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Metaxi mas: a Greek TR photo essay
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In 2014, Mrs Z and I traveled to Greece. The trip was primarily a return to the isle of Folegandros, to gift some enlarged copies of portraits to the locals whom I'd once photographed there back in March '92. During this same 2014 trip, we also visited Athens, Patmos, Samos and Santorini. This long photo essay will start with a 25 shot overview of Athens. We'll throw in some Greek music throughout here, in order to break things up. Enjoy. *metaxi mas: 'between us'. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0be462589d.jpg Urban Athens: note ANTIFA in bottom right. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7b72f7b622.jpg Kallisperi street school: girls running wind sprints during phys ed class (Makrigianni district). https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...902e89373c.jpg Anafiotika neighbourhood. Built by folks who came to Athens from the tiny island of Anafi in the Cyclades. Name means ''little Anafi'. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4b65980d5c.jpg Taverna sign in Psyrri district. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...da51282339.jpg Temple of Olympian Zeus. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fc5839e53f.jpg Have you seen this missing dog? https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3633c9c42a.jpg Door grill at Benaki Museum, next to French embassy in Kolonaki district (superb gift shop). *will show some shots of its contents here later. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c71bb16754.jpg Ironic shadow. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7be3cf6ebf.jpg Tweeners peer into pond at National Garden in Syntagma district. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...7e28d06ba7.jpg Trio of archaeologists at National Archaeology Museum use high tech. *will show some shots of its contents here later. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6462fe4111.jpg Lovely lantern. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8ecd29f0b5.jpg The rippled marble path of the 'Iera Odos' Panathenaic Way beside the Parthenon. Like waves during sunrise. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e145df75b3.jpg The Asklepeion cliffs area beneath the Acropolis. *more shots of the sacred site here later. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...beb5502561.jpg Mythical masks---can you name them? https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...45dbb9e14e.jpg Plaka chairs and tables. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4404b05f6a.jpg Not all history here is ancient. A pair of posters from the Greek Civil War of the late '40s. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...674004319a.jpg as above https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f2a090b104.jpg Athenian pizza delivery. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d234f6f50f.jpg Metamorphosis church interior. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f3883617fc.jpg Roof tiles. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...39dea7d6e7.jpg Funky newsstand. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4a4b36fad2.jpg Kaisariani Monastery, an underrated local site *more shots from this here later. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5964f29144.jpg Street art in the funky-boho Exarchia student district--protest central. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c2fbf1b33c.jpg Locals relax near the Beule Gate. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...faea9c022d.jpg End of part one. Time for music. |
The great Yannis Kotsiras has incredible range. He does pop, rock and folk all equally well. Here is an example of the latter, 'Manaki Mou'.
Sung like he meant it, yeah? |
And secondly, the equally great George Dalaras singing one of my all-time fave songs live, the traditional Cretan number 'Osso Varoun Ta Sidera' ('As long as the shutting door echoes'). I always imagine it sung by say, some innocent Cretan farmer who'd been rounded up in a Nazi reprisal, imprisoned and waiting to be hung. Famed travel writer Patrick Leigh Fermor once worked with Cretan resistance to kidnap a Nazi General then whisk him off in a Brit submarine. One imagines the subsequent reprisals and those waiting in their prison cells.
'As long as the shutting door echoes, as long as the iron bars clash...' |
Bring on the clowns! Here is yet another attempt to find a link for that song which works, this time a more modern one. Fingers crossed. Again.
Listeners will melt when he begins to sing @ 0:49. |
Always enjoy your photos, zebec.
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Thanks for taking me back to Greece with your wonderful photos!
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A young soldier solemnly carried the national flag up to the Acropolis. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5f21e6cdea.jpg He was part of a specialized morning ritual team. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...21be625959.jpg Their job was to raise the flag. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0a99b73268.jpg The pavement catches sunrise. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c04f0d77d1.jpg One of the best times to visit the Acropolis is right at sunrise opening. Extensive renos have been underway for years. Here we see harnessing at the base of a column. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...033dcdaa99.jpg The Parthenon symbolizes the birthplace of democracy, a fact that has special meaning just now, yeah? Are those broken pediments at the top also symbolic? https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...83200c1a49.jpg Powerful forces continue to distort democracy and https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...145d76ad9e.jpg try to twist it to meet their political ends. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6bc98b5ad3.jpg That storm still is a long ways from clearing. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b6ed4859b4.jpg But hope springs eternal, even during a pandemic. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...27a2eeb813.jpg Archaeologists stand atop to discuss how best to maintain the Erechtheion porch and https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b1426f9627.jpg its substitute Caryatids sculptures (415 BC). https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c913e938cf.jpg The local stonework reveals different materials, and maybe different epochs. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...87bd1378e2.jpg Fluting and detail on shorter column. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f131742786.jpg Tourists read about the hallowed monument. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...61d5bce761.jpg The Parthenon's Doric columns have flawless form. https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9428ebf3f9.jpg This is thanks to cleverly-curved concave and convex features, all designed to create an optical illusion. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e22fbbb6f0.jpg One of the 3D metope carvings, in this case a horse head. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6ef45564e3.jpg Wet marble section reveals interesting colours. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d5b86333e0.jpg The Parthenon was dedicated to the goddess Athena. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f3905fef6a.jpg Visitors find differing degrees of restoration. https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fe1db10b50.jpg This school is very close to the sacred site. The students will learn about the brave young men who once snuck up through a crack in the Acropolis wall during the occupation, to tear down the Nazi flag and replace it with their own. https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...86c5e6f3a3.jpg The newish Acropolis Museum. https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...15c13265b2.jpg Same from afar. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ed084e0d6d.jpg The museum reflecting its neighbour. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...314351391b.jpg Powerful high-tech tools aid the crews working the site. https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3e92e88a3e.jpg New replacement materials are sometimes necessary to https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e8fb4f59b7.jpg complete restoration tasks. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d52df6e9fe.jpg A table reflection. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...24695b7c1f.jpg A whirlpool reflection. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e659d0d173.jpg Framed image. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...639c79a2db.jpg A feline archaeologist. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8ab386296f.jpg One of many views looking down from the top. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e188931a0f.jpg Final view of the Acropolis, reflected in sunglasses. *Next: Santorini. |
Thanks for sharing, Zebec, you have a wonderful eye for subject and composition. It's such a long time since we were in Greece but I remember it so vividly. It's a place that's hard to forget.
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Originally Posted by dreamon
(Post 17269406)
Thanks for sharing, Zebec, you have a wonderful eye for subject and composition. It's such a long time since we were in Greece but I remember it so vividly. It's a place that's hard to forget.
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Zebec,
Your photos and the short clips are wonderful and informative. We are traveling to Greece next month and your photos of the Kaisariani Monastery have inspired us to visit it. Loved the story about the soldier in WW2. Thank you for sharing your photos! |
Time for some feminine touch in the music. This is Vicky Mosholiou. My Greek is weak---perhaps someone could translate the lyrics for us all?
I am done. The music |
And now another lady singer. Eleftheria Avarnataki singing her 'Skies kai Chromata (shadows and colors)'.
*dunno about you, but 'relational memory' gets me every time that I hear Greek music. Like Pavlov's dog, I immediately taste tzatziki in my mouth! |
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