No Result
View All Result
Tuesday, March 2, 2021
Exploring Greece TV
  • HOME
  • ATHENS
  • ATTICA
    • beaches of Attica
    • East Attica
    • North Attica
    • South Attica
    • West Attica
    • Argosaronic Islands
  • GREECE
    • Mainland Greece
    • Aegean Islands
    • Ionian Islands
    • Crete
  • CYPRUS
  • Greek
Exploring Greece TV
  • HOME
  • ATHENS
  • ATTICA
    • beaches of Attica
    • East Attica
    • North Attica
    • South Attica
    • West Attica
    • Argosaronic Islands
  • GREECE
    • Mainland Greece
    • Aegean Islands
    • Ionian Islands
    • Crete
  • CYPRUS
  • Greek
No Result
View All Result
Exploring Greece TV
No Result
View All Result

The water-carrier, the iceman and other vanished professions of old Athens

See photos from another era

Exploring Greece TV by Exploring Greece TV
24/01/2020
in ATHENS, Tourist in my own city
A A
The water-carrier, the iceman and other vanished professions of old Athens
Share on FacebookShare on Twittershare

Occupations change over the years and naturally evolve. Others are lost and replaced by the achievements of technology and other means of progress. And in Athens you used to meet many of these professions that were lost over time.

The water-carrier

One of the most well-known professions was that of the water-carrier. In Old Athens, where there were no water-fountains in the houses, the water-carrier assumed this job. Their supply, that is, with water every day. There was usually a water-carrier in every neighborhood and he had a stable clientèle as he knew who would have a need of him. The routes he made were many and laborious. He did a lot of laborious trips and was paid about a dime per can of water. The profession of the water-carrier was maintained until 1930, when The Water Company of Athens was founded.

The difficult work of the ice-seller in Athens

Another of the professions lost over time is that of the ice-seller, since we have electric refrigerators nowadays. The profession of ice-selling was maintained until the 1960s. The ice-carrier passed through the neighborhoods with his truck or tricycle full of ice. The housewives went out to get ice, a whole column or half of it. The ice-carrier wore his gloves so his hands wouldn’t freeze, and with a hook he’d grab the ice, cut it off with the cutter and give it to them. They put it in the fridge of that time which was called the ice closet. Thus, they preserved the food or had cool water. Today this seems like something very distant.

νοσοκομείο Αττική

Attica: Agia Sophia, the most historic hospital In Greece

24/09/2020
Attica:The unknown Hill of Ochirou in Rafina and its history

Attica:The unknown Hill of Ochirou in Rafina and its history

18/09/2020

Galatas (Milkman) or just “tas”

Whoever lived in the Old Athensremembers the milkman. He shouted “milkman” or even just the ending “tas” (from “galatas”) every morning. That’s how he touted his merchandise to the housewives. Every day he had a steady clientèle and rarely was there any milk left over when he was finishing his itinerary. He was the man who used to bring door-to-door milk to the housewives in old Athens. Each one of them waited for him at the door of their house, with a jug to be filled. They bought bulk milk by the dram, a subdivision of the oka (a unit of measurin liquid volume at that time).

The profession of the cobbler in Athens

The out-of-doors cobbler did exactly what his name stands for. He set up his cobbler workshop on the street and mainly repaired shoes and clothes when needed. He had his tools spread out on his “workbench” and rarely raised his head. People waited for the repair to finish or left them there and came back a little later.

All these and various other professions such as the itinerant small traders, the shoe-shine boy and the town-crier were lost over the years. Today only photographs remind us of these professions from the Old Athens.

Photo Source: One photo, a thousand words.

Old Athens: When Syntagma Square looked like a big field

Tags: AthensCenter of Athenscobblerice-sellerMainland GreeceOld AthensREGION OF ATTICAwater-carrierγαλατάς
ShareTweetShare
Επόμενο Άρθρο

Five classic (but favorite) Sunday walks, in Attica

Athens: The church that has had Count Ypsilantis’ heart for 160 years

Athens: The church that has had Count Ypsilantis' heart for 160 years

Cyprus: Five things to do when you visit Larnaca

Cyprus: Five things to do when you visit Larnaca

Ήπειρος | Epirus

The regions of Greece that lifted the burden of this year's tourism2
NEWS

The regions of Greece that lifted the weight of this year’s touristic period.

19/08/2020
The exotic Greek beaches which were pirate-related
Aegean Islands

The exotic Greek beaches which were pirate-related

18/05/2020
The Acheron River and its legends
GREECE

The Acheron River and its legends

17/07/2020
Exploring Greece TV

© 2021 Viewmax Publishers

  • Data Protection Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • About ExploringGreece.tv
  • Contact us

No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • ATHENS
  • ATTICA
    • beaches of Attica
    • East Attica
    • North Attica
    • South Attica
    • West Attica
    • Argosaronic Islands
  • GREECE
    • Mainland Greece
    • Aegean Islands
    • Ionian Islands
    • Crete
  • CYPRUS
  • Greek

© 2021 Viewmax Publishers

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
@ini_set('upload_max_size', '500K');