Summer time at New Melandias square, Ano Petralona.

Nikos Kyriakopoulos
Sightseeings
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The evening is here but the sun is still up.

I see the umbrellas, the tables and chairs of the small cafe, all placed in orded. At the Gyro shop the meat is prepared and the mini market owner stares at TV always chilled by his aircondition. The bakery-man gets out of his shop, turns the boxes around and makes some seats for his company. The cats are well placed under the shadows of a car. It is quite.

The sun is doing its circle and the square gets crowded with children. They bicycle, play ball, hide and seek, they go up the trees, they yell, run, sweat, get thirtsy, hungry or eager of an icecream. The parents spend their time at the cafe nearby. From there they observe, the fear, get scared and yell at their children when they get mad. Then they get back to their company. Men stick to the cafenio where they can enjoy basketball, backammon, cards and politics. They ofter drop to the nearby gambling store to test their lack or to the mini market for cigaretes.

Around the square you see the balconies like galleries. Most of them are full with flowers, boxes, chairs, shoes, bicycles and market bags. Women wearing the night robes, floral shoes, mean with t shirts and worries. Someone is watching the tv, someone else is listening to Padelidis (greek singer) and a baby is crying. The young lady, on the opposite, bends and gets the neighboor in temptations.

A bit later, during the evening, the kids get quite, people are leaving or coming to dine. Beer, souvlaki, television are the main components to keep the people going. Older people go home. The bakery cloes and the mini market sticks a little bit longer.

The night. The train has stopped an hour ago, the Gyro shop is cleaning up the mess and a few drink some bouze at the cafe. The stores have closed and the only people left are the youths of the neighborhood. They enjoy themselves for a little bit, they drink some beers, talk with their friends and ride their bikes. The traffic is gone, the dogs have slept. I am at the balcony, having a last cigarette.

....

   I live more than three years at New Melandias square. When i was a kid, i could see Karaiskaki football arena from here. In the meanwhile, the old houses got replaced by big blocks of flats, many shops have opened or closed and the square was rebuilt with slabs, got bigger and is only of pedestrians.

 

Many things have changed but the rythm is the same.

New Melandias Square, Ano Petralona.

 

See you tomorrow.

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About the Author

Nikos Kyriakopoulos
Nikos Kyriakopoulos is a painter. Was born in Athens in 1980. He studied painting at the Faculty of fine arts and at the workshop of D. Mitaras. He had his personal exhibition but have also participated in group ones. Travel for him, is a promise, a hope and a prospect.  He get exhited with the unknown and feels sad about the fact that everything on this planet have been mapped down. When he travels he tends to paint new places. He is also envy of the previous centuries' painters-travellers, for whom the travel lasted for years.

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