ATHENS – It’s been a while since visitors to Greece sought out souvenirs in Athens’ oldest neighborhood.The winding streets of Plaka, laid out long before the city imported a grid system, are lined with closed stores behind aluminum shutters.
The coronavirus pandemic has kept tourists away from the historic city center that forms a semi-circle around the Acropolis, and the area remained unusually devoid of pedestrians and motorists before Christmas.In their absence, ancient monuments are a little easier to make out from a distance, fewer horns are sounding in traffic and homeless cats parked in front of cafes are a little less aloof.Greece so far has imposed two nationwide lockdowns since the start of the pandemic.