The city of gods

DR SHAHID QAYYUM writes about the amazing life in Greece

Athens, named after the Greek goddess Athena, has been a popular destination for travelers since antiquity. This bustling cosmopolitan city is one of the oldest in the world with a recorded history of over 3000 years of inhabitation. My recognition of Greece dates back to the early childhood days when I read the story of Alexander the Great, the Macedonian prince, who tamed the famous strong headed stallion as a young boy and later set out to conquer the world. In fact it was only after Alexander assumed power that the city state of Athens and the neighboring principalities conglomerated to form the country now called Greece. Alexander brought Greek ideas, culture and life style to the countries that he conquered and the marks he left behind during his conquest of the subcontinent are amply visible in Taxila which I happened to visit as a school boy.

I was lucky to visit Greece more than a couple of times and every time it was an experience of sorts, as the places transform for the better over the years. The first time that I visited the Balkan Peninsula was in the mid 1970s. It was the month of April and it was pleasantly cold out there in the open. We were told the metropolis had its first snowfall in forty years which was still visible on the top of Mount Lycabettus, in central Athens. The subsequent visits years later, in the months of July and August, were different in the way that summers had set in and the day time temperatures were some what uncomfortable. It was hot according to the European standards. Located between Mediterranean and Alpine climatic zones the city enjoys typical Mediterranean climate. The northern mountainous suburbs are usually cooler than the southern tip surrounded by the sea.

Ancient Athens was a powerful city state and a centre for arts and philosophy. It was known as the cradle of Western civilization and birth place of democracy. The heritage of classical era is portrayed through a number of ancient monuments and art works, the most famous being Parthenon and Acropolis, standing as the epic land marks. There are a vast variety of Roman and Byzantine monuments as well, the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arc to name a few. All these monuments are located within a radius of two km along with new structures like the Greek parliament, Panathenaikos stadium and the former Royal palace, all built in the 19^th century. Ottomans, the last of the foreign rulers, did not leave too much of noticeable heritage and it was after their departure that the country became independent under a monarch, to be followed by a democratic set up in the times to follow.

During one of my visits to Athens I met a Greek lady, secretary to the District Manager PIA, who looked after me during his absence. She was there to help me receive my family on arrival from Pakistan. After we were through with our snacks she asked me about my choice of tea or coffee and my opting for Turkish coffee made her look visibly upset. Finding it difficult to control her feelings she very politely told me that in her country they called it Greek coffee, only to make me realize that with the long history of Turkish subjugation there was no love lost between the two neighboring countries. In Pakistan the Two Nation theory seems to have evaporated with the signing of (useless) confidence building measures and we are now bending over backwards in a bid to please our erstwhile hostile neighbours..

Athens is a lovely place...(to be continued)