Wordpress.com uses a slightly modified version of the publicly available wordpress platform. Moreover wordpress.com also uses a slightly modified version of the Fjords04 theme, the theme the site was using, which needed to be ported exactly as-was. The differences were in the use of avatars. (1) Although wordpress as per version 2.5 has support for avatars built-in, the Fjords theme doesn’t support them. (2) Another difference was in the option that wordpress.com offers to select a default avatar when the user doesn’t have a registered gravatar from gravatar.com. (3) Finally a third nice touch in wordpress.com and not available in the public domain wordpress software, is the use of avatars in the Recent Comments.

After fiddling for more than a day with a number of wordpress plug-ins — each of which took care of 1 aspect of our challenge, but combined seemed to interfere with each other and not co-operate well with the built-in avatar functions of wordpress 2.5 — I found a posting in a forum by Jan Dembowski, pointing to a wordpress.com repository for their modified themes. That was the start. From there I discovered the availability of the bleeding edge version of the upcoming wordpress 2.6, which has the functionality under (2) built-in. After studying the differences between the wordpress.com version of the Fjords theme and the publicly available version of the same theme, and the differences between version 2.5.1 and 2.6 or the wordpress software, I started to figure out how it worked. I could have just used that theme and the latest 2.6 version, but since version 2.6 is still labeled as unstable and I had no time to figure out what differences there were with the publicly available version, I decided on the approach outlined below. Note that I have only 5 months exposure to the wordpress software as a user, and minimal knowledge of PHP, the language under the wordpress software, so my solution might be far from optimal. But it works!

Below I’ve outlined in as much detail as I can the steps I went through to include support for avatars in the Fjords theme, to include avatars with the Recent Comments widget, and to offer the same choice as wordpress.com for setting a default avatar if the user doesn’t have a registered gravatar. Note that quite a bit of the code was “borrowed” from the bleeding edge release of the upcoming Wordpress version 2.6.

1. Edit comments.php in the Fjords theme to insert the following <?php echo get_avatar( $comment, 32 ); ?> on line 14, such that the complete line looks like this: <div class=”comentarios”><?php echo get_avatar( $comment, 32 ); ?>  The number 32 that you see is the size of the avatar that will be displayed. This will display the avatars in the comments.
2. In preparation of the modifications for the Recent Comments widget, edit style.css in the Fjords theme to add the following code at the end:

   /* for avatars in comments */
   .avatar { float: right; }
   /* for avatars in recent comments */
   .recentcomments img { float: left; margin: 0px 4px 0px -20px; }
   .sidebar ul ul li.recentcomments { padding: 0px 0px 4px 20px; border-bottom: 0px; }
   .sidebar ul ul#recentcomments { border-top: 0px; }
   

3. Create a 1 x 1 blank pixel image in any graphics program you like, and save it as wp-includes/images/blank.gif. We will need this for the customizable default avatars control panel in the admin section.
4. Edit wp-includes/functions.php to add the following code block at the end (before the “?>” symbol on the last line). These are support functions for the default avatar control panel in the admin section.

   /**
   * Determine if SSL is used.
   * @since 2.6
   * @return bool True if SSL, false if not used.
   */
   function is_ssl() {
   return ( 'on' == strtolower($_SERVER['HTTPS']) ) ? true : false;
   }   
   
   /**
   * Whether SSL login should be forced.
   * @since 2.6
   * @param string|bool $force Optional.
   * @return bool True if forced, false if not forced.
   */
   function force_ssl_login($force = '') {
   static $forced;
   if ( '' != $force ) {
   $old_forced = $forced;
   $forced = $force;
   return $old_forced;
   }
   return $forced;
   }
   
   /**
   * Whether to force SSL used for the Administration Panels.
   * @since 2.6
   * @param string|bool $force
   * @return bool True if forced, false if not forced.
   */
   function force_ssl_admin($force = '') {
   static $forced;
   if ( '' != $force ) {
   $old_forced = $forced;
   $forced = $force;
   return $old_forced;
   }
   return $forced;
   }
   
