Three Years and an Earthquake Later

The essay is about an old man who was spending his summer mornings in that place. He used to drink his coffee and read his newspaper while he was looking at the view of the Corinthian Gulf in Greece. The whole place was a small room and a yard. After three years since he had passed away, and after a strong earthquake, I unlocked the room. Nothing was as I remembered. I took those pictures before I clean the room. I thought it was a way to keep the memories alive. His bottle, his blanket, his stuff for coffee, his last summers.

Σάμος.
 Μαραθόκαμπος, Κουμέικα, Μυτιληνιοί, Ψιλή Άμμος.

Samos Island, Aegean Sea, Greece.

Σάμος. Ανηφορίζουμε στην κορυφή του βουνού Άμπελος, στα 1153 μέτρα. Εδώ, στην κορυφή του βουνού είναι κτισμένο το εκκλησάκι του προφήτη Ηλία. Στην ορθόδοξη χριστιανική θρησκεία ο προφήτης Ηλίας ο οποίος αναφέρεται στην Παλαιά Διαθήκη, ανελήφθη με πύρινη άμαξα στον ουρανό. Γι’ αυτό το λόγο, οι εκκλησίες του είναι κτισμένες στις κορυφές των βουνών. Το έδαφος αποτελείται από ηφαιστειακά πετρώματα που λάμπουν κάτω από τον ήλιο. Αγριολούλουδα φυτρώνουν εδώ και εκεί. Κοιτάζω την υπέροχη θέα, ο ορίζοντας χάνεται από τα μάτια μου….Εδώ, στην κορυφή του βουνού, με το Αιγαίο ολόγυρά μου, αντιλαμβάνομαι γιατί η προελληνική λέξη "Σάμος" σημαίνει "Ψηλός Τόπος κοντά στη Θάλασσα''.  

Samos Island, Aegean Sea, Greece.  We are climbing to the top of the mountain Ampelos,1153 meters tall. Here is the small church of the prophet Helias. According the Orthodox Christian religion the prophet was taken by a flaming trolley to the sky. That is why their churches are built on the top of the mountains. The soil ground consists of volcanic rocks that shine under the sun. Wildflowers grow around. I look at the wonderful view, the horizon is lost in the blue color of Aegean Sea. Here, at the top of the mountain, I can understand why “Samos”, means “the high land close to the sea”, in the ancient Greek language.…