Decay and Decadence

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Decay and Decadence Decay and Decadence Ten years after its devastating financial crisis, the Greek capital of Athens possesses grit and grandeur in equal measure Words by ANNA HART Photos by BENJAMIN EAGLE ome cities wear their history demurely, sought-after design firms, K-Studio – I step out S accessorising daintily with a well-placed onto my balcony. My room overlooks Agia Irini, cathedral or neat museum quarter. However, a lively Byzantine-era square in which a flower history gets everywhere in Athens. The city market once surrounded the Greek Orthodox looks like it’s been dragged through a calendar church. The bars are buzzing, but I’m struck by backwards. No other European capital has styled the homeless woman selling copies of Shedia, the out the permutations of time quite like this one. Greek equivalent of the Big Issue. The shuttered shopfronts, graffiti-smeared and abandoned for a The majestic Acropolis crowns the city, a decade, stand next to a bewilderingly flamboyant flamboyant symbol for modern Athenians of cocktail bar named Noel, where peacock-feather their noble heritage as philosopher kings and wreaths and candelabras evoke a set of Versailles. the architects of Western civilisation. Yet the Acropolis is also a looming, sombre reminder of In modern-day Athens, I realise, decay and the frailty of power, the futility of ambition and the decadence are neighbours. The disparate fortunes flimsiness of security. Throughout the city, there displayed in these shopfronts are an ever-present is a corresponding juxtaposition of ancient and reminder that in late 2009, Greece was plunged contemporary, confidence and chaos, glamour and into a government debt crisis that overtook the grunge. From the moment I arrive, Athens gently US’s Great Depression as the longest recession of mocks my simplistic, linear understanding of time any advanced capitalist economy to date. In 2014, and human progress, and challenges me to look at Greece’s unemployment rate reached a harrowing life differently – as all the best cities do. high of 28 per cent, and today it remains nearly triple the 6.5 per cent EU average. Arriving into Syntagma metro station, ticket barriers and kiosks are respectfully arranged However, Athens is a city that has risen and fallen around the tomb of a woman from the fourth countless times throughout its 3,400-year history, century BCE and the remnants of ancient and perhaps this explains the city’s palpable aqueducts, an awkward surprise museum that creative energy just ten years after what the the rail construction crew never anticipated. Greeks refer to in hushed tones as “The Crisis” Athens’ more recent history spills into the streets, brought the city to her knees. Athens is the city too. I check into the Perianth Hotel, a beautifully that invented democracy and where philosophy remodelled 1930s apartment block, and from has always been in fashion, as well as a place that my hotel room – all marble, terrazzo floors and graciously shows travellers a good time, even hardwood furniture by one of Greece’s most when she’s in a state of flux. •• 90 SUITCASE MAGAZINE The cities issue 91 ATHENS, GREECE ATHENS, GREECE Although it’s unjust to Greeks struggling with community. “Here in Athens life has become unemployment and despondency to overhype difficult for many people, whether they are Greek, Athens’ economic recovery, it’s fair to say that came from abroad a long time ago or not long ago, the city is experiencing a cultural, culinary or if Greece is just part of a bigger journey for and entrepreneurial resurgence. In Klimataria them,” says Emma Raibaut, a 25-year-old librarian Taverna, one of its most famed traditional who moved from France to Athens in 2015. “I People are tavernas, I meet Stella Tsikrika of This is Athens, interned here because books offer universal help.” angry, they have a combined municipal and touristic initiative to “ support entrepreneurship and promote the city Next door in Choros, an arts collective advocating a lot they want to express and as a destination rather than a fleeting stopover for accessible art and cooperative forms of for island-bound tourists. Tsikrika explains that expression, I talk to Christos Papamichael, process. In Greece, during the 1980s Plateia Theatrou pulsated with founder of Liminal Access, Athens’ only fully this has always yuppie-crammed bars and theatres, but became wheelchair-accessible theatre rehearsal space. “In been the purpose “ rapidly rundown following the crash. She tells me Athens last year there were over 1,000 premieres of theatre and about a current programme offering six-month – that is, completely new theatre productions,” he the arts leases in previously derelict units in the square to says as he brews us coffee at the back of Choros, start-ups and established businesses, charitable which doubles as a yoga studio when it’s not EVI GRINTELA organisations and