https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athens
Athens Greece, 2016
This legitimately looks like a central american third world shithole
When did this happen? Why? They weren't under communist rule, so we can't blame commieblocks etc on that.
What gives?
This looks fucking shit tier, and i'm not even cherrypicking:
https://www.google.com/search?q=athens+greece&safe=off&espv=2&biw=1366&bih=667&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwityKTwitbNAhUBx2MKHbzECPoQ_AUIBygC#safe=off&tbm=isch&q=athens+greece+skyline&imgrc=rF-1P8DIKS_xhM%3A
There's a multitude of cozy non-skyscraper European cities throughout the continent, this isn't one of them. This is genuinely terrible
Civil war, followed by civil strife and military rule.
Now they're corrupt as fuck.
To be fair, nobody in Southern Europe is competent, it's just that Italy and Spain are closer to people who are.
>>1363007
The Turkening happened.
>>1363007
read a fucking book, asshole. You think after more than 1000 years, Athens is still going to be as relevant as it once was? It never recovered from the Peloponnesian War, let alone every other social crisis that befell it in the centuries to come.
>>1363120
Things could be that way, but they arent. So why is that? For progress to happen, places have to "die out", and their essence is reborn elsewhere once againe?
>>1363217
City-states don't work any more and places with strong regional identities left over from city-states tend to be clusterfucks as nation-states.
Also, Ottomans, and everything in Eastern Europe sucks anyway.
>>1363007
Turco-Albanians.
Greeks can't take care of shit.
>>1363222
>City-states don't work any more
Singapore?
>>1363007
They got Turk'd. See all of countries now that got their independence from Ottoman Empire, they're all shitholes.
Thessaloniki looks better desu
Still a shithole desu
>>1363059
>>1364769
>>1363301
>meanwhile on the great roach empire city of istanbul
>>1364792
Still doesn't stop it from being a shithole, though. Look at any South American countries
>>1363222
City-States work fine, it's just that national sovereignty (both political and economic) has been eroded by globalism, and at the city level it's even worse.
Aesthetic
>>1363007
Since your post only comments on the way the city looks, I can say this:
The skyline does look shit, but it's due to the quite small grid block size, and the lack of uniform planning regarding the design of buildings.
I've been there earlier this year and on street level things actually look much better, it's the rooftops that are a complete mess.
Economy wise, yeah, the country is crap, though Athens might be one of the few cities that have something still going.
>>1363217
>For progress to happen, places have to "die out", and their essence is reborn elsewhere once againe?
Well, most of the modern capitals (even regional capitals) have been major cities for less than 1000 years. Most ancient capitals died, occasionally to be rebuilt later.
>>1364801
Istanbul is a fucking rch city though.
>>1363007
athenian here
during the time period between 1960-1970 there was a great increase in population mostly by people from rural areas
the was an urgent need for living space and that came with the form of appartment blocks
the building of such block had to happen quickly and it did, without any significant central planning
plus the corrupt and aesthetically blind goverments and the city looks like a cement flower emerging violently from the ground and growing in a random way
despite that i like this city and i find it more beautiful than most, mainly due to the different perception we have compared to northeners:
beauty is reflected more on a smaller scale (flowers on balconies, how modern/ancient can coexist, and a more anarchic way of life)
>>1364837
>Its GDP per capita and productivity are greater than their national averages by 70 percent and 50 percent, respectively, owing in part to the focus on high-value-added activities. With its high population and significant contribution to the Turkish economy, Istanbul is responsible for two-fifths of the nation's tax revenue.[19] That includes the taxes of 37 US-dollar billionaires based in Istanbul, the fifth-highest number among cities around the world.
Pretty impressive.
>>1364841
tbf it was a major port city with strategic location
I don't think that's a fair comparison. It's just the way most South American streets are overcrowded, has fewer cars, has old market booths here and there, neglected streets and houses, walls with broken glass to prevent theft etc.
South American cities are more similar to middle eastern cities.
the junta a couple decades ago removed nice old building and built fugly commie blocks
Athens isn't like Rome. It's not an ancient city that's been developing slowly over the centuries, filled with monuments from every period. It's a just another modern city, like any in Africa or South America, that happens to be built around some old ruins.
>>1364877
Seriously, this. Athens was a tiny village in the 19th century built up by the new Greek revolutionary government to try and reclaim their ancient heritage. It's essentially a "WE WUZ ATHENAI" move. The same thing exists with modern Sparta, a town built near the ruins of the original to try and gain some of the credit for it.
>>1363007
Greece and Athens by extension have gone through more trouble than any other European city/country, especially in modern post-ww2 period. Considering the country has too small a population and is next to Turkey which is the most aggressive bully worldwide, the chances for it to develop and get on Western Europe-tier are nonexistent. Not to mention that Greece in general was unfortunate in spawning next to Turks/Ottomans and being under their rule for hundreds of years. Did you honestly expect it to turn as good as other undisturbed European countries?
