Nothing like travelling to another hemisphere to clarify one's perspective. As I flew from Doha over the dry terrain from the 'apparent' safety of my window seat in a Middle Eastern airliner, while enjoying my complimentary breakfast at several thousand feet, I occasionally gazed further to the north where not far away the ancient and troubled cities of Baghdad and Damascus lay.
I have parked myself for three days and nights smack in the middle of the ancient city of Athens and immediately before it celebrates Greek Easter. It is apparently the most important holiday in Greece, especially for the Greek Orthodox Church. Greek Orthodox Easter usually falls one to five weeks after Catholic Easter, while approximately once every four years it falls on the same date. I can hear the bells across the city ringing already.
Good Friday is the day of mourning and churches usually ring out the 'death' gong throughout the day beinging a steady single ring of the bell. Easter Saturday may be spent preparing a bonfire and effigy of Judas outside the church to burn after the midnight service. The Anastasi (Resurrection), takes place at midnight and is the culmination of Holy Week. Churches across Greece are packed from later in the evening for the service and the lighting of the Holy Flame at midnight.
The 40-day fast ends at midnight and meat can them be eaten time to celebrate the Anastasi and the start of Easter at a taverna. Everyone has a great time!
I always loved living among the Greek communities in Melbourne and Adelaide - my long term very generous and kind neighbours in Adelaide wanted me to marry one of their daughters but my short stature and slight build most likely protected me from being a potential candidate.
Looking down from the Acropolis you can get quite overwhelmed by this amazing city that has an ancient legacy of centuries comapred to our short Western colonial history. Not contrived but is what it is and you could easily imagine the constant activity of the traders of linen, spice, tobacco and fine food in the malls and side streets back in ancient times and still continues today. A lovely senior woman begged me to buy her beautifully crafted cotton table cover for five euros in the Plaka district i was very tempted! Just wonderful to walk along side alley after side alley of traders, cafes and activity.
While Greece, and some other southern European countries work through challenges for their own economic prosperity, they have a wonderful abundance of a long established cosmopolitan culture which they also brought to Australia.
It hits you in the face with an abundance of graffiti, malls with long established traders, vespas and other motorbikes by the dozens and no helmets worn. Motorbikes appear to have just as much right of way as pedestrians on the footpaths alley ways and there constant and rule the roads so you better let them through as they won't stop for you. Cars also drive up some pedestrian paths, double parking, driving the wrong way and anything else you can think of. Must exist by some unwritten rules here and haven't got to Italy yet! It's a young persons domain for the monumental traffic jambs, hundreds of yellow Skoda taxis and pigeons everywhere.
No point riding anywhere here so I had some enjoyable strolls through the Monasiraki and Plaka districts full of flea markets, cafes and places just to hang out. All this within a few minutes walk to the Acropolis.
Some recognisable brand names, Vodafone, Dominos, hertz Car Rental, Australian Women's Weekly (huh? Must be for ex-pats) . I feel guilty paying only three Euros for a large capacinno (due to more poor english I got a large rather than small one), a lemon cream bun ( had to point for that one) to die for, so much so that the filling was still cold after breaking the light outer crunchy layer, and that comes with a complimentary large glass of water - I really felt I was robbing them, especially given the shape of the Greek economy. Just shows how much more we are pay in Australia which is a real shock for Europeans holidaying there.
The ethnic mix is also interesting to note as I walked around Athens. During the early 1950s Egyptians emmigrated to Greece, but mainly to the country's cities of Athens and Thessaloniki. Then, some decades later people came from various Middle Eastern countries, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan and Somalia. A number have also come from the Balkans after the breakup of former Yugoslavia.
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