My neighborhood Glyfada

Glyfada is a suburb in the southern part of Athens; it’s highly populated and is an affluent area. It stretches out from the foot of Hymettus Mountain and reaches out to embrace the Saronic Gulf. It’s the largest of Athens’ southern suburbs.

The area’s original development started in when Constantine Karapanos bought the land known as Glyfada. Before that, the area was farmland and the only occupants were farmers and their livestock. When Karapanos died in 1914 he left Pirnari (Glyfada’s old name) to one of his sons. At that time almost nobody lived there and the area was just a big uncultivated field. The history of Glyfada

The history of Glyfada(2) After the 2nd World War, the Greek population began to rise, and so the people in Athens began to look for more land, and moved towards Glyfada. “Asteria Beach” soon developed from a simple beach to a well known popular summer spa. This made people want to come and live in the fashionable suburb of Glyfada. A. Metaxas became Mayor

Glyfada 1950 (Metaxas)

Today... Glyfada is packed with some of the capital’s best known nightclubs, upscale restaurants and shops. It’s one of the most “Americanized” of the Athenian municipalities, as it was host to the American Military base for many years. The area is home to many of Greece’s millionaires, ministers and celebrities. It’s also a place which combines the beauty of a seaside town, with all the advantages of being near the country’s capital city. Glyfada has even been called “Knightsbridge-on-Sea” or the “Beverly Hills of Greece”. It’s one of the most popular places to go during summertime, for both Greeks and tourists from all over the world.

Present-Day Glyfada

On a visit... Glyfada has several beaches, both secluded and quiet or organized with beach bars and water sports for fun summer days and nights. All along the beach road there are back to back night clubs and discos with all sorts of music: Greek bouzouki and modern discos! There are more high class restaurants and local meat or fish taverns than you can imagine. Public transport is great. There’s a new tram line straight into the centre of Glyfada which goes all the way to Pireas! For nature lovers, to the north of Glyfada there is Hymettus Mountain, great for climbs and walks, and we also have one of the best, greenest golf courses in all of Athens. You can also visit the Protection Centre for Karetta Karetta Turtles down on the beach front.

My home! My house is in an area called Ano Glyfada which is the north part of Glyfada and is actually right at the base of the mountain. I have a fabulous view of all Glyfada, and the sea all the way to Pireas! The sunrise and sunsets over the island of Egina are magnificent. Whenever I need peace and quiet or some time alone, I climb up the green mountain where I get to breathe fresh air and enjoy an even better view. A secret place I like to go to with my friends is a park up on the mountain where there’s an abandoned little theatre full of graffiti.

I love my hometown, I have all I need here and I’m sure if you ever come for a visit, you’ll love it too!

Bibliography Book: ΓΛΥΦΑΔΑ - Θωμάς Δρίκος en.wikipedia.org/wiki/glyfada 1epal-glyfada.att.sch.gr Δημος Γλυφαδας, παλιές φωτογραφίες visitglyfada.wordpress.com A lot of the photographs have been taken by my older sister, who likes photography.