art foundations. being used for rehearsals. Asked what’s driving this cultural thrust, he smiles. “People are angry, One beneficiary is We Need Books, a multilingual they have a lot they want to express and process,” Papamichael explains that Choros is unlikely to building just north of Syntagma Square. Grintela library tucked into an attic space that used to be he explains. “In Greece, this has always been the remain in its current Plateia Theatrou location. worked in fashion editorial for over 20 years Athens’ flashiest nightclub. We Need Books hopes purpose of theatre and the arts.” The vibrancy of Its six months are up, and, having helped revive before the crisis effectively wiped out the Greek to boost literacy rates among local residents, the arts – and accessible arts – scene in Athens all the area, Choros might be priced out as a result of fashion press. “When I launched the line four chiefly the migrant Bangladeshi and Pakistani sounds wonderfully promising, but as we depart, ongoing gentrification and rising rents. years ago, everyone told me I was crazy to go into dress manufacturing, but I had to find something Five years ago, a studio flat in central Athens could else to do,” she says. “Plus, Athenian fashion tastes be rented for as little as €220 a month; today it’s changed as a result of the crisis too – we’re no more like €400, a steep hike when the monthly longer interested in fast fashion, but in beautiful salary of the average bar or restaurant worker investment pieces made to last.” is just €600 to €700. Yet compared to Paris or Berlin, Athens remains an affordable, relaxed Greek fashion designers are having something of and bohemian haven for artists and musicians; a an international moment right now. Zeus+Dione place where young entrepreneurs can afford their resort wear is also stocked on Net-a-Porter, and dreams and where migrants can make ends meet. Athens-born Mary Katrantzou’s parents were big- Today, as well as drawing an international creative hitters in the city’s design and textile spheres. “The crowd, Athens is luring back young Athenians who Athenian fashion scene is incredibly diverse, with fled after the crash and who now bring expertise, luxe Hellenic-inspired labels such as Zeus+Dione creativity and entrepreneurial chops with them. stocked at i-D Concept Stores on Kanari Street, but also sustainable organic cotton one-offs at Heel Kalomira Papageorgiou was a teacher in her 20s Athens Lab,” comments Elisabeth Bargue, who when she decided to found Prigipo, a popular designs the shopping tours for Alternative Athens. Athenian jewellery line. Today she employs 15 “What unites it all is a rejection of fast fashion.” people at its workshop in Thiseos Street. “The crisis allowed me to take a creative risk, because Food, as well as fashion, serves as a reliable when you have nothing, you have nothing to lose,” barometer of social trends and economic she shrugs. “You might as well follow your dream.” fluctuations in a city. Eating and drinking our I also visit Evi Grintela, whose cult shirt dresses way around Athens, we savour ancient Ottoman are stocked in Matches, Bergdorf Goodman flavours as well as modern Bangladeshi, Pakistani KALOMIRA PAPAGEORGIOU PRIGIPO and Net-a-Porter, at her atelier in an apartment and Albanian influences – a testament to Greece’s •• 92 93 ATHENS, GREECE ATHENS, GREECE welcoming attitude towards migrants over the start-up launched in 2011, has also vanquished years. At the forefront of Athens’ fine-dining Uber as the ride-sharing taxi app of choice – scene is Feedel Urban Gastronomy while the download it before you arrive. newest hotspot is Ergon, which pairs a Californian wholefoods concept-store vibe with organic Much of Athens, however, is navigable on foot PLAKA Greek ingredients. Athens is also home to a and it’s a joy to stumble upon ancient remnants thoroughly bougie bar scene, with venues such as scattered throughout this 20th-century city. The Clumsies and Baba Au Rum topping various Famously one of the world’s oldest cities, Athens is “world’s best bars” lists. among the youngest European capitals. It was only in 1834, following the Greek War of Independence, Wine, however, is a relatively new obsession for that Athens – then a farming town of some 4,000 young Greeks, who tend to sip Jameson whiskey, residents – was chosen as the capital of the newly imported beers or raki, the potent local spirit. In independent Greek state. London and Paris were Tanini Agapi Mou, a new natural-wine bar in the capital cities from the 12th century onwards, so bohemian neighbourhood of Exarcheia with over Athens had some catching up to do. In the 1830s 150 wines by Greek producers, the moustachioed two young architects fresh from studying in owner Stergios Tekeridis painstakingly decants Berlin – Gustav Eduard Schaubert and Stamatis Santorini Assyrtiko and Neméa Agiorgitiko from Kleanthis – produced a topographical plan of measuring cylinders into wine glasses for us.
