Burning down the house

We are all watching as the last haven of our capital city is being burned to the ground. The fire began Wednesday afternoon 15 km away from the National Park of Parnitha (a NATURA 2000 site) and reached it yesterday afternoon. There is ash flying all over the city, and the smell is just so scary. There are way too many questions the government and the local authorities will have to answer to.
How timely this is, if one thinks of the Greek government's plan to amend article 24 of the constitution by inserting an innocuous passage which will allow development in order to meet "public needs", aka opening the door for uncontrolled development in forest areas. This along with the absence of a national cadastre, a forestry inventory and the recently proposed Spatial Planning Framework for Tourism, make all of us working in the environmental field all the more angry and suspicious of our country's "leaders".

The Street of the Tripods

Lysikrates monument

The Hellenic Society's building at #28

The retaining wall

Original paved surface & drainage

The olive press

I didn’t have to go very far to find this one! I happen to be working on one of the oldest roads in Europe, Tripodon street in Plaka area, under the Acropolis.
The street of the tripods, was named after the 3-legged bronze cauldrons were awarded to the victorious choregoi (sponsors) of the dramatic contests that took place during festivals like the Dionysia.
One can see the Choragic Monument of Lysikrates (334 – 333 BC) at the beginning of the street, and a bit further down at number 28 is the neoclassical building in which my office is housed. It was built during King Othon’s reign (1833-1862) and it’s restoration works won a Europa Nostra award, along with revealing several antiquities: a 4m-high stone retaining wall of the Classical period (5th century BC), a part of the original paved surface of the street with its ceramic drainge channel, and part of an olive press of a later date.

Urban Contradictions

Saw this (could be a Tracey Emin piece for all I know!) while walking back to the car last night, after the amazing Goran Bregovic concert in the open air theater in Vyronas...

...and after a few meters, saw this. It was the first time we all saw some kind of municipal initiative in this country concerning dog shit, which happens to be everywhere in the city, since Greek dog owners dont bother cleaning up!

Παγκόσμια Ημέρα Περιβάλλοντος - World Environment Day

Με σύνθημα«Το κλίμα αλλάζει...αλλάζω ζωή!»

Οι δράσεις της ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗΣ ΕΤΑΙΡΕΙΑΣ για το περιβάλλον, στα πλαίσια του εορτασμού της Παγκόσμιας Ημέρας Περιβάλλοντος, αρχίζουν την Κυριακή, 3 Ιουνίου στις 7 το απόγευμα στην Πύλη του Αδριανού.