The Turk and his lost provinces : Greece, Bulgaria, Servia, Bosnia . politicians who sit at little tables infront of the cafes. The gleam of the white marble ispainful to the eyes. The architecture of most of thehouses in the new quarter of the town is pure Greek;simple, dignified and stately; a striking contrast tothe picturesque squalor and dilapidation of Constanti-nople and the ornate embellishment of the Italiancities. Some critics complain that the architecture ofAthens is monotonous, but it is the monotony of pureand simple taste, and none can deny the beauty of theresidences. Most of t
The Turk and his lost provinces : Greece, Bulgaria, Servia, Bosnia . politicians who sit at little tables infront of the cafes. The gleam of the white marble ispainful to the eyes. The architecture of most of thehouses in the new quarter of the town is pure Greek;simple, dignified and stately; a striking contrast tothe picturesque squalor and dilapidation of Constanti-nople and the ornate embellishment of the Italiancities. Some critics complain that the architecture ofAthens is monotonous, but it is the monotony of pureand simple taste, and none can deny the beauty of theresidences. Most of them are constructed uponmodern plans, especially the interiors, to meet thedemand for conveniences, and I am sure that theprivate buildings of Athens to-day are more comfort-able and beautiful than in the days of Pericles andPhidias. The mountain Pentelikos can furnish all themarble that is necessary to meet the demands of thebuilders for twenty-five more centuries. In the old part of the city the streets are narrow,dirty, and the odors rise to heaven. The modern. MODERN ATHENS 335 Greek peasant is not a tidy person, nor is his wife, andthe street that passes his dwelling, the house in whichhe lives and all his surroundings are repulsive to theeye, the nostrils and the sense of propriety. There are three theaters in Athens, one of them astately marble building of classic design, at whichoriginal plays in Greek are produced to encouragenative literary genius. An opera company comes overfrom Italy for two or three weeks every winter, butotherwise there is very little music in Athens. Nor isthere any modern art. The museum is not attractiveto ordinary visitors, but it is a fountain of joy andnever-ending bliss to archeologists, being filled withbroken statuary and pottery, old bronzes and tabletsbearing inscriptions that are half-effaced, leaving justenough to excite curiosity and controversy amongstudents. The classic spirit still prevails in Greece. It evenpervades the common co
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjecteastern, bookyear1903