   // return the site_url option, using https if is_ssl() is true
   // if $scheme is 'http' or 'https' it will override is_ssl()
   function site_url($path = '', $scheme = null) {
   // should the list of allowed schemes be maintained elsewhere?
   if ( !in_array($scheme, array('http', 'https')) ) {
   if ( ('login' == $scheme) && ( force_ssl_login() || force_ssl_admin() ) )
   $scheme = 'https';
   elseif ( ('admin' == $scheme) && force_ssl_admin() )
   $scheme = 'https';
   else
   $scheme = ( is_ssl() ? 'https' : 'http' );
   }
   $url = str_replace( 'http://', "{$scheme}://", get_option('siteurl') );
   if ( !empty($path) && is_string($path) && strpos($path, '..') === false )
   $url .= '/' . ltrim($path, '/');
   return $url;
   }
   
   function admin_url($path = '') {
   global $_wp_admin_url;
   $url = site_url('wp-admin/', 'admin');
   if ( !empty($path) && is_string($path) && strpos($path, '..') === false )
   $url .= ltrim($path, '/');
   return $url;
   }
   
   function includes_url($path = '') {
   global $_wp_includes_url;
   $url = site_url() . '/' . WPINC . '/';
   if ( !empty($path) && is_string($path) && strpos($path, '..') === false )
   $url .= ltrim($path, '/');
   return $url;
   }
   

5. Edit wp-admin/options-discussions.php to add the following code block at the end of the existing table, before the </table> statement. This and the following modification will insert the default avatar control panel in the admin section.

   <tr valign="top">
   <th scope="row">< ?php _e('Default Avatar') ?></th>
   <td class="defaultavatarpicker"><fieldset><legend class="hidden">< ?php _e('Default Avatar') ?></legend>   
   
   < ?php _e('For users without a custom avatar of their own, you can either display a generic logo or a generated one based on their e-mail address.'); ?><br />
   
   < ?php
   $avatar_defaults = array(
   'mystery' => __('Mystery Man'),
   'blank' => __('Blank'),
   'gravatar_default' => __('Gravatar Logo'),
   'identicon' => __('Identicon (Generated)'),
   'wavatar' => __('Wavatar (Generated)'),
   'monsterid' => __('MonsterID (Generated)')
   );
   $avatar_defaults = apply_filters('avatar_defaults', $avatar_defaults);
   $default = get_option('avatar_default');
   if ( empty($default) )
   $default = 'mystery';
   $size = 32;
   $avatar_list = '';
   foreach ( $avatar_defaults as $default_key => $default_name ) {
   $selected = ($default == $default_key) ? 'checked="checked" ' : '';
   $avatar_list .= "\n\t<label><input type='radio' name='avatar_default' id='avatar_{$default_key}' value='{$default_key}' {$selected}/> ";
   
   $avatar = get_avatar( $user_email, $size, $default_key );
   $avatar_list .= preg_replace("/src='(.+?)'/", "src='\$1&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;forcedefault=1'", $avatar);
   
   $avatar_list .= ' ' . $default_name . '</label>';
   $avatar_list .= '<br />';
   }
   echo apply_filters('default_avatar_select', $avatar_list);
   ?>
   
   </fieldset></td>
   </tr>
   

6. Edit the same wp-admin/options-discussions.php to replace the line starting with <input type=”hidden” name=”page_options” (near the end) with the line:

   <input type="hidden" name="page_options" value="default_pingback_flag,default_ping_status,default_comment_status,comments_notify,moderation_notify,comment_moderation,require_name_email,comment_whitelist,comment_max_links,moderation_keys,blacklist_keys,show_avatars,avatar_rating,avatar_default" />
   

7. Edit wp-includes/pluggable.php to replace 2 lines in the function get_avatar with a block as follows (at line 1243 and below). This will pick the default avatar, as selected in the default avatar control panel of the admin section, and display that wherever an avatar need to be displayed.

   /** Replaced this original statement here with the block below from wp2.6
   if ( empty($default) )
   $default = "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s=$size"; // ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536 == md5('unknown@gravatar.com')
   */   
   
   if ( empty($default) ) {
   $avatar_default = get_option('avatar_default');
   if ( empty($avatar_default) )
   $default = 'mystery';
   else
   $default = $avatar_default;
   }
   
   if ( 'custom' == $default )
   $default = add_query_arg( 's', $size, $defaults[$avatar_default][1] );
   elseif ( 'mystery' == $default )
   $default = "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536?s={$size}"; // ad516503a11cd5ca435acc9bb6523536 == md5('unknown@gravatar.com')
   elseif ( 'blank' == $default )
   $default = includes_url('images/blank.gif');
   elseif ( !empty($email) && 'gravatar_default' == $default )
   $default = '';
   elseif ( 'gravatar_default' == $default )
   $default = "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/s={$size}";
   elseif ( empty($email) )
   $default = "http://www.gravatar.com/avatar/?d=$default&s={$size}";
   
   /** inserted the above block from wp2.6 */
   

8. Edit wp-include/widgets.php to change 2 lines in the function wp_widget_recent_comments as follows. The first modification starts at line 966. Comment out the existing code (starting with $comments) and replace it with the one as shown below. After you’ve done that, the second modification starts at line 979. Comment out the original code line (starting with echo) and replace with the one as shown below. This modification displays the default avatar in the Recent Comments widget.

