A few years ago I was taking pictures in the centre in an abandoned building near this guy's shop. He popped out of his place and politely asked me what I was doing and after I had explained I asked if I could take his picture.
This is the same shop just a few days ago, long since closed, the once bright red For Rent sign in the window faded away. I have no idea why the place shut down, perhaps the owner retired or perhaps the economic crisis made it impossible to stay open. However, the fact that the business has not taken on a new lease of life is testament to the harsh new realities that Greece is facing.
Businesses have always closed and yet in most areas of the city someone could be relied upon to rustle up some money to try out a new idea of approach and so empty store fronts rarely stayed that way for long, especially in the busier parts of town.Following the financial meltdown in 2008 this has become less and less true and even Thessaloniki's most commercial thorough fares are littered with boarded up shops, sometimes left unlet for years on end.
The students were protesting over wide range of problems caused by lack of state funding for the country's music schools. Lack of staff, cuts in school buses and the stopping of school meals were among the issues that the high schoolers were trying to bring to the public's attention.
