chapter 4; from the ridiculous to the sublime.

It seemed ridiculous that for the average package-tour tourist, shopping in Europe tended to be from street stalls managed by foreign immigrants (often illegal ones) who sold a range of tatt & nick knacks uncannily similar to all the other stalls; and similar to what could be found in stalls in Bangkok too. Nearly everything mass produced in China...why would one travel to Paris, Rome, Venice, or Pisa to buy products made in China and sold anywhere and everywhere else? It was bizarre to approach the ancient walled square of Pisa through alleys lined with such stalls, manned by vendors from every poor nation on earth, and virtually no one Italian. From Bangkok to Istanbul we were harassed and pressured by stall holders and shopkeepers selling things we had no desire to buy. It became offensive to most of us not used to high pressure salesmanship. We quickly got over our guilt at not buying, and learned to not look at anything in any stall; avoiding eye contact with vendors tended to make us look down as we passed by. How much did we miss as we walked the streets with downcast eyes?

We became so adept at refusing to buy that it was a few days before our return home when it dawned on us we had bought nothing to take home as souvenirs for ourselves. I was in Istanbul at the time, and we had just been hijacked by a carpet seller who assured us he was our 'good friend' and we were his 'family'. We were enticed and cajoled into entering his friends carpet shop, where we would have experienced the well known tea drinking ceremony designed to create a sense of obligation to buy. Since none of us had any intention to buy a carpet, we refused the tea and departed; much to the displeasure of the shopkeeper... our new 'friend' followed us out the door & tried to lure us back in, but we stood firm. We politely waved him goodbye and resumed our interrupted amble about the streets. Then it dawned on me; apart from a lovely bronze sculpture purchased in Greece, I had bought nothing of any value the entire trip! I had surreptitiously glanced into a few shops, and noticed some rather interesting artifacts...

I can now include shopping in Istanbul as one of my highlights. Once I made up my mind not to be intimidated by high pressure salesmen (actually I walked out of shops where I felt pressured, and only bought from shops that left me to make up me own mind), I found it was fun. Some of my companions were inspired to join me in a shopping spree too, so the taxi back to the ship was bulging!

Generally speaking we found Greece had the best quality wares available, with much of it being hand-made locally. Istanbul too had quite a lot of quality local wares at good or fair prices. Greek shopkeepers were more subtle, apart from one elderly stall keeper who was so bad tempered we stalked off infuriated.

Our Cosmos tour of Greece had taken us to every major site on the mainland as well as those in Istanbul, Kusadasi & the Greek Isles, and at every one there were stalls selling nick knacks. Although we'd resisted the cheap souvenirs, we'd spent a lot of money on entry fees by then, and were becoming blaze' about ancient artefact's, churches and monuments. I began to think I wouldn't care to see another church, archaeological sight, or art exhibit ever again. However, our last free day was in Athens, & I dredged up the energy to walk to an exhibition of modern art by an artist called Adolph Luther, in a nearby art gallery. I was happy to pay the 6E entry fee, but Roly refused, and decided to wait outside. I was stunned and mind boggled by the artwork (I had thought my mind was fully boggled by then but apparently not...). I found myself immediately aware of the artist's intentions, and to some degree, on the same wavelength. His fascination with light echoed my own, but had taken my line of thought much further. The piece De la resistance was a large freestanding work which required the viewer to walk around it, and in so doing 3dimensional images/reflections were cast into the space between viewer and object. The experience was sublime. Even now I feel my skin tingle in remembrance. I needed to share the experience with someone, so I dragged Roly in to see it. He stood in awe for some time (as I had), and to date it is the only art exhibition he has described enthusiastically to others. After that I was ready to go home.