   // $comments = $wpdb->get_results("SELECT comment_author, comment_author_url, comment_ID, comment_post_ID FROM $wpdb->comments WHERE comment_approved = '1' ORDER BY comment_date_gmt DESC LIMIT $number");
   // Hereafter is the modified statement to display the avatar together with the comment
   $comments = $wpdb->get_results("SELECT comment_author, comment_author_url, comment_author_email, comment_ID, comment_post_ID FROM $wpdb->comments WHERE comment_approved = '1' ORDER BY comment_date_gmt DESC LIMIT $number");
   // End of modification
   ...
   ...
   // echo  '</li><li class="recentcomments">' . sprintf(__('%1$s on %2$s'), get_comment_author_link(), '<a href="'. get_permalink($comment->comment_post_ID) . '#comment-' . $comment->comment_ID . '">' . get_the_title($comment->comment_post_ID) . '</a>') . '</li>';
   // Hereafter is the modified statement to display the avatar together with the comment
   echo  '<li class="recentcomments">' . get_avatar(get_comment_author_email(),16) . sprintf(__('%1$s on %2$s'), get_comment_author_link(), '<a href="'. get_permalink($comment->comment_post_ID) . '#comment-' . $comment->comment_ID . '">' . get_the_title($comment->comment_post_ID) . '</a>') . '</li>';
   // End of modification
   

    

That’s it! You should now have an extra option in Settings>Discussions where you can pick a default avatar in case a user doesn’t have a registered gravatar (from gravatar.com). Moreover, the avatar will now appear in the single post comments (size 32, but you can change that in the code, see 1. above), and in the recent comments (size 16, but you can change that too in the code, see 8. above). For styling, all you want to change is done through the CSS (see 2. above). Please remember that the upcoming version 2.6 will implement this by default, except for the avatars in the recent comments.

DISCLAIMER: the usual disclaimer applies, if you decide to hack the wordpress code as I outlined above, I’m not responsible for any damage to your blog, your keyboard, your house, your family, your dog or anything else that you value. Proceed at your own risk. I will try to answer questions posed here in the comments though.

We did get a visit by a technician from the water works on Sunday though. But it wasn’t clear to me what he came to do. He ascertained that we had indeed no water, gave the umpteenth version of how the water network was constructed as an explanation why we had no water. We’ve heard many different versions of the same story before, from different servicemen of the same company that came to examine the situation. My summary of all these explanations is this: we are either at the beginning or at the end of one of 3 possibly different circuits. That’s why we have a water problem when our neighbors don’t. Figures, huh?

Τέλος πάντων, we had another barbecue last night, the second in a row, and got to bed around 2 o’clock. It was a good thing that I was woken up this morning by a huge cockroach crawling over my face a 6:30. After skillfully exterminating the attacker I was fully awake and checked the water. YES! Water had arrived! Glory Hallelujah! I could now devote myself to what I fear will become a frequent routine: get up at dawn — when there is still some water in the pipes before everybody else starts filling up their reservoir, leaving me with only a few measly drops — and start the electric water pump to fill the 1000 liter tank on the rooftop. The pump has a capacity of 50 liters per minute, but because of the low pressure and the clogged pipes it takes about 2 hours to fill up the reservoir. All that time I have to sit next to the pump, because there is no safety system for a) when the reservoir is full, and b) when the water supply stops. If I don’t react to either of these conditions — which I detect by a change in the sound of the running motor — within a reasonably short time, I risk burning the pump. Oh, did I tell you that the tank is on a 7 meter high flat rooftop with no access whatsoever, except if I can borrow a 8 meter high ladder somewhere? If anybody has any ideas of how to improve this situation through pressure valves or something like it, without running extra electric cables because that is not possible, I’d like to hear from you.

I’m off for my siesta now. 

