The open window

How do you feel about leaving your windows open at night?



These two photos were both taken in the town centre in the early evening, in an inner-city neighbourhood close to the law courts. The garage door is wide open in the top photo, while the bottom photo shows the open windows and shutters of an apartment known in Greece as an ημι-υπόγειο (imi-ipoyei; semi-basement), so that anyone at ground level (like myself) can peek in and see what the people are doing in there.



Not that I would leave my windows wide open all night, but this is what makes used to make us feel very very safe as residents of Hania. Now, with the chaos reigning since Alexis' death, I really don't feel safe anywhere.

Home-made dinner

Today's photo doesn't really look like much: a toasted bread roll, filled with a slice of ham and cheese, with some garden-fresh tomato and green peppers, which the grower will enjoy when he drives his taxi this evening in the town. Much healthier choice than a greasy souvlaki.

Former cupboard

The house to the left of this site was knocked down many months ago, to make way for a new building project, probably an apartment block like the ones that surround this ruin. The building work was stopped when ancient ruins were discovered on the site; you can see them here. Nearly a year has passed since I took that photo, and the area has only recently been cordoned off to start the building work, except for thislittle corner, which is obviously going to be used as the entry-exit point for workers.

The cupboard (with the green door) must have formed part of the former kitchen of the building that was torn down. The building it is attached to must be part of another house (the one next door or possibly behind the construction site), which is why it hasn't been knocked down. Space is tight in the inner-city, but this neighbourhood is particularly nice to live in. It's close to the law courts in the town.

Answer to yesterday's quiz: the small room on the right hand side of the photo is the toilet-bathroom. The metal box is the water deposit. In the past, houses were built with outdoor toilets and a simple shower attachment connected to a tap to take a shower. No house is built in this way now in Greece, due to planning restritcitions.

Guess what?

This house is found on narrow side street in the town centre, part of an old inner-city neighbourhood. It looks well-kept, but empty, as if the house is being used by summer residents of the town; the table and chairs have been placed in such a way that it looks as though they won't be in use for a while.



This is the view exactly across the narrow road in front of this house; I wouldn't want to be any where near here during an earthquake.

Notice the low-ceiling room on the left of the house with the blue gate, with a big white metal box on the roof: what is it???

Answer tomorrow.

Olives in brine

A village scene on a very wet day; olives in brine. The jars are missing their lids, so my uncles placed an aged (albino) eggplant on top of one and a piece of (rotting) wood on the other to keep away insects and dust.

The mayhem is continuing, now that there is no control anywhere. I don't have a licence to use my husband's hunting rifles, but I have the water pressure unit ready on hand to protect what I can.

Answers to yesterday's quiz:
The fashion store is operated by Chinese businesspeople - wherever we see red lanterns hanging outside a store all over Greece, this is a sign that cheap clothes are being sold here by Chinese people.
On the left-hand side is a TAVERNA, while the green door has a sign on it for the Greek Language Society; it is also the premises of a "philological preparatory school" which helps high school students in their exams.