What I can see

Evripidou Street is called the “Little East” of Athens. From Athinas Street and below, the shops create a totally different and multicultural scenery full of scents. Customer queues are created in stores that sell thousands of high quality herbs and spices from around the world. Apart from herbs and spices, on Evripidou Street one can find pulses, agricultural products, utensils, workshops, hunting and fishing equipment, religious objects, tools, lampshades and cold cuts, with Pastourmas and the Armenian Soutzouki hanging above, transporting us to new gastronomic experiences.

What I can't see

Evripidou Street remained a crowded market even during the crisis. Austerity did not seem to have affected the Athenians in their gastronomic habits, and they did not stop trusting these historic shops. Since 1886, when the Athens central market was transferred to Varvakios, this road has been full of people. The crowd leaves only when it is time for these stores to close. Shopkeepers have made a science of the sale of herbs and spices, and know very well all the benefits of each one for the human organism. Even the customer’s sampling can become a ritual.

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