Honestly though, having visited it recently, it doesn't look quite as bad as those rooftop shots suggest. Seeing it from within its streets is completely different.
>>1364792
You're surprised that Constantinople remains great, considering it was the most important and rich city at its time as well as the jewel of the Byzantine Empire when it was conquered, and the capital of one of the most expansive empires ever? It's not like the Turks built it from scratch, the city was already great.
>>1364924
>It's not like the Turks built it from scratch
>>1364792
>>1364924
>"""constantinople"""
>still great
Istanbul is a city that only looks good at night and despite its supposed richness is somehow a horrible place to live in.
Bravo for pic related by the way.
In the 70s after the Junta the government / developers went around Athens offering to buy everybody's land.
They would join together a few plots and make a multi-story apartment complex. Part of the compensation for land was 'X' number of apartments in the new building. As a result, a family could now live for free + collect rent from one or more apartments in the building.
Athens was in a race to 'modernize' because it was the only country in Eastern Europe that sided with America/Britain solidly in the Cold War. Thus, right after the civil war the capitalists from Europe and America began to drag it into the future. That meant hundreds of apartment blocks and stores and restaurants and cafes for the people who would soon flee the countryside in the quest for urban life and a better living.
Of course no better life came. The government was corrupt from the beginning and they joined the EU within ~18 years of retiring the junta. Joining the EU sped up rural flight to the cities and gutted the nation's industry, driving up unemployment and lowering what little tax revenue they were collecting.
The success of the government was then managed in terms of how 'modern' the country was, ie: all islands and shitty towns have electricity. And also how much free stuff they got, ie: healthcare, pensions.
Athens hasn't seen significant development since the 80s though. Its just a decaying shell of a rotten fruit now.
They should have executed all the communists in the 50s, or the Junta should never have been replaced.
>>1365464
not him but looks fine to me
>This legitimately looks like a central american third world shithole
i live in a latin american shithole, athens looks worse
>>1366178
rekt
>>1364889
Don't forget about the fact that it was populated by muslims and Albanians during that time
Weep for Greece.
How the mighty have fallen...
>>1366253
Greece was never mighty, the only power they had (Byzantine empire) was given to them by someone else kek. Brief stints don't count (alexander the great)
>>1366260
>Brief stints don't count (alexander the great)
Open a history book. The successors lasted 3 centuries and spread their culture world wide
>>1366260
Butthurt Persian detected
>>1366142
Buy a ticket and fly over Istanbul. This isn't something you can understand by looking at photos taken by people aiming to show the city as beautiful.
From that distance the only thing you see is a soulless, grey jungle of concrete. Sure there are some beautiful areas, especially on the coast, but the majority isn't.
>>1366260
>alexander
>doesnt count
>what was ancient greek colonialism?
>>1366275
>From that distance the only thing you see is a soulless, grey jungle of concrete
That's basically all cities except a few heritage sites.
>>1366260
>one of the major powers of the late bronze age
>literally the only counter to Persian conquest
>colonize almost everything sea-side from spain to crimea
>Epirus & Macedon are the only kingdoms besides Carthage to put up real resistance to Rome
>maintain the roman empire for an additional 1000 years after rome & italy are lost
>first people to regain independence from the ottomans
Greece has had a good run. Its over now. There will no more chances. But they had a good run.
>>1366265
>>1366267
>>1366284
They never made the power, they just held on through its decline. They didn't do anything, they never created anything, they never achieved anything. Hell they were so jealous of how advanced the phoneticians were that they started making up a whole city that was practically a utopia and then panicked because they have no proof of it so they claimed that the city sunk to the bottom of the ocean kek.
Yes the Greeks colonised a bunch of random places, congratulations, what an achievement.
>>1366299
>>1363007
Greece is shit at taxation and can't handle money
>>1366290
>all cities
Pretty much all major cities maybe, but for example France's Lyon isn't as ugly as Istanbul. Japanese cities aside from Tokyo and Osaka are beautiful even from above. Some small cities in Turkey are actually beautiful.
A major problem with Istanbul, and many other Turkish cities in general is the lack of city planning done with anything even remotely resembling sanity, and the absence of nature. Most of the green you see is in miniscule parks, and trees planted between 2 roads.
>>1366265
>Open a history book.
Fuck i hate how cringey t/his/ buzzword sounds.
>>1366275
Almost every single picture of Istanbul looks great though. Almost every single city looks like a grey concrete jungle. Besides, it still looks comfy af
>>1363007
I've been there. Greece is honestly third world.
>>1366275
>this much denial
Wew lad, just accept your city is a shithole and that the turks did better job on their cities
