All photos have been taken by N. Moropoulos on Saturday 19 January 2019 in Kavouri, Attiki, Greece.
Κατηγορία: the sea
Chios island, a view of the Aegean
Τα Αυγώνυμα είναι ένα υπέροχο χωριό δίπλα στο μεσαιωνικό οικισμό του Ανάβατου της Χίου, στη μεσοδυτική πλευρά του νησιού. Στις παρυφές του χωριού υπάρχει μια ταβέρνα, “Το Αστέρι”, που αξίζει όχι μόνο για το εξαιρετικό φαγητό της, αλλά και για τη μοναδική θέα στο Αιγαίο.
Τίτλος: Αγναντεύοντας το Αιγαίο από το μπαλκόνι της Ταβέρνας “Το Αστέρι” στα Αυγώνυμα Χίου.
Υλικά: Παστελ σε χαρτί.
Νίκος Μορόπουλος
Avgonima is a wonderful village near the medieval hamlet of Anavatos, in the midwestern area of the island of Chios, Greece. On the outskirts of the village, there is a tabern, “The Star” (“To Asteri)) which in addition to the tasty food, offers unique views of the Aegean Sea.
Title: Viewing the Aegean from the terrace of tavern “The Star” in the village of Avgonima, Chios, Greece
Materials: Pastel on paper
Nikos Moropoulos
Osteria da Fiore, Venice, Italy
In my visit to Venice back in October 2011 I had the opportunity to visit Osteria da Fiore, in San Polo.
Today I publish the delayed review, because the osteria is one of the best restaurants in Venice, and continues to carry with pride one Michelin Star.
The amuse bouche was crispy tiny shrimp (gamberetti) on a bed of white polenta.
The first dish I tasted was a mixed raw seafood.
Misto crudo di carpaccio di tonno e scampi.
The Scampi were served on top of a creamy mix of fennel (finocchio) and fresh cheese.
The second dish I tasted was another appetizer, one of the trademarks of Venetian gastronomy: “Baccala mantecato” (dried Atlantic cod, soaked, poached and whipped until mousse-like), served with bruschetta spiced with garlic.
Overall a perfect light lunch in a wonderful environment.
Osteria da Fiore, Venice, Italy
In my visit to Venice back in October 2011 I had the opportunity to visit Osteria da Fiore, in San Polo.
Today I publish the delayed review, because the osteria is one of the best restaurants in Venice, and continues to carry with pride one Michelin Star.
The amuse bouche was crispy tiny shrimp (gamberetti) on a bed of white polenta.
The first dish I tasted was a mixed raw seafood.
Misto crudo di carpaccio di tonno e scampi.
The Scampi were served on top of a creamy mix of fennel (finocchio) and fresh cheese.
The second dish I tasted was another appetizer, one of the trademarks of Venetian gastronomy: “Baccala mantecato” (dried Atlantic cod, soaked, poached and whipped until mousse-like), served with bruschetta spiced with garlic.
Overall a perfect light lunch in a wonderful environment.
Casa sul Mare – una poesia di / House by the Sea – a poem by (Eugenio Montale)
This is a wonderful poem, from Montale’s collection ” Ossi di seppia (“Cuttlefish Bones”), which appeared in 1925. I start with the original and continue with an english translation.
Casa sul Mare Il viaggio finisce qui: nelle cure meschine che dividono l’anima che non sa più dare un grido.
Ora i minuti sono uguali e fissi
Come i giri di ruota della pompa.
Un giro: un salir d’acqua che rimbomba.
Un altro, altr’acqua, a tratti un cigolio. Il viaggio finisce a questa spiaggia
Che tentano gli assidui e lenti flussi.
Nulla disvela se non pigri fumi
La marina che tramano di conche
I soffi leni: ed è raro che appaia
Nella bonaccia muta
Tra l’isole dell’aria migrabonde
La Corsica dorsuta o la Capraia. Tu chiedi se così tutto svanisce
In questa poca nebbia di memorie;
se nell’ora che torpe o nel sospiro
del frangente si compie ogni destino.
