Post by artisans on Nov 6, 2008 19:15:02 GMT 2
Most visitors to Greece will have seen a kafeneion, that traditional male domain where women fear to tread. The first one we encountered was in the Corfu village of Argirades. After a long hot climb through the olive groves, we needed a drink and the only door open at 4:00 in the afternoon, was the local kafeneion. Julie sat outside while I ventured into the darkness within. The shuffling old man I followed led me into another world of dark corners, olive nets, rusty fridges and sardine boxes – I had stepped back 100 years! As I turned to leave with my two beers, my eyes had begun adjusting to the gloom and I saw that there were at least four other people sitting around the walls, all sipping drinks and contemplating life. Outside in the bright sun, there was a lady trying to locate her wayward husband – she knew he was in there, but tradition demanded that she could not enter.
It is here that men with weather-beaten faces play cards, or backgammon while the politics of the day is chewed over and analysed. It is in the kafeneion that newspapers are read at length over a slow cup of coffee and decisions are made that affect the local community. They may not be trendy in this modern world, but kafeneions still play an important part in today’s Greek society – if only to hide from the wife! These days, many villages with tourists have lost these establishments as they are redeveloped to cater for a more varied clientele, but small groups of men still congregate in some of the more stylish bars to carry on life as usual. There used to be one in Roda – you will probably guess where it was.
It is here that men with weather-beaten faces play cards, or backgammon while the politics of the day is chewed over and analysed. It is in the kafeneion that newspapers are read at length over a slow cup of coffee and decisions are made that affect the local community. They may not be trendy in this modern world, but kafeneions still play an important part in today’s Greek society – if only to hide from the wife! These days, many villages with tourists have lost these establishments as they are redeveloped to cater for a more varied clientele, but small groups of men still congregate in some of the more stylish bars to carry on life as usual. There used to be one in Roda – you will probably guess where it was.