Zebekiko king is dead

He did not have the silkiest, most melodious voice in the world. His songs often had difficult lyrics to remember. He did not have Brad Pitt looks or a well built body. Yet, Dimitris Mitropanos was the Zeibekiko king for the last 20 years at least. An unadorned, honest,no frills, genuine performer Mitropanos filled any [...]

Greeks and tobacco: a love-hate affair

The only law that the Papandreou government actively pursued is the law against smoking in public places. There were incidents of public health officials actually charging café owners with heavy fines ( 6.000 Euros is the latest) for allowing smoking in their establishments. This has proved to be one more mistake. It was the wrong [...]

The third wedding – a tale of two women

“The third wedding” is an iconoclastic book. The writer, Kostas Tahtsis, a self proclaimed homosexual, does not hesitate to expose the  hypocrisy and false ethics, the strength and weakness of the Greek middle class he depicts with such accuracy. The adaptation of the novel for the theater was undertaken by Mr. Stamatis Fasoulis, a respected [...]

“Medea” – an inspiring Greek tragedy

I have to admit that I have not watched many Greek tragedies. In spite of living in Athens for the last thirty years this is the first time I went to the Herodion Theater and saw “Medea”. The character herself is intriguing, the story well known so I concentrated on the text, the direction and [...]

Leros – lazy, lush and lingering – my Greek island of the year

Leros, one of the Dodecanese islands, lies between Kalymnos ( a tiny island famous for its spongers ) and Patmos (the island of the Apocalypse) in the South Eastern part of the Aegean. The sea trip takes from 8 to 12 hours depending on the boat and the stops it makes but it is so [...]

Santorini a sure winner

Santorini has always been a favourite destination. Its haunting past, its impressive location, the mystery that surrounds it added to warm, genuine people and exquisite food and wine make it a real jewel of the Aegean. This year it was voted the best island by the readers of travel + leisure magazine and its inhabitants [...]

A special night out – Lisbon via Athens

Tonight was a special night out. Miracles never cease in big cities. I heard on the radio about the MUSEUM OF GREEK FOLK musical instruments and its daily June-July concerts.Most of my friends knew of it already so I felt once more like a diaspora Greek or a plain tourist. An expected leafy yard in [...]

Summer has finally arrived to Greece

Today, Saturday, 11 June 2011, is the first day of a long weekend and the first day I actually saw people hit the beaches and celebrate the arrival of summer. The financial crisis that has hit the country cannot fight against the heat and the tempting blue sea that surrounds Athens. The Saronic gulf, from [...]

Athens – Edinburgh 1 -0

Five days in cloudy, wet, dark and miserable Edinburgh were enough to make me miss Athens, Greece!!! More so since I have often heard it mentioned as the Athens of the North. I missed the light, the sun, the fresh breeze in the morning. I forgot all about the traffic, the noise, the dirt and [...]

Athens in May – Athens at its best

Athens is not my favourite city. I don’t like cities in general. May on the other hand is a totally different situation. You can feel it in the air that becomes crispy clean, you can hear it in the birds, you can see it in the budding flower pots, you can touch the dew in [...]