On the Waterfront - Piraeus, Greece

Piraeus (in Greek: Πειραιάς Pireás) is the port of Athens. Piraeus is a separate municipality from Athens, but the two are now merged in one sprawling urban area. But it still has a different feel, that of a seaport, as opposed to a cosmopolitan capital with a sophisticated veneer. If you have ever taken a ferryboat to Crete or some of the islands south of the mainland, you probably embarked from Piraeus. During my last trip to Greece, I only had time for a short visit, and here are some observations.

If you come in from downtown Athens, you probably take the SPAP train, which is now part of the Metro. The tracks were laid in 1882 as part of the Piraeus, Athens and Peloponnese Railways or SPAP (Greek: Σιδηρόδρομοι Πειραιώς-Αθηνών-Πελοποννήσου or Σ.Π.Α.Π.). This was the first electric metro in Europe, quite progressive for a poor country that had only enjoyed independence for half a century.

The station has been restored and retains its late-1800s architecture. But today, you use a coin-operated machine to buy your ticket rather than these queues.

Walk across the street (without getting squashed), and there is the port. In the morning, this inner basin is lined with ferries and it is quite the scene of lorries, jostling people, and lost tourists.

The Library of Congress has some historical Piraeus photographs in their holdings. This is a view of Piraeus taken between 1850 and 1880, from an albumen print.

This is a view of Piraeus from the sea, approx. 1900-1920, scanned from a 4×5" nitrate negative.

This is a 1907 scene of "Modern shipping in the ancient Athenian harbor at Piraeus, Greece," half of a stereo card from the American Stereoscopic Company.

Stevedores were loading supplied on an American Red Cross ship, from an undated 5×7" glass negative. These supplies might be heading to the war zone in World War I.

This a 1922 print showing, "A section of "barber's row" Enterprising refugees among the hundreds of thousands of Greeks and Armenians who fled from Asia Minor to Greece have set up stools, boxes, chairs and everything that can be sat on in a long row on the quay in Piraeus, the seaport of Athens, and shave and cut the hair of customers." TIFF files of these and other fascinating photographs can be downloaded from the Library of Congress web page.

In 2015, I did not see any outdoor barbers, but there is a fish and produce market. It was rather quiet on this September weekday, actually rather dull. Much more interesting is the big Central Market on Athenas Street in downtown Athens (click the link for details). 

I can never resist photographing the sophisticated local ladies. These lovelies were on Sotiros Diros, a pedestrian street lined with cafes, fashion goods, and telephone shops. The ambiance was clean and reasonably prosperous, certainly not reflecting the stories of economic decay that we hear in the US media. Piraeus is worth a visit, even if you are not planning to board a ferry.

I met an American, a former New York hair dresser, who retired to Piraeus. He said you can live relatively comfortably on US Social Security in Greece. Interesting idea....

All 2015 photographs taken with a Panasonic Lumix G3 digital camera, with RAW files processed with PhotoNinja software. The ladies are out-of-camera jpeg files. The map is from ESRI ArcMap software.

Ladies of Venice

Venice is unique. Truly, there is no other place on earth that has such an astonishing architectural heritage situated on low marshy islands around which you navigate by boat!

Most visitors arrive by train and take the water taxi along the Grand Canal, getting a fantastic tour of the 1500s pallazos and mansions.

We will leave an architectural tour for another blog entry.

But there is another Italian treasure worthy of examination whilst visiting Venice: the plastic and paint ladies of the evening (and day).  First, here is the mysterious secret agent look, wool trench coat and all (in mid-summer).

Then we have the hairy look, like friendly sheepdogs.

Then we proceed to the "I have attitude and have not shampooed in a week to prove it" look.

If you prefer no hair at all, that can be accommodated, too.

Here is "I have long hair but am sad.  Maybe I need some more eyelashes."

Here is hair, but they forgot to paint it.

Every fashionable lady needs red jeweled high heel shoes with fuzzy pompoms from Versace.  Perfect for those high-water days or an evening at the ‎Teatro La Fenice di Venezia (tickets are 200 Euros - wow).

If a sophisticated hat is more your style, here is one being worn by the silent, mysterious type.

Here is attire for the famous carnival season.

Finally, if you like really big ladies but of somewhat wooden personality, Venice can provide.

All photographs taken with a Nexus 4 phone, reprocessed with ACDSee Pro software. The phone is handy because you can place it directly against a glass show window, thereby avoiding glare and reflections.

Ladies of the Athens Flea Market, Athens, Greece

In the previous post, we saw the Athens Flea Market in the early 1950s. Today, it is more refined, and most of the stores sell inexpensive new manufactured goods. Many even accept credit cards. But Sunday is still a good day to explore, and you never know what a vendor will produce from a bulging suitcase.

Monastiraki Metro station, Athens

The best way to reach the market is to take the metro to the Monastiraki Metro Station.

Turn right as you emerge from the station, and you see the old mosque with the Acropolis in the distance. The mosque was built in 1759 and now houses the modern pottery collection of the Museum of Greek Popular Art. This is one of the few buildings remaining from the Turkish era.

Turn right again and you will see the opening to Hephaestou Street. As the sign says, open every day.

I promised ladies, and here they are, complete with odd sweaters and underwear (or no underwear).

Do you prefer the tough lady look? Here is the military style

Or how about a Soviet babushka (ба́бушка)? I saw a surprising amount of old Soviet equipment, but nothing interesting like genuine military-issue watches or rocket launchers. 

Warning, warning: Greek Zombie attack. 

 And now the red riding look. The wolf might like her. 

To demonstrate equal opportunity, here are the gents of the Flea Market. Regardless of your tastes, there is plenty to see.

(If you would like to see some other lovely market ladies, come to the markets in old Kathmandu or Venice).

Most frames are from a Panasonic G1 digital camera (the first generation micro four thirds camera), some with an older Sony DSC-W7 compact camera.

Ladies of Kathmandu, Nepal

As I walked around Kathmandu, I kept encountering these lovely ladies who looked vaguely familiar. They had that funny hair like European women from the 1960s. Well, sure enough, a local friend told me they WERE European ladies from the 1960s! They have aged quite gracefully (unlike me). Local clothing vendors bought second-hand European mannequins and still use them to show their wares. Why change a good thing?

In the photograph above, notice the gent in the background digging out some debris from his proboscis. The fabrics that the Nepalis create are terrific.

This one was a bit worse for wear, possibly not one to encounter in a dark alley.


Cloth and fabrics are sold in clustered areas, like many consumer goods in Kathmandu (the vegetable area, the cloth area, the metalwork area, the electronics area, etc). These vendors and mannequins were near the Asan Chowk market, a short walk from the Thamel tourist area.

The street vendors set up at an open spot and pack up at night. It is a lot of work, but everyone seems to work hard in Nepal.

Some of the fabrics are a bit strange. I'm not sure of the symbolism of these examples.

Photographs hand-held, taken with Fuji, Olympus, and Panasonic digital cameras.