The iconic Monastiraki neighbourhood presents an amalgam of history, culture, art and architecture with the influence different civilizations and bygone eras still lingering in its picturesque streets.

Its name translates to “little monastery” and it comes from the nunnery of Pantanassa that was built around the tenth century, during the period of the Byzantine Empire.

The chapel still stands today across the train station and has become one of the neighbourhood’s major attractions.

A few meters away, you’ll find another historical landmark – Tzistarakis Mosque.

It was built in 1759, back when Greece was under Ottoman rule, and was named after the homonymous Voivode of Athens.

Legend has it that in order to make the building stand out, the Aga used columns from the famous Temple of Olympian Zeus.

A few years later, when the plague broke out, locals imputed the disease to the desecration of the ancient temple and the mosque was quickly dubbed as “cursed”.

For the following centuries the building served an array of purposes.

It housed assemblies during the Greek Revolution, it was used as a storage, it turned into barracks and eventually it was used as a jail for a short period of time.

Today, it’s the only mosque in Athens city that is open to visitors.

It houses an impressive collection of ceramics from Greece, Cyprus and Ottoman Turkey as a part of the Museum of Greek Folk Art.