When visiting a cultural or natural site, many rush past, some look, few see. A humble waterfall in the centre of Athens' National Garden is a favourite spot of mine as you just can hear soothing water sounds in ultra stereo mode while relaxing on a strategically placed bench. Tourists, couples, small groups, and the occasional horde ...
Literally translating to flour-smudging, Alevromoutzouroma is a traditional flour throwing festival taking place every Clean Monday (the Monday marking the beginning of Lent) in the historic port of Galaxidi (Map) Central Greece. Galaxidi was an strategic fortified stronghold since antiquity controlling trade routes in the ...
Amfissa, a town going back three millennia, 20 km from the famous Oracle of Delphi, has had a complicated history, occupied by and/or fiercely resisting Persians, Macedonians, Romans, Knights of St. John, Catalans, Ottomans and Nazis. New empires and religions left their mark but failed to erase ancient customs, which, as in other parts of Greece, are particularly evident during the "Apokries" (Carnival) season, that lasts four weeks sometime between early February to late March, depending on Easter day. One of the most famous 'pagan' feasts, officially part of the "intangible cultural heritage of Greece", is the Harmaina Ghost of Amfissa (Το στοιχειό της Χάρμαινας στην Άμφισσα). The modernised version of the feast, based on local oral traditions, was revived in 1995 and is performed annually since. It starts on the eve of the last Friday of the Carnival and ends 24 hours later. You will see street processions by men,...
Koutouki Cave, about 2 million years in the making by the karst phenomenon (chemical deposition of calcium carbonate through dripping water) on the eastern side of Mt. Hymettus at 510m asl, was accidentally discovered in 1926 when a goat disappeared through a crack and started bleating. The lucky goat survived what today wo...
Under the globally prevailing socioeconomic order, nearly everyone and everything can be bought at a price (even though everything connected to the environment, human rights and such nuisances peculiarly remains an externality). In this wonderful system, a few zeros can make all the difference between drowning and being pampered like a prince. For $5,000, you risk drowning, or at least being beaten, robbed and pushed-back. Add two extra zeros and you can order a royal treatment (Golden Visa) online. “Abominable”, “people trafficking” can be a perfectly legal, state, enterprise. It is just a matter of the right price and the right laws, and men in black, that will also determine the price differential between the legal and illegal options. If you cannot see anything wrong with this state of affairs, and you consider it as “business as usual”, your politics are solid and your ethics are golden. Congratulations, you are all set for...
Murray Bookchin, the great eco visionary and activist set out to develop "Communalism" as a new, coherent, ideology in his last decade, by combining the best elements of (and his experience and knowledge of) all ideologies that he had been previously attracted to: Marxism-Leninism, Libertarian-Socialism, Anarchism and Libertarian Municipalism, and as an evolution of Social Ecology, which was also his creation. Communalism rejects capitalism, statism, nationalism and all other forms of domination and oppression. It describes a stateless, non-hierarchical, decentralized, ecological, and democratic society based on the principles of social ecology and libertarian municipalism. As an alternative to the state, it proposes voluntary confederations of municipalities that cooperate and coordinate on regional and global issues, while respecting the autonomy and diversity of each municipality. Communalism also advocates the abolition of economic inequality with an economy that meets the needs of all people and respects nature. You can read more on Communalism and...
Going to the theatre is always a pleasure. Going to the "world's first theatre" is a pilgrimage. The Theatre of Dionysus in Athens (Map), is the place where Greek Theatre was born both as an art and an architectural form. The classical Greek comedies and tragedies of the late 5th century were written and produced with this speci...
While you are waiting for your ship to go to the islands, do not miss the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus, a short 10-minute walk away. It is right next to the ancient theatre of the city, which also serves as the museum courtyard. Piraeus, featuring three safe, deepwater ports, was originally a rocky island (etymology anc. Pireefs ...
Tired of reading the same nonsense, people blaming flights on Tourism alone. Planes would keep flying even with half the passengers. They carry precious goods, the majority of income for airlines is cargo. Planes belong to the Transport sector, which, yes, needs to become green, and quickly, but it is not Tourism & Hospitality's fault that it d...
Unlike most other metropoles Athens has so far resisted skyscrapers, the idea being not to block one of the best views in the world, especially if you are fond of direct democracy, the Parthenon. (The military dictatorship (1967-74) that was not particularly fond, did allow two tallish buildings!). In this spirit, a court l...
