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The first photos of Athens
In 1839 the year that Photography was invented, Pierre-Gustave-Gaspard Joly de Lotbinière arrived in Athens on the first stop of his trip to the Middle East and took some photos of the Acropolis. These photos are the very first photos of the Acropolis, the first pictures taken in Greece and everything shows that they are the first travel pictures ever taken by the first “travel photographer”.
Athens first photos October 1839
Unfortunately, none of the 92 original photos taken by Pierre-Gustave have been preserved from his trip to Greece, Egypt, Palestine, Syria and Turkey.
Athens first photos October 1839
The only ones that have survived and we know of nowadays are those which were printed in two books ‘Excursions daguerriennes : vues et monuments les plus remarquables de globe – Daguerreotype Excursions: the world’s most spectacular views and monuments’ in which we can see some photos of the Acropolis and in the ‘Panorama d’Égypte et de Nubie avec un Portrait de Mèhemet-Ali et un text orné de vignettes – Panorama of Egypt and Nubia with a portrait of Mèhemet-Ali and a text illustrated with vignettes’ in which we can see some photos from Egypt.
Let’s talk about Athens
Athens is the city in which I grew up and still live today. It is a city that according to all indications has been inhabited without interruption since the Neolithic Age; i.e. its prehistory can reach back as far as 10,000 years. Besides its ancient history, Athens became famous during the Classic era (508-322 BC) when achievements in the arts, literature, politics and philosophy became the basis of modern Western civilization.
Today Athens is a modern European metropolis with an excellent travel infrastructure. The new airport of Athens Eleftherios Venizelos which opened in 2001 is one of the best and safest airports in the world. While its port, the port of Piraeus is the largest port in Europe in passenger traffic. The city of Athens also has a Metro which opened in 2000 and Trams that connect the city with the seafront, while in the historic center you can admire among others cultural landmarks such as the Acropolis and the Parthenon and also the brand new Acropolis Museum, which opened its doors in 2009 and is among the best museums in the World, while the Athens Archaeological Museum is the museum with the most extensive collections and the most important Greek antiquities in the World.
Athens is the capital city and the center of Greece in all sectors. Although many parts of Greece has direct connections with many countries around the world, the best way to travel anywhere in Greece is to first come and see Athens. Among the other features that Athens has to offer is the excellent climate with warm summers and mild winters, but above all (speaking from a photographer’s view) Athens has an excellent light. I will try mainly through my photos, but also through descriptions by travelers, poets and writers from around the world to offer you the authentic character of Athens, my city, that has been a source of inspiration for artists and intellectuals for more than 2500 years.