15 July 2025
Second day of conference. My new friend
Kiyasha was presenting her paper, so I attended to give her moral support and
take pictures for her. As soon as she finished, we ditched the conference and
went gallivanting – some other attendees told us where we can find cheap
souvenirs so we walked there, and I bought all the souvenirs to my heart’s
desire. They had the ‘evil eye’ here, which I remember from my trip to Turkey
as being distinctively Turkish. The answer would eventually come to me later.
On the way, we saw a beautiful church
known as the Holy Church of Agia Paraskevi of the Holy Martyr, named after a
Christian saint who was persecuted by the Roman Emperor Antonius. We took a
look inside, which, like most churches I’ve been to, offered peace and
serenity.
And then we walked to Plaka – old Athens
as the locals call it, but now terribly commercialised into a tourist area with
restaurants and cafes all over the place, and overpriced souvenir shops. Still,
the streets and buildings were quaint and did give a feeling of ancient times.
There were ruins almost everywhere, one was the Acharnian Gate of the Ancient
Athens Wall. Seriously, Greece is steeped with such rich history that I believe
you can dig just about anywhere and find some kind of ruins or history. So
fascinating!
Then we made it back to the conference in
time for lunch – the same Greek salad, moussaka (which I couldn’t eat as there
was beef again but just as well, as there was eggplant too yuck!), pasta and
dessert. Then I told Kiyasha I was heading back to my hotel as I wanted to give
the afternoon a miss, rest a while and perhaps take a nap as in the evening
there was a guided tour around Athens, including to the Acropolis and the much
anticipated Parthenon.
I didn’t sleep a
wink, although I did not have enough sleep. Anyway, at the appointed time I
arrived for the guided tour. On the walk, we learned a little bit about the
history of Greece.
Greece’s
history stretches back over millennia, from the mythical age of heroes and
gods, through the heights of Classical philosophy and empire, into centuries of
foreign rule and finally, to modern independence. After the golden age of
Athens and the spread of Hellenism under Alexander the Great, Greece eventually
became part of the Roman Empire, and later the Byzantine Empire, with its
glittering capital in Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul).
For over a thousand years, Byzantine culture
preserved Greek Orthodox Christianity, art, philosophy, and learning, even as
the Western Roman Empire fell into ruin.
In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottomans under
Sultan Mehmed II. This marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the beginning
of nearly 400 years of Ottoman rule over much of Greece. For Greeks, it was the
beginning of what many call the “Turkokratia” (Turkish rule), a long period
marked by heavy taxation, cultural suppression, and the dismantling of ancient
privileges. Yet it was also a time of quiet endurance. Greek Orthodox faith and
language survived in the shadows, passed on in hidden schools and whispered
traditions. This also explains the evil eye.
Inspired by Enlightenment ideals and fuelled by
centuries of longing, the Greeks rose in rebellion in 1821, launching a bloody
and determined war against the Ottomans. Supported by European Philhellenes
(including Lord Byron – his signature is said to have been found on the remains
of the Temple of Poseidon at Sounion), the war led to the creation of an
independent Greek state by 1830.
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