An artist's portrayal of the lighthouse in Hania

Exhibition

A different way to view the olive tree

An exhibition about to open at Dromonero in a renovated old olive press.

Rubbish collection

Just another working day...

The driver sits in the cab of the rubbish truck, and never gets out. He simply drives the truck. He's always Greek. The other two chaps riding on he back are the ones who do all the dirty work. Their work is always outside, they wear masks gloves, and they're nearly always foreigners (economic migrants).



When we visited London, we had the opportunity to live in a flat and watch everyday activities going on from below our street level residence. My husband was surprised to see a driver and his colleague both sharing the job of collecting the rubbish.

I used to take it for granted that this kind of democratic relationship between workers only existed in English-speaking countries...

Fish market

Kittens feeding at the fish market in the Agora.

Cat owners whose cats have given birth often abandon the litter here. Some people call it animal cruelty to abandon animals, but I would have to disagree entirely. It's much more humane to dispose of your unwanted animals in this way than to throw them in the street litter bins...

Bombed shelter?

No, it hasn't been bombed.



These apartments are found on the outskirts of town, near the new Nea Hora traffic lights.

There are many cases of unfinished buildings in Greece; they are homes and offices that were started many years ago. Although they're being lived in, the owners never got round to executing tasks like painting and anything to do with aesthetic appeal. Laws have changed this situation; a building must now have a certain amount of necessary features before it is allowed to have electricity running through it.

Sattelite city

Our economic migrants like to keep up with what's going on in their own countries. These satellite dishes help them to keep up with what's happening beyond the Greek borders.

Closed for the summer

Skouteliko music cafe wishes you a happy summer; see you again in October.

These sorts of places are based in town, and they close down for the summer, since everyone who wants to hear live music in the summer heads to the beach bars and outdoor centres.

This place is found across the road from the stadium of Hania.

Bench

RuneE invented the Friday bench photo meme. When he sees my photo today, he may be wondering where the bench actually is. But the rhododendron more than makes up for the lack of bench space.

This bench is located outside the stadium of Hania.

Hills and mountains

The mountain views from our house are a mixture of both tame and wild.



The foothills of the mountains are very verdant and strewn with houses, while in the distance, the Lefka Ori are stark and bare of snow now that it's summer.

The large building on the left is our general hospital.

Winner!

Here are the answers to the quiz in a previous post.

1. Olives - they'll be green in October, turning black by December.
1. 2.
2. Carob - this is where your chocolate substitute comes from. It is used as pig feed in Greece, but it was once the only 'chocolate' a Greek child would have tasted if it were born in a village (my father told me this one). It is still (but alas, not frequently any longer) made into a refreshing carob drink, haroupia, in some villages in Crete.

3. Figs
3. 4.
4. Camomile

5. Cactus figs (prickly pears): they'll be orange in September.
5. 6.
6. Mustard greens - the leaves are eaten when fresh and tender

7. Pomegranate
7. 8.
8. Wild asparagus

9. Oranges will start growing soon on this tree.
9. 10.
10. Mulberries - this is a mulberry tree (μουρνιά - mournia), commonly grown for its foliage (it gives shade in the winter, and the leaves are eaten by sheep and goats) rather than its fruit, which, when ripe, is either white (like this species) or purple.

11. Grapes - grape must, wine, raki and petimezi can all be made from this fruit.
11. 12.
12. Avocado - a relative newcomer to Crete, it grows well in our climate and the fruits are profitably marketable; they are mainly exported.

Thanks to all for taking part (on both my blogs). The winner of this book was chosen randomly, regardless of whether they were able to answer all the questions correctly. I wrote each name on a piece of paper, scrunched it into a ball, placed it in a bowl, and let my son dip his hand and pick one. He chose the piece of paper with the name Allison Parker.

Congratulations! Now email me your address (mverivaki at hotmail dot com) and I'll send you the book.

©All Rights Reserved/Organically cooked. No part of this blog may be reproduced and/or copied by any means without prior consent from Maria Verivaki.

Decay

Decay is inevitable.

European elections

Today Greece elects her European Parliament representatives. I got in early and voted for my preferred candidate. To vote, you have to be registered in an electoral district. To register in an electoral district, you must have been living there for at least two years, and be a Greek citizen. Proof of identity is provided by your Greek ID card, or a passport, or a driver's licence, or a social security booklet (ie your health insurance provider).

After showing your card, your name is crossed off a list, and you're given a wad of white papers indicating the names of the political parties and the list of the names of the candidates. Voting in this case did not entail indicating your preferred candidate, only your preferred party. You simply chose your preferred party (in a curtained polling booth), folded the paper to fit into the envelope provided, and inserted it into the slot on the ballot box.



We went as a family. Our children came into the booth with us. They folded our choice into the envelope. Then they took away all the other papers and whatever other papers from other voters that were found in the polling booth, came out of the booth, dropped the envelope into the slot, and we went home.

Are you allowed to abscond with other people's voting papers??? No one batted an eyelid as we did this...

The results will be out in the evening. But don't count on the best party winning; in Greece, it's simply a rehearsal for the general elections.

Don't forget to take part in the quiz!

Another bird's eye view

While I was getting a few jobs done in the town, I chanced on this view from one of the taller buldings in the town (none of which are much higher than 6 stories high). You can see the old town looking out towards the harbour. The large long building on the right is the left wing of the Agora market.

Don't forget to take part in the quiz!

Traffic

Bird's eye view of the traffic outside the Agora, Hania. Koum Kapi and the hills of Halepa can be seen in background.

Don't forget to take part in the quiz!