Vorrei dirti che no, che ti s’appressa
l’ora che passerai di là dal tempo;
forse solo chi vuole s’infinita,
e questo tu potrai, chissà, non io.
Penso che per i più non sia salvezza,
ma taluno sovverta ogni disegno,
passi il varco, qual volle si ritrovi.
Vorrei prima di cedere segnarti
codesta via di fuga
labile come nei sommossi campi
del mare spuma o ruga.
Ti dono anche l’avara mia speranza.
A’ nuovi giorni, stanco, non so crescerla:
l’offro in pegno al tuo fato, che ti scampi. Il cammino finisce a queste prode
che rode la marea col moto alterno.
Il tuo cuore vicino che non m’ode
salpa già forse per l’eterno. House by the Sea (translated by William Arrowsmith) Here the journey ends: in these petty cares dividing a soul no longer able to protest. Now minutes are implacable, regular as the flywheel on a pump. One turn: a rumble of water rushing. Second turn: more water, occasional creakings. Here the journey ends, on this shore probed by slow, assiduous tides. Only a sluggish haze reveals the sea woven with troughs by the mils breezes: hardly ever in that dead calm does spiny Corsica or Capraia loom through islands of migratory air. You ask: Is this how everything vanishes, in this thin haze of memories? Is every destiny fulfilled in the torpid hour or the breaker’s sigh? I would like to tell you: No. For you the moment for your passage out of time is near: transcendence may perhaps be theirs who want it, and you, who knows, could be one of those. Not I. There is no salvation, I think, for most, but every system is subverted by someone, someone breaks through, becomes what he wanted to be. Before I yield, let me help you find such a passage out, a path fragile a ridge or foam in the furrowed sea. And I leave you my hope, too meager for my failing strength to foster in days to come. I offer it to you, my pledge to your fate, that you break free. My journey ends on these shores eroded by the to-and-fro of the tides. Your heedless heart, so near, may even now be lifting sail for the eternities.
Notes:
1. The poem “Casa sul Mare” is in the collection “Ossi di Seppia – Cuttlefish Bones”. It was published with the original poems and the english translation by Norton in 1992.
2. The critic and Montale’s friend Sergio Solmi observes about the “House by the Sea” that the poem adumbrates a theme dear to Montale, “the sense of a failed and enclosed life, despairing now of being equal to its original idea… escape from the ‘limbo of maimed existences’, succeed in living fully and saving itself”.
3. “For you the moment for your passage out of time is near”: is the “passage out of time” the poetic interpretation of “death”?
Izmir, Turkey: a photo journal
I recently visited Izmir in Turkey for the first time.
It was an emotionally difficult trip, as I was overwhelmed by the historical background and the events of 1922 (see my relevant article). The seaside promenade that takes the visitor from Republic Square to Alsancak along the Kemal Ataturk boulevard is a landfill. Back in 1922 the shoreline was running along the paved road that is running by the buildings.
At the north of this stretch is the area where the refugees were stuck in September of 1922, trying to get on board a ship. This is the site of a humanitarian disaster, one of the greatest before the second world war.
Fate had it that my visit would coincide with the celebration of the establishment of the present day Turkish Republic – Cumhuriyet Bayramı: 29th October 1923.
The city was fully decorated with flags and portraits of Kemal Ataturk. Very impressive indeed.
On 29 October 1923, the new name of the nation and its status as a republic was declared. After that, a vote occurred in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and Atatürk was selected as the 1st president of the Republic of Turkey by unanimous vote.
The clock tower in Konak Square was built in 1901 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Abdülhamid II’s (reigned 1876–1909) accession to the throne. It is ironic that Abdülhamid II (see my relevant article) marks the end of the Ottoman Empire and the emergence of the forces that will in 1923 declare the establishment of the Republic of Turkey. In this respect, the clock tower is a monument that embodies this historical borderline. The clock itself was a gift of German Emperor Wilhelm II (reigned 1888–1918). It is decorated in an elaborate Ottoman architecture. The tower which has an iron and lead skeleton,, at a height of 25 m (82 ft), features four fountains (Şadırvanı), which are placed around the base in a circular pattern, and the columns are inspired by Moorish themes.
