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ATHENS
THE MONOCROME DIARY

A BW Photo Diary of real walks - by Nick Dessypris

Walking the City. Rising Above It. Seeing Athens As It Truly Is.

THE MONOCHROME MANIFESTO

I walked this city for months — in heat, in wind, in silence, in crowds.

I photographed what stayed with me long after I left each place.

These pages are not a guide.

They are a confession of how Athens looks when you stop rushing and finally start seeing.

This diary is a visual record of Athens as it truly is:

light and shadow, ancient stone and modern noise, sacred and ordinary.

Shot on foot and from the air — from real streets to drone flights , in real time, across seasons: a monochrome portrait of a city that never stops speaking to those who walk it, and to those who rise above it.

Notes from Six Months of Walking Athens in Black & White

ABOUT THIS DIARY

This diary was not planned.

It was born slowly — one walk, one corner, one moment at a time.

For months I wandered through Athens with a camera in my hand.

Some days under the harsh white heat, some in the quiet of autumn winds.

I returned to the same streets again and again, waiting for the light, waiting for the city to reveal something new.

These photographs are not arranged by landmarks or routes. They follow the rhythm of walking — the instinctive path your feet choose when your mind is finally calm. Some frames were captured from the ground, at the height of the everyday.

Others were taken from above, during early-morning drone flights when the city is still asleep and the shadows are long.

Together, they form a monochrome portrait of Athens that is raw, honest, and unpolished.

There are no perfect angles here.

Only the truth of a city that refuses to be simplified — ancient and temporary, quiet and loud, sacred and ordinary, all at once.

This is not a guide.

It is a record of presence.

A visual diary of real walks, real days, and real emotions — an attempt to hold on to the Athens I saw while moving through it slowly.

This book is that attempt, captured in black and white.

Every image in this diary is also available as a print, for those who want to live with a piece of this journey.

Stories from the streets. Insights from the landmarks.

ATHENS IN WORDS AND STREETS

These short stories are moments captured during real walks through Athens — written between photographs, coffees, and quiet pauses. They are not guides or excerpts from books, but fragments of life — spontaneous reflections that reveal how the city truly feels when you slow down and walk through it.

Piraeus, Where the Sea Meets History

It’s early — the kind of early where the sun is up, but the day hasn’t fully begun. I step out of the car and start walking along Passalimani, the sea wrapping quietly around the harbor like a secret it’s keeping.

Walking alone at Sunrise in Thissio.

The city was still asleep, and so were its secrets. I walked through Thissio as the sky slowly lit up, the ruins glowing golden and the streets whispering stories.

A coffee with the Acropolis in front of me.

The air is still — not yet heavy, but you can feel what’s coming. The summer sun is already warm on my face, and in a couple of hours, the heatwave will arrive like a slow tide.

let me introduce myself.

Nick Dessypris

Since we will walk together through Athens… let me introduce myself.

My name is Nick. I was born in this city, and lived here most of my life. Athens is the city that shaped me — the city I still carry with me wherever I go.

I have walked these streets as a child, as a student, as a young professional, as a dreamer. Here I took my first photographs when Iwas still a child. Later, as I studied photography, I kept shooting and shooting — until I felt I knew every angle, every light, every hidden spot in this city.

And this is what I want to share with you: a walk through Athens, even if you are sitting comfortably on your sofa, far away from Greece. I will show you the corners, the landmarks, the cafés, the restaurants — the city as I know it, so that when you come, it will already feel familiar.

And if you’re already in Athens? Even better. I’ll walk next to you through these pages, sharing everything you need to know — and a little more.

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