Canadian Newspaper Pays Tribute to Greek Capital

Canadian journalist Robert Everett-Green published an article entitled “Athens isn’t pretty, but it’s exciting: discover the city’s cultural rebirth,” which was published in the newspaper ‘Globe and Mail’ referring to the Greek capita that has been redefined in the economic crisis years.

The two-page article includes several photos of special areas around Athens, while the Canadian journalist talks about the city’s cultural renaissance with extensive references to proposed activities in neighborhoods like Gazi or places such as Technopolis, “a complex of display spaces in a former industrial zone in the west-central Gazi district, is perhaps the best model in Athens for physical conversion of the usable past.”

Making a historical reference to the urbanization period of Athens in the 1960s and its negative results, the journalist stresses the importance of redefining the city’s cultural identity with new projects such as Rethink Athens.

“Rethink Athens, a project led by the Onassis Foundation, will insert a ‘green spine’ between two central plazas, starting later this year,” the article noted.

It also specifically referred to the luxurious underground city metro station which are filled with ancient artifacts that were found during construction, as well as the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Opera among recent activities to upgrade the city’s aesthetic.

“But even with an unemployment rate near 25 per cent, I saw few homeless people, perhaps because of strong traditional ties within Greek families. For the most part, Athens feels safe. The people I met were unfailingly friendly and seemed more than ready to enter a new phase of their national life. The whole place is in ferment, and when you sense that, Athens seems a more exciting place than tidier, picture-book capitals to the north,” concluded Robert Everett-Green.