Athens Walker

2013-05-04

Good Friday in Athens

Easter in Greece is a really distinctive celebration, independent of whether you're an Orthodox Christian, religious or not. Spring is making itself manifest in all its glory, the weather is making people more cheerful and outgoing and families are getting together to celebrate one of the few traditions that still stands strong in this country. And although most people prefer to leave the cities for the country-side (usually going back to their old, family house in the village/small-town they descend from) you still get the feeling of Easter if you stay in Athens.

For one, streets will look much emptier during the Holly Week of Easter as people gradually drip out of the big city. The central food market at Aiolou Street is full of people doing their holiday shopping and churches are full of people, unlike most other days of the year.

The Epitaph procession takes place in the evening of Good Friday and is followed by large numbers of people holding candles and listening to the hymns of a church choir that accompanies the Cross and the bier (symbolic of the Tomb of Christ) which is adorned with flowers.

This year we attended the epitaph procession in the central Athens church of Aghios Georgios Karitsi, at Plateia Karytsi (Karytsi Square). The epitaph made a procession in some of Athens central streets (Christou Lada, Stadiou, Syntagma Square, Ermou, Voulis, Kolokotroni, Praxitelous) - at moments we could see other processions, from other churches, moving down Panepistimiou St. and across Syntagma Sq.- to return to Plateia Karytsi where the priest made a short speech and the band played the Greek national anthem for the people to disperse. The pictures below will hopefully give you a small glimpse of the whole thing.

Acolytes, the Holy Cross and the Bier leaving the church, as the procession starts

Aghios Georgios Karytsi - Epitaph procession in Athens city center

Flower adorned bier - Epitaphios procession of Saint George Karytsi, Athens, Greece

The bier is leaving the church - Epitaph procession at Aghios Georgios Karitsi, Athens, Greece

Band, acolytes with the Holy Cross and choir - Epitaph procession along Stadiou St., Athens, Greece

Good Friday epitaph procession in Athens city centre (Stadiou St. & Syntagma Sq.), Athens, Greece

Priest making a short speech outside St. George Karitsi, after the end of the epitaphios procession on Good Friday, Athens, Greece

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2013-04-29

C.P.Cavafy - 150 years from his birth, 80 years from his death

C.P. Cavafy (Constantinos Cavafis), the most important modern Greek poet, was born 150 years ago today (April 29, 1863) and died 80 years today (April 29, 1933) in Alexandria, Egypt. Two Greeks -both poets- have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature but Cavafy was not one of them. However, he is widely considered to be the greatest and most influential of Greek poets, transcending the barriers of language, ethnicity and time to appeal to persons from all walks of life without even letting you suspect that his poems were written 100 years ago.

A bust of C.P. Cavafy has been placed on Plateia Egyptou (i.e. Egypt's Square) at the corner of Alexandras Ave. and Patission St.

Bust of C.P. Cavafy, Plateia Egyptou, Athens, Greece

The side inscription, in Greek, informs us that it is a gift from Anestis Papastefanou, Honorary President of the Association of the Greek diaspora of Egypt, while a smaller carving on the side reveals that it was created by sculptor Costas Valsamis in 1982.

Bust of C.P. Cavafy (side-inscription), Plateia Egyptou, Athens, Greece

As I've written elsewhere, "Ithaca", his most famous poem, was one of only a handful of readings I remember from my school days and that is not accidental.

Athens-wise, there is also a small street named after Cavafy, at the Kato Patissia neighborhood, and a few others, all minor side-streets, in the suburbs. All in all, a total of 1440meters -less than a mile- of roadway (as measured through Google maps) dedicated to the greatest Greek poet ever born. Considering the overall state and ethic of Greek town administrations it's no surprise and probably it's for the better after all.

View Places related to C.P. Cavafy in a larger map

There will be various events comemmorating his birth (and death) this year in Greece, but the best thing you can do is pick up one of his books and really delve into his poetry. You may find translations in various languages, including English.
C.P. Cavafy in Amazon.com
C.P. Cavafy in Amazon.co.uk

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2013-04-14

A Greek food festival in Athens

I went to Technopolis-Gazi today, the former gaz works factory turned culture centre, for a festival of Greek food, bringing together small producers from all over the country. The festival, co-sponsored by the City of Athens and Athinorama magazine, is a chance for people in the food and restaurant industry to network between them and with people form other fields but it is also open to the general public for a price of 5€ /day (running from Friday to Sunday). I imagine that if it turns out to be a success, on commercial criteria, it might as well be repeated next year or later, so look out for the "upcoming events" list here, some time next spring.

Saturday was a beautiful day anyway, so walking and sampling various treats in between, from the stalls of producers and merchants just felt like the right thing to do!