185. THE GLORY THAT WAS GREECE - A GREEK TRAGEDY

Part of a poem by Edgar Allan Poe...1809-1849- to Helen of Troy

Greek composer Vangelis wrote the score for this hauntingly beautiful piece of music for the movie Chariots of Fire. It was the official anthem for the 2012 London Summer Olympics. The entire world would know (?) Greece started the games in Olympia as an activity for their people and it wasn't till very much later the Olympics became what we know of it today...the agony and the ecstasy, the corruption, the drugs, the manipulation and politics behind it all - what else is new when big bucks is involved and when the chief honchos in the International Olympics Committee have been for a very very long time are nearly always all men from countries where corruption is a culture - surprise! they are not from Asia! It's only in recent times, they've included at least 1 obligatory woman and 1 obligatory Asian after criticisms...

http://www.thebalance.com/what-is-the-greece-debt-crisis-3305525

Not all I saw was roses and rainbows. Interested enough to read - highlight the above 2019 link and click the above site...as is so often the case, residents suffer the depressive and suicidal misery of been broke and jobless/homeless...

urban decay - homeless in Athens

Came across homeless men begging on the pavements outside shuttered businesses whilst others were still asleep with their meagre possessions around them...there's graffiti everywhere I looked in this part of Athens.

Below, very young people busking...

I covered a lot of ground in Athens, and the 2 main touristy islands of Mykonos and Santorini. 

Spotted many commercial and residential buildings...construction abandoned...

It's the same old story - politicians and their cronies over several decades have lined their own pockets, enjoyed luxurious living to the hilt, were lazy, inept, corrupt...it's repeated elsewhere in the world - I daresay, Italy might just be next, they were teetering before...

Moving to happier things, I get my 5 mins of fame in each post...!

Without a doubt, Greece is blessed with an extremely beautiful land. To their credit, they've kept the waters very clean. The tourist receipts every year is HUGH, the cruise liners and ferries discharge several thousand visitors a day, each capable of carrying 1000 and more passengers...it's little wonder, their Governments of the day do little work, except to collect taxes and let private enterprise set up hotels, shops etc - thereby creating jobs - yet they went bankrupt...

The International Monetary Fund and the EU moved in with a hugh bailout loan which will take several decades to repay. So they get the large number of tourists to service this loan with a 24% VAT (GST) tax on consumption, a hotel room nightly tax of up to 4euros depending on class of accommodations...their own people have little or no spending power...or simply plea poverty to avoid paying taxes - since the politicians and their cronies have squirreled away public earnings, why should their citizens pay taxes to absolve them...

Their ferries are super comfy and humongous, the large number of passengers don't collide into each other, but staircases are narrow, entry/exits are bottlenecks, in an emergency the crush will take place there...

Tomb to the Unknown Soldier

...who were recruited by fair means or foul into a strange land to fight a war on behalf of their colonial masters - their names unknown - lots came from India, even China, elsewhere I'm sure - they fought chiefly in WW1 - untrained, neglected, many never went home and died unknown...such monuments are dedicated to them...

In downtown Athens, passed their House of Parliament, the Athens Academy and National Library, Arts House...all large and grand in the Greek/Roman style with Ionic, Corinthian and Doric columns...the facades are similar, difference lies in its columns...all the styles carry a spiritual meaning as in the straight upright column representing the spine or the tree trunk as in the Tree of Life, the Corinthian style with vine and leaves is the crown of the tree aka the crown chakra. The early Greeks were an intellectual lot with enquiring minds who studied the cosmos, several found their way to India as part of a spiritual journey and research...

The fabulous Hadrian's Arch

The must-see Parthenon on the hill of Acropolis which is still been restored...

What's left of the Temple of Zeus. The capital city of Athens grew around it...

...and what's left of the Oracle of Apollo in Delphi...I'm not big on mythologies, my childhood interest was only the stories of their numerous gods and their adventures, many are consigned to the deep recesses of my mind...I'm curious about their history and architecture and especially their thinkers and philosophers, of which there were many (it was their Golden Age)...several were associated with India

The restoration of the Parthenon is a work in progress and has been ongoing for years - are they recreating something new I wonder with all the old materials? Tourist attractions need to be constantly refreshed to draw tourists back. On the islands, there's a 'plan' (plot rather) to market the notion the ancient civilisation of Atlantis went under in the waters off today's Greece, one fine day, some explorer would 'discover' by chance, remnants and artefacts of this city. To prepare for that day, sculptures and figures and ruins would need to be 'planted' into the seas to suitably age them over the years...(my imagination working overtime). This 'discovery' would be tremendous for tourism...there's a hotel overlooking the waters of Santorini named Atlantis!

There was a museum on site...(some exhibits below!)

I like it that their church buildings are different, more Byzantine influence...with its rounded domes...the influence would be muslim as the Ottoman empire was here and elsewhere in this part of Europe for several hundred years...today's European muslims must feel the injustice, bitterness and resentment that they were here first before they were driven out or were absorbed by colonising christian Crusaders - today in Europe, slowly but surely, they have taken over the Continent with their increasing large numbers - potential hotspot and faultline

Sheep, goats, olive groves are part of the landscape

Enjoyed most their spinach feta cheese pie encased in filo pastry - the Greek diet is heavy on meat...

