A sample of Greece
By: Mediterranean Sustainability Coalition
Tags: Mediterranean, Culture, Greece, Sustainability, Tourism

Author: Aristides Nakos

Motivation

It is June 2021 and this is a reflection on the fortunate ability to visit my roots, while having the San Francisco Bay area as my base of sustenance and growth. In this journal piece, I examine sentiment, intent, and facts during my sojourn in Greece after a 2 year hiatus.

There will be anecdotal stories on a wide spectrum of topics. From the quality of tourism and infrastructure to the entrepreneurial spirit and plethora of cultural impact. There is hope that this documentation can catalyze further conversations, if not positive step changes, for a country that bore me.

My intention to weave the theme of sustainability will be the common thread. Sustainability here encompasses cultural traits, in addition to environmental resources, landscapes, and biological forms.

The itinerary

In a world dominated by condensation of information into stereotypes and edited snapshots, I will present to the reader a map with the major points of interest during the trip. Having not seen my family for 2 years, while being cognizant of uncertain epidemiological variables in the midst of a pandemic, I elected to broaden my horizons on Rhodes, where I was raised prior to moving to the USA. Simultaneously, I sought out new bite size experiences before the onset of the tourist season.

Image 1 shows the vast coastline of Greece, which has a plurality of landscapes, beyond islands and beaches. An informational fact to drive this point is that 80% of Greece’s landmass is mountainous, which results in predominantly coastal infrastructure [1].

Image 1 June 1 — June 16 itinerary

By way of Athens, I arrived in Rhodes for a 2 week residence with my parents. Rhodes will be referred to as The Island, henceforth, by personal choice.

Various locations were visited, some more developed than others. We were privileged to have much space to ourselves, whether it was commercially developed or not. While this is a personal preference, it is not a desired aspect by the community, which is economically reliant on traffic, as tourism is the main lifeline for its residents.

Old Town Rhodes

A true experience of The Island, requires meandering the largest occupied Medieval structure in Europe, also a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Old Town of Rhodes [2][3].

In the Old Town, structures from Ancient Greek and Roman rule still stand, such as the Temple of Aphrodite, and a Roman fortress from the Hellenistic period of 5th century BC, when it saw its Golden Age for the following 3 centuries [4].

During the Byzantine empire’s reign, fortresses, churches, and habitations were erected. From that era 11 structures still stand. The number would have been higher, had it not been for the conversion of churches into mosques.

Image 2 Old Town of Rhodes

A next era of edifices came during Byzantine rule around 7BC with a few overlook points and walls (marked as 25 on Image 2), but nothing quite like what followed from the Knights of Saint John [5]. This Order of Knights came from Jerusalem bringing with them much wealth and a desire to build Rhodes into a strategic center on the Mediterranean Sea. The majority of volume seen in the Citadel is due to their rule, which amounts to 23 out of 71 noted historical structures.

Image 3 Inside the Medieval town of Old Rhodes

Occupation by the Hospitalliers lasted through 1522, when the third attempt by the Ottoman empire resulted in a weakening of Venetian resources and a compromise between Suleyman the Magnificent. This battle lasted for 6 months, however Venetians walked away with all the wealth they could carry in exchange for no retaliation and a promise that Christianity can carry on [6].

Ottoman rule resulted in the addition of a few new elements in the Citadel’s character, predominantly in the form of mosques, baths, and a library. Most churches were converted into mosques, one of which can be seen in Image 3, which is in exquisite exterior form. A documented 9 buildings exist from that era

Image 4 Mosque Suleyman Mustafa

Tourism; an opportunity to rebrand

The Island had about 115 thousand permanent residents per the 2011 Census, however due to an uncertain economic outlook in past years, that number has likely dipped. At the peak of tourism, during July and August, the population typically doubles. However, the summer of 2020 was lackluster and the coming summer of 2021 is expected to be a repeat. This is due to highly strict public health mandates by European Union countries. For example, the Netherlands enforce quarantine measures for individuals travelling for areas of high risk, even if they have proof of vaccination and a negative coronavirus screening test set [7][8].

While people need their standard sources of income now, one can’t help thinking whether the creation of jobs by rebranding this summer can pave the way for many summers to come. In other words, can funds be allocated to address chronic issues, such as a decrepit waste infrastructure, lack of recycling, a dearth of domestic agricultural goods, a reliable power grid, and building renovation?

Some say the desire by locals is there, however the economic gridlock from years of mismanagement impede meaningful change. Pictorial proof of the need to reinforce this point can be seen in images 5–9. These images depict both highlights and lowlights from various spots of the island. In some cases, businesses have been maintained or built to attract crowds. In others, there’s been neglect for a slew of reasons, which are not entirely clear to myself.

Image 5 500 years later and still serving coffee.

Image 6 Bar Street Rhodes

Image 7 Kalami Beach Bar

Image 8 Hotel by Ialysos, Rhodes

Image 9 Stray cats are abundant

All things considered, there’s a beautiful backdrop to build on. Financial schemes to support these improvements with returns on the horizons are necessary.

Greece’s infrastructure

Rhodes was followed by a visit to Athens and the Peloponnese. A deeper look into the infrastructure was conducted in Nafplio, former capital of Greece, once various reclaimed territories coalesced under the leadership of Ioannis Kapodistrias, after liberation from the Ottoman rule for 400 years, which was marked this year.

Nafplio has much history and is a short distance from Argos, the ancestral capital of the first settlers of modern Greece, the Dorians. Argos is one of the most ancient settlements in the world, on the order of 7 millenia.

