We left early on the Ninth of July, taking the A train out to JFK airport, for a snack before our 130 PM flight to Athens, Greece. One week in Greece, anoher two in Albania up and down the Coast coast to Tirana, where the protests are still taking place every day over Jarrod Kushner’s megadevelopment deal. I jotted a few notes on those first few days of the trip.
July 9/10
Rumbled through the day, early afternoon flight to Athens, this is your life thoughts over the ocean, between New York and Athens, fourth trip to Greece, 26th summer of travel. Morning and a smile in Athens, the rush of the road, a stroll past Roman ruins, past old restaurants, chatting with new friends at the cafe. And a morning tour on the Calypso, out to a few islands, some swimming, lounging, enjoying the breeze and travel contact high, boats and islands in the distance. Stop at Island of Aegina, swimming by the Temple of Apollo and beach off this, "Greek island in the Saronic Gulf, known for its proximity to Athens, making it a popular day trip destination, famous for its pistachios, fresh seafood, and historical sites like the Temple of Aphaia. It offers a mix of natural beauty, ancient ruins, and a relaxed, traditional atmosphere with neoclassical architecture, bustling harbors.. the Monastery of Agios Nektarios, the archaeological site of Kolona, and the … port town of Aegina." Next stop, Agristi, where we explore. Talking about travel with new friends. One says go to Petra, "an ancient city carved into vibrant red sandstone in southern Jordan. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985 and one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, it was the prosperous capital of the Nabataean Kingdom, built around 312 BC." Another says he loved "Varna...the third-largest city in Bulgaria and the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea". There is a certain type of person who goes on these tours. We love it: people, water, music. "This is a fiesta boat, not a siesta boat" said a guide in Mexico. No sleep, we chatted with others from Australia and Wales, comparing notes on the road, dancing. No sleep, back to our neighborhood for some Greek food and music, getting acquainted with our neighborhood of Monastiraki, "a maze-like neighborhood that more recently has also become known for its antique shops. The sprawling flea market in Abyssinia Square offers a still wider selection of goods — bring cash and come ready to bargain. The antiques emporium and fine art gallery Martinos, founded in 1895..."
Crazy dreams, jet lag, thinking about our flight the night before our boat ride, stops at three islands, into the next morning, out to flea markets of lost treasure, Greek orthodox talismans , out to the "Benaki Museum of Greek Culture... housed in... neoclassical-style buildings in Athens, near the National Garden and the Hellenic Parliament. It was converted into a museum in order to shelter the collections of Antonis Benakis and was donated to the Greek nation by himself and his three sisters, Alexandra, Penelope and Argine...the building houses a unique exhibition on Greek culture arranged diachronically from prehistory to the 20th century. Galleries 33-36 on the third floor of the permanent exhibition refreshed and enriched with new exhibits, tell the story of modern Greece from the years just before the Greek Revolution to the Second World War." From Neolithic treasures to histories of the 400 year Ottoman era occupation and 19th century revolution, we walked... wondering about the "The Ottoman occupation of Greece, the fall of Constantinople... Spanning over three centuries, the expansion dismantled the Byzantine Empire, making Greeks second-class citizens under Ottoman law while largely allowing them to preserve their religious and cultural identity." Images of "The beheading of John the Baptist ... a biblical event recounted in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark [that] symbolizes martyrdom for religious truth..." No one talks about the Greek Ear for independence, says Baby C . We walk through old markets we first saw years ago, deja vu. Still there, same treasures. Out to Exarchia and all its anarchist, anti tourist splendor, into late night dancing and dinner as England battles Norway...Its midnite here in Athens, bands playing, the game finally still on ...great world cup, despite fifa...People dancing to Abba across the street at a Greek wedding party...
July 11
Slept in after staying up till three with England and Norway, out thrifting at the morning flea market at Abyssinia Square. Full of junk, lost tapes, plates, ceramics, mugs, bottle openers, rugs and devotional objects, and other treasures of everyday life, we stop at Ermou 125, 105 55 Athens (near the Monastiraki) haggling for a deal ... And head out to the Ancient Agora, Hadrian's Library, the Roman Agora, through the history of the Peloponnesian Wars, the Battle of Marathon, the history of tragedy and comedy, democracy and its exclusions...
