Living Abroad

Yesterday I took a walk to a book store just north of Syntagma near Omonoia. It was a busy day, the streets filled with shoppers, Christmas decor lit up, the aroma of roasting chestnuts filled the air. All through Syntagma people were joyous as Christmas music drifted from inside the shops. I was enjoying one of my last weekends in Athens. The presence of riot police did not phase me as they are often a common sight when there is any sort of protest in the city. Protests are common here. They are typically peaceful. Sunday morning dawned bright and while many shops would not be open I thought it might be a good day to do one of my "walkabouts" that I frequently do. Photograph some street scenes, see if I could find some cats, enjoy a bright, sunny Athens day. I decided instead to come to the center and do some my work, get a load off my back so I could enjoy my last two weeks here. A good decision. I learned when I got here that violent riots had broke out in the city last night after a 16 year old boy was shot by police. A group of teens allegedly were throwing rocks at a police car when they were confronted and one was shot. I am not sure if the teens actions were in relation to the protest or not. Athens has its share of what they refer to as "self styled anarchists" and it is hard to say what prompted them to have this interaction with the police. As a result violet riots took place in Athens and Thessaloniki. Businesses were targeted, windows smashed, cars overturned, firebombs tossed. Reports say several police have been injured. I have to assume certain areas of Athens are a mess today. The US Embassy has issued a warning to American citizens to not venture toward the center of the city today. There were protests regarding immigration planned for today and the Greek government has urged those protesting to stay peaceful. Let's hope and pray that things calm down in Athens today. The families of those involved could use our prayers as well.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ibdpArYBMhNDAigsf9YewlaNs14QD94TLD5G0

So here it is and I have failed to post an entry for two weeks. Forgive me for being so inattentive. I hope you have not all abandoned me. Life got busy with school, walks around Athens, trips to Ancient Olympia. Don't even get me started on lack of reliable internet here. It's up. It's down. It's up again. You just never know.

The Greek Key is a class we are required to take in order to learn more about the Greek culture and way of life. It is not structured in a classroom setting. It is comprised of an individual project that can include volunteer work or independent study on some aspect of Greek life, various walks around Athens, a few individual "Athoriginal" walks, and posting responses to these walks on the board for the class. I've had two walks thus far and have decided to volunteer for a cat rescue society here for my project. The group I will hopefully be working with is called Nine Lives( http://www.ninelivesgreece.com/ ). I hope to help feed the stray colonies and possibly do some photography for them. If all works well, I will have my first meeting with them next week. Wish me luck. It will be heartbreaking work for me I'm sure. I wish every cat had the loving home and care that my cats receive.

My first walk was in a neighborhood called Anafiotika. Anafiotika is more reminiscent of the Greek islands than it is of Athens. Narrow winding pathways take you up through the neighborhood among whitewashed houses. It was built by those who came to Athens from the island of Anafi just after the Greek revolution in 1830. It is said that laws were put in place at the time to prevent people from building in order to claim property rights. A loophole existed, however, that said if one could put up 4 walls and a roof in 24 hours the land would be theirs. The construction workers of Anafi managed to build and roof these houses overnight thus claiming the property. I enjoyed the solitude of Anafiotika. It feels far removed from Athens, but like Athens it is an up and down walk!

Stairs entering the neighborhood of Anafiotika.

The view from the top, just under the shadow of the Acropolis is amazing!

I found many cats to live there. It seems they have a better existence than a lot of cats in Athens. Far removed from traffic they seemed healthy and content. The orange cat lounging on the stairs was particularly content in his life. That is how I like to see a cat. Warming in the sun, pleased with its surroundings. As you can see in the photo with the two cats curled up sleeping, people feed the animals a variety of foods that most of us would never dream feeding them, such as bread. Far form nutritionally sufficient for a cat I guess it is better than starving. I can only hope they get scraps of meat as well.

Another common feature of Athens, and Anafiotika is no exception, is of course graffiti. I found these particularly interesting and inspiring. Statements or just random? Your guess is as good as mine.

What are you hungry for?

