Saturday, January 12, 2013

A tale of two images - Greece

Shopkeeper

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.

For rent

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.

2 comments:

Ariadne said...

Every week I count more and more shops closing down in my neighbourhood. In a couple of months all the streets around here will be dark without lit shop windows. The truth is that no one has extra money to spend on clothes or presents so the only shops that survive still are supermarkets and cafes. AriadnefromGreece!

Anonymous said...

cost of renting is probably insane; the other thing is that pople can't afford buying.
Austerity is a huge success :(
http://www.section9department17.com/