I’m beginning to return to places frequently enough that I am seeing the evolution over time. The first time I set foot in this square, I couldn’t actually see it. It was completely walled in and under construction. It was a hive of pickpockets because of the crowds and trinket sellers made the narrow alleyways even more narrow.
Now, it’s a wide plaza where street musicians’ musics echo off the high buildings and you can walk across it without crossing another person’s path.
Though the change in modern development is not as dramatic as it is in the remote places of the world (where the old world is being edged out), the students and people that I bring into downtown Athens are seeing one place… where I know of many. And I’ve only know it for a handful of years.
The old men who play backgammon in the afternoons adjacent to the ancient ruins know a completely different Athens.
I wonder if they even recognize it?
I wonder if I’ll recognize it given the same amount of time…
I hope I will see. I really love Athens.
Stay tuned… I will.
-Noah D.
.
PS: One thing never changes: graffiti.
