Athens, Greece: Madrasa

Here's an interesting story that you might not find in the travel brochures promoting Athens.

This is the doorway to the Madresa (Theological School) of the Ottoman era. A building surrounded a courtyard, and in the middle was a tree that was something of a symbol for the complex. 

But eventually, the school was moved elsewhere, and this turned into a rather notorious prison. The place eventually became known for very overcrowded conditions to the point of being inhuman. The tree was used for hundreds of executions, and was a place of torture as well. 

There were more horrible moments within the building's confines after that, as in the 1800s the Greek army kept political prisoners there. The tree went back to being used for hangings. The building was closed in 1915, and it eventually was sacrificed in the search for ancient artifacts. The tree was destroyed by a lightning strike.  

Sometimes history is just not pretty.