Every time I leave my city and then return, I find it uglier and uglier. Especially if I return home from a vacation destination, the effort that I make to adapt amazes me.
I am not sure if this is because I come home from vacation. Or because the city itself – Athens in particular - is unpleasant and filthy.
Some marketing of my city! But I must be honest here. Apart from the city center that is an attraction to tourists, the rest of the city center is poorly preserved. There is not much care for cleaning, nor is there for preserving any nice buildings left. Also, if you visit other – European or Asian or African – destinations they are not necessarily cleaner. But they are new to me, this is why perhaps I fail to see their flaws…
And it is not just the garbage or the tremendous number of graffities or the smell from the gas emissions that bother me. It is all these and the fact that there is no plan or wish to alter. We are lazy and we have the politicians we deserve, that’s why!
The Athenian suburbs don’t have the same lack, fortunately. But they are not as interesting as the city center either… You see, in the city center you may find all the theatres, museums, crowds of people and tourists, protests, historical places and shopping options mixed up in a city that is like The Babel.
I forgot to mention that Athens center is also home to all tribes of the world. And no one stands out; everyone is free and equal. Each race have their temples to pray, their shops, their cultural centers. There is actual democracy and no one, no one will take away anyone’s freedom. That is not always guaranteed.
So ok, my city stinks, but, on the other hand, I don’t want to move to another place, city, or village. Addiction, or am I reluctant to leave my comfort zone?
Thank God for the Acropolis… always and everywhere.
Enjoy!