Athens - Day and Night

This video will give you a bit of the flavor of my wanderings in Athens.  There is too much to show you, but this touches a few of the things I saw and did.

Throw the Bums Out!

Under the evening glow of the cradle of democracy, The Acropolis, demonstrators from all over Greece and from many foreign lands have gathered to make a stand against the predatory policies of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  From Afghanistan, Pakistan and many of the Middle Eastern nations, people have gathered to express their outrage at the IMF and big bank policies of Europe and the US.

As this recent article in The Independent, a British newspaper, discusses the IMF has one goal...being sure the industrial nations of the world remain supreme.  I encourage you to give it a read.  IMF article in The Independent.  

The demonstrators were just getting going when I was in Athens two weeks ago.  In Parliament Square (Syntagma) there were some 40,000 people eager to show their opinions.  They wanted their voices heard.  I wandered up to Parliament Square around 9:00pm with my camera and took in some of the mood of the evening.  They weren't crazies looking to get headlines, they were average people looking to individually and collectively as a nation, be treated with respect.  They had set up their tents, they brought their children, they were happy to be there but they were focused.  They feel that their government is selling them out to the highest bidder.

The ever-popular Greek Prime Minister, George Papandreou.

Che's image could be seen around town.

Naturally with any large gathering of people where has to be some vendors to provide food and Greece being a enterprising nation, saw quite a few food stalls spring up on the Square.  No burgers or hot dogs...mmmmm!  Chicken and beef kabobs, vegetables of all sorts were the choices of the evening.  But what struck me the most about the events of the night was the respect these people, many not local had for their capital city.  40,000+ people there to express their opinion but they didn't forget to not create another problem.  Parliament Square was immaculate.  A few cigarette butts here and there but no drink cans or wrappers, no litter whatsoever.  And this was done not by rows and rows of trash bins but by large plastic bags taped to lampposts.  You had to search for a place to put your trash.  I have been to enough similar gatherings in the US to know that 40,000+ people in my home country would have added a monstrous cost to the event for clean up.  But not here...it fascinated me while I was intent on not being the one person to drop a wrapper and finally found the trash bag.

These people want their nation to thrive for themselves and their children, but they don't want it by losing their dignity and becoming slaves to the international banking establishment.  If it turns violent, it will be because the establishment feels threatened by the people and it will be attempting to silence them.  I hope the people of Greece succeed.

Guarding the Homeland of Democracy

If you compare the outside of the Greek Prime Minister's residence in Athens with that of 10 Downing Street in London or 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in DC there is a striking difference.  In Athens there are two guards decked out in the Greek dress uniform who stand at attention for four hours.  Unlike London or DC where there are a raft of machine gun toting guards aided with barricades and all sorts of other guardy-type stuff, these Athenians are right on the sidewalk.  You can stand next to them and pose, as some do or you can walk up to them and point a camera lens at them to see if they blink, as I did...well I did use a telephoto lens from some way back to avoid being in their faces and being an obnoxious American.  But these guys do their stuff with great professionalism.  As the heat of the Greek summer approaches and they are tempted to wipe their brow, an assistant comes to their rescue and pats them dry.

They were a bit more alert than usual with the 40,000 protesters up the street in the park across from the Parliament.  Perhaps you have seen them on TV protesting the mess that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has made of things.

 

Down in front of the Parliament Building there are more guards...these guys are protecting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.  Again decked out in full dress uniforms they stand for four hours in the blistering sun reflecting off the white marble steps.  They must internally jump for joy at the sound of the changing of the guard.  From down the plaza comes three soldiers doing their high-stepping cadence.  Hobnail shoes click on the marble and as they do their various menuevers with their feet their shoes screech across the marble worse than any fingernails on a chalkboard.  There are few commands given but the precision with which they carryout the changing ceremony is incredibly tight.

 

A guard gets patted down at the beginning of his four hour duty at the Tomb of the Unknown.

You can see them squint against the sun reflecting off the marble around them.

On the Edge of the Aegean

Greece has always held a fascination for me.  Edith Hamilton's Mythology was incredibly alive for me back in 9th grade.  Gods and goddesses, legions of soldiers, super heroes, Athenians against Spartans against Trojans...all running around in the Aegean.  Finally I am here.  As I gaze across the the lapis blue waters of the sea, all I can think about are the Greeks who plied these waters 3,000 years ago.



I have come to stay with some friends from Canada who have rented a hillside villa on the island of Hydra.  The home is all stone, I am in the guest "cottage" that overlooks the harbor, which while never wildly active, never seems to sleep either.  The roosters start the day around 3am, followed by the church bells at 6:30 which peel for 30 seconds, long enough to be sure you are awake.  And if you should fall back asleep they peel again at some irregular hour.  Then the sun's rays pierce though the eastern window and begin to bake me...thus, I am finally awake.  Stumbling to the window I take in the vista of the harbor where its wharf is coming alive as the donkeys and mules are being led to their quayside stations to await the portages of the day.  There are only two gas vehicles on the island...the garbage truck and the water truck.  There are no wells on the island so all fresh water has to be floated in on a modestly large tanker and unloaded, daily.  Trash is driven down the coast about a mile and burned.  The church owns the water tanker and thus has ensured its financial stability as everyone on the island counts on the tanker showing up each day...along with the boats laden with bottled water for the restaurants and home tables.

The waters surrounding the island are crystal clear...a deep tourquoise at the shore quickly turning to that wonderfully rich blue of the Greek flag.  At first the water feels cold but then I realize it is just that I haven't been in the ocean in a long time.  Once I dive in the water encases me in a refreshing bath of blue.  I dive in over and over...never quite diving the same as the college divers I have been photographing for many years now...but nonetheless, I pretend to be as good.  An Albanian youth dives off the rock cliff next to the cove some 20 meters up.  (He insisted it was 80 meters, but I have been around too many 10m platforms to be persuaded).  There are families trying to make themselves comfortable on the rocky beach or the big slab platform of rock hewn out of local marble.  Marble...marble is everywhere.  The quay is marble, the paths are marble, the steps are marble...with absolutely no texture to stabilize my shoes or flip-flops the stairs are treacherous.  The donkey feet clip clop across the marble quay on their way to their stations awaiting goods from boats or calls from homes to bring suitcases to the next ferry from Pireas.  Ferries and tour boats tie up on the wharf continuously all day.  The water taxi zips in and out of the harbor day and night shuttling people up and down the coast to harbors and resorts spotting the shore.