It has been awhile since I have blogged. After my month of constant travel, I came to a time of quite a bit of work and busied myself with living my life, that I have not had much time for reflection. However, this is one blog entry I have been looking forward to writing since my trip.
After our amazing trip to the Lycian Peninsula, I had to work for five days, and then there was a four day weekend. That’s crazy, one would think we could break up the time off, but I’m certainly not complaining. With four days off of work, I had to get out of the city. My choice: Athens, Greece.
This year has been so full of reminders of how fortunate I am, and my weekend trip to Athens was another reminder. In sixth grade, I made a really detailed drawing of the Parthenon; I was so fascinated with this ancient temple. In my undergrad, I studied ancient Greece and classical sculpture in my art history classes; never really sure when I would have the time and money to see these sights in real life. Now I am taking a four day weekend to this city of ancient wonders and modern struggle.
My weekend began with one of those fantastic chance encounters in the airport, where I met a band traveling to Athens to play a show on Saturday night. Shearwater put me on their guest list, with a ‘plus one’ in case I found a friend to bring along. I had a connection to meet with; a friend of some friends, so I emailed AM and we made plans to meet up and go to this show later that night at An Club (yes that really is the name, not a typo, short for Anarchist or Anarchy).
As soon as I arrived at my hostel, I left with the intention of getting to the Acropolis. I hiked up the hill, only to find that it closes t 3:00pm (it was 2:40). Athens!? Really?! Major tourist attraction closed at 3:00 on a 
Saturday!? No wonder you guys have no money! Disappointed, I had to settle for a visit to the Acropolis Museum, which houses the artifacts and artwork found at the Acropolis site. It is worth noting that I saw so many sculptures of nude Athenian men that I began to wonder if they ever wore clothes. Interestingly (and pleasantly) enough, the majority of these male nudes were fully intact, a rarity for sculpture as old as these. The collection features many kouri as well as full relief sculptures that made up the friezes along the top of the Parthenon. Seeing the relics of antiquity that I studied extensively in art history refreshed my interest in classical sculpture as I saw how perfectly rendered these pieces are. Stories of war and battles, myth and religion, as well as every day life are depicted in the various pieces of this rich collection.
The district surrounding the Acropolis is picturesque pretty with cobble stones, boutiques, touristic shops. The warm air is heavy with the scent of orange blossoms, and one has the surreal feeling of walking though Disneyland or a movie set. This is the Athens that is presented to the tourists, pretty and friendly, tasty, historic, a glossed-over bliss.
After a meal of gyro and a beer, and a wander through orange blossom smelling alleys, I met up with an Athens Couchsurfing On the guest list and in the front rowAmbassador, AM. He and I share mutual friends in Istanbul, though I have been lazy about creating my Couchsurfing profile. However, after spending time with AM, I have a better understanding of the organization, and it was great to have people to hang out with while traveling alone. We went to a Couchsurfing picnic on top of a hill opposite the Acropolis with views of the sea, city, and monuments. I met a bunch of people, some of whom were traveling, some living in Athens, ate some pastry, and sang along to Bob Marley and Red Hot Chili Peppers played on a guitar.
On the guest list and in the front row
One thing I really miss about home is seeing live music. I don’t go out to clubs much in Istanbul because it is hard to find music I like and the things I do like usually play on weeknights. I’m not so good at going to a show and then going to work the next morning. The Shearwater show we went do didn’t disappoint. The club was grungy and small, the crowd was super into the band, and thus the band reciprocated. When planning my trip to Athens I did not anticipate being introduced to new American music and meeting so many fantastic people.
An Club is located in the Exarhia district of Athens, home to the anarchist scene, much street art, and the occasional demonstration. The evening we were in the area there was a free punk rock show in Exarhia square, thus a large number of people were gathered. When our show had ended and we were deciding what to do next, we heard the distinct sound of petrol bombs and people yelling. Of course I am aware of the protests in Athens but I wasn’t really sure of what that would mean. We made our way to another bar and encountered no trouble and no other bomb sounds. However, I did feel the burn of tear gas in the back of my throat a few hours later.
On Sunday I made my pilgrimage to the Acropolis, and a pilgrimage was what it felt like. I spent two hours walking around the ancient temple site under the blazing sun, over-looking the modern city, taking a million photographs, trying to imagine what it was like in its heyday with Athena and Zeus, Socrates and Plato reining supreme.
Monday was a day trip to Delphi, the site of the navel of the Earth and the Oracle of Delphi. The country side is beautifully crisscrossed with poppy fields and olive groves as we climbed into the mountains. One of the most interesting monuments in Delphi is the Stoa of the Athenians. It is said that when the slaves were freed in Athens, they made pilgrimages to Delphi and constructed a temple to Apollo around 480BCE. Each slave carved his name in the wall of the stoa, and these names remain.
You can barely make out the Greek script with the names of the slaves
Returning to the city, I met up with AM and a friend of his for some pastry with cheese, ham, and bacon, and some beers. We discussed life in modern Athens and the strife that the Greeks are experiencing. AM mentioned that his father’s pension was cut by almost 700Euros (if I’m remembering correctly) and that the taxes have increased in the city on necessities such as public transportation and housing such that it is very difficult to live. I am not the most politically minded person, and lord knows I don’t do the best job reading the news, so his explanations made this all a lot more understandable to me.
I spent my last day in Athens marveling at the pieces in the Archaeological Museum. Highlight of the Archaeology museum was seeing a sculpture of Aphrodite being leered at by Pan; she is defending herself from his advances by smacking him with her sandal. Brilliant! Aphrodite, you sure know how to get your point across.
Aphrodite beating Pan with a sandal
My last stop before the airport in Athens was just a walk around the Exarhia District. When I was there on Saturday night, I saw a bunch of murals and street art and wanted to see the area in the daylight. Many pieces were obviously politically motivated with images of gas masks, tags reading “Athens Burns”, and ideals of revolution. I saw commentary on the tourism industry and generic pieces about police. As I wandered, I started feeling a slight burn in the back of my throat and realized it was the reminisce of tear gas. This neighborhood is frequently gassed, and the people who live here have to live with this. I assume the gas smell I experienced on this day (Tuesday) is different from the gas exposure from the last time I was in this district (Saturday). It would be difficult to be living in this area and not feel that the state wasn’t against you. I was only walking around for an hour or so and both times I was in this area of the city I had the same experience. If I lived here, I would be angry too. Greece is known as the foundation of democracy…how sad would the great philosophers be to see how corrupted their ideals have become?
(My) Life After 