At a rare span of solitude, I managed to explore a former old town in Akronauplia [9], a town that’s located on a mountainous section of the town of Nauplio. Walking toward the site one turns over to see a medley of natural and artificial expressions blended together. In image 9 one can see the Venetial castle of Palamidi, a dilapidated hotel which is a haven for graffiti art, and Arvanitia beach

Image 10 Clockwise from top: Palamidi Castle, Arvanitia Beach, Graffiti Museum

My ratio of disappointment to benefit-of-doubt peaked when I visited the Old Town of Nauplio, Akronauplia. Ill-natured graffiti, litter, and pillaged facilities abound. One wonders what made this reality possible and one that endures through today. What is more, there was a capital project worth 620k €, funded by the EU and executed by the Government of Greece during 2007–2013, to restore this site. Granted that was a period of financial recession, reform, and capital controls, nonetheless, those should have been obstacles for the rebirth of history, not its obfuscation.

Image 11 Bathrooms at ancient town of Akronauplia

Image 12 Wedding couple taking pictures at Akronauplia lighthouse

Image 13 Memorial to Giannis Ritsos, a Greek literary writer

The narrative here goes deeper though. I see the root problem itself as the solution. Youth needs a platform for expression and growth. We personally know they will seek outlets, whenever and wherever it’s possible. Thus, I can see a revived Akronauplia from the community itself. Graffiti can have a home, while old structures can be renovated to their full potential by the youth that roam these areas. Educators and social workers need to be empowered (funded) to collaborate and innovate by motivating the youth. What’s more, the adults can justify these funds by rearing in revenue from cosmopolitan visitors, who truly fall in love with every corner of Nauplio and not just its marble-laden downtown.

This particular finding sparked an internet query on touristic revenue, which prompted a calculation of its impact on Greece and other countries (Table 1). In 2019 figures for Europe, Spain reared in the most revenue overall at approximately 79M $US, whereas Austria reared in the most revenue per capita at 2,580 $US. Austria claims that every tenth trainee from its educational system will work for the tourism industry [10][11]. However, when discounting the revenue with respect to the comparative price levels index of 2019, which compares the cost of a $US100 basket of goods per OECD standards of costs across different countries, then one can see the true impact of this revenue [12].

Clearly, Greece banks on tourism, since about 10% of its GDP normalized to Purchasing Power Parity is attributed to tourism. In other words, Greece relies heavily on tourism. Is this a sustainable path forward to economic prosperity, as per the values of the Mediterranean Sustainability Coalition ? Can Greece be a hotbed for hospitality management, since this a strong suit? What can we learn from pioneers in tourism, such as Austria?

Table 1 Touristic revenue in 2019 and fiscal impact

Greece is pioneering

One can’t help to think whether Greece is more than a haven of agricultural products, sunshine, water, and ancestral achievements. There is a forward facing movement and I came across a sample of it.

In Athens, I was fortunate to cross paths with Vasilis ‘Bill’ Stenos, founder and CEO of Solmeyea [12]. Bill’s nature is warm, kind, and thoughtful. We met digitally on September 9, 2020, which was an infamous day for San Francisco for its apocalyptic skies, yet a serendipitous reaffirmation of the reason for connecting; anthropogenic climate change and the need to trim the fat in our value chain.

Bill is a leader in business development of agricultural technology for the sake of meeting 9 out of 17 sustainability goals set by the United Nations [13]. Currently his mission is to leverage one of earth’s autotrophic protists, algae. To be autotrophic means to synthesize your own food, given carbon dioxide, water, light, and a small amount of minerals. Plants, algae, and many bacteria share the ability to be relatively self-sufficient compared to fungi and animals.

Bill currently leads a team of chemical engineers into designing their technology stack, while they are looking to cement meaningful business partnerships that could drive carbon dioxide reduction and removal from the atmosphere. Bill envisions a supply chain that is derived from microbial based organisms, which can coexist with the nurtured nature of humans around protein centric diets, disposable plastics, cosmetics, and much more. This endeavor brings a much needed reinvestment of fiscal and human capital into research and development, a field that Greece has neglected, but fortunately is steadily rising [14].

Image 14 Solmeyea team

Infrastructure is pivoting, slowly

Old habits die hard goes the aphorism. Having lived in California for 9 years, recycling and sorting through my consumables is natural for me. It’s crucial to have systems in place that both prevent waste and collect it. Granted this is a rather modern problem and a byproduct of the rise of disposable single use packaging [15].

In Nauplio, I was mildly happy to see a valuation of single-use plastics. I saw a queue of adults and children behind the submission of plastic bottles for the rate of 33 1.5 L containers for 1 €. While the sum is not substantial, one can make ends meet if they collect these vessels daily. It’s also common for Greeks to consume bottled water instead of tap water.

Image 15 Nauplio plastic bottle recycling center by Marine port

Overall, one sees that putting a price tag on a good is sufficient to result in its collection. However, the need of people to address those low fees suggests a bigger issue at hand, because people are scrounging through waste to make ends meet. Thus, while it’s a step forward to recycle, we know this is a treatment of the symptom, not the cause of the problem.

Conversation is taking place

Fortunately, attention is on these issues. In a society where attention is monetized via the likes of digital advertising, criticism should channel constructive reinterpretation of such problems and further fruitful solutions. However, let’s be mindful of an oft narrative that it will all be fine, because technology and people exist. We may have made leaps and bounds with solving public health crises as they have come, while also increasing accessibility to food and education, but we have never encountered a climate that is irreversible, and we shouldn’t.

Former First Lady of the USA to FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt once said: ‘Learn from the mistakes of others. You can’t live long enough to make them all yourself’. What if we were to learn from the successes of others as well? Can Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus pioneer in Research and Development, like their neighbors and associates in Israel and Germany? [16][17] Can symbiotic relationships among entrepreneurs and the current workforce flourish, such that the government encourages these innovations? What mistakes must we avoid at all costs?

What recommendations or thoughts do you have?