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Anastasia Balezdrova 

Private associations and municipal authorities have set the task of reviving the centre of Athens that has seen a lot of trouble in the past two years. The plan "Friday in Athens" came into force a week ago and will continue until 6 April.

The initiative belongs to the union of traders in Athens. The municipality of the capital, regional authorities, the company for the archaeological sites in Athens, print and electronic media complement the list of main organizers.

In these already warm spring Fridays, there will be a festive atmosphere in downtown Athens. Walks, dancing and music are awaiting residents and visitors of the city in order to revive it a few weeks after the violent riots and arson attacks on 12 February.

Today, the festival started at 5 pm from Syntagma Square. The Municipal Philharmonic Orchestra began a sort of procession along Ermou Street to Kapnikareas Square with the small church from the Byzantine era. Clowns on stilts entertained the children while the orchestra played popular tunes. Dozens of residents of Athens and tourists applauding the musicians gathered at the small round square.

"We could not but participate in this initiative," said certified guides in Athens and they organized a walk in the past. From 6 pm to 7:30 pm, hundreds of Athenians recalled or learned for the first time facts of the history of the city with the help of historic buildings.

The walk started from Omonia Square, which, actually, was given that name quite late. In 1834, when deciding that the capital of the young Greek state be moved to Athens, it was nothing more than a village situated at the northern foot of the Acropolis. Bavarian Prince Otto, crowned as King of Greece arrived, accompanied by renowned architects of that time. Influenced by ancient Greek art, like all their contemporaries, they found in Athens everything they had admired earlier. Therefore, they created the beautiful, neo-classical style buildings that adorn the city centre and stand in front of the grey and uninviting architectural buildings from the mid 20^th century.

An interesting fact is that in the first Master Plan of Athens, the architects Stamatios Kleanthis and Edward Shaubert planned to build the royal palace exactly on the square, then called "the palace square." But when Otto's father, Ludwig I, arrived to view that, he firmly refused the plan. Eventually, the palace was built in the modern Syntagma Square - this is the building of the present Parliament. How did they choose the location? They stuck in three places long iron bars with raw meat on top. The place where the flesh rotted last was selected as the most suitable to house the royal family.

History is a wheel and it repeats itself but in the case of Greece, events follow a similar course of not too long time spans. When Otto arrived in the country, he was only 17 years and under the London Agreement, he was obliged to rule with the help of three regents appointed by his father. "Does it sound familiar? They were the supervisory Three of that era," joked the tourist guide.

After it was decided that Omonia Square would not house the palace, it was established as a recreation and entertainment centre. Orchestras played between the gardens to entertain the Athenians of that time. Gradually, bakeries and cafes opened around the square and the street where today’s 3 September Street begins was called Dardanelles. And that was because from there, they started their walks to the resorts Maroussi, Kifissia and Faliro, which are now suburbs of the capital. The first hotels were built, the most famous among being "Megas Alexandros" and "Bagio". Celebrities stayed there; later, politicians housed their offices there; the "Bagio" pastry shop marked the starting point for the eminent poet Konstantinos Kavafis. There he met his future publisher.

Both hotels were located on either side of Athinas Street, which went through a variety of plans and changes too. Initially, it was planned as an avenue with lots of vegetation, shops and a wonderful view of the Acropolis and Omonia Square. Due to shortage of funds, the plans changed and the street was limited to its present size. Along it, dozens of buildings in neoclassical style were built, most of which have been kept and restoration works for some of them took place after many years of decline. Some others, however, were abandoned and only their specific elements indicate the era, when they were built.

The walk ended on Monastiraki Square, so named because there was actually a monastery complex there once. Today, only an old church from the Byzantine era has remained, the bell tower of which was added in more recent times. "Bells in the Orthodox churches began to appear after the 14^th  century under the influence of the West," said the tourist guide. To the other side of the square is located one of the mosques, which is not active but is a gallery today. Behind it is the ancient Agora and up there are Plaka and the Acropolis.

The square is usually busy because one of the underground and electric train stations is there. Today, the people walking in it were able to visit dozens of shops. They were offering lower prices and presents to their customers and stayed open until midnight. Many theatres were also offering tickets for performances at significantly reduced prices.

By nightfall, the establishments involved in the project were gradually filling up with people and youths were dancing the tango in Korai square.