O N T H E
G R O U N D
R H O D E S
ILLUSTRATION
TANG YAU HOONG
“
you’re going where?
Is it safe?” These
are the questions that many visitors to
Rhodes get asked, with some concern for
their safety and sanity. Images in the
British media early in last year’s season
tended to create the impression that Greece was in
meltdown. “Don’t take €50 notes, you won’t be able to
spend them; the ATMs aren’t dispensing cash; the hotels
are out of food; you’re not safe on the streets,” were some
more of the wildly inaccurate ideas flying around.
Having lived on Rhodes for more than seven years,
I can safely say that nothing could be further from the
truth. While many people stayed away in response to the
story being told in the newspapers, others chose to come
anyway, and were glad that they did. They found the
same essential experience that they’d always
enjoyed: the sun still shone, old men still sat in
corner
kafeneions
playing dominoes, and
the food in the tavernas was just as tasty.
In truth, holidaymakers are almost
unaffected by the crisis, which will
only deepen if they stop coming, since
tourism is Greece’s biggest source of income. Without
wishing to over-simplify things: the problems primarily
affect civil servants and those on pensions.
Images of missile-throwing youths weren’t creating
an accurate picture, even last summer, At one point,
I spoke to a Greek friend just after he’d got off the phone
to his brother in Athens. While the TV footage aired, the
brother had been sipping a frappé in a café just round the
corner from the “unrest” and was surprised to hear from
his Rhodes sibling that there was concern for his welfare.
The Greek islands are faring quite well in the
recession generally, because they’re packed with
private businesses such as tavernas, apartments, bars
and souvenir shops. The only real threat to such places
is from people who fail to take advantage of them,
preferring to spend all their time in their all-
inclusive resorts. It begs the question:
why even come to a culture- and cuisine-
rich country such as Greece if you’re
not planning to interact with it at
close quarters?
ramblingsfromrhodes.blogspot.co.uk
“
The sun is still shining”
Put off Greece because of the recession?
Rhodes-based blogger
John Manuel
suggests you should think again
Holidaymakers
are almost
unaffected by the
crisis, which will
deepen if they stop coming
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