Monastiraki

Monastiraki is the old bazaar quarter of Athens north of the Acropolis, named after the small tenth-century church of Panagia Pantanassa on the central square. Here the city's layers overlap visibly: the ruins of Hadrian's Library from 132 AD frame the square, the Ottoman Tzistarakis Mosque now houses a ceramics museum, and the lanes of Pandrossou and Ifestou have formed the Athens flea market since the nineteenth century. Tourists buy sandals, icons and copper cups, while locals dig for antiques and old vinyl. The Monastiraki metro station displays in open section an ancient streetscape along the Eridanos brook. Visitors come today for the mixed bustle, for souvlaki at Thanasis and Bairaktaris, and for the view of the Acropolis from the rooftop bars.