the women's shoes department. Funnily enough, shoes were located in about the same area back in this building's Sports Authority days: see here!

 

On that note... I was hoping to link to more Sports Authority comparison pics throughout this series, but at least for today's set of ten it appears that I don't have that many that apply. Hopefully that changes as we move onward! And remember that you can always check out my full album of Sports Authority closing pics here (as well as the rest of this Burlington album, including pics of the now-former previous store, here).

 

(c) 2017 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

Food prep area number two. Pity about the rock wire netting. After this, the carcass was relocated all the way back to it's original location.

(Clare)

WEEK 51.1 – Southaven Burlington Relocation: New Store, Set II

 

This shot is fairly similar to the last one as far as the direction it's looking in, except it was taken from the right-side actionway of the store instead of the true back right corner itself. Women's coats are on my left, with women's activewear beside them, and shoes/jewelry/accessories beyond that. On my right is the children's shoe department, as well as (about center in the shot above) kids' clothing; women's clothing is front-and-center inside the store's entrance. This time, I do have a pretty good comparison shot to link to! Check it out at this link.

 

At the opposite end of the actionway I'm standing in is the store's cart bay. It's interesting to note that this store's carts lock as you take them outside. This isn't an uncommon feature per se, but I do believe this marks the first store in Southaven/DeSoto County to implement such locking carts. Given its location, I imagine that carts “wandering off” was likely a larger problem at the old Burlington than this one (hopefully, anyway!).

 

(c) 2017 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

The Manzanar Relocation Camp lies at the foot of Mt. Williamson just north of Lone Pine, CA. Up to 10,000 people of Japanese descent were interned here after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the act that caused the United States to enter World War 2.

 

One of the internees created this monument in the base cemetery during his internment. The inscription reads "Monument for the Pacification of Spirits".

 

The numerous small bits of glass, rock, and coins left on and around this monument are small tributes left by the visitors. It is hard not to feel that spirit when visiting this location.

 

Finally, a plaque at the entrance to the camp reads ...

 

In the early part of World War II, 110,000 persons of Japanese ancestry were interned in relocation centers by executive order no. 9066, issued on February 19, 1942.

 

Manzanar, the first of ten such concentration camps, was bounded by barbed wire and guard towers confining 10,000 persons, the majority being American citizens.

 

May the injustices and humiliation suffered here as a result of hysteria, racism and economic exploitation never emerge again.

WEEK 43 – TM Relocation Revisited

 

(cont.) …where we see the old store almost completely devoid of merchandise, and growing bare on shelving, too, in advance of the move. Here we’re looking at the left side of the store, where shelving has been consolidated and only furniture remains. The main furniture aisle was practically untouched, in fact, and is in its normal home in this view, albeit hidden by another aisle – see the very far left edge of the pic.

 

(c) 2016 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

 

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge, VA

museum boijmans van beuningen

When you are planning for house relocation, CT Removals takes the lead in making the whole process easier and affordable as our professional removal and transportation experts take care of everything from start to finish like packaging to transportation and unpacking your goods.

Houston, Texas.

Relocating a large carpet python from the neighbour's house to a local park. A good bit of fun on a Sunday afternoon!

Folkestone

Dolichoderus quadripunctatus workers moving chrysalids ro a new location.

Found this guy heading across my kitchen floor.

Severance Town Center opened in 1963 as a mall under the name "Severance Center". The mall has since converted to a standard outdoor shopping center. The shopping center is anchored by Home Depot, Dave's Market, and Regal Cinemas. Walmart closed in late 2013 when they relocated to a new supercenter nearby.

 

Severance Town Center - Mayfield Road and North Taylor Road - Cleveland Heights, Ohio

 

If you wish to use this photo please contact me (Nicholas Eckhart) in one of the following ways:

 

>Send a FlickrMail message

>Send an email to eckhartnicholas@yahoo.com

 

A higher resolution version of this image is available upon request. I am more than happy to allow my photos to be used as long as I receive credit. Please let me know before using any of my photos or send a link to where they are being used.

My tribute for phenomenal duo from Baltimore. Ladies and Gents - Matmos.

