Author Archives: adriftinathens

Ritsona, Greece — To show how cremation has always been part of the Greek way of life and death, Antonis Alakiotis proudly shows off the range of the funerary urns modelled on ancient Greek designs, available to house the ashes of your loved one for eternity. Prices start at 109 euros ($121). Read more here

Chris Topalov’s family have navigated the choppy waters of Europe’s embattled economies for decades. His parents left their homeland of Bulgaria to escape financial chaos in 1997; chaos caught up to them in Greece where Chris was born. In 2016 the family left for better prospects in the U.S. The odyssey has prompted Chris toContinue reading “IMF’s F&D: Eastern Europe’s Exodus”

On a whiteboard, Vassilis Papadopoulos has written the word “late” and circled it. Fifty minutes into the class, Sekou Kamara walks in, but Papadopoulos gently pushes him back out the door. “You wanted to know what late is?” Papadopoulos says to the laughter of the men and women in the classroom. “This is late. MyContinue reading “NRC: Making Evropi home”

If tourist arrivals match last year’s numbers, some 30 million people will visit Greece this year, buying Greek coffees and Greek salads, renting cars and beach umbrellas, and boosting the country’s shrunken economy with €16 billion in spending. George Pitsilis, Greece’s chief tax collector, is determined to make sure the tax due is collected onContinue reading “IMF’s Finance & Development: Taxing Times”

Locals call it “the pagoda” – a concrete edifice in the Greek port of Piraeus that resembles a temple in the East. In the parking lot of the derelict building, tourists from cruise ships board buses that whisk them to the archaeological sites of Athens. If Chinese State-owned giant COSCO Shipping has its way, itContinue reading “China Daily: Cosco Means More Than Containers in Greek Port”