Pictures of Independence Day

March 25 was Independence Day — which commemorates the day in 1821 that Bishop Germanos of Patras raised the flag of revolution against the Turks, thus starting the Greek War of Independence. This coincides with the religious holiday of the Feast of the Annunciation. In Rethymnon there were parades, bands and special church services - and everyone had the day off work, too (or nearly everyone)! The sun was out and everyone seemed to be in an extremely good mood. Our roving photo journalist went out and about and managed to take a few snapshots, some of which you can see below, we hope they give you a bit of a taste of the unique atmosphere!

Beautiful Crete….

Many thanks go to Martin Fagan for sending us this absolutely wonderful view of Psiloritis and the Messara Plain looking towards Timbaki

Not so Beautiful Crete…. Graffiti Gripes

It breaks your heart, it really does. The New Square in the Old Town has only been opened about five minutes and already vandals have done their best to trash the place. Toilets have been smashed, playground equipment has been damaged and of course there is graffiti everywhere. It’s such a shame after all the hard work that went into creating this public space.

One of the great visual shocks to the system for the first time visitor to Greece is the sheer amount of graffiti on public buildings, and Rethymnon unfortunately is no exception. Many parts of the old town have been badly defaced, and it is something that we have heard many tourists comment on. Officialdom is somewhat ambivalent when it comes to graffiti. On one hand, defacing public buildings is illegal theoretically punishable by up to two years in jail, however, people are rarely prosecuted. A possible reason for this may have its roots in the days of the junta, when political graffiti was an important means of protest. (You’ll find an interesting article that takes this further in the August 15th 2008 edition of Athens Plus, the weekly English magazine published by Kathimerini - accessible online via the www.ekathimerini.com website). Be that as it may, most of the graffiti in Rethymnon is mindless drivel and it’s bringing the town down. And in a year when we need all the help we can get to bring the tourists in, it seems like a good time for the local powers that be to take some action! Click the photo below to view the gallery