Ferry carrying 2,500 migrants reaches Greek port near Athens

1	Migrants, including a child, on a dinghy begin their journey from near the coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey, to cross to the nearby Greek island of Kos, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
2	With the shores of Kos - a gateway to Europe - just a few kilometers (miles) away, hundreds of migrants are piling into tiny inflatable dinghies each night and attempting to make the crossing powered by tiny outboard motors and plastic paddles.
3	A ferry carrying about 2,500 migrants who had arrived clandestinely on Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast has docked in Greece's main port of Piraeus near Athens.
4	The ferry arriving Thursday was chartered by the government and served as a registration center on the eastern Aegean island of Kos this week.
5	It left Kos on Wednesday with 1,300 migrants and picked up hundreds more from the islands of Leros, Kalymnos and Lesbos before sailing overnight to Piraeus.
6	Greece this year has been overwhelmed by record numbers of migrants arriving on its eastern Aegean islands, with more than 160,000 landing so far.
7	The vast majority do not want to stay in the financially troubled nation and head north through the Balkans toward more prosperous European countries like Germany.
8	Migrants on a dinghy get ready to begin their journey from near the coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey, to cross to the nearby Greek island of Kos, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
9	Migrants, including one carrying a crying infant, walk to board a dinghy to begin their journey from near the coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey, to cross to the nearby Greek island of Kos, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
10	Migrants on a dinghy begin their journey from near the coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey, to cross to the nearby Greek island of Kos, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
11	Migrants disembark after their failed attempt to begin their journey with a dinghy from near the coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey, to cross to the nearby Greek island of Kos, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
12	Migrants board a dinghy to begin their journey from near the coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey, to cross to the nearby Greek island of Kos, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
13	A crying infant is carried among migrants aboard a dinghy to begin their journey from a beach near the coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey, to cross to the nearby Greek island of Kos, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.
14	A child waits on a beach chair while other migrants get ready to board a dinghy to begin their journey from a beach near the coastal town of Bodrum, Turkey, to the nearby Greek island of Kos, early Thursday, Aug. 20, 2015.