Pavements (a.k.a. sidewalks) Greek style

Some of you may view what follows as a rant, and in a way it is. What it really is, though, is a cry of pain, of despair, for a country that with little extra effort could be achieving so much.

The ancient Greeks were amazing in the way that they managed to create buildings of incomparable beauty that have stood the test of time, buildings that were both properly functional and, at the same time, aesthetically perfect. This cannot be said of modern Greeks, however, and Athens is a sad testament to this. It almost seems that even designing something as simple as a functional pavement to be used by pedestrians these days is a challenge beyond existing abilities.

Joking aside, the disgraceful situation you see in the few simple photographs I've taken is due to two main reasons:

1. Greece (and Greeks) does not believe in thinking ahead or in any serious, proper planning. A pavement may be perfectly designed and built, roomy and usable, only for a plant/electricity pylon/whatever to be added a few months down the line, making it unusable.

2. There is a total lack of consideration for others, especially pedestrians - never mind the disabled - so that pavements can and will be used as extra parking spaces, rubbish dumps, commercial premises or whatever, leaving little or no room for the supposed intended users.

Modern Greeks, especially ones that hardly ever walk anywhere, other than maybe as a 'power walk' exercise, find these things trivial - if you mention the problems, the reaction generally is 'oof, come on, there are more important things in life, these are little details' - and of no concern to them. Why should anyone bother about something they rarely use, anyway? We seem to think that our convenience is far more important than anyone else's inconvenience, as if society is an entity of which we are a part only when it suits us.

This is another side of the mentality that led Greece to the current economic shit hole that it is still wallowing in, its economic woes continuing at the moment with only small real-world improvements. There is a side to our character that cannot be bothered to do things properly, to get things right from the start, to make sure something works and in the way it was designed to. We say 'entaksi' meaning something is acceptable (literally = in order) even when it clearly isn't and shouldn't be viewed like that; then we pretend all is well and are subsequently greatly surprised when the shit hits the fan. In behaving thus we let ourselves down but, more importantly, we let our children, our world and the future down.

The other funny/peculiar thing about pavements is that they are often treated as part of the road, even sometimes as an alternative, principally by motorbikes (ah, the lovely, lively delivery drivers earning a crust are the arch villains here...), but by anyone else who is able to as well. In one of the photographs you'll notice a massive Jeep Cherokee parked squarely on the pavement where it stayed for ages, and was back again in the same position the following day, impeding all pedestrians - it probably belongs to one of the local businesspeople who clearly wish to display how little they respect others, their customers included. Alas this miscreant is not alone, as many others will park wherever and in whatever way suits them. Others - hah!

This chaotic treatment of pavements occurs all over Greece, though my photographs only show Athens - and a privileged part of Athens at that - as there was so much that raised my hackles just there that I didn't need to search further. It is no better elsewhere, anyway,  but usually worse.

And for those of you who think I'm letting the side down by constantly criticising what happens in Greece, I've two things to say to you:

1. Then don't give me so many things to criticise, take away my reasons and I promise to stop whingeing and start praising... Boy will I praise away!
2. I criticise every other nationality whenever I find reason to, if I experience something negative or silly worth sharing, without exception, but as I'm spending lots of time in Greece currently...