July 12
Shit to the feminists" and other messages on the wall along our 'Athens Social and Political Walk,' led by Isaac, our decidedly irreverent host and guide, leading us through his Brechtian tour of the city asking the question, "How did the ‘cradle of democracy’ become the ‘basket case of Europe’? The question may be crude, but it captures the essence of much thinking around the globe in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Isaac, a self described "political scientist" traces the war for independence in 1821 to the present. Meeting Isaac, he tells us about the strike tracker he follows to navigate the weekly strikes and riots he sees here since moving from Valencia, Spain. He tells us about the complicated formation of the idea of Greece coming out of 400 to 500 years of Ottoman rule, the Byzantine Empire before that, complicated relations with the Turks, who offered a crude bargain, either convert to Islam or pay an exorbinant tax. Many converted out of convenience. Greece was the first country to move out of Ottoman rule. Organizing in caves in the mountains, the Klephts led the resistance against the over-taxing Ottomans. Following independence, no one was really sure what would come next except they did not want more taxes or foreign rule. So what did they get, a royal family with ties to England and Bavaria, imposing a leader Otto and new systems of taxation. World War followed leading to the complete dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Greece sent Turkey their Muslims. Turkey sent Greece their Christians. And good feelings only continued with flareups between the two countries following every few years over Constantinople and Cypress and threats of full scale invasion. The Nazis occupied the country from 1941 to 44, the Gastapo establishing headquarters here on 6 Merlin Street, complete with interrogations and torture chambers. Isaac walks us to their administrative building here, now a bank.
And describes the subsequent cleavages of the years to come, looking at the graffiti. 'Down with the USA', 'Solidarity with the Ayatollah". He tells us about the clashes between the neo nazis, ever fighting with the Communists, heavily infused with Orthodox tendencies, and the stone throwing Anarchists of Exarchia. It’s hard to keep up with all the stories. Still, Isaac tells us about an incident reported by the Guardian, in which, “Ilias Kasidiaris, a prominent spokesman for the far-right, neo-Nazi Golden Dawn party, physically assaulted two left-wing female politicians during a morning talk show on Greece's ANT1 television network.He threw a glass of water at Syriza party MP Rena Dourou. When Communist Party (KKE) MP Liana Kanelli stood up to intervene, Kasidiaris struck her in the face multiple times.”
Isaac leads us to a movie theater the anarchists burned down in 2010. People burn inside a bank next door. Apparently they had crossed a pocket line during a strike. Who made them do it, the banks, noted Isaac sarcastically. Just two days before, ABC reported: “Greek police have arrested two people in connection with the deaths in 2010 of three people trapped in a bank that was firebombed during a violent protest in Athens.” Apparently, they used AI technology to find the suspects.
In 2008, during the Financial Crisis, some kids got in a fight with the cops here. They shoot. Riots follow. More cops. More austerity. More Neo Nazis lamenting the influx of refugees.
We sit outside the The National Archaeological Museum at 44 Patission Street in the Exarchia neighborhood. Drug dealers appear after it closes. At night, and people paint murals. In the morning, the museum has them repainted over, every day.
“Tourists go home,” says the graffiti. Isaac tells us he has been attacked for bringing his tours to Exarchia. They are fighting gentrification. So they make vegan delis for the anarchists of Berlin who visit here, he says. The place is empty now, all the Athens anarchists are vacationing in Berlin. No one is from Exarchia, he says. They are all from some place else.
He takes us to the university, where resistance was strongest, after the siege of the 17th of November 1973, and The Athens Polytechnic uprising, "a massive student-led revolt against the oppressive Greek military dictatorship that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. Students occupied the Athens Polytechnic campus. On the night of November 17, the military regime sent a tank crashing through the university's main gates, resulting in bloodshed and a violent crackdown that left dozens of people dead.... The tragic events sparked a massive political crisis that ultimately toppled the dictatorship the following summer. Every November 17th, Greeks mark this date."
Says Isaac, students bring a bloody towel to the US embassy,' chanting 'down with the USA!!!"
A few riot cops welcome them.
'Cut the dicks off the rapists,' says the writing on the wall. 'Down with Israel.' 'Solidarity with Hezbollah' says another. 'Digital nomads, investors, Zionists,' are not welcome.’
