Athens Guide: Sunday in Monastiraki

Sunday is special in Athens. That's when people come from all over to buy and sell in the Monastiraki flea market. In fact it's the day when the flea market really is a flea market and not just a collection of small shops. You can literally find anything here, from antiques to transistor radios, phone cards (collect them all), cell phones, books and stuff that you and I would classify as sheer junk but might be the exact thing that someone else was looking for on that particular day. The people selling come from everywhere and anywhere. Many of them are refugees from the former Soviet Union, Eastern Europe, Albania, Bulgaria, and Turkey, selling family heirlooms or stuff they fished out of the garbage in upper-class Koloniki. Some are gypsies, who sit on side street on top of mountains of discarded clothing and trinkets, who will sell what they can and leave the rest to be picked up by the Athens sanitation department or other Gypsies who may sell it next week.

It can get pretty crowded on Sunday and a good breakfast and coffee is suggested before venturing in. Yes there are cafes and restaurants but you won't get a seat unless you get there early. The further you go from the square, the junkier the merchandise is. However,even in the areas that look like rubbish heaps, you may find something of interest. Watch your wallets. I have never been pickpocketed there, nor do I know of anyone who has...but if I were a pick-pocket, Sunday at the flea market would be paradise.