Anyway, that has lasted for months and yesterday I read in the local newspaper that the problem had been solved and that Iraklio would be once more be served with a normal water supply. That was yesterday. We had been without water for 2 days already. So, like children waiting for Santa Claus we went asleep, expecting to have a normal water supply today. At 7 this morning, when we woke up, there was no water. At noon there was still no water. At 2 I called the service, telling them that we were in dire need of some water. “Not to worry, normal supply would be restored in the afternoon”. The Greek afternoon (apógevma) starts anywhere between 3 and 5 and ends anywhere between 7 and 9. So, we had to wait. It would be well worthwhile. We had been invited to a BBQ in the evening and left the house at 8:30. There was no water yet. 

We just came back (it’s now almost 2 o’clock) and there is still no water. What I would like to know is this: an “afternoon”, on a Saturday, how long does that last?

Is it still Saturday afternoon? Because I sure could do with some water.

We’ll see where it all leads us.

But first I was to go see a shop in Piraeás which was advertising in one of the motorbike magazines that I bought. Easier said than done. I could of course have taken a taxi and have me delivered to the address given, but I’m too cheap for that. At a periptero I had bought a street map of the greater Athens area, which was of the usual low quality, outdated and missing all but the most important streets as I soon discovered. But I decided to walk anyway. Big mistake. Piraeás — and I had completely forgotten about that since the last time I came here some years ago — is loud and chaotic and dirty. It’s completely run down. Most importantly there are no street names to be seen anywhere. One can see the spots were the plates used to be, attached to the corner houses. They probably fell off and nobody bothered to replace them. Anyway, I got completely lost and by the time I found the shop I had walked for more than a hour. A sign on the door indicated that he shop was closed all day.

Bummer.

Back on foot to the port, where I purchased a day pass for the metro. By then I must have covered more than 5 kilometers on foot already… Unlike in other metropolitan areas that I know, you can’t get a map of the metro system in Athens. The system is less complex than in let’s say Paris or London, so that’s maybe why nobody bothers. I only had to change trains once at Omonia. Getting out of the Pygrou-Fix metro station I was surrounded by bike shops immediately. It was close to 9 o’clock and most shops had signs telling that they would open at 10. Fair enough, I had time to have a coffee and a spanakópita, a small pastry filled with spinach, feta cheese and herbs, and give my hot feet a rest.

At 10 I was back on my feet and made the round of the shops. I’ll spare you the details, I tried all the brand names, Arai, Mobo, Nolan, Airoh, AVG, Caberg, even but-ugly Shoei, but to not avail. One obscure brand I had never heard of, by the name of LS2, had a model that almost fitted more or less, maybe a bit too tight, so when asked for me to try the next bigger size in order to compare, they didn’t have that in stock and they wouldn’t replenish on it for this season. I didn’t risk taking the smaller size because I was afraid it would feel uncomfortable and when a helmet feels uncomfortable you don’t wear it. Which is all too easy here because practically nobody wears a helmet. I’d rather avoid that temptation. Bummer again.

Next stop was Michalis’ shop, only a block away. Michalis is a very decent chap who obviously enjoys what he’s doing. Even though he normally closes on Saturday, and it was still closed when I arrived, after a quick phone call he came down to the shop for me and we had a very pleasant time chatting about the pros and cons of the various Enfield models. I got even more convinced that the Electra version was the one for me. We made a ride on one of his showroom models right into the traffic of Athens, first me on the pillion seat, after a few kilometers we switched places. I hadn’t ridden a motorbike in over 25 years and I was terrified with the traffic! But we survived. I want one, no I need one! But I don’t want to spend the €5500 for a new one, just the basic version. It’s not a life necessity for me and we have other more important things to pay for. So I considered myself only too lucky that I would soon be able to buy a slightly used model (2 years, 2400km) for only €3000.

Alas! It was not to be…

After I said goodbye to Michalis I headed back to the metro station, but not without first trying a few more helmets in shops at the opposite side of the street. I grew more desperate with every helmet that I tried. It’s enough to give an otherwise reasonably well balanced guy a serious complex! Good thing that I have extensive psychological assistance at home…

At two thirty, after another ride on the metro and a short taxi drive I was at the sellers place. The Royal Enfield was parked outside on the street. Due to all the highly informational conversations I’d had with Asterix and Michalis I noticed immediately that this was not an Electra! Even before I opened the door of the cab. The seller had seen me arriving and came out on the street. We discussed for a while the mint condition the bike was in (I have to admit that) and how this was a really exceptional deal, nowhere would I find a bike in this condition at this price, etcetera, etcetera, and then I dropped the deadly question.

