Monday, August 24, 2015

TRAVEL SPECIAL .........................An Ode to GREECE

An Ode to GREECE


A jaunt through Greece's iconic architectural buffet and diverse food platter

Like TS Eliot's Prufrock, I stand and stare at the milky white Doric columns of the Parthenon, silhouetted against a ver million sun, almost forgetting to breathe for a few minutes.
Unmindful of the catatonic heat, and the touristy whirligig that engulfs me, I volley frantically between my iPhone, iPad and Nikon to capture classical Greece's most iconic architectural marvel -the Acropolis.
My paparazzi-like fervour is punctured somewhat by a gravelly voice. “Please don't stop here. This is the entrance, keep moving!“ a guard instructs me. The gent is shepherding huge crowds off the temple's stairs as they pause mid-climb to marvel at the sheer size and complexity of the structure, thereby creating a gridlock. Regardless, I'm told the Acropo lis is snapped by over three million visitors per year, a testimony to its stunning beauty.
Built in the fifth century BC, the phalanx of Acropolis temples is actually a substantial plateaued rock perched high above the concrete jungle that is modern Athens. It offers a riveting amphitheatre -the Parthenon, Propylaea gateway, Temple of Athena Nike, Erechtheum...and fortuitously, our 12-euro-each pass allowed us access to the architectural buffet. Even though a lot of the Acropolis' structures are currently undergoing long-term restorative work, and are swathed in scaffoldings, their allure remains undiminished. The magnificence of light bouncing off those storied 46 Doric pillars forces one to wonder about the resilience of a structure that has withstood 2,500 years of earthquakes, erosion and a devastating bombshell that would have flattened anything ordinary.
But then Greece isn't about the ordinary. It is about grandeur, elegance and splendour. And each place we visited on our familial vacation -Athens, Santorini, Mykonos, Pyrgos -offered us plenty of all three. There was salubriousness to soak in, world heritage monuments to gawk at and luminous seascapes to laud. While walking, we would stumble upon a charming ruin as if it was no big deal, when it actually was. Marketplaces radiated palpable atmosphere, squaresparks flaunted exquisitely chiselled marble statues...The sensory overload made our heads spin.
At the Acropolis Museum in Athens, designed by Swissborn architect Bernard Tschumi, we inspected artefacts from Greece's most famous sites including the Hekatompedon, Acropolis' oldest building. Tiptoeing gingerly over seethrough glass, we checked out sprawling Grecian ruins in the netherworld even as our legs turned to jelly. The Parthenon Gallery -where portions of the Parthenon frieze are dramatically showcased -took us over an hour of exploration.
Vibrant Athens
Athens, the national capital city, is vibrant and full of culture, both ancient and modern, playing muse to famous travel writers like Henry Miller, Freya Stark and Sir Patrick Leigh Fermor. Central Athens' oldest neighbourhood -Plaka -radiates atmosphere so tangible it can be sliced with a knife. This is the city's oldest part, an old Ottoman quarter nestling along the Acropolis' slopes.
Plaka's Byzantine alleys and pedestrianised streets overflow with cafés and boutiques. And as I navigated my way around this concrete jigsaw, narrow cobblestoned streets , souvenir kiosks and whitewashed neoclassical architecture presented a beguiling cocktail of modernity and tradition. Athens' elegant ambience was settling into my bones.
Smack dab in the midst of Plaka lies Monastiraki (or `little monastery'), Athens' principal enclave hosting antique shops and a sprawling al fresco market. This is where street peddlers will vie for your euros selling fresh flowers and knick-knacks.
I focus on the theatre around -bustling crowds, endless photo ops in the form of vendors' baskets spilling over with succulent strawberries, apricots, nectarines, a hawker selling Spartan helmets, Grecian urns and antique crockery. Even as I'm rifling through these wares, rhythmic drum beats entice me like the song of a Mediterranean siren to the Roman agora (open square) where a group of youths are singing and dancing. An eclectic audience is taking it all in from the Monastiraki square. The youths serenade tourists and diners, catalysing business at nearby eateries, in exchange for tips or free meals.