Recommended publications
  • Urban Planning in the Greek Colonies in Sicily and Magna Graecia
    Urban Planning in the Greek Colonies in Sicily and Magna Graecia (8th – 6th centuries BCE) An honors thesis for the Department of Classics Olivia E. Hayden Tufts University, 2013 Abstract: Although ancient Greeks were traversing the western Mediterranean as early as the Mycenaean Period, the end of the “Dark Age” saw a surge of Greek colonial activity throughout the Mediterranean. Contemporary cities of the Greek homeland were in the process of growing from small, irregularly planned settlements into organized urban spaces. By contrast, the colonies founded overseas in the 8th and 6th centuries BCE lacked any pre-existing structures or spatial organization, allowing the inhabitants to closely approximate their conceptual ideals. For this reason the Greek colonies in Sicily and Magna Graecia, known for their extensive use of gridded urban planning, exemplified the overarching trajectory of urban planning in this period. Over the course of the 8th to 6th centuries BCE the Greek cities in Sicily and Magna Graecia developed many common features, including the zoning of domestic, religious, and political space and the implementation of a gridded street plan in the domestic sector. Each city, however, had its own peculiarities and experimental design elements. I will argue that the interplay between standardization and idiosyncrasy in each city developed as a result of vying for recognition within this tight-knit network of affluent Sicilian and South Italian cities. This competition both stimulated the widespread adoption of popular ideas and encouraged the continuous initiation of new trends. ii Table of Contents: Abstract. …………………….………………………………………………………………….... ii Table of Contents …………………………………….………………………………….…….... iii 1. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………..……….. 1 2.
    [Show full text]
  • Practical Information Venue Location, Transport, Accommodation
    Practical Information Venue location, transport, accommodation 1. Location The meeting will take place at the Aristotle University’s Research Dissemination Center (KEDEA). (http://kedea.rc.auth.gr/). Τhe building is located downtown, on 3rd Septemvriou Str. at Aristotle University’s campus between the Student Club and the University Gymnasium. An important element of the architecture of the building is the characteristic red colour, which makes KEDEA a spatial reference point on the axis of 3rd Septemvriou Str. 2. Local transportation Directions from Thessaloniki Airport (SKG) to the centre of Thessaloniki You can get quickly to the centre of Thessaloniki (Aristotelous Square) via the A25 motorway; by car it takes about 25-30 minutes to cover the distance of 17 kilometers. Taxi You can easily find a taxi right outside the arrival exit, SKG is a small airport so you will not miss the taxi rank. You should expect to pay something between 20 – 25 euros, just keep in mind that there is a 30%increase in the price from 00:00 to 05:00 am. The ride 1 to the airport is metered, so make sure that the driver resets the meter stand as soon as the transfer begins. Public Transport During the day you can travel two times per hour by bus 78; in the late evening and during the night you can take bus 78N. Along the route you can get off in the city centre (Platia Aristotelous) or at an earlier stage, depending on where your hotel is located. The journey time from the airport to the centre of Thessaloniki is approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
    [Show full text]
  • Athenes : Les Incontournables
    LEATHÈNESGUIDE PRATIQUE 1 LES GUIDES DE LAURE ET SOPHIE ; AU SOMMAIRE Les incontournables……..........……………………….………….3 VISITER L’ACROPOLE – VISITER ATHÈNES ET SES QUARTIERS AUTREMENT Où loger à Athènes….………………………………….……………6 Quartiers – Meilleurs hébergements – Annulation Transports………..………………………………………….……………7 DEPUIS L’AÉROPORT – LOUER UNE VOITURE – TRANSPORT EN COMMUN Bien manger à Athènes……………….………….……..…………9 CAFÉ – SUR LE POUCE – TAVERNES ET RESTAURANTS Parler le Grec…………………………………….………..………….10 Carnet pratique.…………….………………………………….……11 NUMÉRO UTILES – SANTÉ - ARGENT - TÉLÉPHONE – JOURS FÉRIÉS Nos guides pour visiter Athènes…………………...………..13 ATHENES : LES INCONTOURNABLES Les monuments et sites archéologiques Athènes est un véritable musée à ciel ouvert. Les sites antiques absolument incontournables sont l’Acropole et le célébrissime Parthénon, l’Agora antique, le Temple de Zeus (aussi appelé l’Olympiéion) et le stade des Panathénées. Les musées d’Athènes Les cinq principaux musées de la capitale sont : • Le musée national d’archéologie • Le musée de l’Acropole • Le musée Benaki • Le musée d’art cycladique • Et le musée d’art chrétien et byzantin Balades dans Athènes Certains quartiers sont incontournables : la place Monastiraki, la place Syntagma où a lieu la relève de la garde, Plaka et Anafiotika avec leurs airs de carte postale ainsi que Psyri. A voir également : le marché central et le jardin national. Ainsi que le mont Lycabette et la colline Philopappos pour profiter du panorama. Découvrir Athènes en quelques jours Grâce à notre guide 100% VivreAthènes. • 5 itinéraires équilibrés comprenant à chaque fois : un site/musée, un quartier, un espace de verdure. • Une centaine de bonnes adresses que nous aimons, à retrouver facilement sur Google Maps. 3 VISITER L’ACROPOLE Informations pratiques • Tarifs : 20€ en été (1er avril - 31 octobre) et 10 euros en hiver (1er novembre - 31 mars).
    [Show full text]
  • The Athenian Prytaneion Discovered? 35
    HESPERIA 75 (2006) THE ATHENIAN Pages 33-81 PRYTANEION DISCOVERED? ABSTRACT The author proposes that the Athenian Prytaneion, one of the city's most important civic buildings, was located in the peristyle complex beneath Agia Aikaterini Square, near the ancient Street of the Tripods and theMonument of Lysikrates in the modern Plaka. This thesis, which is consistent with Pausa s nias topographical account of ancient Athens, is supported by archaeological and epigraphical evidence. The identification of the Prytaneion at the eastern foot of the Acropolis helps to reconstruct the map of Archaic and Classical Athens and illuminates the testimony of Herodotos and Thucydides. most The Prytaneion is the oldest and important of the civic buildings in to us ancient Athens that have remained lost until the present.1 For the or Athenians the Prytaneion, town hall, the office of the city's chief official, as a symbolized the foundation of Athens city-state, its construction form ing an integral part of Theseus's legendary synoecism of Attica (Thuc. 2.15.2; Plut. Thes. 24.3). Like other prytaneia throughout the Greek world, the Athenian Prytaneion represented what has been termed the very "life common of the polis," housing the hearth of the city, the "inextinguishable and immovable flame" of the goddess Hestia.2 As the ceremonial center was of Athens, the Prytaneion the site of both public entertainment for 1.1 am to the to a excellent for greatly indebted express my heartfelt thanks number suggestions improving this 1st Ephoreia of Prehistoric and Classi of scholars who have given generously article.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Heritage in the Realm of the Commons: Conversations on the Case of Greece
    CHAPTER 10 Commoning Over a Cup of Coffee: The Case of Kafeneio, a Co-op Cafe at Plato’s Academy Chrysostomos Galanos The story of Kafeneio Kafeneio, a co-op cafe at Plato’s Academy in Athens, was founded on the 1st of May 2010. The opening day was combined with an open, self-organised gather- ing that emphasised the need to reclaim open public spaces for the people. It is important to note that every turning point in the life of Kafeneio was somehow linked to a large gathering. Indeed, the very start of the initiative, in September 2009, took the form of an alternative festival which we named ‘Point Defect’. In order to understand the choice of ‘Point Defect’ as the name for the launch party, one need only look at the press release we made at the time: ‘When we have a perfect crystal, all atoms are positioned exactly at the points they should be, for the crystal to be intact; in the molecular structure of this crystal everything seems aligned. It can be, however, that one of the atoms is not at place or missing, or another type of atom is at its place. In that case we say that the crystal has a ‘point defect’, a point where its struc- ture is not perfect, a point from which the crystal could start collapsing’. How to cite this book chapter: Galanos, C. 2020. Commoning Over a Cup of Coffee: The Case of Kafeneio, a Co-op Cafe at Plato’s Academy. In Lekakis, S. (ed.) Cultural Heritage in the Realm of the Commons: Conversations on the Case of Greece.