• Me: Are you sure this is an Electra?
• He: Why yes, of course, it has electronic ignition, it has a five speed gearbox, it has everything.
• Me: But it’s not an Electra
• He: Ah, don’t worry, it’s exactly like an Electra. You will love this bike.

Well, maybe, but I don’t love being treated like an idiot. I was really disappointed but tried not to show it. It’s like having a nice tournedos dangled before your nose and at the end being served a burger. They’re both beef (well, one of them at least is for sure), but that’s where the similarity ends. The point was that I came all the way for an Electra and it wasn’t an Electra. For some reason that concept was difficult to grasp for the seller. In the mean time reinforcement was brought into the field when the rest of the household apparently had noticed that negotiation didn’t go as smooth as expected. First came the mother, with a tray of freshly squeezed orange juice and tiropita (pastry made of layers of phyllo filled with cheese). Then the father followed: “I’m an engineer, are you an engineer?”. But I stood firm, didn’t fall for either the charm offensive nor the intimidation tactics. In the end we all agreed that the deal was not going to happen, we had some more conversation about old-timers, motorbikes in general and more chit-chat, after which I thanked them cordially for their hospitality and bode them farewell.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, the trip back to the port of Piraeás, where I arrived too early to be admitted on the ferry, the waiting in what once was a rather colorful local cafeteria on the port grounds, now replaced by a dull Starbucks — I don’t even like their coffee, I find it highly overrated, being the first to embark, found a nice place on a double couch in a corner of the bar, where I tried to sleep a bit during the night, not before having my rakí, I arrived home around 7 o’clock this morning and slept well into the mid day. We had a nice lunch at the beach of Karteros, went for a swim afterwards and lingered on the beach until 8 o’clock.

Now the search for a secondhand Royal Enfield Electra will begin in earnest…

I had been to the local Royal Enfield dealer here in Iraklio, a guy who goes by the nickname of Asterix, real name Kostos Spiridakis, and who mainly specializes in long gone models of Harley, Norton, Triumph, BSA, Ariel and BMW. His workshop is like a heaven for old-timers. He didn’t have any Enfields on display but he called around to see if there were any secondhand bikes available locally. None were. Then he got me in touch with the importer/dealer in Athens, Michalis Savaïdis, who was very accommodating in me coming to see him on a Saturday when his shop is normally closed.

I also traced 2 second-hand Electra’s in Athens through the small adverts in a motorbike magazine. They ranged from €3.000 to €3.800 for 1 to 2 year old models. One of the sellers I could not reach, his phone was never picked up. The other, with the €3.000 asking price, was equally willing to see me on a Saturday. I made appointments for this Saturday, 31st of May, tomorrow as we speak.

In the meantime I had been running around the motorbike and accessory shops here in Iraklio to find a helmet. This is a major problem for me. I have a very strangely formed big head. Or so I am led to believe by all these helmets. None of them will fit. I need at least an L size, and for a number of makes and models only an XL will do. I want an open face helmet and the choice for those is already very limited here. You will usually find only half a dozen of them in a shop with hundreds of helmets. After 3 or 4 shops I was willing to take any helmet regardless of price. It didn’t help. So I decided to take the opportunity and combine my visit to the dealer and the seller in Athens to make the round of the bike shops there, expecting a wider choice.

That’s how far I am. I’ll have a very busy schedule tomorrow. Now I’m off to have one last rakí at the bar, my night cap every time I take the ferry, find a quiet place somewhere in a corner and try to sleep a few hours before we get to Piraeas at 6 in the morning.

Please, STOP STARING AT MY iPEE! I’m not staring at your … okay, we don’t need to go into that, you get my point already.

That being said, now that I have your attention, here’s the deal.

I live in a country of which I don’t fully master the language. This is Europe, a real melting pot of cultures and languages, and I can go and reside wherever I please. Language is not going to stop me from doing that. So I chose to live in Greece. Very difficult language, Greek is.

Here in my neighborhood, when I enter a shop and open my mouth to inquire about something in this language that I don’t have full command of, they immediately reply in English.

Why?

Because these people can look beyond my uttered words. They go directly to my Hopelessly Twisted Tongue Protocol (HTTP) header so to speak. And this header says: “ACCEPT-LANGUAGE: en, nl, de, fr, el”, in that order. Stopping short of staring at my iPee and saying “hey, you’re in Greece, we only speak Greek to you” would be considered very rude here.