Athens possesses an energy that's hard to miss. Is it the city's friendly people? Its architecture, brimming with tales of intrigue and valour? Or is its fabled museums? All, I reckon, coalesce to make the place irresistible.The city also adroitly juxtaposes the old with the new. Along with ruins, it offers the most pulsating nightlife in Europe. The freshlyminted districts of Psirri and Gazi, with their slick tavernas, bars and experimental dance clubs, are packed to the rafters each night by the fashion-forward. Clubs resonate with the strains of violins, mandolins, guitars, and peppy traditional music. Economic turmoil?
Who dat?
Foodie's Haven
The National Gardens are a much-thronged leafy oases in Athens. Cypress, pine and palm trees provide a verdant canopy for trails, brooks, bridges, duck ponds and a botanical museum. Cheek by jowl sits the stately Parliament building and the Monument of the Unknown Soldier, the latter swarming with tourists clicking selfies with the bashful evzones (the elite, skirt-sporting military guards) whose w duty changes on the hour.
You'll always eat well in Athens. From wallet-friendly le pita-on-the-go joints to tony tavern with glam degustation menus, there's the nas whole enchilada on offer. One star-speckled w night, we dined at Cafe Avissinia in Monastiran ki. As street musicians did their thing, we k worked our way through a grilled platter -a w marine medley comprising lightly battered, m cajun-dusted chorizo, calamari and cro quettes swimming in a berry tzaziki. Up next was a roasted manouri cheese salad anointed w with pine nuts, orange segments and a black berry dressing. Rounding off the meal was sarikopita, a gooey cheese pie drizzled with honey and toasted sesame. I took my first bite and almost melted m into one big taste bud.
The Greek hodgepodge school of international cooking mirrors sundry culinary influences -African, Middle Eastern, European, even British. The Spanish imprimaturer manifests itself in the form of `mezedes' or tapas. These are delicious bon mots, concocted from whatever catches the de chef 's fancy that day. But presentation is key. Usually, chmezedes are brought out for inspection by the chef, allowing punters to choose the ones they'd like to be served. For lunch at a local bistro, we ordered an assortment of mezedes -lemony stuffed cabbage with béchamel, m chopped fried zucchini, shitake with tzaziki, and creamy ch feta flecked with hot green peppers. The Greek salad with a fe brick of salty feta, dark-hued olive oil and a garlicky tzaziki br was super tasty. As was the lamb meatball curry, slow w cooked down to a melting melange of meat pieces, spices, co onion, mint and garlic. Dessert was gelato -not one, but on two, each! There were so many tempting flavours, it was hard to choose just one.  Brunches are also a big draw in Athens, popular items being frittata with truffles, tomatoes and artichokes, and pies layered with spinach, feta or smoked bacon. Coffee drinking seems to be the city's favourite pastime. Cafes are chockfull of punters chinwagging over froth-topped frappé, a chilled concoction whose craze swept over Greece in the late '60s and '70s. And apparently still hasn't abated.
We watch a cafe owner construct our frappes with a flurry of sugar and water in a shaker until it was as frothy as a meringue. The liquid was then poured into a tall glass, and ice and evaporated milk were added. Unlike frappe, Elliniko -the quintessentially Greek beverage -made by hand is witnessing eroding standards due to the increased use of espresso machines, rued many restaurateurs.
Cape Sounion
On our last day in Athens, we drove down to Cape Sounion, a stunning suburb gilded by a lapis lazuli Aegean Sea. It was a cloudless day, an intoxicating zephyr weaving magic in the air. Sounion is where the ruins of the ancient temple dedicated to Greek Poseidon, the God of sea, are located. In a maritime country like Greece, Poseidon ruled the divine hierarchy. His volatile temper, manifested in the form of fiery storms, struck fear in the heart of mariners.
Apparently, Cape Sounion was also where Aegeus, king of Athens, leapt to his death thus bequeathing his name to the Aegean Sea. Legend has it that Aegeus had a meltdown when he saw a black sail on his son Theseus' ship. The latter was returning from Crete after battling Minotaur, half man, half bull. Presuming his son was killed in the gladiatorial contest, Aegeus committed suicide. Ironically, Theseus was returning victorious but was so tired, he forgot to change the flag.
The earliest literary reference to Sounion is in Homer's Odyssey. And my mind flashed back to college, when as an English literature student, the epic's exquisite prose had seamlessly transported me from the dreary confines of the classroom to enchanting Grecian shores. Who knew that one day I'd actually be travelling in real time to the very terra firma the bard had so eloquently described in one of my favourite narratives?
Neeta Lal

ETM16AUG15 

No comments: