2018 Greece 07

BRENDA’s IMPRESSIONS OF ATHENS

Athens is a big city, quite old and very historical, but in many ways it is just old.  Obviously many resources are being used to protect and restore the Acropolis and Parthenon.  The rebuilding of that area began in the 1980s and will continue for many years to come.  This applies to many of the other important sites in the city. 

The highways around the city were fairly new thanks in part to the 2004 Olympics held here. The EU has probably helped also. Even the streets within the city were pretty good. The airport was modern and clean.

The Greek people have a great pride in their heritage and their city.  This was evident in how they proudly talked about their city, and the food and drink.  It was quite impressive given that the unemployment rate fluctuates between 15-30% depending on the season.  Tourism is a big business here and employs many from March through October.  We never saw evidence of unemployed, wandering people.

We did see lots of gypsies and they can be very in your face.  This is a cultural group we just don’t see in the US, certainly not in Dallas.

While the tourist areas are clean and tidy, I observed that much of the residential areas were not so tidy.  Older buildings, pollution, additions to structures contribute to this not so glamorous look.  Plus, the density of the population plays a role in the over-crowded feel.  Of course, we were staying in the center of Athens, just a few blocks from the Acropolis.  My outlook would have been different had we stayed in a suburb, but what visitor would want that?  I’m sure if Dallas was this old the same would be true.

CONTINUING ON

The history lessons are almost over!  But not quite.  Today (Monday) we flew from Athens to Chania on the island of Crete.  Then a limo took us to Kissamos where the biking will begin tomorrow.  Crete is the largest of the Greek islands.  There are about 1,000 in all but only about 100 are inhabited today.  About 10% of Greece’s 11,000,000 people live on the islands.  Crete is very important in the history of the country, so let’s talk about it.  Also I’ll include a sentence of two about other cultures to put things in perspective.

Over 4,000 years ago, on the island of Crete, a 12-hour boat ride from Athens, the Minoans were traders, not fighters. Society was like a corporation: ruled by CEO kings, managed by CPA scholars and blessed by bureaucrat priests. No one knows where they originated, and no one knows why they disappeared about 1450 BC. Even the poorest in Crete lived well in multi-room apartments with indoor plumbing. With ample leisure time, Minoans were avid sports fans. Tanned, relaxed good-looking men and women are shown in frescos dancing, fishing or strolling with goddess through a garden of exotic animals.

After the Minoans the Greek mainland was dominated by local tribes called the Mycenae's – warriors, not traders. But they disappeared also and Greece fell into the “dark ages”, 800 – 500 BC.

About 800 BC, Greek tribes began experimenting with democracy. A large military city, Sparta conquered its neighbors turning them into slave farmers. Sparta grew to 3,000 square miles, larger than the state of Delaware.

Opposite the oppressive, militaristic Sparta was the democratic, luxury-loving and business friendly Athens, population 80,000. Athens prospered, exporting cash-crops (wine and olive oil, pottery and other crafts) to neighboring cities and importing the best craftsmen and thinkers. After they defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon, an excited soldier ran 26.2 miles to Athens to tell the good news. He died after the run, but The Marathon was born.

The Greeks dominated the ancient world though brain, not brawn. At school both the body and the mind were trained. In the Agora (marketplace) Socrates, Plato and Aristotle debated questions that still occupy the human mind. Both Plato and Aristotle founded universities that would attract Europe’s best minds for centuries.

And then the  Romans came.

 

Our hotel for the next 10 days has a pool and beach chairs on the Mediterranean. We have large rooms and balcony’s on the Med. We’re here for 10 days and breakfast and dinner is included.  This costs us $1,400 per person. Not bad, heh?