What's the biggest cleavage, we ask Isaac, as the tour ends outside the Archaeology Museum. Is it race or class? No, says Isaak. It's education. Working class Trump voters think Trump will help them when he's screwing them. Same thing here. The anarchists are educated. But they only represent a small group. The Neo Nazis have the least education. They fight the most. The Communists maintain their Orthodoxy, bribing the priests, and Byzantine thinking remains.
Finishing the to tour, we walk through Exarchia, past cafes and bars full of people, past murals, tree lined lovely streets, for a delicious meal at Efimeron, a mom and pop restaurant in a plant filled outdoor patio run by an elderly couple. They seem to have no problem with their guests. We are their only customers.
Finishing we walk to the square, looking about, past Talking Breads. No one has fire bombed it. All the Athens anarchists are out of town.
July 13
Birds and church bells ring outside our window. Corfu is like a dream. We left Athens the day before, early in the morning. The music and clapping from the band still ringing in our sleepless minds. Pitch black, a quiet morning trip to magnificent Corfu, where the influence feels more Venetian than Ottoman. Turns out 'The Venetian Empire ruled Corfu from 1386 to 1797. The island's strategic location served as a vital naval stronghold for the Republic of Venice against the Ottoman Empire...' Small windy streets full of churches, with laundry hanging, you see how plague could spread here, says Baby C over breakfast. We can't get to our rooms so we head through the town to a swimming area, not quite a beach, but rock slabs and lovely blue waters, by a restaurant where the Italians and French join us. Walking there, we see a sign for a Byzantine museum.
'The Byzantine period in Corfu lasted from 395 AD to 1267 AD. As the westernmost frontier of the Byzantine Empire, the island was a vital maritime crossroads and defensive shield against Western invasions and pirate raids.The legacy of Byzantium fundamentally reshaped Corfu. After the Goths destroyed the ancient capital of Paleopolis in 562 AD, survivors fled to a nearby rocky peninsula. This promontory laid the groundwork for today’s Old Fortress and Corfu Town.' We swim and nap and read and swim. Find our way to the restaurant for a snack. And out to the Byzantine museum. 'The Antivouniotissa Museum is housed in the Church of Theotokos - ''Kyra Antivouniotissa'', one of the oldest ecclesiastical monuments of the city of Kerkyra, dating back to the end of the 15th century. The museum's collection consists of important artworks dating from the 15th to the 20th century. They fully reflect six centuries of religious artistic expression and production in Kerkyra. Eve.' Familiar motifs, images of St George and the Dragon, John the Baptist, old myths... We wind our way back around to a nitch, facing the choice - beer or swim. And then a nap. Finally in our room. A few hours later, back to winding about the streets to Panagia Spiliotissa Metropolitan Church, where people are playing cards in a pub nearby. Birds swirl outside as the sun goes down
Jul 14
Woke after a long sleep, a dream about bad news, marked by time. Dad was around. What are you up to, I asked. Going home and reading poetry Dad told me.
Read all morning, walked out to the water, swam, played cards, stepped into an old Byzantine church, strolled through Corfu. Two old men had a long conversation by the water, the world slowing for a second.
Our week in Greece is about to end. While Corfu is not marked by the Ottoman era, much of modern Greece was. The schism between East and West, new state and old conflicts, old Greece and Modern Europe, old economy and new, the cleavages are many. The old debates about difference and democracy continue. Whose allowed in? Whose out? Whose voice counts?
Aristotle notes: "Democracy arises out of the notion that those who are equal in any respect are equal in all respects because men are equally free, they claim to be absolutely equal." writes Plato.
"Democracy is a charming form of government, full of variety and disorder, and dispensing a sort of equality to equals and unequals alike."
Still he acknowledges the old problem: "Democracy passes into despotism."
July 15
A final bruch in goreous Corfu, where seven tour boats are arriving today. Tourism is everything here. Shops line the streets of the old town. On the way to our noon ferry to Albania, we hear about more protests there. 35 years after a Communist dictatorship, what kind of an Albania will we find: one like Corfu or Dubrovnic, gorgeous and Venetian, overrun with tourists, or something different. We will have to see it.
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