    [Show full text]
  • Athens Guide
    ATHENS GUIDE Made by Dorling Kindersley 27. May 2010 PERSONAL GUIDES POWERED BY traveldk.com 1 Top 10 Athens guide Top 10 Acropolis The temples on the “Sacred Rock” of Athens are considered the most important monuments in the Western world, for they have exerted more influence on our architecture than anything since. The great marble masterpieces were constructed during the late 5th-century BC reign of Perikles, the Golden Age of Athens. Most were temples built to honour Athena, the city’s patron goddess. Still breathtaking for their proportion and scale, both human and majestic, the temples were adorned with magnificent, dramatic sculptures of the gods. Herodes Atticus Theatre Top 10 Sights 9 A much later addition, built in 161 by its namesake. Acropolis Rock In summer it hosts the Athens Festival (see Festivals 1 As the highest part of the city, the rock is an ideal and Events). place for refuge, religion and royalty. The Acropolis Rock has been used continuously for these purposes since Dionysus Theatre Neolithic times. 10 This mosaic-tiled theatre was the site of Classical Greece’s drama competitions, where the tragedies and Propylaia comedies by the great playwrights (Aeschylus, 2 At the top of the rock, you are greeted by the Sophocles, Euripides) were first performed. The theatre Propylaia, the grand entrance through which all visitors seated 15,000, and you can still see engraved front-row passed to reach the summit temples. marble seats, reserved for priests of Dionysus. Temple of Athena Nike (“Victory”) 3 There has been a temple to a goddess of victory at New Acropolis Museum this location since prehistoric times, as it protects and stands over the part of the rock most vulnerable to The Glass Floor enemy attack.
    [Show full text]
  • By Konstantinou, Evangelos Precipitated Primarily by the Study
    by Konstantinou, Evangelos Precipitated primarily by the study of ancient Greece, a growing enthusiasm for Greece emerged in Europe from the 18th century. This enthusiasm manifested itself in literature and art in the movements referred to as classicism and neoclassicism. The founda- tions of contemporary culture were identified in the culture of Greek antiquity and there was an attempt to learn more about and even revive the latter. These efforts manifested themselves in the themes, motifs and forms employed in literature and art. How- ever, European philhellenism also had an effect in the political sphere. Numerous societies were founded to support the cause of Greek independence during the Greek War of Independence, and volunteers went to Greece to join the fight against the Ottoman Empire. Conversely, the emergence of the Enlightenment in Greece was due at least in part to the Greek students who studied at European universities and brought Enlightenment ideas with them back to Greece. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Literary and Popular Philhellenism in Europe 2. European Travellers to Greece and Their Travel Accounts 3. The Greek Enlightenment 4. Reasons for Supporting Greece 5. Philhellenic Germany 6. Lord Byron 7. European Philhellenism 8. Societies for the Support of the Greeks 9. Bavarian "State Philhellenism" 10. Jakob Philip Fallmerayer and Anti-Philhellenism 11. Appendix 1. Sources 2. Bibliography 3. Notes Indices Citation The neo-humanism of the 18th and 19th centuries contributed considerably to the emergence of a philhellenic1 climate in Europe. This new movement was founded by Johann Joachim Winckelmann (1717–1768) (ᇄ Media Link #ab), who identified aesthetic ideals and ethical norms in Greek art, and whose work Geschichte der Kunst des Altertums (1764) (ᇄ Media Link #ac) (History of the Art of Antiquity) made ancient Greece the point of departure for an aestheticizing art history and cultural history.
