Farewell to Athens

Today we leave Athens for a week on the Greek Islands. It’s difficult to know exactly how to feel about leaving this city. Usually, when we leave a city after having spent any length of time there, there is a feeling that we are going to miss the place (the only exception to this we have ever had was in Naples – couldn’t wait to leave). At the moment, I don’t feel that I will miss Athens, at least not in an immediate sense. However, I feel that with the passing of time, we will look back fondly on our time in Athens. The very first moments we emerged from the Paris underground we fell in love with the French capitol. Our first glimpse of London had the hairs on the back of our necks standing on end, and our first experiences of Rome are indelibly imprinted in our memory. Athens has not affected us this way. That is not to say, of course, that we haven’t enjoyed our time here, we have. Perhaps it is more that Athens has not had the same visceral impact that some of these other great cities did. We had to work harder to appreciate Athens. It does not contain the charm of Paris, the excitement of London, or even the sense of grandeur of Rome. Yet, it does have a quality, a quality perhaps best appreciated once you leave.

This building is in the CBD, very shabby and derelict

We will undoubtedly remember Athens for some of the wrong reasons: its shabbiness; its chaos; its underlying poverty. But, come to think of it, all memories of places we visit are amalgams of the things we loved and the things we didn’t. Take the shabbiness away from Athens and I doubt it would still seem like Athens. Replace chaos with order and, once again, you would no longer be in this place. Would we return; I suspect not. Are we glad we came, well, I can’t speak for Alison, but I’m certainly glad I did. To me, Athens is the sort of place I will remember for the rest of my life, not because it’s one of the best places I’ve seen, rather, because to not have seen it I think my life would have been a little poorer. Of course, the archaeology of this city is awe inspiring; it is simply impossible not to be captivated by the achievements of the ancient Athenians. But modern Athens is equally as captivating. I suspect that something of the qualities of the ancient Athenians remains within every resident of the modern city.

The Tower of the Winds, built 1st century BC by Syrian astronomer Adronicus

This cemetery dates back centuries before even Roman times

For our final morning here, we walked down to Athen’s central market. Actually, we stumbled across this incredible market quite by accident on our first full day here while looking for a supermarket. It consists of a meat section, quite unlike anything we have in Australia, a fruit and veggie section, and a section selling just about every spice you can imagine. There are perhaps one hundred butchers, each with their respective meats hanging from their shops, much of it under no sort of refrigeration in temperatures well into the high 20s (it regularly gets to the high 30s in summer). When purchased, the meat is passed from one set of hands to another before it is finally wrapped, and all without any plastic gloves. Meat is chopped and cut on blocks right where the general public walks, which explains why, at one point, I was splattered with bone fragments – try getting away with this in Australia. But this is what makes Athens what it is.

I’m not sure whether or not Greece is recognised for its distinct food, but we’ve been amazed by the variety of different foods available and just how delicious they are. Meat features a fair bit, as do fresh tomatoes, lettuce, red onions, garlic and cucumbers. And, of course, the ubiquitous pita bread dominates almost every meal. Made fresh each day, and purchased in packs of ten for around one euro, Greeks eat them with almost every meal.

A common sight, cooked and cured meats are everywhere

Athenians buy their herbs and spices fresh by the kilo

The Athenians have always been a civilization of fishermen

The fresh meat market is a real gem

Ooh, what an offal sight

Apart from the variety, Greek food is also very inexpensive, at least by our standards. Some of the largest prawns I have ever seen can be purchased from the fresh fish market for around $15 AUD per kilo, while beautiful red salmon is only a few dollars more.

Will we miss Athens, absolutely.