Athens, Greece

Hometown of philosophy, democracy and antiquity, Athens is a city that has shaped the western world as we know it today. Named after the goddess of civilization ‘Athena’, it is the place where western consciousness began.  Visions of crumbling temples and smashing plates dominate the mind and it’s hard to get over the ‘ancient’ image that is conjured when one thinks of Greece. In more recent years Athens developed a reputation for dirt and pollution but following a major squeaky clean-up for the 2004 Olympic Games the city is now a hot-spot tourist destination.

So, gone are the days of Socrates roaming the marketplace asking people the meaning of life, but the heritage is still here if you’re prepared for a good stroll. The Acropolis stands high and mighty and is now linked to other monuments via a ten mile footpath, a far more peaceful alternative to the previously traffic clogged arteries of the city’s tourist hotspots.

Greece is still one of the least multi-cultural countries in Europe and is a long way from what you would describe ‘cosmopolitan’. Everything is seeped in authentic Greek traditionalism and yet is trying to look forward. Perhaps it is a city with an identity problem, struggling to cope with the sudden influx of migrants, now making up one fifth of the city’s population. Recent campaigns to build a mosque were stopped by Orthodox traditionalists trying to retain spiritual control on their territory. One gets the impression this is a city in limbo; past and present need to reconcile to look towards the future.