Izmir Governor’s official residence (Konak), is an almost identical replica of the original building built between 1869 and 1872, which itself was lost to a fire in 1970.
One of the very few buildings of the “Ionian Jewel” that the visitor can see today in the city is the Izmir Tourism and Information Office.
It used to be the building of the National Bank of Greece. Note that the tower of the North side has been removed.
The Ataturk Museum is located on the quay, and is one of the historical buildings that have been restored.
The Agora (Market) of Izmir, dates back to the Hellenistic and Roman periods of the city’s life.
The archaelogical site is in the area of Konak, on top of a hill.
The neighbourhood around Agora is a working man’s area.
Izmir today is home for over 4 millions of people.
A lot of them have come to Izmir from Anatolia.
The hills surrounding Izmir have been covered by the homes built for the Anatonian immigrants. The old homes are now being replaced by modern multistory buildings. This massive rennovation project will result in freeing the hills from the old homes and create parks and areas of recreation.
Overall, the building activity in Izmir is intensive, extensive, and very impressive.
In spite of the number of people and the challenges this creates, Izmir is a clean and safe city.
Historic Basmane Gar is İzmir’s main station forAegean regional trains, with connections to thesuburban and Metro lines
Traces of art of the past can be found in the city, even in some of sort of bad imitation.
I am happy that I went. In spite of the fact that the emotions are mixed.
After all, so many terrible things in human history have been the result of the quest for “cleanliness”.
So “mixed” is ok.
If you are wondering what the food is like, you can read my article on the Topcu Restaurant in Izmir.
Good night Izmir.
Güle Güle!
… because incoherence is preferable to a distorting order …
“In certain places, at certain hours, gazing at the sea is dangerous.
It is what looking at a woman sometimes is.”
Victor Hugo
“I looked at Pauline and asked her if she felt she had the courage to bear the pounding brilliance of the sun and the strength to walk on the sand”
Honore de Balzac
“I was nearly sixteen when I met Simone, a girl my own age, at the beach in X. Our families being distantly related, we quickly grew intimate.”
Georges Batailles
“I am most useful when I am not needed”
My personal self
“what is in life that is not an enigma riddle?
isn’t life itself a riddle enigma”
Nikos Eggonopoulos
“Like all texts, the beach has an author – not, admittedly, a named individual, but a historically determined set of community practices that have produced material objects or signs.”
John Fiske
“The sea washes away and cleanses every human stain”
Euripides, Iphigenia in Tauris
Notes: 1.The phrase in the title is quoted by Roland Barthes as being “Gidean”, ie belonging to Andre Gide.
2. I took the photographs in Marathon Beach, Attica, Greece, in mid September 2012.
Fishtavern “Cavouri”, Marathon Beach: By the (breaking) sea wave
I continue to be in a “breaking sea wave” mood, and there is no better place to have lunch when you are in this mood than the beach itself, especially when the tables are less than one meter away from the breaking wave!
There was a nothern wind of medium strength, and the wave was breaking indeed!
The fresh wind comes from the Aegean, passing from the Southern tip of Evoia.
This wind has a cleansing effect on me.
It strips away all the mumbo-jumbo that clutters my Being and helps me see into my true (authentic) nature.
The breaking sea wave is my satori catalyst.
Unfortunately this glimpse into the true me does not last for very long.
However, I consider myself fortunate that it lasts even for a few seconds.
In any case, having achieved the “satori” state, I had to go for the unadulterated, pure taste of the fish.
The colorful salad that came as a prelude, acted as an evangelist for the main course.
A fresh sea bass, grilled to perfection.
Words fail me.
In addition to the subtle aroma of the sea, I was deeply absorbed by the gelatinous texture of the moist flesh.
