Gazi (, ; formerly Γκαζοχώρι ''Gazochori'' or Φωταέριο ''Fotaerio'') is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. It surrounds the old Athens

gasworks A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

, which is the industrial museum and exhibition space "Technopolis", widely known as Gazi, next to Keramikos and close to the

Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens ...

History

The old

was founded in 1857. Around 1910, several

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

s were set up in the area, a fact which led to brothels in general being referred to as 'Gazi'. During the mid-20th century, small dwellings with few rooms and large gardens began to spring up around the gasworks. These were generally home to large, poor families from Athens. Gazi was a deprived area but despite this, there was no associated high crime rate. The area was mainly inhabited by crate makers. In 1967, due to difficult socio-economic conditions in

northern Greece Northern Greece () is used to refer to the northern parts of Greece, and can have various definitions. Administrative term The term "Northern Greece" is widely used to refer mainly to the two northern regions of Macedonia and (Western) Thra ...

, many

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

families established a presence in the area, working at the gasworks. Over the years, numerous garages, paint shops, tinsmiths and spare parts shops opened up in the area.

Climate

In Gazi, one of main weather stations of the

National Observatory of Athens The National Observatory of Athens (NOA; ) is a research institute in Athens, Greece. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest List of research institutes in Greece, research foundation in Greece. The Observatory was the first scientific research insti ...

is hosted. The area has a

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

. Annual precipitation averages 460mm. August has been a very hot and dry month in the last decade. December averages around 80mm. Winter is a cool and wet period, while summer is a very hot and dry season.

Modern era

To this day, there is a heavy Muslim presence in the area. A 'multicultural' school exists in the area, the 87th Elementary School of Athens, with a student body comprising 70%

, 20%

Greek Orthodox Greek Orthodox Church (, , ) is a term that can refer to any one of three classes of Christian Churches, each associated in some way with Greek Christianity, Levantine Arabic-speaking Christians or more broadly the rite used in the Eastern Rom ...

and 10%

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

and

Romanians Romanians (, ; dated Endonym and exonym, exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Sharing a Culture of Romania, ...

. Gazi is home to the Technopolis of

, that spreads in an area of about 30,000 m2, an industrial museum of modern architecture which today operates as a multipurpose cultural center. In July 1986 the ministry of culture and Sports, Melina Merkouri, characterized the factory building as listed building and a year later on September 30, 1987 it turned into a focal point in the cultural identity of Athens with the contribution of the Municipality of Athens. Since the start of the 21st century, Gazi has experienced urban refinement and features active

nightlife Nightlife is a collective term for entertainment that is available and generally more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning. It includes pubs, bars, nightclubs, parties, live music, concerts, cabarets, theatre, ...

and

night clubs A nightclub or dance club is a club that is open at night, usually for drinking, dancing and other entertainment. Nightclubs often have a bar and discotheque (usually simply known as disco) with a dance floor, laser lighting displays, and a ...

, cafeterias, restaurants,

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

and lesbian bars and several gay-friendly shops, establishing itself as an

entertainment district An entertainment district is a type of arts district with a high concentration of movie theaters, theatres or other entertainment venues. Such areas may be officially designated by local governments with functional zoning regulations, as well as ...

. A branch of the

Benaki Museum The Benaki Museum, established and endowed in 1930 by Antonis Benakis in memory of his father Emmanuel Benakis, is housed in the Benakis family mansion in Athens, Greece. The museum houses Greek works of art from the prehistorical to the modern ...

has also been installed in the area.Ενημερωτική Έκδοση της Αττικό Μετρό Εταιρεία Λειτουργίας ΑΕ, Μάρτιος 2008. Gazi has been connected with Thissio through the footpaths of Ermou, the construction of parks and free spaces, while the station of Kerameikos metro station was the station of its development. Kerameikos metro station on Line 3 of the

Athens Metro The Athens Metro () is a rapid transit system serving the Athens urban area in Greece. Line 1 opened as a single-track conventional steam railway in 1869 and was electrified in 1904. Beginning in 1991, Elliniko Metro S.A. constructed and ext ...

is adjacent to the Technopolis of Gazi.

References

External links

The History of Gazi
Neighbourhoods in Athens Entertainment districts LGBTQ in Greece {{Athens-geo-stub