Old and New in Greece

Recently we took a direct flight to Athens, Greece from Lisbon. With many daily flights, comfortable trains, clean buses, and bargain airfares, travel around Europe is relatively easy. We started this trip with a visit to the Acropolis and the Athens National Archeological Museum. This enormous bronze horse was cast a few thousand years ago. Imagine!

The beautiful art and architecture stand beyond my limited vocabulary, so photos and your own imagination must serve. Friends Mo and Heather joined us from the States, and you might imagine you joined us as well.

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Preserving Cycadean Culture

A quiet week exploring one of the rural Cycadean islands of Greece prompted reflection on the impact of tourism on traditional cultures and communities. We learned of a local man, Bentos Skiadas, who spent his long life preserving aspects of Cycadean culture by building detailed replicas of fishing boats, monasteries, houses, a windmill, a smithy workshop, grain mills, and so forth, in very precise detail. His daughter honored her father's lifetime work by opening the family property as the Museum of Cycladic Folklore.

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After a few "exploratory" turns in the rental car, we found the property down a quiet dirt lane surrounded by olive orchards and grazing goats. The tinkle of brass bells under the olives was a calming welcome. The artisan’s daughter met us at the gate and invited us to explore her very large fenced back yard. She explained that even without education or scientific tools, her father had managed to create the large-scale replicas through his careful observation and his wide variety of skills. She invited us to walk around the property to appreciate decades of Bento's dedication to his heritage.

Bentos used the same materials in his replicas that were used in the originals, all sourced on the island, including quarried marble and stone, wood, fabrics, field stone, fired clay, rope, and so forth. He had worked as a fisherman, stone mason, and farmer during his life.

He made all types of Greek ships: warships, merchant ships and fishing boats which give you the impression that they are ready to sail. Gri-gri,drift-boats, steamships, sailing boats, triremes are all constructed with the traditional ship building materials and are exact replicas created from Bentos' remarkable observations and skills.

click to view each entire image: monastery, theater, olive press

We marveled at the intense labor and impressive craftmanship in replicas of the complex Monestary of Paros, the ancient Theater of Milos (built in 3rd century BCE), a stone olive press, a metal working shop, and a tradtional lift water-well.

We found an inspiring memorial to his wife, Popi. Their love certainly had made the world a better place.

Near the end of our wanderings, we received a surprise bonus:   someone was calling to me in Greek. I guess “come over here” is understood in every language.

Bentos still lives!  This very gracious and gentle man invited us to sit with him in his traditional outdoor kitchen, where he poured his homemade distilled sumo into 3 little shot glasses. Sipping the smoothest “moonshine” ever, we chatted in a very limited mix of Spanish and English. Such an honor to meet this remarkable man, but what a shame we speak no Greek.

Bentos Skiadas, 82

Loving a Place to Death

I have been reflecting on this remarkable man's efforts to preserve the ancient Cycladic culture and the impacts of tourism on his island.

Tourism in rural areas can help build businesses and expand employment (albeit mostly seasonal), can increase family income, and can generate revenue for community infrastructure. But are the people of the island better off?  Is the cost of living for families outpacing increases in revenues? Are the youth leaving the island for higher education and salaried employment on the mainland? Will these communities lose their cohesion that has connected them and grounded them for hundreds of years?

One of many small fishing villages on the island

While driving around the entire island, we saw an astonishing number of second homes and tourist accommodations under construction. All too soon this island will lose its rural feel. We realize that we are contributing to “loving a place to death” with our own tourism. Perhaps the beautiful works of Bentos Skiadas will help ameliorate those losses -- somehow.