The more fresh the flesh, the higher the gelatine effect.
Absolutely delicious!
But I must confess that a thought crossed my mind.
Given the quality of the fish, how would it be to have half of it served raw by Mizutani, and the other half grilled?
For the time being I will stay with the thought stuck in my mind. It may be a while before Mizutani visits Marathon.
Fresh grapes, cut a minute ago from the vines providing the very welcome shade, took away the aromas of the sea and brought Dionyssus to the table.
Ora sono ubriaco
d’ universo
I am now drunk
from the universe
(Giuseppe Ungaretti)
By the (breaking) sea wave: A “Fluxus Eleatis” Discourse
Mr. FFF: Παρα θιν αλος. By the breaking sea wave.
MM: I see Priest Chryses praying. For his daughter Chryseis has been kidnapped by Agamemnon who does not want to release her.
…βή δ’ ακέων παρά θίνα πολυφλοίσβοιο θαλάσσης…
πήρε βουβός του πολυτάραχου γιαλού τον άμμον
Ομηρου Ιλιας, Ραψωδια Α34
Without a word, he went by the shore of the noisy sea (or ‘sounding sea’)
Homer, Iliad, A34
Mr. FFF: The priest Chryses prayed to Apollo to punish the Greek army, so that Agamemnon is forced to return to him his daughter, Chryseis.
Mrs. T: The deep sound of the sea is in stark contrast with the priest’s silent suffering.
Είπε, και την ευκή του επάκουσεν ο Απόλλωνας ο Φοίβος,
κι απ᾿ την κορφή του Ολύμπου εχύθηκε θυμό γεμάτος
Ομηρου Ιλιας, Ραψωδια Α43-44
He spoke, and Apollo Phoebus listened to his wish
and from the top pf Olympus he rushed away full of wrath
Homer, Iliad, A43-44
MM: Apollo shot the plague to the Greek Army, and Agamemnon had to return Chryseis to her father.
Mrs. T: As a compensation for his loss, Agamemnon took Bryseis from Achilles.
Mr. FFF: Achilles is furious at the loss of Briseis.
Δακρυσμένος τότε ο Αχιλλέας απ᾿ τους συντρόφους του μακραίνει και καθίζει
μπρος στον ψαρή γιαλό, το απέραντο το πέλαγο θωρώντας,
κι απλώνοντας τα χέρια ευκήθηκε στην ακριβή του μάνα
Ομηρου Ιλιας, Ραψωδια Α348-352
Achilles in tears strays away from his comrades and seats
on the beach, and looking at the vast sea,
unfolded his arms and prayed to his mother
Homer, Iliad, AHomer, Iliad, A348-352
Mr. FFF: Greeks of any age, starting with Homer, have a special relationship with the sea.
Mrs. T: The sea was considered to be the home of many deities.
MM: The sea was also a place of catharsis, a cleansing place for mortals.
Wie Meerekuesten, wenn zu baun
Anfangen die Himmliwschen und herein
Schifft unaufhaltsam, eine Pracht, das Werk
Der Woogen, eins uns andere, und die Erde
Sich ruester aus, darauf vom Freudigsten eines…
Wie Merekuesten…
Friedrich Hoelderlin
As upon seacoasts, when the gods
Begin to build and the work of the waves
Ships in unstoppably wave
After wave, in splendour, and the earth
Attires itself and then comes joy
A supreme, tuneful joy, setting …
(translation by David Constantine)
Wie Merekuesten…
Friedrich Hoelderlin
MM: I see the beach walking and…
Stephen Daedalus: Am I walking into eternity along Sandymount strand? Crush, crack, crick, crick.
MM: Stephen closed his eyes to hear his boots crush crackling wrack and shells.
Leopold Bloom: I am wandering around, avoiding to go home. I am on Sandymount strand. Following Stephen’s steps.
(young) Gerty: It is almost dusk. Roman candles are fizzing through the air.
Leopold Bloom: I cannot get my eyes off her!
(young) Gerty: I pulled my skirt up and revealed my garters.