The Minidoka Relocation Center, 15 miles north of Twin Falls and 150 miles southeast of Boise, was also referred to as the Hunt Camp. Minidoka was considered a model environment because of its relatively peaceful atmosphere and population that got along well with the administration. Because it was not within the Western Defense Command restricted area, security was somewhat lighter than at most other camps. But when the internees first arrived, they were shocked to see the bleak landscape that was to be there home over the next three years.

Located on the Snake River Plain at an elevation of 4000 feet, the land is dotted with sagebrush and thin basaltic lava flows and cinder cones. The internees found the environment to be extremely harsh, with temperatures ranging from 30 degrees below zero to as high as 115 degrees. They also had to contend with blinding dust storms and ankle-deep mud after the rains.

Minidoka was in operation from August 10, 1942 to October 28, 1945. The reserve covered more than 33,000 acres of land in Jerome County. The camp’s peak population reached 9,397 by March 1, 1943, and it became Idaho's third largest city. Five miles of barbed wire fencing and eight watchtowers surrounded the administrative and residential areas, which were located in the west-central portion of the reserve.

Most of the people interned at Minidoka were from the Pacific Northwest: approximately 7,050 from Seattle and Bainbridge Island, Washington, 2,500 from Oregon and 150 from Alaska, including children or grandchildren of Eskimo women and Japanese men. They were temporarily housed at the Puyallup Fairgrounds in Washington, then sent by train to Idaho. In early 1943, all of the Bainbridge Island, Washington, residents interned at the Manzanar Relocation Center were transferred to Minidoka at their own request because of constant conflict with the internees from Terminal Island in Los Angeles.

The central camp consisted of 600 buildings on 950 acres. When the first internees arrived at Minidoka in August 1942, they moved into the crude barracks even though much of the camp was unfinished and there was no running water or sewage system. The Army insisted on having all Japanese removed from the West Coast at once, and they did not halt the evacuation until the camp could hold no more. The last group of 500 evacuees to arrive at the camp had to sleep in mess halls, laundry rooms, or any available bed space. Waiting in line for many daily functions, especially meals, was common.

The camp’s residential area encompassed 36 blocks and was one mile wide and three miles long. Each block included 12 tarpaper barracks, one dining hall, one laundry building with communal showers and toilets and a recreation hall. Immediately after arrival, the internees were instructed to see the camp physician, and then they received an apartment assignment. Apartments were of three sizes, and where possible, family groups or relatives were placed near each other. Efforts were later made to move people near their place of employment.

Picture taken 12/14/22

Relocated to a new, bigger store on Tyler Boulevard in 2019. Former Rini-Rego.

Please contact me via FlickrMail

or on Gmail

if you'd like to use any of my photographs.

Gmail: gabegamesog@gmail.com

Relocated!

From the movie at the visitor center.

 

In 1942, the United States government ordered more than 110,000 Japanese to leave their homes and detained them in remote, military-style camps. Manzanar War Relocation Center was one of ten camps.

 

On October 9, 1990, a ceremony was held to present the first reparations checks. Nine elderly Japanese received $20,000 each and a formal apology signed by President George H. W. Bush. Payments to surviving internees or their heirs continued until 1993, Clinton Administration.

 

Classic Automobile Relocation Services Volvo FH Globetrotter, reg. no. KN63 WNV, seen here in the car park at Truckfest South West & Wales 2016.

The picture was taken on 2 July 2016.

 

In 1921, it was announced that the sand road running through Desert Center would be relocated about 5 miles (8.0 km) north, straightened, paved, and named U.S. Route 60, a modern "high-speed" highway. Ragsdale abandoned "old Desert Center" and built a poured-concrete café in the adobe style with an attached gasoline station and a huge service garage. Across the road, a series of wooden structures were built, including a market (which at one time was the largest Coleman camping equipment dealer in the country), and a post office. He also built several cabins for travelers, and a large "plunge" (swimming pool) next to the café where travelers could escape the desert heat.

 

By 1942, Desert Center had very few residents. It was then that the Army, under the direction of Maj. General George Patton, established the Desert Center Army Air Field to support operations in the California-Arizona Maneuver Area. The base covered 18,000 square miles (47,000 km2). Its purpose was to train troops for combat in the deserts of North Africa against the forces of German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel. The enormous operation came to a close in 1944, when the Allies were victorious in the North African theatre. A museum honoring Patton and his training complex is located in Chiriaco Summit.

 

After the military’s departure, the town became quiet again, remaining relatively unchanged as the old U.S. Route 60/70 was replaced by Interstate 10.

 

-Wikipedia

Relocated to the village from Kettleby, Ontario, the Charles Irvin's weaver's shop was established in 1855. The shop shared space with both a Temperance Hall and a Print Shop. Equipped with the latest in looms, the shop still operates today in the village using original equipment.

 

Minolta Maxxum 9 - Minolta Maxxum AF 50mm 1:1.7 - Lomography Potsdam 100 @ ASA-400

Cinestill D96 (Stock) 9:30 @ 20C

Scanner: Nikon Coolscan V ED

Editor: Adobe Photoshop CC

Cappadocia Photo Album:

 

www.flickr.com/photos/feridun_f_alkaya/albums/72157701795...

  

The Zelve Monastery is a Byzantine-era monastery that was carved into the rock in pre-iconoclastic times. It is part of the Zelve Open Air Museum, located between Ürgüp and Avanos.[1]

 

Remains

The remains of the Zelve monastery complex are located on the northern slopes of Aktepe, 1 km from Paşa Bağlari and 10 km out from Göreme on the Avanos road. Zelve does not have the rich frescoes of Göreme and other Cappadocian locations. Zelve is spread out over three valleys, of which two are connected by a tunnel. The complex contains innumerable rooms and passages which also house many pointed fairy chimneys with large stems, at about 40 feet above the valley floor.

 

The valley was a monastic retreat between the 9th and 13th centuries.[1] Christians moved to Zelve during the Persian and Arab invasions.[citation needed] The site was inhabited until 1952 when villagers were relocated to nearby Aktepe due to safety concerns.[1]

 

Cappadocia's first seminaries to train priests are located here at the monastery. Dating back to the early years of monastery life in Zelve is the Direkli Church (with the famed columns). Direkli is located at the bottom of the slope. The main decorations are iconoclastic-doctrine high relief crosses. The valley also contains the Balikli Kilise (Fish), Üzümlü Kilise (Grapes) churches and the now totally collapsed Geyikli Kilise (Deer church). These churches date to the pre-iconoclastic period.

 

The area was inhabited until 1952, when the last inhabitants moved to the new town Yeni Zelve ("New Zelve"), 2 km away. In 1967, Zelve was turned into an open-air museum.

 

The area also contains houses, a tunnel joining two of the valleys, a mill (without sails), and a small mosque. Several dovecotes are found in the valley.

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zelve_Monastery

 

CAPPADOCIA WORLD HERITAGE LIST :

 

whc.unesco.org/en/list/357

 

In a spectacular landscape, entirely sculpted by erosion, the Göreme valley and its surroundings contain rock-hewn sanctuaries that provide unique evidence of Byzantine art in the post-Iconoclastic period. Dwellings, troglodyte villages and underground towns – the remains of a traditional human habitat dating back to the 4th century – can also be seen there.

Brief synthesis

Located on the central Anatolia plateau within a volcanic landscape sculpted by erosion to form a succession of mountain ridges, valleys and pinnacles known as “fairy chimneys” or hoodoos, Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia cover the region between the cities of Nevşehir, Ürgüp and Avanos, the sites of Karain, Karlık, Yeşilöz, Soğanlı and the subterranean cities of Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu. The area is bounded on the south and east by ranges of extinct volcanoes with Erciyes Dağ (3916 m) at one end and Hasan Dağ (3253 m) at the other. The density of its rock-hewn cells, churches, troglodyte villages and subterranean cities within the rock formations make it one of the world's most striking and largest cave-dwelling complexes. Though interesting from a geological and ethnological point of view, the incomparable beauty of the decor of the Christian sanctuaries makes Cappadocia one of the leading examples of the post-iconoclastic Byzantine art period.

It is believed that the first signs of monastic activity in Cappadocia date back to the 4th century at which time small anchorite communities, acting on the teachings of Basileios the Great, Bishop of Kayseri, began inhabiting cells hewn in the rock. In later periods, in order to resist Arab invasions, they began banding together into troglodyte villages or subterranean towns such as Kaymakli or Derinkuyu which served as places of refuge.

