Mani or...money?
Tacitus :" they made a desert and called it peace" ( I century a.C.) ............. can be applied to the Mani,almost literally...
( they made a desertification in the Mani and called it civilization,progress,development)
--------collecting anecdotes,thoughts,meditations etc from the Blog and e mails----
1- Tens of Real Estate agencies open every year in our region.To sell the Mani.
2- An old way of saying in the Mani was " to troi o ilios" ie. "the sun eats everything"...can be updated " to troi to buldozer",and much faster !
3- Another maniotic way of saying : "you can sell only once"I.e. You can't sell the Mani twice.
4-cement,concrete,stones can't produce olive oil,can they?
5-swimming pools are compatible with The Mani culture and habits ,like the mules in London,Munich,Milan...
6 -From an article by Jill Park and Steve Watson:
and the figures painted a picture of beleaguered Brits seeking cheaper homes
overseas.The vast majority of respondents (82%) were from the UK,
where property prices have soared to an average of £191,327 (€280,000), making
foreign property an increasingly attractive option. This idea of foreign
property as a practical investment was supported by the fact that the average
price of a home overseas was relatively modest.The strong pound goes much further on the continent, but
even so, a massive 78% of respondents had still bought properties that cost
€250,000 or less, significantly lower than the average UK house price."
*Update 5 aug.08 . the Pound is much weaker
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7- (dedicated to foreign home buyers) -On the price for a foreign property (see article above),you should charge other "immaterial costs",sometimes quite heavy,such as the insufficient social and medical services,,burocracy ,a not always genuine hospitality etc.
And if you lament for some inconvenient,it's not unusual the answer : "you are not in Switzerland..go there if you don't like the Mani"
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8 - (dedicated to foreign investors-home buyers)
If you want to defend your money,defend the Mani...
An "over-built Mani" , a concrete-jungle,with high risks of desertification in not many years,will be less attractive and devalueted...won't it ?
9-Full money for fool people (in Ag.Nickolaos)
Heard from a reliable source :some time ago there was a project that consisted in covering with cement the area of the "limanaki" (port) in order to get more room for other commercial settlements .Would you believe it ?the project had the support of the local shopkeepers,tourist operators etc
Can you imagine Ag Nickolaos,one of the nicest places of the area,without its characteristic feature?
Luckily they stopped the project..but the seed is launched... Must pay high attention for further monoevers...
Human madness and greed seem to have no limit.
-Erasmus from Rotterdam-
10-Together with the "kalderimia" (ancient paths) they have started to clean also the typical and protected Mediterranean flora (markers everywhere),despite of the prohibition from the Dassarkio-On one side they try to recuperate the memory of an ancient culture (kalderimia),on the other side they destroy the unique beauty of the Mani land and coastline...coherents! isn't it?
11-(heard from a couple of English)- There's a strong interest on the coast from Stoupa and Ag.Nikolaos,the two kilometers having the cycling-walking track.
A night club owner in Athens,and an unknown politician were seen surveying the area last year.We remind that the area was proposed (in the last Plan of Constructions) as the area where gether all noisy settlements such as discos,casinos,night clubs,etc.
May be it's only gossip,but..rumors sometimes end in truth.
Can you imagine a sort of Little Las Vegas in the Mani,with all its negative consequences (mafia,narcotics,etc) ?
J.Bond 007