Image of a modern Greek village. An architectural style that dominates almost all the Greek Islands. Very practical. No windows to obstruct a beautiful sea view. Not too much paint on the walls, for you to admire the beautiful stonework. No shower. As… anyhow you will have it through the roof, when it rains. Also expensive. Because it has electricity and water.
On a more serious note…
More than often, at least half of the houses in Greek villages are abandoned. Ruins all over. No one living there anymore. No one visiting. They moved. For different reasons. Comfort. A better future. Education. Shortage of water. Some of them are living in Athens, United States, Australia. They left their old family houses, build with so much difficulty, to go to ruin.
Imagine the struggle
Some of them were built more than 200 years ago. With stones carried by donkeys in difficult places, with water carried from far away, without any electric machines and huge sacrifices, sometimes in the unbearable heat of the summer sun. In beautiful, evergreen areas, but with very difficult access.
All we see is beauty
When foreigners come to Greece and see such ruins, with fallen roofs and no windows, in the middle of a jungle, that used to be once a yard… they just wonder how could anyone want to leave such a beautiful and safe place.
Welcome to the new world
But this is what the 21st century means. Abandoning the past, in the struggle to get a future.
To be continued…