Cappadocian monasticism was already well established in the iconoclastic period (725-842) as illustrated by the decoration of many sanctuaries which kept a strict minimum of symbols (most often sculpted or tempera painted crosses). However, after 842 many rupestral churches were dug in Cappadocia and richly decorated with brightly coloured figurative painting. Those in the Göreme Valley include Tokalı Kilise and El Nazar Kilise (10th century), St. Barbara Kilise and Saklı Kilise (11th century) and Elmalı Kilise and Karanlık Kilise (end of the 12th – beginning of the 13th century).

Criterion (i): Owing to their quality and density, the rupestral sanctuaries of Cappadocia constitute a unique artistic achievement offering irreplaceable testimony to the post-iconoclastic Byzantine art period.

Criterion (iii): The rupestral dwellings, villages, convents and churches retain the fossilized image of a province of the Byzantine Empire between the 4th century and the arrival of the Seljuk Turks (1071). Thus, they are the essential vestiges of a civilization which has disappeared.

Criterion (v): Cappadocia is an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement which has become vulnerable under the combined effects of natural erosion and, more recently, tourism.

Criterion (vii): In a spectacular landscape dramatically demonstrating erosional forces, the Göreme Valley and its surroundings provide a globally renowned and accessible display of hoodoo landforms and other erosional features, which are of great beauty, and which interact with the cultural elements of the landscape.

Integrity

Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia, having been extensively used and modified by man for centuries, is a landscape of harmony combining human interaction and settlement with dramatic natural landforms. There has been some earthquake damage to some of the cones and the pillars, but this is seen as a naturally occurring phenomenon. Overuse by tourists and some vandalism have been reported and some incompatible structures have been introduced.

The erosional processes that formed the distinctive conical rock structures will continue to create new fairy chimneys and rock pillars, however due to the rate of this process, the natural values of the property may still be threatened by unsustainable use. The cultural features, including rock-hewn churches and related cultural structures, mainly at risk of being undermined by erosion and other negative natural processes coupled with mass tourism and development pressures, can never be replaced. threats Some of the churches mentioned by early scholars such as C. Texier, H.G. Rott and Guillaume de Jerphanion are no longer extant.

Authenticity

The property meets the conditions of authenticity as its values and their attributes, including its historical setting, form, design, material and workmanship adequately reflect the cultural and natural values recognized in the inscription criteria.

Given the technical difficulties of building in this region, where it is a matter of hewing out structures within the natural rock, creating architecture by the removal of material rather than by putting it together to form the elements of a building, the underlying morphological structure and the difficulties inherent in the handling of the material inhibited the creative impulses of the builders. This conditioning of human effort by natural conditions persisted almost unchanged through successive periods and civilizations, influencing the cultural attitudes and technical skills of each succeeding generation.

Protection and management requirements

The World Heritage property Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia is subject to legal protection in accordance with both the Protection of Cultural and Natural Resources Act No. 2863 and the National Parks Act No. 2873. The entire territory between the cities of Nevşehir, Ürgüp and Avanos is designated as a National Park under the Act No. 2873. In addition, natural, archaeological, urban, and mixed archaeological and natural conservation areas, two underground towns, five troglodyte villages, and more than 200 individual rock-hewn churches, some of which contain numerous frescoes, have been entered into the register of immovable monuments and sites according to the Act No. 2863.

Legal protection, management and monitoring of the Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia fall within the scope of national and regional governmental administrations. The Nevşehir and Kayseri Regional Conservation Councils are responsible for keeping the register of monuments and sites, including carrying out all tasks related to the legal protection of monuments and listed buildings and the approval to carry out any restoration-related works. They also evaluate regional and conservation area plans prepared by the responsible national and/or local (i.e. municipal) authorities.

Studies for revision and updating of the existing land use and conservation plan (Göreme National Park Long-term Development Plan) of 1981 were completed in 2003. The major planning decisions proposed were that natural conservation areas are to be protected as they were declared in 1976. Minor adjustments in the peripheral areas of settlements and spatial developments of towns located in the natural conservation sites including Göreme, Ortahisar, Çavuşin, Ürgüp and Mustafapaşa will be strictly controlled. In other words, the Plan proposes to confine the physical growth of these towns to recently established zones. Hotel developments will take into account the set limits for room capacities. Furthermore, the plan also suggested that local authorities should be advised to review land use decisions for areas that have been reserved for tourism developments in the town plans.

