Everyone knows bouzouki music: it’s the sound of cliched touristic Greek entertainment, heard on debauched, ouzo-soaked nights in tavernas across the world. Few, however, know about this music’s ancestor. Its name is rebetiko: a hairy, uncouth, underground sound that arose from the hash dens, cabarets, brothels and prisons of fin-de-siècl...
Read moreThe tempo that builds in the bouzouki gives a real sense of the underlying raw emotion, of ‘rebetiko’s’ illegal past and its gentrification by the greats of modern Greek music, Vassilis Tsitsanis, Manos Hadzidakis and Mikis Theodorakis.The bouzouki is Greece’s siren call. To hear but a few bars is to instantly conjure raki-fueled nights a...
Read moreIn October 2020, 160 Greek musicians and groups joined forces to produce Unity Vol. 1, a unique album to demonstrate their solidarity and support for the refugees displaced by the fire in the Moria camp on Lesbos. The totality of the funds were donated to the NGO Attika Human Support. Joan Bienaimé writes about this touching artistic in...
Read moreInsider shares our 3 favourite Athens venues where you can take a delightful journey of musical nostalgia, Greek-style. And with chilly evenings still upon us, now is the perfect time of year to cocoon yourself in one of these cosy dens, sit back, and escape to the soundtrack of the past, while enjoying a classic cocktail or memorable mea...
Read moreFrom his family’s journey as undocumented Nigerian immigrants living in Greece, to his current ranking as one of the NBA’s brightest stars, the inspirational story of Milwaukee Bucks defender Giannis Antentokounmpos has all the makings of a slam dunk. Clearly, Disney agrees. Giannis Antentokounmpos’ real-life struggles and suc...
Read moreRemember the frenzy to bake banana bread and stir cocktails? So Lockdown 1! Why bother when you can order? Here are 5 ways to enhance your festive Lockdown experience. How can you resist a liveried Matsuhisa delivery? Just because we are confined to our barracks, doesn’t mean you can’t treat yourself in the comfort of yo...
Read moreOnly in “anything goes” Athens might you expect to bump into a Greek God, lingering outside one of the city’s best-known bar districts on a Friday evening. That’s exactly what happened when the 2,400 year-old head of Hermes rolled into view in Agia Irinis Square. Only in Athens could you expect to bump into Gods and saints, lurking...
Read moreFrom stocking up on toilet rolls to bad coiffure weeks, preening before Zoom calls to Youtube workout videos, virtual cocktail soirées and binge-watching in pjs, our Lockdown Lifestyle has been a great barometer of our human failings. As part of his assignment at Rhode Island’s School of Design on Art in Isolation, Jonathan Muroya drew di...
Read moreThe Persians ravaged it before Pericles restored it to its splendour. Socrates walked through its alleys. Sylla restored the authority of Rome there by the sword. It was subjected to Ottoman rule, Venetian bombardments, and Nazi occupation. Athens, however, remains, despite its torments, the capital of an eternal Greece. In order to bette...
Read more“Socrates was found injured after a car accident. Now fully recovered from surgery, he is a tender and calm dog who loves hugs and walks.” Costa Navarino launches a 3 year campaign to give the strays of Messinia, like Socrates, a loving, forever home. Costa Navarino has always spearheaded change at a very grassroots level by e...
Read moreTiger King? So last Lockdown. Netflix swaps shock TV for a new feel-good documentary about the stray cats of Syros, who have found sanctuary through the extraordinary efforts of feline Samaritans Joan and Richard Bowell (they went for a holiday and ended up with a crusade!). [caption id="attachment_8855" align="aligncenter" wid...
Read moreThe Greek government hopes to convert the country into a haven for talented professionals and convert its brain drain into a brain gain by offering lucrative tax breaks. Greece is way cheaper than other destinations in Europe, the climate and food options are much better, and, the human interactions are richer. Now, the Greek government ...
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