This was the site of one of the mosques that use to exist in Athens dating from Ottoman rule. Unfortunately no active mosques exist today in Athens. There have been plans for one to be built, but I understand there is some opposition to it by the Orthodox Church. On one hand I can understand, given the duration of Ottoman rule over Greece. On the other hand, why can't we all just get along?

With our walk finished, I'll leave you with this. The new Acropolis museum. Controversy surrounds it in more than one way. Some say the architecture should not be so modern. But I found the idea of having it reflect the Acropolis in its sleek modern glass front brilliant. Yet capitalism rears its ugly head. A beautiful historical building that sits in front of the museum is in danger of being torn down because it blocks the view of the Acropolis from the coffee shop of the museum. Needless to say I signed the petition to save the building. I think it is a ridiculous reason to tear down a historical building. The other big controversy that surrounds the museum is the Elgin Marbles. For those unfamiliar with the marbles the consist of some of the sculptures from the Parthenon friezes that were disastrously removed by Lord Elgin when Greece was under Turkish rule. Taken by Elgin to Britain they remain to this day in a British museum. Greece wants them back, in fact insists that they were taken wrongly and belong to Greece. It is a subject of much debate among historians and archaeologists. Arguments abound on both sides of the issue. Me? I say give them back to Greece. The belong beside the Parthenon. I think it is only in their true environment that they can be appreciated. That said, I must do a response paper after some reading on this and who knows what my stance will be after that. I'll keep you updated.

Finally, the colors of Plaka and Monastiraki.......no controversy here. These simply make me happy.

Sunday evening, after a day in of reading and homework, I decided to go out by myself (which I seem to be doing a lot of lately) and find the Athens cemetery. I’ve read about the cemetery and its wonderful sculpture and had wanted to find it for a while. It actually isn’t that far from my apartment. Finding it wasn’t hard, but finding the entrance took a few wrong turns. Those wrong turns brought me some interesting finds in both cats and graffiti. Graffiti first. Finally something that was not a random word scrawled on a wall. I still have to figure out what Buns, Subs, crew mean. That’s for another day though.

Sunday I found this sad little clown. He almost looks like a charcoal drawing. I think I would like to see him in color.

Further up this wrong turn, I found the fish. It would be neat in color too.

But best of all were these two mural-like pieces. It was color I wanted, it was color I got. I assume the same artist did them since the style is so similar and they all include elements of water. Either that or it was a copycat artist. None the less, I liked them. Especially the teddy bear holding the sickle and hammer. Interesting message behind it I’m sure. Considering the communist party is active in this country I wonder.

I also discovered several cats on my walk. I first ran into this friendly orange fellow. He was soaking up all the attention he could get. In fact, he would not stay still enough for me to get a really good photo of him!

While taking in the big graffiti wall I noticed some small cats peeking out from the brush at me. Since they were in a little fenced area and looked rather well taken care of I have to assume they were not strays. They were quick to check me out and I prayed they wouldn't try to follow me across the street. They didn't.

As I walked back toward the cemetery, hoping to find the entrance, I noticed a group of cats eating out of some large bowls. As I approached slowly and bent to take a photo I noticed a woman also approaching. I said hello in Greek and she spoke something back to me. I told her I didn’t speak much Greek and then she told me she was Austrian. She said the cats weren’t hers but she feeds them. I was told it was mostly foreigners who feed the cats here. I thanked her for feeding them. Maybe I’ll run into her again and can chat. It was clear that she loved cats, even if it was just spaghetti they were getting.

Handsome is as handsome does!!

I finally found the entrance to the cemetery. What a cemetery it is! I did not get to do a great deal of exploring because 1) it was raining and 2) I was afraid of getting locked in since it was getting close to sunset. But I did get to see a few of the wonderful sculptures. I promise one day I will go back and explore every path, every monument, and every crypt! I understand it is not unusual to see people having a picnic in there! I’m not sure I’ll go that far though. Merlina Mercouri, a famous Greek actress is buried within, but I did not see her grave. I will have to find it as well as the grave of Heinrich Schleiman and the famous “Sleeping Girl” statue.

Entrance to the cemetery.....yes it was raining

Church just inside the cemetery gates...this photo was taken from up on the hill outside the cemetery.

Some of the sculptures.....

This one struck me as particularly humorous, although I'm not sure it was meant to be....

