Merchant Navy Nursing Institute
Sunday morning. It’s December but it’s almost spring weather. So what’s better than an excursion to our favorite abandoned buildings with a favorite abandoned-lover company?
Today we are going to visit the Merchant Navy Nursing Institute, at Melissia Attika. Access is easy as it is within the city of Melissia and on the road leading to Mount Penteli. The Nursing Facility consists of a five storey building complex of 11,600 sq.m. on a plot of 127 acres. The area of the foundation along with the park covers an area of 87,000 sq.m. MNNI had operated from 1948 to 1975 and had a capacity of 350 beds, with the main area of activity being tuberculosis which at that time, along with other pulmonary diseases, was killing the sailors. It was closed for repairs and it never reopened. The hospital was considered technologically advanced as it was made up of contributions from seafarers who had introduced medical equipment that did not exist in other hospitals in the country.
The entrance to the park, and then to the building, is a gate that, as we were informed, always remains open. The building itself has multiple entrances and you can visit every storey of all the buildings that consist the complex. In fact, the place is perfect for airsoft games, which take place in the park and the buildings every Sunday!
The stairs inside the building are in excellent condition, but everything else is dangerous. Broken walls, popping irons, ceilings dripping water…
A small tip: pay a visit to the balconies surrounding the main building. They are the perfect spot to enjoy a coffee on a break from the tour!
As you leave, take a path to the left that will lead you to two more small buildings.