One of the principle shopping districts of Athens, Monastiraki flea market has many clothing boutiques, souvenir and traditional Greek goods such as old Greek coins, tavli boards and worry beads and is a major tourist attraction in Athens. Weave through the narrow streets and alleyways and bargin with the sellers.

Monastiraki translates to “little monastery” from the nunnery of Pantanassa that was built around the tenth century during the Byzantine Empire which still stands today across the train station and is one of the neighbourhood’s major attractions.

Monastiraki isn’t only popular for shopping. A few meters away, you’ll find Tzistarakis Mosque, built in 1759 when Greece was under Ottoman rule and used for a variety of reasons:

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