The City Within a City Η Πόλη μέσα στην Πόλη

Sept –Oct 07

A walking exhibition tour of Heraklion Crete

One of the best ways to get around many cities is by foot. Heraklion is no exception especially as many of the streets are more like village alleyways, too narrow for even cars to pass although somehow they do.

By chance I was invited to the opening ceremony and walking tour of The City Within a City Project. The only information I had was to be at an ice cream parlour on Democratias Avenue for 1pm on Sunday.

It took me sometime time to find the right one as there were several and despite being late so were the other participants. This is the typical laid back attitude to any event organised by Greeks. In England weeks of planning would have been undertaken with press releases and personal invites sent out.

The project is part of the Comprehensive Urban Development Plan for Heraklion old town. Thanks to some European funding the project includes an exhibition, book and DVD with music composed by Crete based, Irish musician Ros Daly.

Maria Houlaki project co-ordinator began the event with a short speech and introduced some of the photographers that would talk about their work.

There was a mix of pro photographers (male) and amateurs as well as their families which made it a really nice informal event.

The exhibition of 30 images is unusual in that it does not have one specific venue. All of the images are displayed on single sheet advertising panels. Dotted throughout the city the tour took us through smart residential suburbs, around the main squares, along the Venetian ramparts and down to the new and old port.

Photographer Atalanta talking about her work

For several years Heraklion has been and still is a building site as it undergoes a makeover. Thankfully consideration has been taken to also preserve the old. A similar process was implemented with the extension of the underground system in Athens where brand new stations were blended with ancient discoveries. Some of the Athenian stations are like mini museums with glass panels showcasing sections of temple walls. In Heraklion ancient sites are being restored with European grants, to refresh a tired and well worn city.

The purpose of the exhibition is a’ project aimed at breaking down the barriers between the old and new town.’ Personally I don’t see any barriers. The two are merged and that’s what makes the city an interesting place to visit.

As a visitor I can see beauty and pathos amongst the derelict buildings. It was good to see that some of the other photographers had captured this. One photographer had carefully framed an image from cheese shop showing sheep grazing on grass and juxtaposed it with the reflection of a Venetian archway. Admittedly when I first saw the image I thought it had been created in Photoshop. Thanks to the artist describing how he took the image it was then clear to see the different elements.

The organisers’ objective is to use photography as a lever and a communication tool to bring about social debate. This is certainly a valid objective but surely the images must first be noticed? We are in world where we are bombarded by imagery. Billboards are one just one of these forms of mass communication. How does this exhibition get the citizens attention? Unfortunately it does not. We rarely stop to look at an advertisement and many of these images just blend into their surrounding environment.

When the images are seen by the citizens how do they have their dialogue heard? Images on a wall in a gallery or where ever they are displayed and where the objective is a dialogue should be about a two way dialogue. Don’t ask people to engage but then not give them a vehicle for their response.

No Day

Today is Oxi Day. Before you ask we did not spend the whole day saying no to everything! Celebrated throughout Greece on October 28 each year, Okhi Day (also spelled Ohi Day, Oxi Day, or Ochi Day, Greek: Επέτειος του «'Οχι», Anniversary of the "No") commemorates Greek dictator Ioannis Metaxas's (in power from August 4, 1936 until January 29, 1941) refusal of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Mussolini on October 28, 1940. Metaxas's reply marked the beginning of Greece's participation in World War II. It’s a public holiday and it is commemorated with military, student and union parades. Just about every building has a Greek flag hanging from it. The TV stations broadcast military parades similar to the ones held in Russia which gives the impression that Greece is somehow still stuck in a cold war.

Loukoumades

We went to one of my favourite eateries in town today, located at the beginning of Dikeosinis Street. It’s not your usual restaurant as the place has no name, not that I could see as I had my eyes fixed on the food. I have to warn you that there is a limited choice of what to eat, well that’s an understatement as they only sell one dish, loukoumades - which are deep-fried puffs of dough, drizzled with honey. They are so sweet which means, thank god, you can only eat half a dozen in one sitting. Sorry for the poor food photography - hey I was on holiday and I did not have a home economist with me!

Goldfish

Our first eagerly awaited meal of the trip was in a taverna/ouzeri on Mitsotaki Street in Heraklion. When I say it’s on this street the kitchen is but the seating area is across the busiest roads in Crete – Sofokli Venizelou. The waiters dance in and out of the traffic with the plates over to the tables along the sea wall. But don’t let this health and safety at work performance put you off from going as it is a great place for a traditional Greek meze.

I don’t have a name unfortunately but it is the last eatery on the corner. If you are a foreigner (xeno) you will get the tourist menu which is the ubiquitous plastic flick book with garish pictures of food. However if you are Greek the waiter will bring your own order to fill in. A tick box list of about 40 different dishes ranging from melenzanasalata (pureed aubergine and garlic dip), sagnaki a deep fried cheese. Meat and fish (psari) dishes can also be ordered. J was craving some calcium for the baby so we ordered deep fried whitebait and these what can only be described as goldfish!

We are still looking through the reference books trying to work out what they were.

Heraklion October 2006

A whirlwind visit to Crete this time and this was not just time related as the islands was experiencing freak weather conditions. The week before J and I were supposed to leave the BBC were reporting that Chania in the west of Crete was under a state of emergency. Flights were not operating from the airport and boats were kept in port due to Force 10 winds. However we kept reassuring each other that it would pass by the time we got there!

J nearly had her baby early trying to make the flight because of the roadworks on the M25. We were then delayed 6 hours (or was it 8, seemed more like 24) because the airplane had engine trouble. We finally arrive the next morning only to discover that D was not at the airport to collect us. Ever had that feeling that you should never have left home?

Much of the street rerouting has been completed since my last trip to Heraklion. This means that walking around has become easier so I explored the old part of the town though I’m not sure how much longer these buildings will remain.