    [Show full text]
  • Nea Paralias 51 - Juli 2018 3
    Nea Paralias . Dertiende jaargang - Nummer 51 - Juli 2018 . Lees in dit nummer ondermeer : . 3 Voorwoord De voorbeschouwingen van André, onze voorzitter . 3 Uw privacy Eleftheria Paralias en de nieuwe privacywetgeving . 4 Agenda De komende activiteiten, o.a. voordracht, uitstap, kookavond, enz… . 8 Ledennieuws In de kijker: ons muzikaal lid Carl Deseyn . 10 Terugblik Nabeschouwingen over de drie laatste activiteiten . 12 Dialecten en accenten Mopje uit Kreta, in het dialect, met een verklarende uitleg . 14 Actueel Drie maanden wel en wee in Griekenland . 26 Zeg nooit… Er zijn woorden die je maar beter niet uitspreekt . Een drankje uit Corfu, het Aristoteles-menu . 27 Culinair en 3 nieuwe recepten van Johan Vroomen . Inspiratie nodig voor een cadeautje voor je schoonmoeder? Op andere . 29 Griekse humor pagina’s: Remedie tegen kaalheid, Standbeeld . 30 Reisverslag De EP-groepsreis Kreta 2016 deel 5 . Pleinen en buurten Namen van pleinen, straten en buurten hebben meestal een . 32 achtergrond, maar zoals overal weten lokale bewoners niet waarom . van Athene die namen werden gegeven of hoe ze zijn ontstaan . Over de 5.000-drachme brug, ’s werelds oudste olijfboom, . 35 Wist je dat… en andere wetenswaardigheden . Ondermeer de Griekse deelname aan het songfestival . 36 Muziekrubriek en een Kretenzische parodie die een grote hit is . 38 Bestemmingen Reistips en bezienswaardigheden . Bouboulina, de laatste ambachtelijke bladerdeegbakker, . 40 Merkwaardige Grieken . en de Dame van Ro . 43 George George en afgeleide namen zijn de populairste namen voor mannen . 44 Unieke tradities De Botides, het jaarlijkse pottenbreken op Corfu . 44 Links Onze selectie websites die we de voorbije maanden bezochten; . eveneens links naar mooie YouTube-video’s .
    [Show full text]
  • Great Waterworks in Roman Greece Aqueducts and Monumental Fountain Structures Function in Context
    Great Waterworks in Roman Greece Aqueducts and Monumental Fountain Structures Function in Context Access edited by Open Georgia A. Aristodemou and Theodosios P. Tassios Archaeopress Archaeopress Roman Archaeology 35 © Archaeopress and the authors, 2017. Archaeopress Publishing Ltd Gordon House 276 Banbury Road Oxford OX2 7ED www.archaeopress.com ISBN 978 1 78491 764 7 ISBN 978 1 78491 765 4 (e-Pdf) © Archaeopress and the authors 2018 Cover: The monumental arcade bridge of Moria,Access Lesvos, courtesy of Dr Yannis Kourtzellis Creative idea of Tasos Lekkas (Graphics and Web Designer, International Hellenic University) Open All rights Archaeopressreserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owners. Printed in England by Oxuniprint, Oxford This book is available direct from Archaeopress or from our website www.archaeopress.com © Archaeopress and the authors, 2017. Contents Preface ��������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� iii Georgia A. Aristodemou and Theodosios P. Tassios Introduction I� Roman Aqueducts in Greece �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������1 Theodosios P. Tassios Introduction II� Roman Monumental Fountains (Nymphaea) in Greece �����������������������������������������10 Georgia A. Aristodemou PART I: AQUEDUCTS Vaulted-roof aqueduct channels in Roman
    [Show full text]
  • Ambiances, 3 | 2017 Walking and Standing in Athinas Street: Encountering Pedestrian Life in Athen
    Ambiances Environnement sensible, architecture et espace urbain 3 | 2017 Animer l’espace public ? Entre programmation urbaine et activation citoyenne Walking and standing in Athinas Street: Encountering pedestrian life in Athens’ historical centre Postures de la marche dans la rue Athinas : à la rencontre de la vie piétonne au centre historique d’Athènes Dimitra Kanellopoulou Electronic version URL: https://journals.openedition.org/ambiances/1047 DOI: 10.4000/ambiances.1047 ISSN: 2266-839X Publisher: Direction Générale des Patrimoines - DAPA - MCC, UMR 1563 - Ambiances Architectures Urbanités (AAU) Electronic reference Dimitra Kanellopoulou, “Walking and standing in Athinas Street: Encountering pedestrian life in Athens’ historical centre”, Ambiances [Online], 3 | 2017, Online since 10 December 2017, connection on 21 September 2021. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/ambiances/1047 ; DOI: https://doi.org/ 10.4000/ambiances.1047 This text was automatically generated on 21 September 2021. Ambiances is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Walking and standing in Athinas Street: Encountering pedestrian life in Athen... 1 Walking and standing in Athinas Street: Encountering pedestrian life in Athens’ historical centre Postures de la marche dans la rue Athinas : à la rencontre de la vie piétonne au centre historique d’Athènes Dimitra Kanellopoulou Introduction 1 By the end of 1970s, the public spaces of Athens resembled numerous construction sites. Neighbourhood streets transformed into playgrounds, central avenues redesigned to host tram lines, and public squares refurbished with urban furniture, together created a brand new image for the city’s historical centre. After the 1990s, state authorities extensively promoted widespread pedestrianisation, whilst understanding of the practice of walking per se, or the factors that stimulate social interaction in public space, are issues that have been losing prominence within public debate (Kanellopoulou, 2015, p.
