Walking in Athens

My first memory of the Athens that was changing as I grew up and changed alongside it, is a torn-down building on Patission Street.’ It was one of my ‘favourite’ houses, though I was not even five years old. I was impressed by the marble lions at the end of the garden. The pedestal on which they sat belonged to an external staircase with pilasters in the shape of palm trees. The bulldozer and clouds of dust shook me to the core.
I like to recall this early memory when I try to pinpoint the origin of my relationship with Athens.
As with any relationship, it is more complicated than it appears at first sight; more complex and perhaps contradictory. In any case it is a strong and de facto lifelong one. I was brought up in Athens, though I like to say that Athens brought me up. With hindsight, I understand that my path to adulthood and maturity was joined with the city’s own continuous changes. […] (From the publisher)