Anafiotika – A Secret Island Village Under the Acropolis

Would you believe me, if I told you, that you can find the most charming, idyllic, tiny, typically Greek island in the heart of the bustling metropolis of Athens, capital city of Greece?

You would do well to believe me, because it’s there, nestling on the hillside, in the shadow of the Acropolis, a veritable Greek island, made up of little white cubes, houses with brightly painted shutters, perched, as it would seem, one on top of the other, in true Aegean-style.

Only the sparkling blue of the Aegean Sea has vanished.

 

 

Am I talking about a mythical island, visible to only Greek gods, as they look down from the Parthenon?

No, it exists, in all its glory, a stone’s throw from Plaka, the busiest tourist area in Athens.

However, here, you will not find streets upon streets of souvenir shops, or cheerful taverna owners, enticing you in to taste their wares.

 

 

This magical place, a white-washed, scenic secret, under the Acropolis is Anafiotika, a tiny neighborhood in the center of Athens, part of the old historical area called Plaka, located on the northeast side of the Acropolis hill.

 

The Birth of Anafiotika

King Otto of Bavaria and the master builders of Anafi

 

Following the Greek War of Independence (1821-1832), also known as the Greek revolution, Greeks, after four hundred years of Turkish rule, regained control of their country.

Prince Otto of Bavaria was made first king of independent Greece (1832-1862).

 

 

King Otto’s first task was to build a royal palace.

Construction work started in 1836 and was completed in 1843.

To build his palace, King Otto brought to Athens, workers from the tiny island of Anafi, renowned for their masonry skills.

The palace served as the residence for Greek monarchs for about a century and is sometimes still referred to as the “Old Palace”.

Today King Otto’s palace is the Parliament Buildings, located in Sytagma Square (Constitution Square) Athens.

 

 

The Greek Island of Anafi

Cyclades

 

 

Anafi, a small gem of an island, hidden away in the Northeast Cyclades, a neighbor to Santorini, can only be reached by boat and the journey from Athens may be a long one and could even take up to eleven hours!

Its geographical position and its difficult coastal access, prevented the island from developing into a tourist trap, as many  other islands of the Aegean did.

Anafi has a population of about only three hundred, is untouched by tourism and with its wild landscapes and sandy beaches and only one village( Chora), the island is a walker’s paradise.

 

 

In Greek mythology, Anafi is said to have been named by the God Apollo, who made it appear, as if by magic, to the Argonauts, as shelter from a ferocious storm.

Anafi derives from the Greek word “ἀνέφηνεν”, meaning, “He made it appear”.

 

 

The History of Anafi

 

In 1204, following the forth crusade, the Cyclades were taken over by the Venetians, Anafi was given by Marco Sanudo, (First Duke of the Duchy of the Archipelago), to Leonardo Foscolo, who became known as Lord of Anafi.

Anafi was returned to the Byzantine Empire, in 1270s, by Licario, another Italian citizen of Anafi.

 In 1481, Anafi passed into the hands of the Pisani family, who ruled until 1537, when it was ransacked by the Ottoman Admiral, Hayreddin, and the famous Barbarossa, red beard, who herded up the people of Anafi and carried them away as slaves.

 

 

In 1700, Anafi was resettled by the Ottoman court and more or less left to its own devices, until The Greek war of independence, when Anafi returned to Greek rule.

From 1920s onwards, Anafi was used as a sort of depository for exiles and political dissidents from the Greek mainland and after the installation of an electricity generator in 1974, and the paving of roads in the late 1980s, Anafi began to attract a few tourists.

 

The emergence of Anafiotika

Athens

 

Let’s go back to around 1840, when builders from the island of Anafi, arrived in Athens after being summoned by King Otto, to refurbish his palace and transform the capital city, into a modern metropolis.

During the day, the workers from Anafi, built splendid houses for the crème de la crème of Athens, by night, they built their own humble abodes, under the Acropolis; after all, they had to have somewhere to live.

 

 

The law, at the time, stated that if, within twenty four hours, you could build four walls and put a roof on those four walls, the land was yours.

 

 

The Anafi workers, in no time at all, had created a little Anafi and as not to be homesick, they created the area as a replica of the small, Aegean Island they had left behind, narrow winding streets, whitewashed houses, brightly- coloured paintwork, and bougainvillea at every corner, and named it Anafiotika.

Two churches were erected, Agios Georgeos, on the southern boundary of Anafiotika and Agios Simeon, on the Northern boundary.

 

 

 

In the 1950s, owing to Archaeological research in Athens, some of the houses of Anafiotika were  knocked down.

Later, in the 1970’s, someone, in my opinion not in their right mind, ordered many of the beautiful old houses to be destroyed as they did not have planning permission!

 

 

Today only about forty five of the original houses, built by the workers of Anafi remain.

 The narrow little streets, built in true Cycladic style, are unnamed, as they were back in the eighteen hundreds and are differentiated only by number, Anafiotika 1, Anafiotika 2, Anafiotika 3 etc.

 

 

Do you believe me now?

Here, in the heart of Athens, in the heat of the city, is a refreshing breath of island life.

Here you will find tranquility after the hustle and bustle of plaka, here, you really could say, time has stood still.

This is Anafiotiaka