    [Show full text]
  • Athens After the Liberation Planningthe New Cityand Exploringthe Old*
    ATHENS AFTER THE LIBERATION PLANNINGTHE NEW CITYAND EXPLORINGTHE OLD* (PLATES80-86) A THENS on the eve of the Greek Revolution of 1821 displayeda three-dimensional record of the city's historical development; it was also a remarkablypicturesque place. Monuments of antiquity and of the Roman period, elegant Byzantine churches, remains of the Frankish conquest, mosques with tall minarets, and secular buildings were still preserved almost intact, while the houses, all built of stone, with their ever present courtyardsand verdant gardens, completed the picture. The wall of Haseki, built in 1778, surroundedthe city, and the Acropolis, "the Castle", with its successive fortificationsconstituted an invulnerable fortress. On its summit an entire quarter for the Turkish garrisonand their families had been created, and a small mosque had been constructedwithin the Parthenon after its destruction by Morosini in 1687 (Fig. 1, Pls. 80, 81). The Athenians, with the help of the villagers of Attica, revolted against the Turks on the 25th of April 1821, and on the 10th of June 1822 they gained control of the Acropolis. During this siege the first destruction of Athens and its monuments oc- curred. In the four subsequent years, however, when the Athenians ruled their own city, they were able to display notable cultural achievements. At that time they also took care of their antiquities:on the initiative of the Philomousos Society, founded in 1813, they collected various antiquities, decided to found a temporary museum and simultaneously brought to light many monuments by removing the buildings which kept them from view. In the same period, Kyriakos Pittakis, the first Greek archaeologist, having been appointed supervisor of the water supply, discovered at the northeast corner of the Acropolis, below the cliffs, the famous Klepsydra spring mentioned by Pausanias (X.28.4).It was the first certain identificationof an ancient monument at a time when students of Athenian topography were trying unsuccessfully to identify the various monuments.
    [Show full text]
  • The Case of Athens During the Refugee Crisis
    The Newcomers’ Right to the Common Space: The case of Athens during the refugee crisis Charalampos Tsavdaroglou Post-Doc Department of Planning and Regional Development School of Engineering, University of Thessaly [email protected] Abstract The ongoing refugee streams that derive from the recent conflict in the Middle East are a central issue to the growing socio-political debate about the different facets of contemporary crisis. While borders, in the era of globalization, constitute porous passages for capital goods and labor market, at the same time they function as new enclosures for migrant and refugee populations. Nevertheless, these human flows contest border regimes and exclusionary urban policies and create a nexus of emerging common spaces. Following the recent spatial approaches on “commons” and “enclosures” (Dellenbaugh et al., 2015; Harvey, 2012; Stavrides, 2016) this paper focuses on the dialectic between the refugees’ solidarity housing commons and the State-run refugee camps. Particularly, I examine the case of Greece, a country that is situated in the South-East-End of the European Union close to Asia and Africa; hence it is in the epicenter of the current refugee crisis and I pinpoint in the case of Athens, the capital of Greece and the main refugee transit city. Il diritto allo spazio comune dei nuovi arrivati: il caso di Atene durante la crisi dei rifugiati L’aumento dei flussi di migranti derivante dal recente conflitto in Medio Oriente rappresenta un tema centrale nel crescente dibattito socio-politico sulle diverse Published with Creative Commons licence: Attribution–Noncommercial–No Derivatives ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies, 2018, 17(2): 376-401 377 sfaccettature della crisi attuale.
    [Show full text]