Travel Series: Athens
Athens is an unembellished city, holding no illusions of grandeur, any attempt at European splendor, abandoned long ago. Walking along her narrow, winding streets one catches glimpses of what could have been; neoclassical buildings here and there, effusing an air of refinement and superiority. But these buildings were rejected by the city, and lie abandoned; plaster crumbling, foundations laid bare, an ever-present layer of graffiti warming their walls. Athens exposes herself wholly and shamelessly. Unfiltered, uncensored, one might say, raw.
She does, however, have one prized jewel, which she wears religiously and without fault. Athens’s light is envied by many but admired by all. A penetrating light, exposing and purifying everything it touches with vitality. It seeps through every crack of the city, casting thin columns of light, that suffice to light up entire alleys. Even after the sun has set, light hangs across the sky, latched onto every available surface, producing colors thought unimaginable. In those fleeting evening hours, Athens stands there, with her jewel glistening proudly, a true little gem of a city.
