Just a few street photographs from downtown Athens on a cloudy rainy day from a few days ago.
And now it is hot again! Crazy weather. And I put away most of my summer clothes.
Downtown Scenes
Dream a Little Dream..
I took a stroll through the Psirri district of Athens. Little Kook cafe always has the best decorations. This seasons’ theme is Peter Pan.
“Come with me where dreams are born and time is never planned.” Peter Pan
“Stars are beautiful, but they may not take part in anything, they must just look on forever.” Peter Pan
“Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it.” Peter Pan
Final Goodbye/Τελευταιο Αντιο
I went for a stroll downtown today. It’s been a long, long time.
It was a extra chaotic day downtown, with the Acropolis Rally and the funeral service for Mikis Theodorakis still taking place, and the unexpected rainy weather. I didn’t expect any of these events to happen today.
I stumbled upon legendary Greek composers’ Mikis Theodorakis funeral service at the Metropolitan Church of Athens. He passed away on the 2nd of September, and I assumed that his casket would be in Crete by now where he is originally from. There were a lot of people with red roses in their hand waiting in line to enter the church and his other hardcore fans stood singing his songs in front of the church. It was very moving with the somber weather and the birds flying over us right after a lyric alluding to the birds was sung.
Therea are still a lot of tourists and it was very crowded and busy.
A Helpful Hand/Χερι Βοηθειας
I was inspired to make this collage by the act of solidarity toward Greece during last August’s horrific fires. Many volunteer firefighters from Greece and beyond as well as professional firefighters and equipment from: France, Romania, Poland, Cyprus, Ukraine, Israel, Serbia, Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, and Russia lent a helping hand to Greece.
We are very grateful and thank everyone who helped Greece in the time of need.
In a world that is facing many crises it is a beautiful thing to see people come together; to see the humanity in a time of aggression, anger and division. .
Night Time Views
Last night I went to Mount Penteli, a mountain in the north east of Athens. I wanted to take some night photographs of the Athenian landscape, and of course the blue sturgeon moon.
This mountain is very famous and signifiant as it was from this mountain that the marble for the Parthenon came from.
The Wrath of Zeus/Η Οργη του Δια
After the fires a bizare electrical storm lit up the Athenian skies. A highly unusual weather occurence for the Attiki region for the month of August.
Fires are still raging in some parts of Greece…
Μετά τις πυρκαγιές μια παράξενη ηλεκτρική καταιγίδα φώτισε τον αθηναϊκό ουρανό. Ένα εξαιρετικά ασυνήθιστο καιρικό φαινόμενο για την περιοχή της Αττικής για τον μήνα Αύγουστο.
Οι φωτιές εξακολουθούν να μαίνονται σε ορισμένα μέρη της Ελλάδας …
Varibobi Fires (Athens wildfires)
A terrible disaster unfolded yesterday in the north east area of Athens. It is an area with a beautiful forest. The ‘lungs of Athens’ as it is called. In Greece we have wildfires every summer and we’ve had numerous fires this summer, but the Varibobi fire is huge and unusual. The area is a refuge for those living in the concrete jungle and who want to quickly escape the city.
This summer has been an unprecdented hot one for Greece. We are into our second heatwave of the summer and yesterday was the 7th day of the heatwave with temperatures reaching a high of 47° C in some regions. We couldn’t go outside because it is just unbearably hot, and we are advised not to. Heat exhaustion and/or sun stroke are things that you don’t want to ever experience.
The southern Meditteranean is suffering from excessive heat and fires everything made worse by climate change. I am afraid that it is only going to get worse if the worlds’ (corrupt) leaders don’t finally take REAL and DRASTIC measures.
Other areas of Greece suffering from wildfires include Elia (where the town of Ancient Olympia is located), Northern Evia (biblical catatastrophe), Messinia, Arcadia.
The air quality in Athens is so terrible we are advised to stay in doors. And it is ‘raining’ ashes.
Pray for Greece and the whole world, because I’m afraid that wrath of mother nature is not over.
A Mockery of Democracy
In my drawing the ghost of Cleisthenes (the father of democracy) visits a modern ‘democratic’ leader to give him a lesson on what democracy truly is. Demokratia, or “rule by the people” from demos, “the people,” and kratos, or “power”.
Many of the worlds’ leaders have made a mess of things from their handling of the pandemic to their lax attitube toward tackling climate change. They have divided the people and created an apartheid. The vaccinated vs unvaccinated. And to make matters worse leaders of countries like France and Greece want to enforce mandatory vaccinations. These totalitarian actions are only adding more fuel to the fire that was been burning for years. People are suffering financially due to the lockdowns and they are being told that heir wages will be cut or that they will be fired if they don’t get vaccinated. This is completely unexpectable and unconstitiutional. Also, IT IS agaisnt the Nuremberg code, and I beg to differ for anyone that disagrees. There will be major outbreaks if this abuse of power doesn’t end as people are waking up and becoming increasingly fed up with their leaders.
So, more power to the people as these governments are only bringing us closer to war and to our extinction!
Big Butterfly/Μεγαλη Πεταλουδα
A big butterfly-the largest I’ve ever seen- landed in my garden yesterday.
Μια μεγάλη πεταλούδα – η μεγαλύτερη που έχω δει ποτέ – προσγειώθηκε χθες στον κήπο μου.
“Happiness is a butterfly, which when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.” -Nathaniel Hawthorne
Strawberry Supermoon
Yesterdays’ strawberry supermoon is the last supermoon of 2021, and the first full moon of the summer. It is named the strawberry moon because it coincides with the strawberry harvesting season.
The moon was too far away. I needed a larger lens or a telescope to capture a clearer shot! It was still pretty from a distance though.
My strawberries are looking great and they taste delicious too. They need a lot of water and are persevering with the crazy, hot Greek heat.