Leopold Bloom: I surrender, I am too weak to resist.
(young) Gerty: I behaved as an exhibitionist. Will I ever be as important as Molly is?
Leopold Bloom: I behaved as a true voyeur. I am aging.
Mr. FFF: I like garters.
Mrs. T: The description of the episode with Bloom and (young) Gerty made the US Courts to ban the book as indecent.
The beach shines like a mirror, swallowing the confusion of forms, creating whatever it likes.
Here by the beach, I will be covered, in whole, by a layer of sugar, like snow.
It is a sin to be absent from the present.
Nikos Gabriel Pentzikis, Mrs. Ersis’ Novel
Ο γιαλος στιλβει σαν καθρεφτης, καταπινοντας τη συγχυση των μορφων, σχηματιζοντας ο,τι θελει αυτος.
Εδω στην ακρογιαλια, ολοκληρον, θα με καλυψει σαν χιονι ενα στρωμα απο ζαχαρη.
Αμαρτια η απουσια απο το παρον.
Νικος Γαβριηλ Πεντζικης, Το Μυθιστορημα της κυριας Ερσης
Πῶς δύναται τὶς νὰ γίνει ἀνὴρ χωρὶς ν᾿ ἀγαπήσει δεκάκις τουλάχιστον, καὶ δεκάκις ν᾿ ἀπατηθεῖ ;
How could anyone become a man without falling in love at least ten times, and betrayed ten times?
Alexandros Papadiamantis
MM: I see the kissing-on-the-beach sequence where Lancaster and Kerr roll around in the Pacific Ocean’s frothy waves, lips locked as the surf washes over them.
Mrs. T: Lancaster’s sergeant (Milton Warden) with Deborah Kerr playing Karen Holms, another officer’s wife
Mr. FFF: The American censors deleted four seconds from that provocative love-making scene.
Mrs. T: From Here to Eternity was nominated for 13 Oscars and won eight, including best film and best director. It won rave reviews and became one of the highest-grossing films of the Fifties.
Du musst das Leben nicht verstehen,
dann wird es werden wie ein Fest.
You should not understand Life,
then it will be like a celebration.
Rainer Maria Rilke
MM: I see the beach swimming after sunset
Mrs. T: I have never done this.
Mr. FFF: I had a friend who rejoiced every time she had a chance to swim during the night. She could stay up all night swimming.
Τα πρωτα μου χρονια τ’ αξεχαστα τα’ ζησα κοντα στ’ ακρογιαλι,
Στη θαλασσα εκει τη ρηχη και την ημερη,
στη θαλασσα εκει την πλατιεα, τη μεγαλη…
Στη θαλασσα εκει…
Κωστης Παλαμας
I have lived my first unforgetable years by the beach,
There by the shallow and quite sea,
the wide, the great sea, there…
There by the sea
Kostis Palamas
MM: I see the Hotel des Roses in Rhodes.
Mrs. T: I like roses.
Mr. FFF: This is where I was going to swim when I was a kid. For hours on and on. 10am to 7pm. Full time job.
MM: I see the bay of Ladiko, near Kolymbia in Rhodes.
Mrs. T: Looks great!
Mr. FFF: It was even better when there was nobody there! Years ago, access to the bay was blocked and the man who had the keys was a good family friend.
MM: I see food and drinks by the beach.
Mrs. T: Allow me. First stop is Damianos Fishtavern, Ambelas, Paros island, Greece.
Mr. FFF: Wonderful setting, and dedication to serving good seafood all year round.
Mrs. T: It is amazing how different food tastes when you smell the sea breeze!
MM: I see food and drinks on the cliff.
Mrs. T: Second stop. Akelare Restaurante, San Sebastian, Basque Country.
Mr. FFF: Up on a cliff, overlooking the Atlantic, stands one of the shrines of gastronomy in the wonderful land of the Basque people.
Mrs. T: The place is full of the joy of life.
MM: I see seafood by the beach at night.