As I left the cemetery, in the rain, I discovered this beautiful little girl running to a dry place. I’ll leave you with that, and save my Anafiotika walk for another day.

I've learned one thing today. If rain is in the forecast, even if it is sunny, take a raincoat and umbrella. Because you never know when the sky will open up in Athens. It's been a school week as usual here. Not much interesting to report actually. Tomorrow, on the other hand, there is a trip to the Lavrio technology park and then on to Sounion to see the Temple of Poseidon. I think it will be a good day trip. I promise photos!

Tonight the center did a movie night for those who were interested. We watched Pote tin Kyriaki (Never on a Sunday) with Melina Mercouri, one of Greece's most famous actresses from the 50's and 60's. It was a fun film and gave us a bit of a look at an older Athens and Piraeus. If you ever get a chance to rent it and watch it do. I don't think you will be disappointed. We weren't. Unfortunately it started to rain about 20 minutes before the movie ended, hence my warning about umbrellas and raincoats. Needless to say my 10 minute walk home got me a little wet. But I'm home, dry, and ready to hit the sack so I can get up and maybe go to the laiki in the morning before we leave on our day trip. Did I tell you I'm loving these three day weekends?

I went for another one of my solo walks tonight. I’ve come to enjoy the time alone in a way. I am able to reflect and really pay attention. When I’m with a group I tend to miss a lot. I like being with people but when it’s me and my camera three is a crowd.

Tonight I walked down Vas Constantinou past the stadium and onto the other side of the Temple of Zeus. At first I wondered if I was going the right way. I became a bit concerned that I would get lost, but I had my map, my phone, and my sense of adventure. My intended destination was Plaka which is near the Acropolis. I found some interesting graffiti on the way. I keep looking for different types of graffiti around town. Most of what I have found has been just words scrawled on a wall. Interesting words and pictures that we have yet to figure out.

Like crew and buns.

I’ll have to do some research to see what the significance is.

Gangs?

Who knows. But I like this one.

I made my way down past the Temple of Zeus and ended up turning down Syngrou, which went in the opposite direction from what I wanted. I finally figured out how to make my way toward Plaka by going up through Makrygianni.

Plaka is quite a different Athens from Pangrati where I live. Plaka is closest to the Acropolis and therefore caters to tourists. I didn’t make it up to the Acropolis but got close enough for some photos.

From afar

A little closer....soon I'll get as close as you can!

I heard more English there than I’ve heard in a week, outside of my fellow students. I find the tourist sections of places a bit annoying because of the crowds, but I did find some familiar sights. Like the blue “evil eye” that was ubiquitous in Turkiye.

I was going to buy some but found that I had left my money purse at home. Next time.

Yes. Plaka is pure tourism. I do like the pedestrianized streets in Plaka. It makes for nice walking.

I was really craving some gelato, but with no money I was out of luck. So I walked on.

It was worth it. Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. This scene was priceless. I just had to snap a photo and he was more than willing to oblige saying "well I have hands, what am I suppose to do with them?"

I just had to laugh.

Keeping with one of my usual themes when traveling I found two cats who were also willing to pose.

Looking not too happy

Moving my way through Plaka I eventually came out at Syntagma Square. It seems Syntagma is where I always end up.
It was a good thing though. I found an ATM so I was no longer without cash. I browsed Public, which is similar to our Best Buy, only hipper. I mean, they have a café and had a group that was singing rap from the balcony. What more could you ask for? I contemplated purchasing a printer but decided not to at this point. Printer was cheap. Ink is outrageous. I did stick around and enjoy the music though.

I ended up at Politi.co, which is advertised as serving Anatolian cuisine. Of course my eyes lit up at that. I was simply ecstatic when I looked at the menu and saw several familiar dishes. Lamachun, doner kebap, Iskander kebap, and Adana kebap.
Yes, I was a happy woman.

I had my long sought after lamachun. It wasn’t Turkiye but it was about as close as I am going to get until I can make it there. I normally don’t dine alone in a “sit down” restaurant but tonight I had no qualms. Lamachun made my evening complete.

The spicy Adana kebap didn't hurt either.

I'll leave you with food, and with food for thought. I thought this was apropos in today's economic climate.