Preparation of conservation area plans for the urban and/or mixed urban-archaeological conservation sites within the historic sections of Göreme are in place and provide zoning criteria and the rules and guidelines to be used in the maintenance and restoration of listed buildings and other buildings which are not registered, but which are located within the historic zones. Similar planning studies for the towns of Ortahisar and Uçhisar are in place. Once finalised, a conservation area plan for the urban conservation area in Ürgüp will be in place. All relevant plans are kept up to date on a continuing basis.

Appropriate facilities aimed at improving the understanding of the World Heritage property have been completed for the subterranean towns of Kaymaklı and Derinkuyu, and are required for Göreme and Paşabağı.

Monuments in danger due to erosion, including the El Nazar, Elmalı, and Meryemana (Virgin Mary) churches, have been listed as monuments requiring priority action. Specific measures for their protection, restoration and maintenance are required at the site level.

While conservation plans and protection measures are in place for individual sites, it is recognised by the principal parties responsible for site management that an integrated Regional Plan for the Cappadocia Cultural and Tourism Conservation and Development Area is required to protect the World Heritage values of the property. Adequate financial, political and technical support is also required to secure the management of the property.

whc.unesco.org/en/list/357

  

www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/world-heritage/cappadocia/

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cappadocia

 

ZELVE VİDEO;

  

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sbl1psbuq0g

The Minidoka Relocation Center, 15 miles north of Twin Falls and 150 miles southeast of Boise, was also referred to as the Hunt Camp. Minidoka was considered a model environment because of its relatively peaceful atmosphere and population that got along well with the administration. Because it was not within the Western Defense Command restricted area, security was somewhat lighter than at most other camps. But when the internees first arrived, they were shocked to see the bleak landscape that was to be there home over the next three years.

Located on the Snake River Plain at an elevation of 4000 feet, the land is dotted with sagebrush and thin basaltic lava flows and cinder cones. The internees found the environment to be extremely harsh, with temperatures ranging from 30 degrees below zero to as high as 115 degrees. They also had to contend with blinding dust storms and ankle-deep mud after the rains.

Minidoka was in operation from August 10, 1942 to October 28, 1945. The reserve covered more than 33,000 acres of land in Jerome County. The camp’s peak population reached 9,397 by March 1, 1943, and it became Idaho's third largest city. Five miles of barbed wire fencing and eight watchtowers surrounded the administrative and residential areas, which were located in the west-central portion of the reserve.

Most of the people interned at Minidoka were from the Pacific Northwest: approximately 7,050 from Seattle and Bainbridge Island, Washington, 2,500 from Oregon and 150 from Alaska, including children or grandchildren of Eskimo women and Japanese men. They were temporarily housed at the Puyallup Fairgrounds in Washington, then sent by train to Idaho. In early 1943, all of the Bainbridge Island, Washington, residents interned at the Manzanar Relocation Center were transferred to Minidoka at their own request because of constant conflict with the internees from Terminal Island in Los Angeles.

The central camp consisted of 600 buildings on 950 acres. When the first internees arrived at Minidoka in August 1942, they moved into the crude barracks even though much of the camp was unfinished and there was no running water or sewage system. The Army insisted on having all Japanese removed from the West Coast at once, and they did not halt the evacuation until the camp could hold no more. The last group of 500 evacuees to arrive at the camp had to sleep in mess halls, laundry rooms, or any available bed space. Waiting in line for many daily functions, especially meals, was common.

The camp’s residential area encompassed 36 blocks and was one mile wide and three miles long. Each block included 12 tarpaper barracks, one dining hall, one laundry building with communal showers and toilets and a recreation hall. Immediately after arrival, the internees were instructed to see the camp physician, and then they received an apartment assignment. Apartments were of three sizes, and where possible, family groups or relatives were placed near each other. Efforts were later made to move people near their place of employment.

WEEK 18 – BAM Southaven Relocation: New Store, Set 2

 

Once along the rear wall and looking to the right, we get this view. Perhaps the most notable omission from the new store’s magazine section as compared to that of the old store is the giant T-shirt display in the middle, which as I mentioned already did not move over. Additionally, certain magazines the old store used to carry were also dropped, including Doctor Who Magazine. (Not surprising: US bookstores carry it a month behind!)

 

(c) 2017 Retail Retell

These places are public so these photos are too, but just as I tell where they came from, I'd appreciate if you'd say who :)

 

in Pima County