Life

Empty Athens ‘before and after’ photographs… a robust city where the streets lie empty

Deserted squares, tourist sites padlocked, and avenues filled with traffic now lie empty as Athens continues in its third week of quarantine.

Streets are empty under a lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus.

Greece kicked off its aggressive measures early, supported by the people, the rebel country of the economic crisis is one of the most disciplined countries in the world when it comes to coronavirus restrictions.

Here’s Athens like you’ve never seen it before.

READ MORE: Five possible reasons for Greece’s rise from ‘black sheep’ to a shining example in its handling of the coronavirus crisis

A combo picture shows tourists walking in front of the Greek Parliament building at Syntagma square in Athens, Greece, 27 July 2017 (left) and the same square empty on 30 March 2020 (right)Photo: AAP via EPA/PANTELIS SAITAS
People buying fish at the main fish market Varvakeios, in Athens, Greece, 24 February 2017, and the same fish market empty, on 30 March 2020. Photo: AAP via EPA/PANTELIS SAITAS

READ MORE: Sydney-born immunologist Sotiris Tsiodras, the ‘voice’ of coronavirus in Greece

Monastiraki square in Athens, Greece, 7 January 2015 (up) and the same square on 13 April 2020. Photo: AAP via EPA/YANNIS KOLESIDIS
People waiting at a bus stop at the International Airport of Athens, Greece, 03 December 2015 (up) and the same bus stop on 13 April 2020 (down), (issued 16 April 2020). The coronavirus pandemic has radically changed the way everyone lives as well as the image of cities around the world. Photo: AAP via EPA/YANNIS KOLESIDIS
A woman trying to cross Syngrou Avenue in Athens, Greece, 15 January 2018 (up) and the same avenue on 14 April 2020 (down), Photo: AAP via EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU
People using the metro in Athens, Greece, 23 May 2017 (up) and the same metro station on 14 April 2020 (down), (issued 16 April 2020). The coronavirus pandemic has radically changed the way everyone lives as well as the image of cities around the world. Images of places that used to be overcrowded now capture an eerie stillness. PHoto: AAP via EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU
Tourists visiting the Acropolis archaelogical site in Athens, Greece, 19 March 2018 (up) and Acropolis empty on 30 March 2020 (down), (issued 16 April 2020). Photo: AAP via EPA/PANTELIS SAITAS
Syntagma Square before and after. Photo: AAP via EPA/YANNIS KOLESIDIS
A combo picture shows people reading the newspapers on a kiosk in front of the public library in Athens, Greece, 26 January 2015 (up) and pigeons looking for food on the same place, on 11 April 2020 (down), (issued 16 April 2020). Photo: AAP via EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU
People at a coffee shop in Athens, Greece, 22 May 2015 (up) and the same coffee shop closed on 13 April 2020 (down), (issued 16 April 2020). Photo: AAP via EPA/YANNIS KOLESIDIS
People gathering at a cafe in Athens, Greece, 7 July 2015 (up) and a man wearing a protective mask as he walks past the same cafe on 13 April 2020 (down),Photo: AAP via EPA/YANNIS KOLESIDIS
People waiting in line to enter the Acropolis archaelogical site in Athens, Greece, 12 April 2019 (up) and the same site on 14 April 2020 (down), (issued 16 April 2020). The coronavirus pandemic has radically changed the way everyone lives as well as the image of cities around the world. Images of places that used to be overcrowded now capture an eerie stillness. PHoto: AAP via EPA/ORESTIS PANAGIOTOU
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