These people don’t have PhD’s or engineering degrees, yet they are smart enough — and hospitable enough — to go the extra mile (or yard, inch, whatever) and actually look at my HTTP header. Now, as I understand it, you have herds of PhD’s and engineering whizz kids in your stables, yet you don’t have the smarts to look beyond my iPee and go to my HTTP header? I know my iPee says I’m in Greece, but my HTTP header has been carefully construed to tell you that my preferred language is in fact not Greek.

Is that so difficult?

The country that doesn’t rush

We are not bad. We are slow! As a country, I mean. We are not retarded, we are delayed. The day before yesterday I understood this while waiting for a bus which simply did not come. I waited and waited and waited some more.

In the end I gave up. The work for which I had left would not happen [that day], because, quite simply, I was already late. I decided to anchor there, at the bus stop, with an orange juice, three newspapers and a magazine, just out of curiosity.

Eventually the bus came, took me and transported me in a period of time that would have been enough for me to go on foot twice to my destination (and back!). What counted was that the itinerary took place.

The bus just came late. But it came.

What are you fretting now, my little pony? Everything happens. Always. In its own time. Eventually. Modern laws are passed, but … fifty years after the time they should have passed. And they are applied, if implemented, after a hundred more years. New paths (literally and figuratively) are beaten, but by the time of completion they are already outdated.

«The ambulance arrived, the patient died», the story of our lives - and sometimes death. Greece does not hurry - the Greeks however don’t have time, that’s why we all wear our hearts on our sleeves.

Nobody is to blame. In the end, we’ll all get there. We are just late, in growing up, in finding work, in creating a family. By the time we make these things happen, we have grown old. Were did life go? It was late.

Yesterday my husband and I realized that Barak Obama is a contemporary of ours. We could have been in the same kindergarten. The young man is a few steps away from the global steering wheel. And we? We said it was depressing, but … it was too late anyway. After that we became sleepy and went nappy-poo in beddy-by land. It was already late …

Very good, Rika, albeit a bit late…

P.S. my command of the Greek language is far from perfect. I would appreciate any corrections if you find my translation faulty.

Since our arrival here in early 2003 I’ve tried to make sense of the prices of real estate. It just seemed to be so totally detached from reality. At first I thought it was because we were taken advantage of, being foreigners and so. And to an extent that was certainly the case. But I also learned that even locals were subjected to these rising prices (even if they were paying less that what we were asked for), that were completely out of balance with what everybody claims as income.

What’s going on now? In Iraklio sales of new apartments have fallen by 30 to 40 percent and people are turning to second-hand apartments or look for land to build their own house. Moreover this year seizures of apartments by banks have tripled as a large number of buyers are unable to pay their installments. This can be attributed to the wild purchase boom in 2006 that erupted when it became known that by 2007 the government would apply a different set of rules to asses the value of properties for tax reasons, effectively raising the “objective value” by more than 50% in some cases. This assessment is only done at the time of purchase.

To give you an idea of the prices here today: a building plot of 400 square meters in the more popular suburbs of Iraklio (Kipoupolis, Agios Ioannis - where we live, Mastambas, Mesambelies) costs 230.000€ to 250.000€! Putting a small house of 100 square meters on that land will add another 120.000€ to 130.000€. Total cost 350.000€ to 380.000€. You have to understand that there is nothing particularly attractive in these areas that would justify such a premium price. The same dusty and dirty roads, broken pavement, telephone wires strung from one house to the other. It’s just that these are some of the few areas where there is still room to build.

For a new apartment in Iraklio centre you have to count on 3.500 to 4.500€ per square meter, a 10 year old used apartment will cost you 1.500 to 1.800€ per square meter, while a really old apartment (extremely high energy costs) will set you back around 1.000€ per square meter. New or old, I found the quality of all constructions here serious lacking in quality: sloppy finishing, thin walls, amateurish plumbing and electricity.

A real estate advisor was quoted by one of the newspapers as saying — possibly in an urge to end on a positive note — that you can still buy a house with a garden a few kilometers outside of Iraklio for “a mere” 200.000 to 300.000€. I went to see some of these houses. In my own country each of them wouldn’t go for more than 130.000 to 180.000€.

A brand new apartment of 130 square meters in a newly erected complex just opposite our street has an asking price of half a million euros!

To quote Obelix: “Mais ils sont fous, ces Romains!”

For the moment we stick to stuff that is affordable to us and gives us a whole lot more bang for our bucks than a house of our own: the sea, the sky, the sun, the tavernas, the company, the music and the dances.