Petralona

Walking through the bustling streets of central Athens, whether as a resident or a visitor, or taking in the view of the sprawling, densely built capital from a balcony on one of its nearby hills, it’s nearly impossible to grasp that less than two centuries ago, this city was merely a tiny dot on the map.

"How beautiful old Athens used to be!" muses Nikos Boukouras, as he discusses the secrets of the Ilissos River with Aris Lintzerakos, 40 years his junior. In Nikos' small apartment in the heart of downtown Petralona, where he now lives alone on a disability pension, the pair's discussions every Thursday range from Athens in the 1980s and 1990s, to model-making, to the Patra Carnival.

The operation has been ongoing since Tuesday morning – Information suggests that the arrests are related to an explosion at a bank in Petralona in late January

An incendiary device damaged the entrance of a bank branch in the district of Petralona, central Athens overnight. 

The home-made device, which exploded at 3.30 a.m. on Trion Ierarchon Street, also damaged a car parked nearby, but no injuries were reported.

The police is investigating the incident.

The president of the Pakistani community, Javed Aslan, prays at the site where migrant Shahzad Luqman was murdered in central Athens by two men with links to the neo-Nazi Golden Dawn group on the 11th anniversary of the incident. Luqman, aged 27, was attacked and stabbed seven times in Petralona, south of the city center, on January 17, 2013, as he was cycling to his place of work.

Ilias Kasidiaris, the convicted former spokesman of the now-defunct neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, has resigned from the Athens Municipal Council after being sworn into office in late December.

Start the New Year with Italian superstar techno DJ Anfisa Letyago, who lands in Athens as the guest of Blend, the city's oldest party crew. The pounding ritual will take place at the Oddity Club (oddityclub.gr) in Petralona. Highly acclaimed American producer Gaiser will provide the soundtrack for the early hours of the new year, followed by local rave legends Mikee and Manolaco.

Residents enjoy a sunny day in Voutie Park in the hip central Athens district of Ano Petralona, on Thursday, after it was treated to a facelift. The City of Athens planted more trees and shrubs in the roughly 5,000 sq.m. park, installed new benches and improved the paths and lighting, as part of a bigger scheme to spruce up the capital's parks, many of which have fallen into neglect.

The neighbourhood known as “Petrina” is part of the Ano Petralona district

Police in the Athens neighborhood of Petralona on Wednesday were investigating an attack on a young man by a group of assailants that left him with injuries including knife wounds.
The victim was approached and encircled by the attackers in Merkouri Square, according to the police, who did not give details about the suspected motive for the attack.