To break up the stream of Greek ghost towns on this blog, here’s some other, more random, sights we got to see on our visit. Greece has always been a seafaring nation, and has myriad shipwrecks to show for it. Not far from Athens, the pitched-over hull of the Mediterranean Sky lies a stone’s throw … Continue reading Interlude
The island of Corfu has had a fraught history. Over the centuries, it has changed hands among the Greeks, Venetians, Byzantines, and Ottomans, among others. Its location, in an important sea lane where the Ionian Sea meets the Adriatic, has been a double edged sword. It led to Corfu Town, the island’s biggest city (which … Continue reading The Ghost Towns of Greece: Sinies
In the north of Greece, about ten miles from Mount Olympus, lies a deep, narrow gorge. The steepness of the surrounding hills coupled with the dense vegetation means the gorge receives little sun, especially in the winter. In the early nineteenth century a lumber mill was built here, and a company town sprang up around … Continue reading The Ghost Towns of Greece: Darkness
The jagged ruins of the village of Vathia, on the southernmost reaches of the Peloponnesian peninsula, make for a fierce skyline on a ridge overlooking the Ionian Sea. Its myriad tower houses are a testament to the clan war that raged here for over a century. These stone fortifications offer a glimpse into generations of … Continue reading The Ghost Towns of Greece: Vathia
The island of Corfu is, along with a few tiny satellite islands, both the northernmost and westernmost part of Greece. Somewhat confusingly, its largest settlement is also named Corfu (sometimes termed Corfu Town in order to make the distinction) and lies on the island’s eastern shore, facing the mainland. We spent two nights here, as … Continue reading Greece Part Two: Corfu Town
For quite quite some time now, I have tried to schedule a week long photography trip somewhere abroad each year. While on these travels I would sometimes stumble across some abandoned places, but only recently have I begun planning trips mainly focused on urbex. After a bit of research this year I settled on Greece, … Continue reading Welcome to Greece
This is the last post in a series on last month’s trip to Italy. I hope to finish on a high note, with some of what I think were my best photographs from the churches we visited, and likely the trip overall. The first shot is a one off. This church overlooked a steep hillside … Continue reading The Churches of Italy, Part Two
The fourth part in the series on last month’s trip to Italy. Here is an interesting factoid. On last year’s trip around the north, villas were the most common type of abandoned building we saw. Hands down this year, it was churches in the south. One might be able to draw some conclusions about the … Continue reading The Churches of Italy
I thought ghost towns were largely a stateside phenomenon, but as it turns out, Italy may have us beat. One source I saw claimed that the country has six thousand of them. I can’t say why there seem to be so many, but I’d speculate that the old Italian propensity for settling on hilltops may … Continue reading The Ghost Towns of Italy
Bełchatów (pronounced Bew-hot-oof) is a midsized town in central Poland. It is not usually a tourist destination, but it happens to be where my family comes from, and where most of them still reside. Though born in the States, I lived and attended school there for a couple years in the mid 80’s during the … Continue reading Bełchatów, Poland
T A B U L A R A S A photography 