Why do i love
Kalamata?
Answer is very
simple,
Kalamata is my home
after all.
Just imagine
yourself,
In a place
somewhere in the world,
When you think about your home,
Where would you like to be?
Which bed would you prefer to sleep?
When you close your eyes and think about your “home” , which house do you see?
Which streets do you walk to reach to the place you called home?
Since my childhood, almost every 6 months, I have changed my living
environment, sometimes due to my family’s occupation, for summer breaks… And
after the university, it turned into my reality and everywhere started being my
home. As long as bring my books and my ipod with me, I never looked before for
a place permanently.
Until the day I arrived here.
Of course, you may ask, what is special about Kalamata than the other
over 200 cities in 32 countries I have been so far?
Let me explain:
No
Traffic
Even if you see some, just walk already!
You can access anywhere you want by walking max 30min, and voalâ! You are
there!
Everything
is Available
Every material we may need in daily,
professional and modern life is accessible here. From electronics to cosmetics,
clothes, food… And c’mon! We have a huge Jumbo here. The place is like a amusement
park for adults :D
Fresh
Food
How many civilized city do you count for
me, where you can pick up fresh fruit right from the branch,
every-time-of-the-yeeeaarr! You don’t need to pay for lemons, oranges and
mandarins here, at all.
And during orange flower season, streets
smell like heaven!
Beautiful
Beaches
Even during high tourist period between
end of July and middle of August when sea turns into blurry soup, cost line
always preserves its beauty. You can just rent a boat and go little bit away from
the shore, or you can take small trips to the towns where seas are calmer and fresh
on that period.
Food
and Bakeries
I think there is no need to mention how
awesome bakeries and taverns we have here, make you gain weight like a big fat
floating buoy on the sea.
Mountains
When you wake up and go to your balcony,
almost from every house, green mountain view is always visible in every season.
Sometimes even you can see some snow on them, while you are having fun with
beautiful sun on the beach, walking…
It’s
Always Sunny in Kalamata
Except for couple of days in winter ( it
is very hard to say that we have an actual “winter” here but sometimes it is
getting really freezing ) , sun always shows its shiny face. Not only shows, it
warms you up until very deep ends of your bones. Yes, even you can swim!
Accessibility
Athens is just 3 hrs away. For me, I am an
Istanbulian. I already make this distance in one way, when I want to go
somewhere inside the Istanbul! From Athens, you can go every part of the world.
Low
Criminal Rate, No Terrorism
Only bad thing you can face here is your
bike might get stolen. Actually sorry, be sure that your bike will be stolen
one day. It happens to everyone, it’s normal here, just get used to it.
However, be calm, this is the only bad
thing that you will see.
Social
Life
For this scale of town, we have a quite
good social life to have fun every night and weekends. Festivals, concerts,
party and dance nights…
Friends
I have already had some “for a life-time friends”
here, help me to feel like I am home, everyday.
FOR
ME,
For me, when I am on my own, I just take a
walk on the beach in the morning, after that, as breakfast, I eat my tiropita
or cookie with my coffee in my balcony with mountain view. Just before sunset,
I take my tea and my blanket, I go to the marina and read my book there with
relaxing Messinian gulf view.
When you lay up all those things one under
to the other, it gives you conclusion of the question :
Where
is your home?
And I say it again and again,
Kalamata is my home.