The islands are washed by the Aegean Sea which flows into the Mediterranean - waters are very clean...

Meteora rocks!

This is my fav spot on this trip - these are rocks to most eyes, to me they are sculptures chiseled by the wind. Monks of old erected their retreats atop these monoliths, quiet and peaceful, away from the temptations of the worldly life. Using the pulley system to haul heavy loads up the hills, they've built 24 monasteries which have lasted centuries. The very simple structures would be the monk's homes and I suspect, they wouldn't want tourists wandering in their humble abodes. Those that were opened to visitors (I suspect) are private homes whose owners bought over the original site which started off as monasteries and turned that into their villas. They were elaborate and too rich for monasteries, only the old sections with their chapels were preserved and opened to visitors.

For those so inclined they can explore the monoliths by foot...below, the pulley system been used for some work but I see that as a show for the benefit of the large number of visitors stopping here...

The Panagia Tourliani Monastery (on Mykonos Island)

There's a museum showcasing the rich elaborate paraphernalia used during rituals...the chief priest would be the 'emperor' who sits on a special 'throne' different from the ordinary priests...his gown is extra rich and he holds a sceptre equally rich and golden (like what real emperors do)

Ceilings of note...

A section of this former monastery -  entry charge is kept low at 3euros, they do receive busloads of visitors

A home in the hills would be more comfy than sleeping in the open - where do the homeless go in winter...? Perhaps to the underground stations...

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Mykonos and Santorini are like zoos! It's narrow alleys are packed with the cruise liner crowd and the ferry day trippers. It's terribly picturesque. What's so attractive about Mykonos and Santorini is the color scheme of their buildings - it's looking at a painting that's aesthetically pleasing, nothing's jarring. Greece is very hilly, space to build on is limited, everything's narrow, tiny, terraced, some shops and cafes look like doll houses making them appear charming - and this is the big attraction about these 2 islands...a couple of days on Mykonos is sufficient, there's no need to take in Santorini. 

Some pics came from fellow travelers

This art gallery featuring fish is unique, its pieces classy...

No graffiti on the islands - it appears its Athens that's in urban decay - the Tourism body and the stakeholders will never allow that to happen here as they take pride in keeping their businesses and surroundings spotless - everywhere I go, I see them cleaning, wiping, sweeping - the islands are most vibrant till year end when they shut down for the winter break...it's make hay while the sun shines...

 

Leather bags and sandals are good buys, all from Europe - they assured me! They could tell the Singaporeans apart and the impression is a good one - in a group, the public behaviour is a reflection of where one comes from, for a lone traveler, if the behaviour is poor, it's dismissed that the one person is not representative of the country, just a reflection of the individual...

Their hole in the wall shops are adorable - chockablock with goodies from Europe, no plasticky stuff, value for money

This lovely little bookshop carries old titles in English - it's tucked away below lane level, it's tiny and cramped with books - feels like a dwarf's hut - folks here really know how to make use of limited space and making it work too...

Merchandise has the same colour family as their buildings and the surrounding landscape - Like lots!

The front of this restaurant may be tiny but it drops several levels down the hillside to reveal a fairly large space

The hotel waits for the day when an 'explorer' shouts Eureka! he's found the remains of Atlantis and it's just off this coast, isn't that convenient...!

She's not forgotten even if she wasn't Greek

Laze about - my favourite pastime - blame it on the weather and the ambience

This cool dude might be a bartender or a DJ by night! By day, he's collecting his guest from the jetty...

Buildings hugging the cliffs are accessible by foot - no elevators here, even in hotels which class themselves as resorts, one walks up and down stairs with one's case with little or no help from staff - the main gripe is, lanes and small roads are paved with cobblestones or plain stony which can be dangerous when wet or it's possible to twist one's ankle when juggling a case

By night the islands become party central - there are visitors from countries nearby who come over on budget carriers for a weekend of fun, sun, booze, sex, drugs...Singaporeans may do that in Thailand or Bali but be subjected to random urine/blood tests on return to SG

The dark sand is from volcanic rocks

On islands such as these, one gets to enjoy sunrise and sunsets no matter where one stands

The top left hand bush is stiff and wiry and gives nasty scratches. What's interesting is there are shells of dead snails between its twigs

A bunch of grapes which will ripen by October...

Under a floral umbrella...

Mykonos town is a gated community. Traffic and parking becomes messy only in and around the ferry terminal. Despite the millions from tourism receipts and the millions of people using the terminals, there's no proper parking spaces and control of traffic, passengers weave between cars and vans to get to buses, the roads are so stony rough, they struggle with bags. They queue in the sun and rain whilst waiting to board the ships...whither the tourist dollars? A country gone bankrupt is a reflection of the government of the day...

fishing for his supper?

Local inhabitants...

I like these pics for its non colour...

Framed!

Santorini is best known for this part of town, once away from this area, it's pretty much like Mykonos

Pastel palette

These windmills on Mykonos have thatched roofs, were constructed by the Venetians at some point in the 16th century for milling grain as the island was windy which was ideal for working the windmills. The area became known as Little Venice...and is a photo stop...

For Socrates was after all, a Thinker...

'To find yourself you must first lose yourself '                                                                             Osho