Mrs. T: Third stop. Ristorante Uliassi, Senigallia, Marche, Italia.
Mr. FFF: Now we are in the Riviera Romagnola, where the ITalians have invented the “beach without the sea”. Nevertheless, in this riviera, where everything happens, where the high and the low co-exist peacefully, Uliassi does his magic. It is worth the trip. Even if you do not make it to the sea.
MM: I see seafood on a balcony overlooking the beach.
Mrs. T: Aristodimos Fishtavern, Pachi, Megara, Greece.
Mr. FFF: Back to the homeland. An unassuming small seaside town 40 km from Athens presents the goods of the sea in a way that honors centuries of eating seafood.
MM: I see Death encounters by the beach.
Mrs. T: Disillusioned knight Antonius Block and his squire Jöns return after fighting in the Crusades and find Sweden being ravaged by the plague. On the beach immediately after their arrival, Block encounters Death.
Mr. FFF: Black and White. The agony of Man in front of the inevitable. But the sea makes everything look natural. This is why the sea gives another meaning to life.
Mrs. T: (reading from a book): “The whole beach, once so full of colour and life, looked now autumnal, out of season; it was nearly deserted and not even very clean. A camera on a tripod stood at the edge of the water, apparently abandoned; its black cloth snapped in the freshening wind.”
Mr. FFF: (reading from the same book): “Some minutes passed before anyone hastened to the aid of the elderly man sitting there collapsed in his chair. They bore him to his room. And before nightfall a shocked and respectful world received the news of his decease.”
“Prayer does not change God, but it does change the one who prays.”
Soren Kirkegaard
“The essence of truth is freedom”
Martin Heidegger
Participants
Achilles
Ingmar Bergman, Swedish Film Director
Leopold Bloom
Briseis
Priest Chryses
Chryseis
Stephen Daedalus
Mr. FFF, wanderer
Caspar David Friedrich, German Painter
Martin Heidegger, German Philosopher
Friedrich Hoeldrlin, German Poet
(young) Gerty
Homer, Greek Poet
Soren Kirkegaard, Dane Philosopher
MM, partner
Kostis Palamas, Greek Poet
Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek Writer
Nikos Gabriel Pentzikis, Greek Writer and Painter,
Otto Preminger, American Film Director
Rainer Maria Rilke, Bohemian-Austrian Poet
Mrs. T, gourmant
References
Akelare Restaurant, San Sebastian, Basque Country
Aristodimos Fishtavern, Pachi, Megara, Greece
Damianos Fishtavern, Ambelas, Paros Island, Greece
From Here to Eternity, A Film by: Otto Preminger
A Hole in the Head. A Film by: Frank Capra
Edge of Heaven (Auf der anderen Seite), A Film by Fatih Akin
Restaurante Uliassi, Senigallia, Marche, Italia
Grilled Boops Boops – Γοπες ψητες
Today is another nice spring day in Marathon, and we have grilled boops boops on the menu.
Σημερα ειναι ακομη μια ομορφη ανοιξιατικη μερα στο Μαραθωνα και το μενου εχει γοπες ψητες.
Boops boops is a humble fish. But when it is fresh, it beats the best stale lobster (paraphrasing Feran Adria).
In order to preserve the flavours and the juices of the fresh fish, I will grill it, honouring a centuries old tradition.
To add more tradition and locality to the humble meal, I will use the chopped peel of pickled lemons. It adds fantastic complex flavour that combines heavenly with the taste of the fish.
After chopping the peel, I use it to stuff the belly of the fish, and sprinkle fresh chopped coriander and coarse sea salt over the fish, with a touch of olive oil.
The grilled fish must be crispy outside and moist and juicy inside. This is the essence of grilling fish. I did it the right way, and heaven could not wait.
The flesh was moist and firm, but juicy and delicious. Having said that, nothing could beat the skin. Miles and miles above everything else!
Accompany the fish with a glass of “savatiano” white wine, and you will agree with me that gastronomic perfection is not reserved only for royalty or the truly rich.